Conclusion
Thanks for learning about Air Pollution Mitigation!
--> Why is it important to learn about this topic?
*one way to monitor the air is through air pollution SENSORS*
A key factor to reducing air pollution is MONITORING it.
--> Good policy starts with systems that keep track of air quality, pollutant levels, and people's health.
Methods to Reduce Air Pollution
Research into air chemistry, human health, and societal trends are also important, even if these steps don't actively reduce pollution themselves.
This module will explain how society has addressed the problem of air pollution in the past, present, and future.
Starts with knowing the source and properties of the pollution.
stationary or mobile? primary or secondary? gas or particulate matter? urban or rural? what's the source sector?
Then, choose specific strategies...
Strategies to fix the air pollution problem
How we stop our air from getting polluted in the first place
Reducing the severity of our current air pollution problem
Preventing Pollutants from Entering the Air
main solutions by source
Removing Pollutants from the Air
- Gases (ex. SO , NO , CO...)
Wikimedia Commons. (July 14, 2015). Chemical Scrubber
- Use anti-pollution technology & change practices in these fields.
- Agriculture: Reduce the use of fertilizer, burning of waste, and deforestation for fields.
- Household: Use cleaner-burning stoves and heaters and transition away from biomass fuels. Use VOC-free consumer & building products
- Address the contributors to secondary pollutants
- Power plants, factories, transportation, etc:
- Since many pollutants come from combustion for energy
- improve combustion processes to reduce the pollutant levels they emit.
- use alternative fuels
- ex. coal-> natural gas; fossil fuels-> renewable energy
- reduce energy demand
- ex. personal cars -> bike or public transit
- Factories: Create & improve industrial processes to reduce pollutant emissions.
- Trransportation: Create vehicle emissions standards, remove lead from gasoline.
- Many of these technologies are used by the industrial and transportation sectors to remove polluting particulates or gases from their exhaust or flue and other waste streams.
- Particulates (PM): Equipment collects & then disposes particles
- Wet scrubbers: Transfer particulates into a liquid (water).
- Filters: Polluted air is filtered through fabric, and PM can't pass through.
- Electrostatic precipitators: Induces electric charge on the particles, so they are attracted to and stuck on electrodes.
- Scrubbers: Trap SO , NH , and other fumes in water (wet scrubbers) or a solid material (dry scrubbers).
- Absorption: Transfer the gas into liquid that can contain it or react with it.
- Adsorption: Attract and hold molecules onto a solid (i.e heated charcoal).
- Incineration: Combust (burn) VOCs to convert them to CO and water.
Wikimedia Commons. (July 14, 2015). Electrostatic precipitator
--> potentially problematic due to the role of carbon dioxide in climate change and pollution.
One of the easiest ways to reduce the presence and concentration of air pollutants indoors (especially in homes) is to have good air flow, or ventilation.
You can also take a look at this video
to review!
- What do you think can be done about air pollution?
- Who is involved in preventing air pollution?
- How might mitigation efforts vary in different places?
- What could be barriers to the prevention of air pollution?
- Is air pollution a priority issue?
- What aspects of pollution-causing activities should the government be able to control?
what do you remember about air pollution?
Review from Air Pollution 101:
Air Pollution Mitigation
Now that we've learned so much about air pollution, we can start thinking about ...
How would you try to address air pollution?
Making it Happen!
Different parts of society put policies and plans together to turn those ideas into reality.
-Local
-National (country)
-International
-Companies
-NGOs
-Interest groups
-Universities
You!
Everyday people and their communities
- Government regulations (rules)
- Economic incentives & penalties
- Company standards
- Individual lifestyle choices
- Education
Governments can get together and form international air pollution agreements between countries.
Based on past scientific knowledge and continual investment in research & innovation.
- 1979 Long-Range Transboundary Air-Pollution treaty: Originally signed by 32 European countries, US, & Canada, where it was shown to mitigate the sources and effects of air pollution in those regions. 51 countries have now joined the convention.
- The World Health Organization publishes global air quality standards.
