Environment
Los Angeles is one of the largest metropolis in California. Its citizens, huge corporations, and businesses are what made the city a diverse community today. However, a global trend that has been problematic for many years threatens the many accomplishments in the present and in the near future. Climate changes, also known as Global Warming is a national crises affecting the entire world. However, its effect on Los Angles has been impacting the water supply, air quality, and endangerment of human health. The section looks at the many different aspects and programs in Los Angeles to reduce gas emissions in the city, which will reduce Global Warming problems and make the city a greener place.
The focus of the city is to limit carbon dioxide production created by providing municipal services to the people of Los Angeles. When reducing carbon dioxide, the infrared light that the Earth emits will not be trapped within its surface, which help slow the pace of global heating and limit the impact on our environment. One technique that the city develop is to calculate the greenhouse gas effect in each and every city of Los Angeles. This will bring awareness to the people of how much emission that is being release per day in our everyday life. In fact, between 1990 and 2007, the city reduced carbon dioxide production by 7%, despite of the 12.5% increase in population[1]. This is due to the generation of electrical power and conservation of energy that is adapted by many corporations, businesses, and homes today.
GreenLA: An Action Plan to Lead Nation in Fighting Global Warming, May 2007
The GreenLA Climate Action Plan solely focuses on energy efficiency. The “greening power from the largest municipal utility in the United Stated[1],” is to help and united Angelenos and make Los Angeles environmentally-friendly community. In fact, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is planning to increase its renewable fuel and energy source to 20% by 2010 and to 35% by 2020. This will advocate conserving energy among the community, which can contribute largely to meet the goal of emission reduction. In fact, LADWP is distributing fluorescent light bulges to every households in the city to decrease energy usage. The project requires massive amount of support throughout all of Los Angeles areas and encourage participation in making the city a greener and healthier place. This applies heavily to large buildings and corporations that requires light sources, cooling systems and heating systems to be turned on throughout the day.
Reducing the greenhouse gas emissions to 35% in 1990 by the year 2020 is one of the primary objectives of the city. The emphasis is solely based on municipal facilities and operations, while lightly addressing programs to reduce emissions in the community. Ranging from obtaining wind power electricity production and energy efficiency can modify buildings, fleet vehicles to efficient models, and reducing water consumptions. For instance, the city uses less diesel gas in fleet vehicles, which will lead to emission reductions and will accumulate to the city’s emissions reporting. In 2013, the United Stated department of Energy Annual Survey shows that the emission reduction program in the city has reduced approximately 90,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. The city is comprised of 5,000 alternative fuel vehicles. In fact, Los Angeles was the very first city to develop and incorporate fuel vehicles fleet for mundane use. In addition, it increases residential recycling due to the curbside recycling program that is attributed to the community of LA. These are some protocols to lower the greenhouse gas in Los Angeles and to be able to reach the quota of 35% emission reduction. The following are advices on how to make the community of Los Angeles a model city of energy-efficiency[1]:
· Techniques that are used to save energy is as listed:
o Increase renewable energy to 20% by 2010. This includes wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal
o Reduction of coal-fired power plants and corporations
o Increase natural gas-fired power plants and biogas co-firing of natural gas-fired power plants
· Transforming Los Angeles into an energy efficient city:
o Reduction of energy usage from all city departments
o Install “cool-roofs” on newly remodeled buildings and as well as old buildings
o refine energy efficiency at drinking water treatment and distribution facilities
o Maximize wastewater treatment and garbage disposals
o Increase the level and type of rebates for customers who purchases energy efficient appliances, windows, lighting systems, and cooling and heating systems
o Minimize high energy efficient refrigerators sold in stores
· Transportation efficiency can help reduce massive amounts of emissions:
o Promote walking and bicycle programs. A website was created to encourage this: http://www.bicyclela.org./. This website is to provide destination and routes of bicycle parking lots and other transit to encourage a healthier way to go to different location in the city and work[2].
o Increase awareness of “carpooling” going to and from work. This can decrease a great deal amount of gasoline usage.
