Smog Pollution in Los Angeles and China

There are all types of pollution. Water, land, noise, light, and air pollution are some of the few kinds. Smog is an example of air pollution that first appeared in the early 1900s and has been around ever since. It is a common issue in Los Angeles due to the large amounts of vehicles being used throughout the city. However, it is often overlooked as most people in the city are known to value transportation over their health. They are used to it because they are constantly exposed to the mediocre air quality in Los Angeles, leaving them to not really view it as a problem that needs immediate attention and action to be taken against. Not only is smog a local issue found in Los Angeles, but it is also a significant problem globally as it is seen in other cities found in industrialized countries like China, which hints that it is not an issue to simply overlook and put to the side. Looking at the local issue of smog pollution in Los Angeles and thinking about it in a global context helps us see it in a new light by encouraging us to look at this problem with a stronger sense of urgency because the smog pollution in China is worse than how it is here, which tells us that we must take serious and greater action to prevent the smog pollution in Los Angeles from becoming as bad. Looking at China also encourages us to see electric cars as much more helpful and useful than we originally thought as it is the country with the highest number of electric cars that are used in the world, and people there succeed immensely in reducing smog pollution by using them. With smog being a significant issue in both Los Angeles and China, it is safe to say that it is not only a local issue here, but it is a global issue as well.

To fully understand this issue, one must know what smog is to begin with. Smog, a term created by the combination of the words “smoke” and “fog”, is a dark, blackish fog, sometimes even yellowish, that is formed primarily from the mixture of smoke and other atmospheric pollutants. Examples of atmospheric pollutants are ozone, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, and many others which come from a variety of sources such as the use of vehicles, agriculture, and more. Smog negatively affects the health of people and the environment they live in. When breathed in, it increases the risk of serious heart disease as well as serious lung disease. It also is extremely dangerous for people who suffer with asthma and other respiratory difficulties. Environmentally, it can kill plants and cause property damage. As previously mentioned, smog pollution was first noticed in the early 20th century. It was first seen in Los Angeles when “The Beast of 1943” occurred, where “the air smelled like bleach. Noses ran and eyes stung. Visibility was cut down to three city blocks” (AQA). People suffered physically and mentally as they thought they were under attack due to the fact that the event happened in the middle of World War II (AQA). After this, Los Angeles and its people were never the same as the city had experienced one of its defining characteristics for the first time, definitely not being the last. This thick smog that had suddenly appeared made people finally realize the damage that their vehicles were capable of creating, declaring it a significant issue ever since. As for China, smog first became a prevalent issue in the 1950’s.

There are multiple ways to reduce the amount of smog created in Los Angeles and similar cities. Since smog is produced by the significant use of vehicles powered by fossil fuels and their atmospheric pollutants, biking would be a good alternative for driving because no fuel is required. Other non-fueled methods of transportation such as skateboarding, scootering, and rollerblading would also greatly help the situation of smog because like biking, they all do not require any fuel to be used. If more people start to use bikes and skateboards to get to places rather than driving or taking the bus, then less fuel is used which means less atmospheric pollutants, eventually leading to less smog overall. Walking is another solution if a person does not have access to a bike or any other fuel free method of transportation. It is a simple alternative, but an effective one that is beneficial to both the person and the environment. A lot of the time nowadays people are lazy and quick to assume that they need to drive to a destination that is only five minutes away or so. However, driving such a short distance is unnecessary when one can simply take only a few extra minutes to walk to their desired destination. Making such a small and simple effort can result in a much bigger change. With this, it is safe to say that walking more and driving less would definitely reduce the amount of smog that is produced in Los Angeles, making it one of the many ways to do so. Lastly, a more technologically advanced way, and in my opinion the best way, to help with smog pollution would be using an electric car instead of a regular one that uses fuel, which can be looked at more in depth. I personally believe that using an electric car is the best option out of all the possible ways to reduce smog pollution because you can still have the ease and convenience of being able to drive yourself to places while you are helping the environment at the same time. In other words, it gives you the best of both worlds whereas biking and scootering would still help with air pollution, but would be much more tiring and take a lot of effort that people can easily get annoyed with. Before a person decides to purchase one, however, they should do their research first.

