Valley Pollution One of the Worst in US
TURLOCK, Calif., Jul. 16, 2007 (KGO) — A San Francisco-based environmental group received a $125,000 award from the Irvine Foundation, which honors innovative solutions to California challenges. This one has to do with solving a pollution problem in the last place you look.
Because most days, California’s Central Valley produces some of the worse air quality in the nation, this environmental group has came up with a solution to the air pollution in California.
“In fact, one of six children in Fresno has asthma because of the air pollution there,” according to Ashley Boren of San Francisco environmental group Sustainable Conservation.
The Sustainable Conservation has discovered that the pollutions are mainly caused by inversion layer, large number of cars, and the amount of agricultural dust floating from the fields. Ashley Boren has mentioned that what they really look for were the solutions where it makes economic sense for the farmer, and it’s good for the environment.
They found part of that solution on Michael Crowell’s dairy farm.
It’s a small operation by dairy standards, but five generations old. The family needed a way to cut costs. The environmental movement wanted to find a way to cut dust. Their answer was found in corn. The Crowells grow it themselves, but instead of plowing the field back to bare dirt at the end of a season, they leave the corn residue on the ground.
This method of farming offers distinct advantages. By leaving last year’s crop in the ground, they use less fuel; create less pollution, less dust, while leaving more nutrients. Meanwhile, Michael Crowell has saved more than fifty percent in terms of money. More significant, this success has triggered action by other California dairy farmers. 80,000 acres of land have been exposed to the technique so far.
As I have mentioned earlier, there are many different kinds of pollutions. One of the most serious types is air pollution, since it has direct impact on our health and everyday life. Again, I believe that solving this social problem requires each one of our contribution to the environment, and to do our utmost to make it a greener world.
This news has grabbed my attention because I liked the idea how the Sustainable Conservation group was cooperating with the local farm. The Sustainable Conservation group was using this solution to reduce air pollution, while providing the local farmer an opportunity to reduce their cost. Giving this opportunity could raise the farmer’s awareness of pollution, and motivate them to make some kind of contributions to environmental protection as well. This was also mentioned in the article, “Sustainability occurs in two tiers. One preserves the environment; the other maintains a family way of life.”
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