Environmental Challenges In California

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Describe one or two environmental challenges California faces. Analyze the causes of these challenges. What, if any, are the solutions?

Since a lot of new immigrants continued to arrive to California, challenges to its infrastructure and environment were kept growing. These challenges included overcrowded schools, hospitals, and outmoded freeway system, and severe water shortages. A beautiful and extensive land started to head for an environmental collapse. California, being a new state, had not yet learned how to balance their natural resources with population pressures.

The state’s major cities were affected by the “sudden” attack of smog. Smog is an acid combination of fog, haze combined with smoke and other pollutants. This haze not only irritates one’s eyes; it reduces visibility, affects crop yields, and discourages tourism. The Los Angeles Basin is especially afflicted by the smog. In 1947, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors organized an Air Pollution Control District. One …show more content…
The hot, sunny days for which its known for cause photochemical regrouping of exhaust-gas molecules. The emissions that billow out of industrial smokestacks from a dense layer of smog that hangs over the area for long periods. Particularly persistent are the smogs at Long Beach and Los Angeles ports, where diesel pollutants spew forth from unloading ships, locomotives, and trucks.

Hydrocarbons, auto exhaust, and vapor leaks from gas tanks also contribute to smog. When, in 1956, air pollution reached an unacceptable level, the APCD forced local industries to burn only natural gas. Alternative fuels for autos, buses, and trucks, such as ethanol, were also devised as a partial solution to the mounting air pollution. Eventually, auto companies began a lengthy attempt to market personal vehicles powered by natural gas or rechargeable

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