· Open more green spaces such as:
o Create new parks
o Plant new trees
o Identify and promote locations of green businesses that advocates the issue
o Create partnerships with local universities to help fund researches, developments, and production of environmentally-friendly technologies and products
o Revitalize Los Angeles rivers to create more open and greener places
Los Angeles is one of the largest metropolis in California. Its citizens, huge corporations, and businesses are what made the city a diverse community today. However, a global trend that has been problematic for many years threatens the many accomplishments in the present and in the near future. Climate changes, also known as Global Warming is a national crises affecting the entire world. However, its effect on Los Angles has been impacting the water supply, air quality, and endangerment of human health. The section looks at the many different aspects and programs in Los Angeles to reduce gas emissions in the city, which will reduce Global Warming problems and make the city a greener place.
The focus of the city is to limit carbon dioxide production created by providing municipal services to the people of Los Angeles. When reducing carbon dioxide, the infrared light that the Earth emits will not be trapped within its surface, which help slow the pace of global heating and limit the impact on our environment. One technique that the city develop is to calculate the greenhouse gas effect in each and every city of Los Angeles. This will bring awareness to the people of how much emission that is being release per day in our everyday life. In fact, between 1990 and 2007, the city reduced carbon dioxide production by 7%, despite of the 12.5% increase in population[1]. This is due to the generation of electrical power and conservation of energy that is adapted by many corporations, businesses, and homes today.
GreenLA: An Action Plan to Lead Nation in Fighting Global Warming, May 2007
The GreenLA Climate Action Plan solely focuses on energy efficiency. The “greening power from the largest municipal utility in the United Stated[1],” is to help and united Angelenos and make Los Angeles environmentally-friendly community. In fact, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is planning to increase its renewable fuel and energy source to 20% by 2010 and to 35% by 2020. This will advocate conserving energy among the community, which can contribute largely to meet the goal of emission reduction. In fact, LADWP is distributing fluorescent light bulges to every households in the city to decrease energy usage. The project requires massive amount of support throughout all of Los Angeles areas and encourage participation in making the city a greener and healthier place. This applies heavily to large buildings and corporations that requires light sources, cooling systems and heating systems to be turned on throughout the day.
Reducing the greenhouse gas emissions to 35% in 1990 by the year 2020 is one of the primary objectives of the city. The emphasis is solely based on municipal facilities and operations, while lightly addressing programs to reduce emissions in the community. Ranging from obtaining wind power electricity production and energy efficiency can modify buildings, fleet vehicles to efficient models, and reducing water consumptions. For instance, the city uses less diesel gas in fleet vehicles, which will lead to emission reductions and will accumulate to the city’s emissions reporting. In 2013, the United Stated department of Energy Annual Survey shows that the emission reduction program in the city has reduced approximately 90,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. The city is comprised of 5,000 alternative fuel vehicles. In fact, Los Angeles was the very first city to develop and incorporate fuel vehicles fleet for mundane use. In addition, it increases residential recycling due to the curbside recycling program that is attributed to the community of LA. These are some protocols to lower the greenhouse gas in Los Angeles and to be able to reach the quota of 35% emission reduction. The following are advices on how to make the community of Los Angeles a model city of energy-efficiency[1]:
· Techniques that are used to save energy is as listed:
o Increase renewable energy to 20% by 2010. This includes wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal
o Reduction of coal-fired power plants and corporations
o Increase natural gas-fired power plants and biogas co-firing of natural gas-fired power plants
· Transforming Los Angeles into an energy efficient city:
o Reduction of energy usage from all city departments
o Install “cool-roofs” on newly remodeled buildings and as well as old buildings
o refine energy efficiency at drinking water treatment and distribution facilities
o Maximize wastewater treatment and garbage disposals
o Increase the level and type of rebates for customers who purchases energy efficient appliances, windows, lighting systems, and cooling and heating systems
o Minimize high energy efficient refrigerators sold in stores
· Transportation efficiency can help reduce massive amounts of emissions:
o Promote walking and bicycle programs. A website was created to encourage this: http://www.bicyclela.org./. This website is to provide destination and routes of bicycle parking lots and other transit to encourage a healthier way to go to different location in the city and work[2].
o Increase awareness of “carpooling” going to and from work. This can decrease a great deal amount of gasoline usage.
