Recap Air Pollution.docx

Furia, Juliet Czarina V. 2011-39000

April 17, 2015

In previous lectures, air pollution was defined as the presence in the atmosphere of one or more contaminants in such quantities and of such durations which tend to be injurious to human health or welfare, animal or plant life, or property. This recap will focus on the relationship of air pollution and climate change. A figure from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) described the radiative forcing of climate between 1750 and 2005. The said figure listed down various gases and their effects on the environment. Gases such as carbon dioxide were marked red, exhibiting a heating effect, while gases such as black carbon were marked blue, exhibiting a cooling effect. An example of the said cooling effect was felt in 1991 during the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. The eruption caused a release of tons of sulfur dioxide causing the global temperature during the said year to decrease. An effect of black carbon in the environment was exemplified through the comparison of gray and white glaciers. Because of the albedo affect, gray glaciers will absorb heat ultimately accelerating the melting of ice caps. The gray color comes from the condensation nuclei which is black carbon. Since 1977, more than 20% of the ice caps have melted and researchers, such as our professor, are continuously trying to collect evidence to prove that black carbon also affects climate change in the Philippines. In other countries, such as India, scientific evidence has proven that the monsoon has shifted because of black carbon. These monsoons used to pass through New Delhi but have now shifted their path. This resulted to droughts in New Delhi, as well as scarce water supply. In the Philippines, a similar shift in Habagat has been observed but such shift cannot be attributed to black carbon because of the lack of scientific evidence. Aside from the controversial issue of climate change, air pollution also contributes many other problems in our everyday lifestyle. Such problems include increased healthcare costs and lost work days, corrosion of buildings because of acid rain (as observed in Europe), decreased tourism because of the difficulty in attracting tourists to visit polluted environments (i.e. refusal of other countries to send athletes to Beijing during the Olympics), and problems in food production and tree growth. As a way of mitigating air pollution, measurements are made to know the amount of different types of particulate matter suspended in the atmosphere. New Delhi was recorded as having the highest PM10 concentration and Manila recorded relatively low concentrations but still above the WHO standard of 20 µg/m3. The number of vehicles in the Philippines has also doubled from only approximately 4 million in 2000 to almost 8 million in 2013. Measurements indicate that total suspended particulate matter has decreased however; the goal must be to have it below guideline values. There have also been gaps seen between the status of air quality index in different places. For example, a certain concentration of particulate matter in the atmosphere may already be considered “poor” in one country but still be considered “excellent” in others. Such gaps must be reconciled in order to have uniform and standardized guidelines of what is ‘clean air’ around the globe. Finally, it must be stressed that air pollution is ubiquitous and therefore affects everybody. Taking action against air pollution must be given high importance as it has become among the leading causes of cancer deaths worldwide and air policies must be based on scientific studies in order to achieve sound management.