Electric cars, first seen in the mid-19th century, are vehicles that are powered by batteries. These batteries store electricity, allowing them to give power to an electric motor, turning the wheels of the car. With that being the case, this means that these electric vehicles do not use any gasoline or diesel in order to operate, which means that they do not release any toxins from fuels into the atmosphere. Without these toxic pollutants being released, the amount of smog in surrounding areas is decreased, making them an effective way to reduce the severity of the issue of smog pollution. Due to their environmental benefits and money-saving capabilities, the demand for electric cars has greatly increased as well as their overall popularity. According to IEA, “Electric cars, which accounted for 2.6% of global car sales and about 1% of global car stock in 2019, registered a 40% year-on-year increase” (IEA). This sudden demand of electric cars has not necessarily been the best situation, however, as recent reports have indicated that the current number of electric car charging stations has not been able to keep up with the increase in electric vehicle purchases.

The lack of charging stations in Los Angeles presents itself as an obstacle in the amount of electric cars being purchased. Upon research, it is said that there are only about three thousand total charging stations in Los Angeles while there are about one hundred and forty thousand electric vehicles that are used within the city (PlugShare). Clearly, the amount of charging stations compared to the amount of electric cars is significantly lower, posing a huge inconvenience for those who either want or own an electric vehicle. This is not only an issue in Los Angeles, however, but the entire United States as well, as one news source has Tom Krisher report that “there are now 26,000 electric vehicle charging stations open to the public in the U.S., with more than 84,000 plugs”, which sounds like enough, “but the country, and the world, will need thousands more if drivers are going to adopt vehicles powered by batteries alone” (Krisher). Krisher is absolutely right about this, as this same problem is seen in China as well. According to Renewable Energy World, there are slightly over one million total charging stations in China while there are a total of about two and a half million electric vehicles that are used throughout the country (Yuanyuan). We can see a significant difference in the amount here as well. Although the demand nowadays for them is still high and there is a large number of electric cars being purchased, the inadequate amount of charging stations stops the number from being even higher as it changes the minds of many people who consider purchasing an electric vehicle. They do not want to worry about having to drive far or drive to certain locations in general just to power their car when regular cars have gas stations everywhere for them, making it a lot easier and much more convenient to own them instead of electric cars. Therefore, more electric car charging stations should be built in not just Los Angeles, but the whole country as well as China and the rest of the world because then the number of electric vehicle purchases would go up. This increase in purchases means that eventually less smog would be produced, as using electric cars is a good way to reduce air pollution. Seeing as there are many charging stations for electric cars in China, we can assume that they must be very helpful in reducing smog. This lets people in Los Angeles conclude that electric cars are actually a lot more helpful and impactful than they think, encouraging more of them to be purchased and used in the city. Through this, they are reminded that smog is not an issue that can simply be ignored, but has to be taken more seriously with a greater sense of urgency by giving it more attention and taking greater action in reducing it.

Though they have been proven to help a lot in regards to reducing air pollution, some people argue that electric cars are not a good way to resolve the issue of smog and that there are much better alternatives. This is because while electric cars do greatly reduce the amount of atmospheric pollutants being released due to the fact that they do not use any fuel, they are still not entirely good for the environment. They decrease the amount of toxins from fuels from going up into the air, but increase the amount of carbon being emitted. Christian Brand says in his article that “this is partly because electric cars aren’t truly zero-carbon — mining the raw materials for their batteries, manufacturing them and generating the electricity they run on produces emissions” (Brand). People claim that biking and walking, often called active traveling, are the best solutions, as “active travel is cheaper, healthier, better for the environment, and no slower on congested urban streets” (Brand). In other words, some who argue against the use of electric cars do not even consider them when thinking about ways that help reduce smog pollution because they believe the simple methods of transportation are the easiest way to go. They think that not only are electric cars still not the best for the environment, but they are very complex to incorporate into our daily lives because of factors such as their cost, their carbon emissions, and their charging stations being more spread out than regular gas stations for cars that run on fuel. I believe that despite their carbon emissions, they are still overall better for the environment than regular cars, so I actually favor the side that encourages the use of electric cars in efforts to reduce smog pollution. It seems that other countries, such as China, would agree with me as they are also known to heavily use electric cars due to the significant amount of smog that can be found there as well.

