Introduction
The problem of air and water pollution has been a great concern not only to the people of New Jersey but throughout the world. This has been a problem to the whole world for the past over a hundred years and it still remains a challenge today though several efforts have been made to curb it. From the period of the second half of the 20th century several countries including the United States have tried to come up with certain rules and regulations to help reduce the level of pollution. The United States through the United States Environmental Protection Agency have come up with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards ( NAAQS) that has set up standards for air pollutants that are regarded as unsafe to public health. This has helped to protect human life throughout out the country by reducing the levels of harmful air pollutants that are emitted to the air. The Environmental Protection Agency is also tasked with protecting the country against water pollution.
Background
The problems of Air pollution have been affecting us since the development of industrialized and urbanized locales for a very long time probably centuries ago. The state of New Jersey has over the years suffered the effects of air and water pollution just like other states. This problem of pollution is high in New Jersey due to the fact that it is the most densely populated state within the United States and with several industries that are emitting their wastes both to the air and waters. Several efforts have been made to help reduce pollution in this state for the past 50-60 years with mixed results being achieved. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) created in 1970 has been leading in this process of reducing the pollution levels throughout the whole state though it has not been an easy process due to very many factors that have been affecting this process over the years. This organization has gone on to keep annual reports that are also published showing on the progress of this program since 1971 (NJDEP 2013). One is the fact that over the years the use of automobiles has grown and this has led to an increased emission of harmful gases into the environment. These attempts to reduce pollution in New Jersey began even before the formation of EPA in 1970 by the United States Government. We had the Hudson Country come up with a smoke control act in 1931 (Woodward 1995).
The state of New Jersey also became one of the first to adopt the Air Pollution Control Act that came up with the Air Pollution Control Commission that was used to set up an understanding between the state and local pollution control organizations. The demographic changes that have been experienced in New Jersey for the past few years have gone on to impact the air and water pollution in this area. The past 40-60 years in New Jersey has witnessed increase in population with many moving to settle leading to a reduction in farmland available for agricultural use. This led to the creation of newer roads and other infrastructure to support this increased population. The whole state also witnessed increased growth of residential activities with many schools, commercial facilities and entertainment spots being built (Salmore and Salmore 2008).
Changes in Air and Water Pollution in New Jersey
Air and water pollution was mainly as a result of emissions from industries, energy production and space heating during the early years. These emissions included SO2, soot and carbon monoxide among other harmful compounds into the environment. The recording of New Jersey air pollution started at around 1960s and after the creation of the U.S. EPA there was an increase in the measurements both in terms of quality and quality. NJDEP has been keeping records of annual pollution levels in New Jersey since 1971 and the trend has witnessed a great reduction of pollutants both in water and air during this period. The most common means of pollution of water in New Jersey is the high percentage of nitrogen and phosphorous levels. This contamination of water by fertilizer occurs when rain washes away these fertilizers to waterways. This leads to the pollution of most underground water sources thus making the water unsafe for human consumption (NJDEP 2013).
The Problem of Air Pollution
The New Jersey Department of E4nvironmental Protection also has the mandate of protecting the natural environment in relation to its effect on human health. It aims at controlling emissions to air water and land and engaging in activities to reduce pollution by participating in special projects and ongoing ones for this noble cause. The main pollutants of the environment include carbon monoxide (CO), coefficient of haze (COH), soot, total suspended particles (TSP) and volatile organic compounds (VOC). The levels of these pollutants are supposed to be at certain acceptable levels by the NAAQS. There has been an increase in the number of air pollutants to substances such as benzene that is released from automobile wastes and from industrial sources. However there is this concern that some pollutants are not only emitted industrially but from indoor activities and thus there is need to come up with air toxic controls that will also account for indoor sources of pollution (Lioy 2010).
The Problem of Water Pollution
The state has several water resources with over 127 linear miles of coastline over 18,000 miles of both rivers and streams not forgetting lakes, ponds and reservoirs about 52,804 acres of the 8,204 square miles that is New Jersey. The Surface Water Quality Standards (SWQS) was adopted by the state mainly to help in protecting these water sources. This organization is given the responsibility of establishing the uses of surface water as well as implementation of policies that help to protect the quality of these waters. With the federal clean water act requiring each state to give a report on the quality of their waters it is SWQS that is given this responsibility of coming up with this report. The Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) also keeps the records of the quality of waters that can be useful in identifying the waters that are not supporting their uses if they do not meet the standards.
Status of Water in the State of New Jersey
The Impact of Regulation and Strategies
Challenges facing the process of Reduction of Air and Water Pollution in New Jersey
The table below shows the current status of air pollutants in the state of New Jersey (NJDEP 2012).
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
These are atmospheric gases that reduce the rate of heat radiation into space to bring an increase of heat on the atmosphere thus higher temperatures are experienced. They include methane, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, hydro fluorocarbons and chlorofluorocarbons among many other gases that bring a warming effect to the earth. High emissions of carbon dioxide usually are as result of human activity and they lead to an inequality in the earth’s capacity to absorb or use carbon dioxide thus leading to increase in the concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The high increase in carbon dioxide is also as result of the use of fossil fuels that is being used worldwide. Due to the high population of New Jersey there is a higher increase in the emissions off these greenhouse gases and thus leading to increased global warming that is being experienced throughout the world.
Conclusion
Works Cited
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