Air Pollution in Houston

Introduction

Houston has been facing an air pollution problem which affects our daily lives. With the establishment of numerous companies and refineries, the smoke and chemicals from them, and the enormous amount of automobile usage contribute to air pollution. The quality of air that Houstonians have been inhaling is detrimental to their health and it consequently places them at risk of suffering from major diseases like asthma, heart disease, and stroke. Although many controls have been considered to reduce air pollution in Houston, more needs to be done to provide suitable air quality for present and future generations.

In order to overcome such problems, Texas lawmakers should compel certain companies to install more pollution controls and impose stiff penalties when they break the law.

Assessment of Current Situation

The current situation in air pollution control has plenty of room for progress with the proper implementation of strong strategies. Despite having archived discussions about contamination issues in Houston, there has been no systematic effort to compare relative risks among the plethora of airborne emissions that contribute to pollution-related health issues. Strikingly, Houston has recorded some of the highest levels of dangerous pollutants within the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone, treating air toxins in Houston as a residual issue to be resolved through the application of technology-based measures. Air quality is an ethical issue; no one should have the right to make hazardous chemical changes to air they don’t own and others must breathe. Moreover, cleaning our air is vital for attracting new jobs, protecting the value of our homes, and safeguarding the respiratory health of young people who we hope will make Houston their home. We have made incredible progress on the State Implementation Plan to reduce ozone, but we must not neglect air toxins. Simultaneously, the City of Houston implemented a region-based air toxins reduction strategy to address health risks deemed unacceptable and an allegedly inadequate regulatory response from state and federal agencies (Cerosnky). The city’s push for local control over stationary sources of air pollutants presents a unique opportunity to study the selection and implementation of policy tools and to evaluate their impact on the design of future air pollution control strategies.

The Benefits of Change

Reduction of air pollution would eventually contribute to better health quality and the environment. If the air quality improves, then there is a high chance that people can breathe fresh air, which is good for their health. However, if the quality degrades, people have to suffer from different diseases, and it becomes a primary cause of their death. Moreover, it does not only affect human lives but also has other consequences on the environment like reduction in precipitation, decrease in crop fields and livestock productivity, an increase in fires and insect pests, and the prevalence of diseases transmitted by food, water, and insects (Mackenzie). So, reducing pollution indirectly refers to saving lives from diseases, hospital costs, and death.

Counterarguments

The arguments countering air pollution control are cost-effectiveness, accessibility of emissions control technology, and limiting regulations. The cost-effectiveness of rational discharge standards is very poor. Furthermore, the major hypothetical focus of air pollution reduction efforts is to achieve a completely unpolluted environment at no cost. Given that this objective is unattainable, the realistic goal is to maintain a suitably clean environment at a reasonable cost, with this cost properly distributed among industries, car owners, homeowners, and other pollution sources. An air pollution control philosophy is a fundamental set of ideas about what constitutes a suitably clean environment, a reasonable cost, and an equitable distribution of that cost (Bruhl). Another factor opposing air pollution control is the state’s regulations and laws. Some state regulations limit the proper implementation of emission control devices, leading to increased, rather than decreased, air pollution (Bruhl). In contrast, a basic pollution control philosophy and its implementing regulations should be understandable to all involved in the effort. They should not require legal interpretation of every word. Therefore, the government should explore potential alternatives for cost-effective air pollution control and implement appropriate regulations against pollution.

Recommendations

The Texas lawmakers should properly implement laws against pollution control, install cost-effective technologies, and significantly improve education about the environment. This can be achieved through more proficient utilization of devices, the use of less polluting petroleum devices, an increased use of non-fossil energy sources (as long as they are compatible with other policy goals), the use of newer and more environmentally friendly combustion technologies, and stricter control of air pollutant emissions. Additionally, lawmakers can cooperate to improve the availability and quality of data on air pollutant emissions from different categories of polluters.

Environmental education plays an extremely key and crucial role in preparing people to address global environmental issues. People need continuous education, especially in the environmental area, because the environment has been changing rapidly (Sudarmadi et al., 2001). Education related to the environment should be given to everyone, starting at the school level. This will allow children to learn about the importance of a clean environment and bring about changes in the future.

Conclusion

Although lawmakers have initiated laws and regulations against polluters, they have not been implemented properly. The more pollution there is, the more the environment degrades, which results in poor health for individuals. Lawmakers should force polluting companies, such as oil refineries, food companies, and energy companies, to install eco-friendly technologies and create formal greenhouse gas emissions reduction plans. Significant room for improvement remains in emissions reduction, but it is possible they could be implemented correctly. Lawmakers are not the only ones responsible; every individual should be aware of environmental degradation and work towards improving the environment by getting involved in government programs. In this way, the better the earth, the better our lives would be.

Works Cited

A child at risk of asthma. Online Photo. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-5182695/Children-exposed-air-pollution-risk-asthma.html. Accessed 02 May 2018.

Bruhl, Rebecca J., et al. “Case Study of Municipal Air Pollution Policies: Houston’s Air Toxic Control Strategy under the White Administration, 2004-2009.” Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 47, no. 9, 07 May 2013, pp. 4022-4028. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1021/es305296n.

Ceronsky, Megan. “The Many Benefits of Reducing Carbon Pollution from Existing Power Plants.” Climate 411, 27 May 2014, blogs.edf.org/climate411/2014/05/15/the-many-benefits-of-reducing-carbon-pollution-from-existing-power-plants/. Accessed 22 April 2018.

Eco-friendly equipment. Online Photo http://www.refiningequipment.com/products/No-pollution-pyrolysis-oil-refining-equipment.html. Accessed 02 March 2018.

Explosion at Pasadena. Online Photo. http://airalliancehouston.org/events/petroleum-refinery-rule-hearing/. Accessed 02 May 2018.

Mackenzie, Jillian. “Air Pollution: Everything You Need to Know.” NRDC, 9 Jan. 2018, www.nrdc.org/stories/air-pollution-everything-you-need-know.

Texas Clean Air Project. Environment Texas, https://environmenttexas.org/programs/txe/texas-clean-air-project. Accessed 22 April 2018.

SciDev.Net. “Climate Change and Insect-Borne Disease: Facts and Figures.” SciDev.Net, www.scidev.net/global/policy/feature/climate-change-and-insect-borne-disease-facts-and–1.html.

Sexton, Ken, et al. “Environmental Health Perspectives.” National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Oct. 2007, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2022677/. Accessed 22 April 2018.

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