Air Pollution: Our Health, Economy, and Environment

In the past century we have seen great technological advances in transportation and manufacturing that have placed our country among the most advanced in the world. But despite these new innovations and ideas, the resulting waste products from factories, automobiles, and manufacturing plants have created a deteriorating air quality across the nation. Often gone unnoticed by the general public, the severity of air pollution can have a variety of adverse effects that affect not only our health, but our environment and even our economy. While San Diego residents are lucky enough to not be greatly affected by the acid rain and ozone problems of other areas in the nation, we are, from a 5-year report published by the SDAPCD, chronically affected by high concentrations of particulate matter in our air. According to the EPA, in the past decade, 4 million new cases of asthma have been reported, with 1 million new cases in children across the country. To date, 1 out of every 10 school kids have asthma-related problems which cause 13 million attacks to occur in children and adults every year. Particulate matter, which is characterized as a complex mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets, has been linked with causing asthma, chronic bronchitis, difficulty breathing, and even premature death. However, the frequency of acute and chronic respiratory illnesses pale in comparison to the other long-term effects associated with these toxic air pollutants such as organic compounds and heavy metals. High concentrations of particulate matter in the atmosphere can cause damage to the immune system, reproductive problems, and development in young children as well as upset the natural nutrient and pH levels of the soil. As a result of the increase in health problems for San Diegans, our economy is ultimately affected by particulate matter. According to a San Diego government report in 2007, the total cost of treating chronic illness caused by poor air conditions in our county alone was a staggering 4.6 billion dollars. Instead of channeling these funds into the other facets of our economy to improve our infrastructure and environmental policy as a city, we are instead forced to pool these resources to care for the symptoms of poor air quality. We are forced to pay to treat the symptoms of the problem instead of treat the problem directly, causing a bigger drain on resources in the long-run than updating and enforcing environmental laws. Ironically, the return on investment from improving environmental policy and its long-term expense are much smaller than ignoring the environment in favor of immediate returns. In addition to the health and economic strains that San Diegos air quality causes, our environment is inevitably affected. Particulate matter combines with other secondary pollutants in the air to create brown smog during sunny days and when it settles onto the soil can upset the balance of nutrients and its pH. As a result, the native flora and fauna are affected as their environment is altered to the point where in some cases, species struggle to adapt and survive. Our current air quality in San Diego is causing a number of problems that is affecting not just the health of city residents, but also our economy and our environment. With an increase in respiratory illness causing an economic drain and damaging our surroundings, it is becoming evident that stronger environmental policy is needed in order to provide for our future a healthier and more prosperous future.