Cars speed down University Drive in Tempe, Ariz. as the evening traffic worsens. Millions of drivers clog Maricopa County’s roadways, contributing to the region’s poor air quality. Photo by Christina Van Otterloo.
Grand Pollution
in the Grand Canyon State
PHOENIX — A traffic jam on the way to work is more than just an annoyance-- it’s a health hazard.
Vehicles like cars, buses, planes and trains cause more than half of the air pollution in the United States, according to the National Park Service.
According to Dr. Jennifer Vanos from Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability, many of these vehicles are poorly used, which hurts the environment.
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“Vehicles tend to be one of the biggest contributors to the primary pollutants that form ozone, largely because we have so many of them on the roads,” Vanos said. “A lot of single-use vehicles are used, and so we are just not very efficient at moving a lot of people around within or around cities.”
Out of all vehicles, cars are the main contributors toward air pollution.
In Maricopa County, there are over 3 million registered drivers. Out of the county’s 4 million residents, this means that up to 72% of them are on the road.
Maricopa County is the 15th most ozone-polluted county in the U.S. according to the American Lung Association’s 2018 State of the Air findings. The report also indicated that Arizona’s capital, Phoenix, is America’s eighth most ozone-polluted city.
These results might not be so shocking to some. Vaneeta, a tourist visiting Arizona, noticed the difference in air quality between Phoenix and the Grand Canyon.
“The air feels much purer in those parts of the state, but here, out in the city, it’s really different,” Vaneeta said. “It’s like you can smell the staleness of the gases and of all the pollution that’s coming out of the cars.”
Frequent exposure to ozone can permanently damage lung tissue, hinder easy breathing and can exacerbate or cause chronic diseases like asthma, according to the American Lung Association.
Despite the high ranks, both Maricopa County and Phoenix’s standings have improved since 2016 when they ranked ninth and fifth respectively. By 2050, the City of Phoenix hopes to achieve a level of air quality healthy for both people and the environment.
Current efforts to reduce air pollution from energy production and costs include the light rail, bikeways, sustainable environments and pedestrian-friendly development.
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