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| This picture shows different pollutants and indexes compared to the United States and the state of Washington. |
This picture shows
how the air would look
smokey when highly
polluted with pollutants
This picture shows
the pollution being sent
out into the air from
wood burning stoves in
the home.
SUMMARY
Yakima has shown to be the area with second worst air quality in the state
after Tacoma. This has been found and shown by a state Department of Ecology
analysis. In sixth place was Wenatchee, not being much better with their air
quality and amount of air pollution. In the winter of 2011 Wenatchee had a
period of 42 days where their air quality was in high and unhealthy levels.
This duration ranged from October 1st to March 31st.
Including the four winters before this one, there were 32 day periods where the
air quality was highly polluted and unhealthy. This period was shown to be the
time when most woodstoves are used. Redfield-Wilder, an ecology spokesperson
states that the air quality is constantly decreasing even after attempts were
made to decrease the amount of outdoor burning, winter wood smoke, and diesel
emissions. She says that they are getting to a point where it can have harmful
impacts on the health of citizens. The source from where most of the pollution
in Wenatchee comes from is woodstoves. Redfield-Wilder also states that the
reason the fine particle pollution in the air is so high in Wenatchee because
of smoke getting trapped in the valley more easily, because of the fact that it
is a very narrow and long valley. Fine particle pollution can be very harmful
to health because of all the side effects it can cause in humans. It gets deep
into the lungs and it is similar to smoking cigarettes. Fine particle pollution
is the cause of an estimated 1,100 deaths, and $190 million used in health care
cost in the state of Washington yearly. The area of Wenatchee reported having a
fine particle measurement of just less than 30 micrograms per cubic meter of
air.
OPINION:
After reading this article I am very surprised on how bad
air pollution can get, and I never knew that air quality has been measured and
areas have been put into a ranking system of lowest air quality. I actually had
never even heard of Wenatchee, and that the main source of pollution is wood
stoves. It seems kind of odd to me that something like wood stoves would be
such a high source of pollution while industrial factories and burning of fuels
isn’t at the same level of pollution. I think that maybe different types of
pollutions are measured differently and for that reason this area has shown to
be the worst in air pollution and air quality. This specific idea of air
pollution caused by burning reminds of the negative impacts we learned about
fossil fuels in class. It seems to compare to coal that we learned is the
dirtiest of all fossil fuels and produces large amounts of pollution compared
to oil and natural gas. I find it very upsetting that people in these areas are
not realizing that they are putting their own health and the health of others around
them at risk due to air quality. I would think that air is something that we
live on, and people would at least think or care to maintain health and high
air quality and less on making money off these different types of energy
sources. I think that Wenatchee sets a good example to other states and cities
on how critical having bad air pollution can get. To think that just breathing
in “fresh air” is like smoking a cigarette, I personally would not even want to
step outside of my house. I think it is ridiculous that when we want to go
outside to get some fresh air and help our bodies, we are actually harming
ourselves.
QUESTIONS
1) Why is wood stove burning such a big pollution source? How do they work and what chemicals/pollutants do they release that cause the air to become so polluted, and if this is known then why are people still using the wood stoves?
1) Why is wood stove burning such a big pollution source? How do they work and what chemicals/pollutants do they release that cause the air to become so polluted, and if this is known then why are people still using the wood stoves?
2) Why is Wenatchee more polluted in air quality then
metropolitan areas where there are constant uses of fuel, and factories?
3) What would you do if you were living in Wenatchee and had
no way to leave? How big of an impact would this have on you? Would you take some
kind of action, and if yes, what would you do?
4) How far down on the list of poor air quality is our state
of Pennsylvania? Is our air quality bad whatsoever compared to the air quality
of Yakima, and Wenatchee? If so, how can we decrease or prevent this?
5) Can wood stove burning be replaced by any other source
that would not pollute the environment? Is there a way government could step in
and enforce citizens to decrease the amount of pollutants they are putting in
the air?
1 comments:
ReplyDeleteJulia NolinMay 23, 2012 1:40 PM
Opinion: Like Chandhi, I cannot believe that air pollution can get this bad. The fact that fine particle pollution is the cause of an estimated 1,100 deaths, and $190 million used in health care cost in the state of Washington yearly is appalling. This article really puts pollution in perspective for me. I am finally starting to realize how bad air pollution is in some areas and how bad it could get around the country and around the world. Our society needs to find a way to decrease the amount of fine particle pollution because it is causing many problems in the Washington state area and could start to cause problems in other states. I also find it interesting that the main source of this pollution in Wenatchee is woodstoves. I agree with Chandhi and never would have guessed woodstoves could do so much harm. This connects to what we learned in class because we talked about a solar oven. A solar oven is an oven that is powered by the sun. I think that instead of using wooden stoves to heat things, people in the Washington area should adapt these solar ovens. Since wooden stoves are the leading cause of fine particle pollution in Washington, people need to find a replacement for the wooden stove and I think that these solar ovens could be the perfect solution. People are wasting money on medical bills and giving their lives away because of pollution that could be stopped. Our society needs to start using more alternative energy sources that will not cause this much pollution.
