AIR POLLUTION-Jennifer Andrade

We are living unsustainably by wasting, depleting, and degrading the earth’s natural capital at an accelerating rate (Miller, Spoolman, 2013).  In many parts of the world, forests are shrinking, deserts are expanding, topsoil is eroding, and suburbs are replacing croplands. Furthermore, according to evidence found by Van Doren, as the atmosphere is getting warmer, glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising, and floods, droughts, severe weather, and forest fires are increasing. The biggest environmental problem is POLLUTION, which is contamination of the environment by a chemical or heat to a level that is harmful to the health, survival, or activities of humans or other organisms (Miller, Spoolman, 2013). The biggest contributor is the burning of coal and gasoline and the dumping of chemicals into rivers and oceans. Eventually, harming the air we breathe in.

According to authors, at least 2.4 million people worldwide die prematurely each year, an average of nearly 274 deaths every hour, from the effects of air pollution. In the United States, the EPA estimates that the annual number of deaths related to indoor and outdoor pollution ranges from 150,000 to 350,000 people. In addition, we still have to take into account all the people that suffer from asthma attacks and other respiratory disorders. Coal power plants, is responsible for as many as 68,000 premature deaths a year in the United States (2013). 

“human activity is putting such a strain on the natural functions of Earth that the ability of the planet’s ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted.”

This matters to me because this is happening in my neighborhood and it needs to end. I live in City of La Puente, just down the street from City of Industry, a very industrialized city. In recent times, there has been an undergoing investigation against Quemetco Inc., a battery recycling plant in City of Industry.  Air Quality Management District has found that the risk was too high and asked Quemetco to lower its cancer risk; Quemetco is releasing a carcinogen named arsenic, this is very harmful for the environment, biodiversity, and for humans. In addition, lead has been found in the soil. After reading this and getting informed, it really hits home. I cannot believe this is continually being done without any consequence. I am a strong believer of creating and treating the environment with care and overall making sure that there is no harm involved. Unfortunately, cities do not look for the best interest of the community.

OUR  COMMUNITY

Sylvia Medina

“Yo Sylvia, mi opinion es, de vivir en una ciudad donde estamos rodeados de compnas que despiden tantos toxicos es algo que no podemos cambiar y toda la poblacion estan un ambiente de alto riesgo de contraer cancer. Yo siento que lo mas que podemos hacer es tartar de llevar una dieta saludable y protegernos lo mas possible de el ambiente contaminado. Lo malo es que no lo podemos cambia res triste pero es la realidad.”

“I Sylvia, my opinion is, to live in a city where we are surrounded by compounds that release so many toxins is something that we can not change and the entire population is in an environment of high risk of getting cancer. I feel that the most we can do is to eat a healthy diet and protect ourselves as much as possible from the contaminated environment. The bad thing is that we cannot change it; it is sad but it’s the reality.”

Jorge Luna

“Yo como residente de la Ciudad de La Puente y siendo vecinos de la Ciudad de Industry, que esta ciudad causiona much contaminacion a nuestro medio ambiente. Primero, con tantas fabricas y tambien por el tren de carga que pasa todo el dia causando tanta contaminacion afectando a mi y a mi familia. No cuenta con espacios verdes como parques. Nececitamos mas cosas verdes para poder empezar a limpiar nuestro aire. Como consecuencia nos trae muchas enfermedades respiratorias y que aveces resultan en cancer. Esto no es corecto necesitamos tomar accion encontra de esto.”

"As a resident of the City of La Puente and being neighbors of the City of Industry, this city causes a lot of pollution to our environment. First, with so many factories and by the freight train that passes all day causing so much pollution to families and us. It does not have green spaces like parks. We need more green things to start cleaning our air. As a consequence, it brings many respiratory diseases and sometimes results in cancer. This is not correct we need to take action on this.”

Jorge Moreno

“I feel that it is very unfortunate that low-income communities like La Puente have to suffer from big corporations that are not being regulated or controlled appropriately. The City of Industry I feel is in it for the profit and not so much for what is best for the community. City of La Puente should make a bigger effort to protect its community by enforcing safety standards that will create a safety environment to live in and should work alongside City of Industry to regulate the amount of emissions done by these big corporations. We should not only leave it up to our elected officials, our community members should make a bigger effort for their own well-being and for their community. We as a community should be more proactive about what is happening in front of us. These corporations are coming in and we must make sure that they are here in the best interest of the community. In addition, not only are these industries polluting, but also we have the traffic that is coming in. For example, commercial trucks, we also have the cargo train that is located in the City of Industry next to La Puente all of this creating high levels of pollutants. In the end, unfortunately the industrial economy is going to continue to grow; based on current observations I’ve seen the construction of more factories in places where it could’ve for recreational purposes and is not going to stop. We must continue to be proactive and aware of what is happening in our community.”

TAKE ACTION

References:

Environmental Topics. (2018, February 20). Retrieved April 5, 2018, from https://www.epa.gov/environmental-topics

Essick, P. (2017, October 17). Air Pollution Causes, Effects, and Solutions. Retrieved April 5, 2018, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/globalwarming/pollution/

Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S. (2019). Environmental science. Boston, MA, USA: Cengage.

Scauzillo, S. (2017, August 30). Want to know about health risks from City of Industry battery plant? Go to this meeting. Retrieved April 6, 2018, from https://www.sgvtribune.com/2016/06/09/want-to-know-about-health-risks-from-city-of-industry-battery-plant-go-to-this-meeting/