The Problem of Air Pollution in California - Case Study Example

The Problem of Air Pollution in California Introduction Air pollution is one of the biggest environmental and health hazards throughout the United States. Based on the American Lung Association of California report, air pollution can cause as much as 2,800,000 work absenteeism; 1,300,000 school absenteeism; 1,700,000 respiratory illnesses; 9,000 hospitalization; and 6,500 premature deaths. (California Environmental Protection Agency and American Lung Association of California) Aside from its negative health impact, excessive air pollution contributes to the development of global warming (Ostro, Lipsett and Mann). As compared to the levels of air pollution in other states, California Environmental Protection Agency reported that 90% of people who are living in the state of California is breathing ‘unhealthy levels of air pollutants’ (CA EPA a). For this reason, California Air Resources Board regularly monitors the quality of air by taking air samples and conducting laboratory analysis (CA EPA b). Aiming to combat the high levels of air pollution throughout the state of California, laws and regulation with regards to air pollution caused by vehicles will be examined followed by discussing several policies and projects related to this matter. Upon identifying the related policies and/or project, the goal of each policy and project will be highlighted. Laws and Regulation on Vehicle-Related Air Pollution The U.S. Clean Air Act was passed by the Congress, Senate, and the House of Representative back in 1990. The main purpose of the Act is to ensure that the United States will be able to maintain good air quality standards to protect the health of the local people. Under the supervision of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, anyone who will violate the Act will be punishable by the law either by fine and/or imprisonment of not more than five years (EPA). Stated under the vehicle code, any person who will be caught “disconnecting, modifying, or altering a required air pollution device which is in violation of Section 27156” will be punished with a fine of US$50 – US$100 for the first offense; US$100 –US$250 for the second offense (CA EPA c). The main purpose of such law is to encourage vehicle owners to be more concern with vehicle related air pollution. Basically, the Department of Motor Vehicles is responsible for the registration of motor vehicle throughout the state of California including the renewal process and conducting the vehicle smog indexing program (CA EPA f). Based on California’s final regulation, the smog score and global warming score should be between 5 – 10 (CA EPA g). Score less than 5 can be harmful to the respiratory health of the local people as well as the development of global warming. Headed by the Department of California Highway Patrol, the same rules and regulation applies to foreign-owned commercial vehicles such that any commercial vehicle owners that are operating within the state of California are required to maintain their vehicle regularly (CA EPA d). On top of these requirements, the State Air Resources Board has the authority to conduct ‘vehicle safety and emissions inspections’ each time a vehicle crosses the California-Mexican border (CA EPA e). Also headed by the Department of California Highway Patrol, each vehicle is required to ‘stop and submit the vehicle for inspection’ whether or not the vehicle has undergone necessary car inspection for smog and global warming control (CA EPA h). The sticker issued upon going through vehicle smog and global warming inspection includes whether or not the vehicle pollution control devices is complete and functioning well. California’s Implemented and Banned Policies The Use of Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) as Oxygenate Additive to Gasoline The use of MTBE as oxygenate additive to gasoline is believed to have the ability to reduce the amount of vehicle emissions by improving its combustion. (University of California a) Basically, the use of gasoline without additives like MTBE can cause the vehicles to produce an increased of smog emission during winter season due to incomplete gasoline combustion. Upon using MTBE in areas like Wisconsin and Milwaukee back in 1990s, a lot of people started to complain about experiencing a decreased in fuel efficiency and increased water pollution aside from having experienced symptoms like headaches and other physical illnesses (Shakhashiri). For this reason, the state of California decided to ban the use of MTBE (Department of Energy). Car Manufacturers Focused on Developing Compression-Ignition (Diesel) Engines in Light Vehicles Aiming to improve the fuel economy throughout the United States, automobile manufacturers started to focus on producing compression-ignition (diesel) engines in light vehicles (University of California b). However, the use of diesel-engine vehicles can produce more air pollution as compared to gasoline-engine vehicles. As a way of promoting the importance of global warming and Clean Air Act 1990, the state of California also decided to ban the use and selling of diesel-engine vehicles (Bradsher). California Vehicle Emissions Reduction Programs As part of promoting the quality of air throughout