Kevin Chen
Ms. Ayik
Writing 10
March 17, 2015
Causes of the Severe Air Pollution
The air pollution in Central Valley of California has been putting the residents and
the agriculturist at risk, which include the adolescents. The Central Valley is the center of
California is about 450 miles long and about 50 miles wide, which is approximately 13.7%
of California’s land mass. Central Valley’s geography is tailored for farming, which is why it
is known for one of the top agricultural producing county in California. The reason being
the ideal geography for farming is because the valley has the large patch of Class 1 soil
since Central Valley were known to be wetlands, which caused the soil to be rich in
nutrients. On top of that, there is only 25-degree temperature difference between the
mornings to night. According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, Central
Valley of California is the main producer of more than 15 fruits, vegetables, and nuts. In
addition, it also produces with over 1/5th of the Nation’s dairy. Since the Central Valley of
California is an agriculture-based economy, an estimate of 12.3 percent of jobs is based on
agriculture.
This is not to say that Central Valley of California does not have its cons. According
to the United Nations: Food and Agriculture Organization, agriculture is one of main causes
of environmental problems and also leads to health problems. First, the land pollution of
agriculture is caused by the mixture of chemical fertilizer and animal waste, which they
both contain an excessive amounts of nitrogen and phosphorous. These substances may
eventually absorb into the soil and pollute the soil and degrades the fertility. Likewise, U.S.
farmers use about 750 million pound of agricultural chemicals per year, which may cause
potential threats to crop yields as well as the ecosystem. Second, the other known pollution
from agriculture would be the water pollution. The main cause of water pollution is the
excess levels of combination between nitrogen and phosphorous, also known as fertilizer
runoff. With the support of rain, this runoff may possibly contaminate the underground
water and may also kill fish if the runoff arrives to a near river. Above all, air pollution is
the most common known source of agriculture pollution. The two major sources of air
pollution are animal waste from factory farm, transportation for agriculture, and
particulate matter. The particulate matter is made up of verities of extremely small
component, which includes acids, organic chemicals, metals, and soil or dust particles that
are dispersed by air movement. Although I grant that water and land pollution can cause
environmental problems, I still maintain that air pollution is the leading cause of pollution.
First, livestock is one of the causes of air pollution, since many of the animal waste
are stored in poor environments. Leakage of waste can cause health threats to those who
live near a factory farm because these residents are breathe in many different types of
gases that are formed from manure. If gas such as hydrogen sulfide gets released into the
air, it can cause effects, such as sore throat to seizures, and even death. Furthermore, more
than half of humanity’s greenhouse gas emissions are caused by animal agriculture.
Likewise, a large amount of emissions come from methane, which according to global
warming, methane is 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. Methane are produced
when the cows are belching (burping) and according to the U.S. Food and Agriculture
Organization, agricultural methane output may potentially increase as high at 60 percent
by 2030. In addition, as of 2011 more than 5.3 billion tons of CO2 equivalents are
contributed to greenhouse gas, which causes the heat to be trap in the atmosphere. Also,
40% of emissions come from enteric fermentation, which are livestock’s digestive process.
Not only the methane and carbon dioxide gas emissions from animal are causing a large
impact in pollution, but also the particulate matters that are being produced by
agriculturalists.
Another host of pollution in the Central Valley of California is the plantation in
agriculture, such as the particulate matters. Often times, these particulate matters come
from land preparation, wind erosion, crop harvest, and chemical fertilizers. In the work
environment, harvesting, drying, handling, storage or processing of the products are the
main causes of these dusts. (HSE, 1998) These grain dust may contain bacteria, insects, and
pesticides, or even livestock’s’ hair, skin, and manure. Due to the exposure to particulate
matters, the United States Environmental Protection Agency are extremely concerned
about particles that are 10 micrometers in diameter since small particles have the
potentials to pass through the throat and nose and get into the lungs. That is to say, these
particles can harm the heart and lungs, which may cause health problems to the residents
in Central Valley of California. Furthermore, Agriculturists have a higher chance of being
associated with respiratory health issues. In the next place, after the crops and animals are
ready to be processed, factories would bring in large amount of trucks to pick up the
products.
Lastly, In California alone, more than 3 billion gallons of diesel fuel are consumed.
Likewise, these trucks are the largest emitter of diesel particulate matter, due to the trucks
not equipped with a basic diesel particulate filter. Tom Kirchstetter, an air quality scientist
mentions that, “Diesel trucks are major sources to the formation of ozone and particulate
matter in the atmosphere, which contributes to global warming and regional change in
climate.” Both agriculture and transportation may cause similar health effects in the lungs
and the environment. According to the Air Resources Board, people who live in high truck
traffic areas suffer from asthma rates are twice as high as other areas. Not only the families
that are living near high truck traffic area are being affected, but also the drivers in the
truck. A source from Natural Resources Defense Council states that, these truck drivers that
are expose to diesel soot have as much as four times of health risk, when being compared
to the average residents in urban area.
To conclude, Central Valley of California is an agricultural-based economy, which
means a large amount of land are being used for agricultural purposes. More than half of
vegetables, fruits, and nuts that are being consumed in U.S. originate in California’s Central
Valley. Meanwhile, agriculture pollution is causing a large environmental impact in the
Central Valley of California. Many parts of agriculture’s land and water are being
contaminated with waste and excessive amounts of chemical fertilizer. In addition, the air
pollution from agriculture and distribution may cause severe health problems to the
residents in the Central Valley. The particulate matter that is being contributed by dust,
livestock, and diesel soot mainly causes these health problems. Furthermore, these health
effects may range from decreased lung function to premature death in people with heart or
lung disease. It is significant that agriculturists are aware the potential danger of pollution
from agriculture because issues may become worse over time, especially for children’s who
has asthma or other breathing difficulties.