Expansion: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/hwtr/p2/index.html
This is a website about prevention and planning for pollution in Washington. It explains to citizens of the state how to prevent pollution and what kind of pollution is occurring in the state. One of the major points that this website hits on is businesses. It tells businesses what chemicals to use instead of hazardous ones that cause pollution.
Opinion: Before reading this article, I thought air pollution was simply air pollution. I knew that it got bad, but I did not realize it could get this severe. I’m curious as to why the state of Washington does not do something about helping the reduction of air pollution, especially in the extremely polluted areas of the state. The fact that there are large periods of time in which the air is highly polluted and unhealthy, and that no one is trying to stop the air pollution, is appalling. I think the people of Washington, and everywhere with bad air pollution, should try to reduce their actions, such as burning wood stoves, to help stop the air pollution. This reminds me of how in class, we discussed burning fossil fuels and the pollution that is released into the air. When the people in Washington are doing things, such as burning outdoors or using wood stoves, emissions of pollution are put into the air the same way fossil fuels put pollution into the air. I hope these polluted areas can eventually find alternative ways to do things, so they can reduce the air pollution in their area.
ReplyDeleteExpansion:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/air/health_community/Health_info.html
This link talks about air pollution, and the health risks that are potentially associated with it in the state of Washington. It explains how certain age groups, such as young children or the elderly, are impacted by the air pollution. The health risks can vary from the reduction of lung function to the aggravation heart disease. This web page is very descriptive, and allows people to realize how air pollution is caused, and what health issues often occur from it.
Opinion: This article was eye-opening to me, and it definitely scared me a little bit. Yes we have all learned about air pollution and how bad it is, but I don’t think I ever really paid attention to all the talk about it. After reading this article I realize that I should probably pay more attention to all the talk about air pollution. The thing that scared me the most was the fine particle pollution. It is particles of pollution that are so small; it is like someone smoking cigarettes. That is scary because I know how bad smoking is, and the fact that our air we are breathing is just as bad. The fine particle pollution gets trapped in our lungs and is the cause of about 1,100 deaths a year. That is a huge amount of deaths from little particles of pollution in our air. I remember reading an article about the fine article pollution in class, but this put in into perspective for me. Also, I found it shocking that Tacoma, Washington has the worst air pollution. I have always thought about Washington being an area where there was a lot of open space and forests, and I would have thought that a big city would be worse than Tacoma. I have always wanted to go to Washington, but I may have to wait and see if they get there air pollution under control before I go there. I hope that they can figure out how to stop the fine particle pollution soon, because that is really scary, and it causes a lot of deaths in the US.
ReplyDeleteExpansion: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101004151702.htm
This article talks about how the pollution in Puget Sound water has been decreasing, due to the regulations that Washington has been cracking down on. Also the population of Washington has been taught more on the prevention of toxic waste going into the water. It is good to see that the population and state government has been trying and succeeding in the decreasing of pollution in the Puget Sound water.
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ReplyDeleteOpinion: I have read a lot of articles like this one and all I can say is how terrible it is that we have such bad air quality all over the world. The air quality in Tacoma, Yakima, and Wenatchee are some of the many places that have poor air qualities and can be very unhealthy to others. I, like Chandni, never realized that air pollution is measured and areas are put into a certain ranking in a ranking system from good air quality to hazardous air quality. I think it is good that they have a system like that so people can be more aware of what they are breathing in and take precaution during those unhealthy days. I also found it interesting that the main source of pollution is woodstove. I agree with Chandni when she says how upsetting it is that people in those polluted areas do not realize they are putting not only themselves but other at risk of obtaining health problems. I hope we can find a solution to this air quality problem because when it comes to my future (at the rate we are going), it will be harder to breath for me and my children.
ReplyDeleteQuestions
1) What other cities or towns are being effected by air quality and what are some of the effects on the town or city’s people?
2) Besides wood stoves, what are some other contributors to the air quality in Tacoma, Yakima, and Wenatchee?
3) What will happen to the environments over a period of time where the air is polluted?