California, the state implemented the need for technology advancement program on vehicles (University of California c). As part of promoting the use of low-emitting vehicles, California Environmental Protection Agency under the supervision of the Air Resources Board has recently implemented the rule that “heavy trucks should have new engine equipped with non-programmable engine shutdown system to limit the idling time of new and in-use sleeper berth equipped diesel trucks” (CA EPA 2008i). California’s Implemented Projects on Transportation-Caused Air Pollution Expansion of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is the most convenient, fastest, and reliable public transportation that connects people within the East Bay city area particularly from San Francisco Peninsula to Oakland, Berkeley, Fremont, Walnut Creek, and Dublin / Pleasanton, among others. (BART a; Taylar a) The main purpose behind the continuous promotion of the BART is to make a “safe, clean, reliable, and customer friendly rapid transit service” available to people who are residing within the area. (San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District) For this reason, US government ensures that BART fare remains competitive as compared to other mode of public transportation. As compared to other mode of public transportation like taxis/cabs or bus, BART is considered the cheapest since the minimum BART fare is only $1.40 per ticket (Taylar b). Despite the economic benefits of using the BART, the use of BART can significantly reduce the air pollution throughout the state of California (Lu). Aiming to continuously expand the transportation services provided by BART, the government will continue to seek partnership with other transit agencies, local communities, and some private companies to invest in BART (San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District). (See Appendix I – BART System Map on page 9) AC Transit’s Support on Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) As part of promoting the use of BART, AC Transit has a regular schedule going to and from BART stations (AC Transit a). This will enable people throughout California enjoy the convenience of using public transportation. Aside from having a destination on selected BART stations, AC Transit also provides services to and from the schools a list of 100 schools within the area (AC Transit c). (Click on List of Schools for more info ) Just like BART fares, the lowest fare for AC Transit is between US$0.85 – US$1.75 depending on the passengers’ age and/or physical disability (AC Transit b). AC Transit is actually the first transit agency that signed as a member of ‘California’s Climate Action Registry’. (AC Transit d) Being a member of the Climate Action Registry, AC Transit complied with the greenhouse emissions two years ago that the company will regularly report its carbon dioxide emissions each year. AC Transit also made an initiative to reduce its nitrogen oxide, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide emissions by using ultra-low sulfur fuel. (AC Transit d) (See Appendix II – AC Transit’s Particulate Matter (PM) Emissions: Actual and Forecast through 2007 on page 10; Appendix III – NOx Emissions: Actual and Forecast through 2007 on page 11) Increase Sales Tax on Transportation, Gasoline, and Metered Parking Government internvention can effectively control the number of private and public transportation that goes around the state of California each day. As recently proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, there will be a US$0.50 cents increase in transportation sales taxes in order to solve the problem related to highway congestion (McGreevy and Vogel). Aside from increasing sales tax from the costs of public transportation, there was also a plan to increase the state excise tax on the sales of gasoline (Riphagen). Because of the added tax on gasoline, more people with private vehicles would eventually consider the use of public transportation like AC Transit or BART. On top of increasing the costs of gasoline through excise tax, increasing the number of metered parking places throughout California is another way to encourage the people to reconsider taking the public transportation, the use of bicycle, and/or walking (De Turenne). California’s Policy to Increase the Use of Bicycling and/or Walking As part of promoting the use of bicycling and walking, California is considering the need to restudy the use of land structures within each community. By developing pedestrian and bicycling pathways, the local government is expecting an increase of 50% bicycling and walking within California (Davis, Contreras-Sweet and Morales). The main reason for the promotion of bicycling and walking is not only to solve California’s congestion problems but also reduce the high levels of air pollution within the state. Recommended Solutions In relation to the past efforts of California state government in terms of maintaining clean air for everyone, the best alternative solution is to increase the costs of private transportation by imposing higher excise tax not only with the gasoline but also the sales of new vehicles. By making it too expensive to use private cars, more people within the state of California will be forced to use the