· Open more green spaces such as:
o Create new parks
o Plant new trees
o Identify and promote locations of green businesses that advocates the issue
o Create partnerships with local universities to help fund researches, developments, and production of environmentally-friendly technologies and products
o Revitalize Los Angeles rivers to create more open and greener places
Pollution
As of July 2014, Los Angeles garnered a population of 10,017,068[3] with booming enterprises, corporations, and business buildings. It is consider one of the major cities in the US that is prone to pollution crisis. In fact, it has always been ranked number 1 as the most polluted location in the US due to its overcrowded freeways and roads[4]. This heavily congested city, especially during rush hours, have made the city very compact and dense. However, the city of Los Angeles have been improving to reduce its gas emissions over the past years. In fact, the technique provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to identify the air quality we breathe in is shown in the table below.
Table 1: Air Quality Index, provided by the EPA[5]
The table is a representation made by the EPA to physically indicate the air quality in the cities of the US. The air quality index (AQI) is calculated based on the levels of major pollutants in air such as particle pollution, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and ground-level ozone. These pollutants are recorded everyday across the country, which help measures the AQI values of individual pollutants and AQI for the entire day. As seen in the table above, the air quality index runs from 0 to 500, which is divided into six general categories, corresponding to a different level of health concerns. This also comes with recommendations of the different levels of pollution. For instance, when AQI is above 150, children and adults with lung diseases are expected to stay indoors, as it could be detrimental to their health. This particular outline is one system that can help reduce pollution in the area. When AQI reaches greater than 150, then the awareness of danger will arise in the city and the community can act on it before it worsens.
As of July 2014, Los Angeles garnered a population of 10,017,068[3] with booming enterprises, corporations, and business buildings. It is consider one of the major cities in the US that is prone to pollution crisis. In fact, it has always been ranked number 1 as the most polluted location in the US due to its overcrowded freeways and roads[4]. This heavily congested city, especially during rush hours, have made the city very compact and dense. However, the city of Los Angeles have been improving to reduce its gas emissions over the past years. In fact, the technique provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to identify the air quality we breathe in is shown in the table below.
Table 1: Air Quality Index, provided by the EPA[5]
The table is a representation made by the EPA to physically indicate the air quality in the cities of the US. The air quality index (AQI) is calculated based on the levels of major pollutants in air such as particle pollution, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and ground-level ozone. These pollutants are recorded everyday across the country, which help measures the AQI values of individual pollutants and AQI for the entire day. As seen in the table above, the air quality index runs from 0 to 500, which is divided into six general categories, corresponding to a different level of health concerns. This also comes with recommendations of the different levels of pollution. For instance, when AQI is above 150, children and adults with lung diseases are expected to stay indoors, as it could be detrimental to their health. This particular outline is one system that can help reduce pollution in the area. When AQI reaches greater than 150, then the awareness of danger will arise in the city and the community can act on it before it worsens.
[1] Executive Summary: Climate La. 2008. Retrieved from http://www.environmentla.org/pdf/ClimateLA_v5.pdf
[2] EnvironmentLA: Leading Los Angeles to Protect and Improve our Environment. 2015. Retrieved from http://www.environmentla.org/
[3] L.A. County population pushes past 10 million, highest in nation. 2014. Retrieved 2015, from http://articles.latimes.com/2014/mar/27/local/la-me-ln-la-county-population-10-million-20140327
[4] State of the Air: American Lung Association. 2013. Retrieved 2015, from http://www.stateoftheair.org/2013/assets/ala-sota-2013.pdf
[5] Air Quality Index (AQI) – A Guide to Air Quality and Your Health. 2014. Retrieved 2015, from http://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=aqibasics.aqif
*To know more information about the environment of Los Angeles and its impact on the community. Please visit the website http://www.environmentla.org/, Here, you can further explore the environment of the city of Los Angeles and partake into conserving energy to make this place greener.
[2] EnvironmentLA: Leading Los Angeles to Protect and Improve our Environment. 2015. Retrieved from http://www.environmentla.org/
[3] L.A. County population pushes past 10 million, highest in nation. 2014. Retrieved 2015, from http://articles.latimes.com/2014/mar/27/local/la-me-ln-la-county-population-10-million-20140327
[4] State of the Air: American Lung Association. 2013. Retrieved 2015, from http://www.stateoftheair.org/2013/assets/ala-sota-2013.pdf
[5] Air Quality Index (AQI) – A Guide to Air Quality and Your Health. 2014. Retrieved 2015, from http://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=aqibasics.aqif
*To know more information about the environment of Los Angeles and its impact on the community. Please visit the website http://www.environmentla.org/, Here, you can further explore the environment of the city of Los Angeles and partake into conserving energy to make this place greener.