As previously mentioned, smog can also be found in China. It is a pretty well known and common issue there like how it is in Los Angeles because of all of its factories, manufacturers, cities, and overall industrialization. However, it has been noticed that smog in China is stronger and more severe than the smog found here in Los Angeles. There are two types of smog. The first kind is called “London smog”, which is caused by emissions of sulfur dioxide and soot from coal combustion while the second type is called “photochemical smog”, where nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds emissions give off secondary air pollutants like ozone. China basically has a combination of these two types of smog, making the air pollution in China “different in comparison to Europe and the USA, in terms of the specific pollutant mixtures and the processes involved in pollutant transformation” (Hallquist et. al). With this being the case, China’s electric car usage is also much higher than the electric car usage in Los Angeles and the United States as a whole. In 2015, “China’s plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) sales, comprising both battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, surged 343%” (Wang et. al). With this, we can see how China is heavily dependent on electric cars to help their people reduce smog pollution and how successful they are with using them because of their good knowledge about smog pollution due to the country’s long history with air pollution. This global angle allows people to see that smog is an issue that is urgent and needs immediate attention rather than a problem that can simply be overlooked and saved to deal with later.

In conclusion, smog pollution is a widespread issue that is important because it affects the daily lives of everyone it surrounds. It affects the health of people, their environment, and actual buildings and structures. With this being noticed over the years, people have made their efforts in trying to reduce the amount of smog produced to improve their overall well being. Whether those efforts are biking more, walking more, or increasing the use of electric cars, they all are ways that have been proven to effectively reduce smog pollution in its dedicated areas. This situation can be easily seen in Los Angeles, making it a local issue, and in countries such as China, proving it to be a global issue as well. After focusing on the smog in these two areas and the actions that are taken daily to try to reduce this issue, it is safe to say that we can no longer pay minimal attention to smog pollution. Smog is a real hazard where its severity in local cities and in countries throughout the world lets us see it as a new image, one that must be looked at with a greater sense of urgency with necessary immediate action.

Works Cited

“The Beast of 1943: A History of Smog in Los Angeles.” Air Quality Alliance, 22 Feb. 2021, https://airqualityalliance.com/2020/07/26/the-beast-of-1943-a-history-of-smog-in-los-angeles/.

Iea. “Global EV Outlook 2020 — Analysis.” IEA, https://www.iea.org/reports/global-ev-outlook-2020.

“Los Angeles, California EV Charging Stations.” PlugShare, 4 Dec. 2021, https://www.plugshare.com/directory/us/california/los-angeles.

Krisher, Tom. “Plug It in: Electric Car Charging Station Numbers Are Rising.” ABC News, ABC News Network, https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/plug-electric-car-charging-station-numbers-rising-72110425#:~:text=There%20are%20now%2026%2C000%20electric%20vehicle%20charging%20stations,going%20to%20adopt%20vehicles%20powered%20by%20batteries%20alone.

Liu Yuanyuan — 1.13.2020, et al. “China Installed More than 1000 EV Charging Stations per Day in 2019.” Renewable Energy World, 14 Jan. 2020, https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/storage/china-installed-more-than-1000-ev-charging-stations-per-day-in-2019/#:~:text=According%20to%20data%20released%20by%20the%20China%20Electric,DC%20while%20488%20offered%20both%20types%20of%20current.

Brand, Christian. “Cycling Is Ten Times More Important than Electric Cars for Reaching Net-Zero Cities.” Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo!, https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/cycling-ten-times-more-important-145904315.html.

Mattias Hallquist, John Munthe, Min Hu, Tao Wang, Chak K Chan, Jian Gao, Johan Boman, Song Guo, Åsa M Hallquist, Johan Mellqvist, Jana Moldanova, Ravi K Pathak, Jan BC Pettersson, Håkan Pleijel, David Simpson, Marie Thynell, Photochemical smog in China: scientific challenges and implications for air-quality policies, National Science Review, Volume 3, Issue 4, December 2016, Pages 401–403, https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nww080

Wang, Yunshi, et al. “China’s Electric Car Surge.” Energy Policy, vol. 102, 2017, pp. 486–490., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2016.12.034.