- Other organizations like the United Nations Environmental Programme and various Non Governmental Organizations are also involved in international air quality policy.
from European Envionment Agency
There are MANY, many different big and small ways to make an impact on air pollution.
--> These are just a limited list of the main ideas, and the main sectors of economy/society involved.
Around the World
United Kingdom
- Where the Industrial Revolution began in the 18th and 19th century. Cities like London, where the term "smog" was coined, experienced terrible air pollution from coal burning.
- England already had bad smoke from coal in the 1600s, but regulation was unsuccessful.
- Public Health Act of 1891 put financial penalties on businesses that emitted too much smoke.
- governments today still use fines for exceeding emissions standards!
- U.K. Clean Air Act (1956): reform to address air pollution after the "Great Smog of London" killed many residents.
Mexico
- Air pollution causes about 6% of all deaths in Mexico, and is especially notorious in Mexico City, which was considered the most polluted city in 1992, after increases in migration and industrialization.
- What has Mexico City done about it?
- remove lead from gasoline & other car fuel usage improvements
- no-driving days
- close an oil refinery
- Pollution levels are still high, but it's a priority of the government & people to address via
- Efficient mass transit
- Solid waste management
- Energy-efficient buildings
- Renewable power supply
- Reduced burning of agricultural waste
Via The CityFix from the World Resources Institute
China
India & South Asia
- China is one of the countries with the current worst air pollution.
- Beijing, China's capital is a success story in reducing air pollution in modern mega-cities.
- Beijing industrialized and grew very quickly in the end of the 20th century, and air pollution (smog, haze) grew without much restraint.
- Ahead of the 2008 Olympics, the government engaged in a strong regulatory campaign to clean the air.
- PM2.5 rapidly and significantly declined 2013-2017, due to standards for power plants, factories, and vehicles.
- South Asia is currently the region of the world facing the worst air pollution, but governments and communities are working to combat it.
- Delhi, India's capital, is one of the world's most polluted cities.
- Main air quality issues:
- Gas emissions & PM come mainly from transportation and factories in large, dense cities. Rural agriculture emits ammonia & nitrogen oxides. Many families burn biomass (wood, trash, etc) for heat/cooking. All these sources can combine and create terrible conditions!
- Examples of successful policies in the present & for the future:
- Ban the burning of agricultural & household waste
- Introduce more advanced factory emissions standards.
- Provide subsidies (economic help from the government) for cleaner-burning fuels like LPG.
- Long term: develop economies.
Sub-Saharan Africa
- Rajshahi, Bangladesh: greatly reduced PM10 in part by cleaning up brick ovens and using battery-powered vehicles.
Looking forward:
- China has cleaned the air of other cities as well, but there is always more work to be done.
- Economic recovery from the pandemic may include higher levels of air pollution, which should be avoided.
"Give it up" campaign encouraged wealthier people to give up their LPG fuel subsidies to help low income families
- This is a huge and diverse region, but generally has relatively low air quality standards and especially struggles with household and vehicle pollution.
- Successful policies:
- South Africa has a program that helps businesses improve their energy efficiency and reduce their waste during manufacturing.
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Access to modern energy cooking services
Looking at the world overall
Sub-Saharan Africa
- This is a huge and diverse region, but generally has relatively low air quality, and few monitoring networks.
- Nigeria and South Africa struggle with industrial and vehicle pollution, while Central and West Africa's main problems are biomass burning and dust storms.
- 99% of people in the world live in places with air quality below safe levels
- policies and progress vary a lot --> influenced by factors like a country's individual economics and politics.
- Common policies:
- cleaner production, energy efficiency and pollution reduction for industries
- the Euro 4 vehicle emission standard (2005 standard on cars' CO & NOx emissions)
- regulate open burning of solid waste (still a widespread practice)
- Many countries lack consistent monitoring
and enforcement of air quality standards.
- Some successful policies:
- South Africa: a program that helps businesses improve their energy efficiency and reduce their waste during manufacturing.
- Seychelles: improved indoor air quality by transitioning from solid fuels and inefficient cook stoves to LPG.
- Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda: Only allow low sulphur fuels.