public transportation provided by AC Transit and BART. The Air Resources Board should also continuously implement new rules and regulations with regards to the unnecessary vehicle-related air pollution. The use of bicycle and walking is also one of the best solutions to the air-pollution problem. For the local people to be encouraged to make use of bicycles and walking options, development of pedestrian and bicycling infrastructure is not enough. Instead, the local government officials should also do walking and bicycling to encourage more people to consider this option. By becoming a good example to the people, it would be easier on the part of the local government to implement this option. Conclusion Air pollution problem has been a long time problem in California. Aiming to lessen the high levels of air pollution within the state, the government has tried a long list of possible solutions. Among the policies and programs that exist in California, the best alternative solution is to encourage people to use bicycling and walking aside from the use of the enhanced public transportation like the AC Transit and BART. Appendix I – BART System Map Source: San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, 2003 Appendix II – AC Transit’s Particulate Matter (PM) Emissions: Actual and Forecast through 2007 Source: AC Transit’s Particulate Matter Emissions, 2008 Appendix III – NOx Emissions: Actual and Forecast through 2007 Source: NOx Emissions: Actual and Forecast through 2007, 2008 References: "AC Transit." 2008a. Maps & Schedules. 26 September 2008 . "AC Transit." 2008b. Bus Fares as of September 6, 2005. 26 September 2008 . "AC Transit." 2008c. Buses to Schools. 26 September 2008 . "AC Transit." 2008d. Reducing Emissions. 26 September 2008 . "BART." 2008a. Bay Area Rapid Transit - Overview. 26 September 2008 . Bradsher, Keith. "The New York Times." 27 November 1998. New Rules Alter Plans for Diesel Engines. 26 September 2008 . "CA EPA." 23 September 2008b. Air Resources Board: Ambient Air Quality Monitoring. 26 September 2008 . "CA EPA." 22 February 2007a. Air Resources Board: Health and Air Pollution. 26 September 2008 . "CA EPA." 2008c. VEHICLE CODE. Division 18 Penalties and Disposition of Fees, Fines, and Forfeitures. Chapter 1 Penalties. Article 1 Public Offenses. 26 September 2008 . "CA EPA." 2008d. VEHICLE CODE: Division 2 Administration. Chapter 2 Department of the California Highway Patrol. Article 3 Powers and Duties. 26 September 2008 . "CA EPA." 2008e. VEHICLE CODE: Division 2 Administration. Chapter 2 Department of the California Highway Patrol. Article 3 Powers and Duties. 26 September 2008 . "CA EPA." 2008f. VEHICLE CODE: Division 2 Administration. Chapter 1 The Department of Motor Vehicles. Article 2 Powers and Duties. 26 September 2008 . "CA EPA." 2008g. UPDATED INFORMATIVE DIGEST: Adoption of Amendments to the Emission Control and Smog Index Labels Regulations. 26 September 2008 . "CA EPA." 2008h. VEHICLE CODE. Division 2 Administration. Chapter 4 Administration and Enforcement. Article 1 Lawful Orders and Inspections. 26 September 2008 . "CA EPA." 11 June 2008i. Heavy-Duty vehicle Idling Emission Reduction Program. 26 September 2008 . "California Environmental Protection Agency and American Lung Association of California." January 2004. Recent Research Findings: Health Effects of Particulate Matter and Ozone Air Pollution, January 2004. 26 September 2008 . Davis, Gray, Maria Contreras-Sweet and Jeff Morales. May 2002. Report to the Legislature. 26 September 2008 . De Turenne, Veronique. "Los Angeles Times." 19 September 2008. City Workers Hogging Metered Parking Places in Van Nuys. 26 September 2008 . "Department of Energy." 27 March 2003. Status and Impact of State MTBE Ban . 26 September 2008 . "EPA." 2008. 1990 Amendments to the Clean Air Act. 26 September 2008 . Lu, Xiao-Yun. 19 February 2006. Using BART for Goods Movement. 26 September 2008 . McGreevy, Patrick and Nancy Vogel. "Lost Angeles Times." 26 September 2008. Sales Tax Measure to Go on L.A. County Ballot. 26 September 2008 . Ostro, Bart D., et al. "Air Pollution and Respiratory Morbidity among Adults in Southern California." American Journal of Epidemiology (1993): Vol. 137, No. 7, pp. 691 - 700. Riphagen, Joel. "LAO Recommended Legislation." May 2004. Increase and Index the State Gas Tax. 26 September 2008 . "San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District." 2008. BART Strategic Plan. Adopted 1999, Updated 2003. 26 September 2008 . Shakhashiri, Bassam Z. "University of Wisconsin-Madison ." 2008. METHYL TERTIARY-BUTYL ETHER. 26 September 2008 . Taylar, Ingrid. 2008a. San Francisco Muni and BART. 26 September 2008 . —. 2008b. BART Schedules, Tickets and Fares. 26 September 2008 . "University of California." July 2000a. A Credible Database Regarding the Environmental Impacts of MTBE for Use in the Policy Decision Debate Regarding MTBE as a Gasoline Additive. 26 September 2008 . "University of California." June 1999b. A Study of the Air Quality Impacts of the Introduction of Significant Numbers of Diesel Vehicles into the Light Duty Vehicle Fleets in Five Key American Cities. 26 September 2008 . "University of California." 2000c. Review of the California Technology Advancement Program for vehicles. 26 September 2008 . Read More