Pollution faced in San Diego

Pollution faced in San Diego

Air Pollution :

Ten years ago we didn't have to worry about driving in heavy traffic during rush hours. We could just cruise on down to wherever we wanted to go with no hassles. Now it's like you are in a quagmire. During rush hour, there is bumper to bumper traffic for miles, and you just inch along at a snail's pace to your destination. This traffic problem is mainly caused by the constant building of new residential areas in San Diego. In fact, San Diego County is one of the most pro-development counties in the nation. San Diego used to be filled with rolling hills, mountains, and coastlines, but now many of our hills are blasted into a flatter area of land with skeletons of homes being built upon them. All of these new people and their cars that are moving in are a major factor in our air pollution problem. Now, on some mornings, you will wake up to a bright and sunny day and look out towards the horizon and see a brown haze blanketing the sky. What happened?

The more and more cars that come to San Diego means the more and more houses and more importantly jobs San Diego has to supply. For people to have jobs they have to work in buildings and industries, which need land to be built on. By building these structures not only do we destroy different ecosystems but these buildings give off pollution as well, adding to our ever rising pollution problem.

A look at San Diego Counties Population growth

Year	Population
1930	209,659
1940	289,348
1950	566,808
1960	1,033,011
1970	1,367,200
1980	1,873,200
1990	2,520,500
1995	2,690,255

Another major factor which contributes to the impurity of our air is the pollution which comes down from Los Angeles, and envelopes us in a sea of smog. LA is one of the biggest cities, as well as one of the most polluted cities. Unfortunately, air currents transport L.A.'s pollution south 100 miles to our city.

Water Pollution :

One day I was going for a run and I had to stop because my shoe became untied. It just so happened that I stopped at a storm drain. When I looked at it I was surprised at what I saw, there was writing next to it which said, "please don't dump here," then it had a picture of a dolphin in the ocean and continued, "I live downstream."

What I saw reminds you that almost all of the water that goes down the drain, in the gutter or into the sewer winds up going out to the ocean. Most of this water is treated and some of it is recycled at water treatment plants. Some of it is toxic and that is what kills the organisms in the sea.

Many times when I go to the beach, I will be told to move farther up or down the beach because there was a sewer spill and the water isn't safe for swimming. I am not saying that you shouldn't swim in the ocean or that this happens every day and at all the beaches, but it is a problem that we have to face and will continue to face until we do something about it. Every day 190 million gallons of treated sewage water is discharged into our ocean. Yet biologists and others in the science field say that our waters are unharmed and the marine life and ecosystems are still thriving. It is very hard to imagine. They say the water that comes straight from the sewers and the raw sewage which floats up from Mexico is what causes the damage (when it happens). However, San Diego's sewage collection and treatment system is old and in poor condition. It frequently breaks down thus there are numerous discharges of untreated sewage into streams, bays, and onto our beaches along the ocean. These preventable events produce a constant threat to human health and often cause recreational areas to close for periods of time.

San Diego Bay also has a major health concern. For example, most marine species are unsafe for humans to eat here. Heavy metals, pesticides, and other chemical contaminants from San Diego to Ensenada are also a growing problem which people are monitoring. If we treat our oceans and beaches the way we treat our bay, we are in big trouble.

On July 7, 1997 a pipe from Tijuana broke and 2 million gallons of raw sewage spilled out. These are the type of dangers which should never happen. Unfortunately, with Mexico and Los Angeles as neighbors, they are some of San Diego's main source of pollution problems.

Interesting Note :

Besides having the World Famous San Diego Wild Animal Park & San Diego Zoo and Sea World, San Diego is home to a little known 4,000 acre preserve called the Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve. This canyon is home to over 500 species of plants, which over a dozen of them are rare or endangered. Also in it lives another endangered flower called the Mesa mint which lives in vernal pools (a vernal pool is a unique geological formation). This flower is found only in San Diego and nowhere else in the world. Over 175 species of birds, two of which are endangered, live or travel through here during their migration. Besides having many birds making a home here, there are mammals, amphibians and reptiles too. Also, the orange-throated whiptail and coast horned lizards, are endangered.

Besides boasting a wide array of wildlife, the preserve is also a historical site as well as cultural. 5,000 year old artifacts have been found here showing Native Americans once lived in that area. And, 19th century Mexican houses grace this area as well.

However, Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve is under the threat of being destroyed. Homes are constantly built along it's rim and already a lot of precious wildlife has been lost. The city wanted to build a highway through the Canyon but a non profit organization was able to stop it from cutting through the canyon.

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