Some goals for improvement:
establish air quality monitoring in rural areas; reduce slash and burn agriculture
Access to modern energy cooking services
Which policies are used by the most and least countries?
Individuals
Although governments & organizations have the biggest impacts, individuals also have a part to play!
United States (Past)
how can I minimize my exposure & contribution to air pollution?
Georgia
& Atlanta area
Look up AQI on airnow.gov, stay inside when air is unhealthy
Drive Less -
carpool, use the bus, bike, walk
- A deadly smog event in 1948 in a Donora, a small industrial PA town is credited with exposing the danger of air pollution to Americans, making them want laws to protect their air and health.
- 1955 Air Pollution Control Act: the first federal law on air pollution.
- 1963 Air Quality Act: the first on reducing pollutant emissions.
- Current air pollution policy is guided by 1970 Clean Air Act
- Comprehensive federal law authorizing regulations to limit emissions from industrial and mobile sources
- Required states to set and meet air quality standards
- Administered by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)
- Focused on six "criteria" air pollutants, regulating allowable concentrations
Air quality in our area has been steadily improving since the 1990s, but remains an issue.
Problems
Solutions
Advocate for your community's right to clean air, support policies
Biggest polluter: Cars (& other transport)
Other emmissions sources: Energy generation (ex. smokestacks), Open burning.
- Policy: Federal & State
- GA uses State Implementation Plan to carry out federal rules
- Specifics:
- Smokestack controls
- car emissions limits & testing
- natural gas over coal energy
- air monitoring (ex. AirEmory projects!)
- investment in transit
- The Clean Air Act was amended (changed, added onto) in 1977 & 1990 to make sure states were meeting standards and to address acid rain, ozone, air toxics, and more.
- The U.S. has made very significant decreases in emissions of pollutants.
- 98% decline in Lead emissions, in part by phasing out leaded gas.
- U.S. meets carbon monoxide (CO) standards, due to vehicle emission regulations.
- Air toxics' emissions decreased 74% 1990-2017
- SO2 emissions decreased 93% 1980-2021
- Despite improvements, 102 million people lived in counties with pollution levels above the primary NAAQS (state-level standards) in 2021.
- California is the state with the most polluted cities,
due to fire, traffic, and other concerns.
- Now, regulation is looking at ozone formation, PM, and reducing risks from toxic air pollution.
- States not meeting their standards need to catch up.
- The EPA also continues to revise air pollutant standards.
- One of the most public current air pollution issues is forest fire smoke.
- Forest fires are worsening due to climate change
- Some governments are addressing U.S. car-dependency, to bring better public transit and "active transit" infrastructure.
- We are continuing to learn how climate change and air pollution are related.
- https://www.britannica.com/technology/air-pollution-control
- https://oer.galileo.usg.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=biology-textbooks
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3532603/
- https://www.geographycasestudy.com/air-pollution/
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-020-08647-x
- https://www.epa.gov/air-quality-management-process/managing-air-quality-control-strategies-achieve-air-pollution
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK11769/
- https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-quality-national-summary
- https://www3.epa.gov/airquality/emissns.html
- https://www.ccacoalition.org/en/news/world-health-organization-releases-new-global-air-pollution-data
- https://scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/air-quality/air-pollution-solutions
- https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/decades-ago-donora-smog-disaster-exposed-perils-dirty-air
- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/17/rajshahi-bangladesh-city-air-pollution-won
- https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/19/asia/china-air-pollution-study-scli-intl-scn/index.html
- https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/air-pollution-current-and-future-challenges
- https://www.britannica.com/event/Great-Smog-of-London
- https://www.ccacoalition.org/en/content/air-pollution-measures-asia-and-pacific
- https://www.ncronline.org/news/earthbeat/clean-air-act-standards-aid-significant-reduction-air-pollution-says-new-study
- https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/36695/AAQ_ESG_EN.pdf
- https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-meets-epa-standards-for-air-quality-but-just-barely/RGUXZEKWMBG4HMCQZ3AO6QWW5Y/
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Air Pollution in the News
Most of this presentation refers to systemic, ongoing air quality issues.
However, some individual incidents also pose major air quality problems.