Solution Of Smog
Leoma Cianchetti
Creating policies and passing laws to restrict air pollution has been an important step toward improving air quality. In 1970, fueled by persistent visible smog in many U.S. cities and industrial areas and an increase in health problems caused by air pollution, the Clean Air Act paved the way for numerous efforts to improve air quality in the United States. The Clean Air Act requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set air quality standards for several hazardous air pollutants reported in the Air Quality Index (AQI), requires states to have a plan to address air pollution and emissions reduction, and also addresses problems such as acid rain, ozone holes, and greenhouse gas pollution which is causing the climate to warm.
Most industrialized countries have laws and regulations about air quality. The United Kingdom first passed its Clean Air Act in 1956 following a deadly smog event that killed many London residents. In China, where rapid industrial and urban growth in recent decades resulted in a sharp decrease in air quality, numerous laws about air pollution have been passed, including a frequently updated five-year national plan to meet target reductions in air pollution.
It is important to note that while laws and regulations are helping, the effects of air pollution are still apparent. The decline of toxic air pollutants and health improvements are welcome changes, yet the growing threat of climate change due to fossil fuel emissions remains a problem that still needs to be solved.
There are simple steps you can take in your everyday life to help improve air quality. Every time you drive to work or school, use your heater or air conditioner, clean your windows or even style your hair, you make choices that can reduce or increase air pollution.
There are many ways air quality can be improved in the home. By reducing energy consumption, choosing sustainable products and eliminating your exposure to chemicals, we can all contribute to a cleaner California.
Reducing energy consumption helps reduce air pollution. If less gasoline, natural gas and electricity (power plants burn fossil fuels to generate electricity) are used, not only do your bills decrease but less pollutants are emitted.
There are also many products in the home, garden and garage that emit smog-forming chemicals that pollute the air when used. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter (PM) contained in these products penetrate deep into the lungs and can trigger asthma attacks or worsen respiratory illnesses. The suggestions below will help reduce exposure in your home:
There are multiple ways of reducing consumption at the workplace. Considering we spend a good portion of every week at the office, use the suggestions below to keep your workplace environmentally friendly:
According to a 2020 report issued by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), vehicular emissions contribute the most at 43 percent, followed by industrial emissions at 25 percent, agricultural emissions, particularly from burning of crops during harvest season in winter at 20 percent, and burning of fossil fuels, particularly coal to generate power at 12 percent. The higher percentage of vehicular emissions are three-fold. First, in light of a weak and limited public transport system, privately owned cars and motorcycles constitute the majority of the traffic on road, with motorcycles comprising of about 74 percent of the total number of registered vehicles as of 2018. Second, motorcycles and autorickshaws, contributing a significant share of on road traffic in Pakistan, have incredibly inefficient engines, thus producing a higher degree of emissions. Third, the fuel Pakistan uses falls under the Euro 2 category of the European Union standards, a significantly lower-quality fuel compared to the Euro 6 category adopted by high income countries. Although the governments have made attempts to switch to a more environment friendly fuel, this is yet to happen. Failure of regulation and control of these emissions result in an unhealthy increase in smoke and poisonous gases which combine with fog during winter months, resulting in a hazardous smog.
In 2017, the Environment Protection Department of the Punjab Government issued policies to control smog. First, the adoption of low Sulphur fuel which has proven to be more environment friendly was proposed. However, the government admitted that while this policy was first suggested in 2008, its implementation is annually postponed. On part of the government, this means having to devise new contracts with international suppliers, such as Kuwaiti Petroleum, for supply for low sulphur fuel. Furthermore, the local oil refineries have shown reluctance in agreeing to switch from low to high sulphur fuel as this would require heavy investments to upgrade their existing facilities; a step seen as unfavourable due to economies of scale. This also requires the government to introduce better incentives to push oil refineries to make the shift. Second, efforts to ensure catalytic converters are operational in all vehicles was also proposed. However, this required the provincial government to liaison with the federal government to import required parts; a task subjected to administrative lags and bureaucratic inefficiencies. Third, revamping government efforts to effectively manage solid waste management, ban crop burning whilst introducing alternative, environment friendly technologies, and fine industries and brick kilns emanating excessive pollution. Among the broader aims were effective management of urban development to ensure industries are built away from residential areas and build government capacity to monitor air pollution.
Smog continues to be an issue of grave public health concern for the citizens of Lahore. Despite existing legal frameworks, the inability of the government to effectively implement laws and policies to regulate smoke emission from a variety of sources has exacerbated the air pollution in Lahore in the previous years. The government needs to address the administrative and bureaucratic challenges which may impede effective implementation. Furthermore, the government needs to focus on long-term goals of building effective and sustainable public transport system for all citizens to ease pressure off of the roads occupied by private vehicles. Similarly, the government needs to ensure that industries are not built alongside residential areas, and existing industries are either moved elsewhere in the long term or monitored to ensure that they effectively manage their air emissions. To achieve this, the government could also liaison with the industries to ensure they have access to latest and environment friendly technologies. In addition, the government also needs to revamp the agriculture sector of Pakistan which still relies on primitive farming methods and provide the support required to introduce more environment friendly technologies in the agricultural operations. In essence, the provincial government alone cannot be expected to achieve these long term goals, and therefore, the federal government must also step in to play its part in controlling smog to ensure a better and healthy environment for its citizens.
Where the Air Is Not So Clear
During the early 1900s, Mexico City, Mexico, was known for having some of the cleanest air in the world. Author Carlos Fuentes wrote a novel about the city in 1959 and called it Where the Air is Clear. Today, however, Mexico City is one of the smoggiest places on Earth.
Undercover
During the Great Smog of 1952, coal pollution blanketed the city of London, England. More than 4,000 people died from respiratory ailments as a result. The smog was so thick that the city had to shut down roads, railways, and the airport. Robbers used the cover of smog to break into houses and shops.
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Airborne nitrogen pollution affects not only the quality of the air we breathe, but also the land and the water. Nitrogen is the most abundant element in the air and is essential to plant and animal life. Sources of nitrogen from human activities, such as electric power generation, industry, transportation and agriculture, can upset the natural balance of nitrogen in the environment.
When fossil fuels are burned, they release nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere, which contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain. The most common nitrogen-related compounds emitted into the air by human activities are collectively referred to as nitrogen oxides. Ammonia is another nitrogen compound emitted to the air, primarily from agricultural activities, but also from fossil fuels. Most of the nitrogen oxides released in the U.S. due to human activity are from the burning of fossil fuels associated with transportation and industry.
The presence of excess nitrogen in the atmosphere in the form of nitrogen oxides or ammonia is deposited back onto land, where it washes into nearby water bodies. These excess nutrients contribute to pollution, harmful algal blooms and oxygen-deprived aquatic zones. Excess ammonia and low pH in these areas are toxic to aquatic organisms and affect their survival.
Air pollution has worsened in Pakistan in recent years, as a mixture of low-grade diesel fumes, smoke from seasonal crop burn off, and colder winter temperatures coalesce into stagnant clouds of smog.
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