Entire Book - Southwest Consortium for Environmental Research ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

I Introduction THE VIEW FROM EL PASO Looking down on the Paso del Norte from the Franklin Mountains, a cloud is often visible over Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, even though the border town is located in a desert not known for rain. The cloud consists of carbon monoxide, ozone, and dust. It obscures the skyline and hangs like a pall over the Mexican city. When the prevailing wind is from the south, the cloud crosses the Rio Grande to join the pollution already hovering over El Paso, Texas, choking the entire metroplex. Unusual topography contributes to the problem. The Franklin Mountains to the north and west and the Juárez Mountains on the south hem in El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, thereby forming a single bowl and airshed. Occasionally, winter inversions trap emissions close to the ground. At these times, aircraft passengers looking out their windows can observe strata of pollution that bend and twist in response to air pressure variations in much the same way the rock strata of the Franklin Mountains bend and twist in response to geological pressure. At the western edge of El Paso is a gap in the mountains through which flows the Rio Grande. This is the Paso del Norte. Sometimes pollution spills through into the Mesilla Valley toward Las Cruces in New Mexico. 1
Improving Transboundary Air Quality with Binational Emission Reduction Credit Trading Like other twin cities along the border, El Paso and Ciudad Juárez are linked by cultural and economic ties that go back many generations. The border is crossed tens of thousands of times each day over the three bridges linking the cities. It is common for workers living in one city to commute daily to jobs in the other. The cities, as well as the corner of New Mexico that is also part of the area referred to collectively as the Paso del Norte, have been characterized by rapid industrialization and population growth. The result has been a deteriorating common environment. Since the 1990s, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified El Paso as a nonattainment area for ozone, particulate matter, and carbon monoxide. Mexico does not formally designate areas as nonattainment, but evidence from monitoring stations in Ciudad Juárez indicates that the Mexican city is noncompliant with Mexican ambient air quality standards. Status as a nonattainment area means there are significant health risks for the residents of El Paso and, by implication, Ciudad Juárez. Exposure to ozone is believed to be a significant cause of lung disease. Ozone can also aggravate existing lung and heart disease. Particulate matter (PM) can exacerbate existing lung and heart disease, and even lead to premature death. Carbon monoxide can trigger angina. People with existing lung and heart disease, and those who work or play outside, are particularly at risk. Status as a nonattainment area has triggered increased enforcement measures in El Paso (TNRCC 2000). Industrial permits have been restricted. A new vehicle inspection program requires that vehicles pass an annual tailpipe emissions test. El Pasoans are required to use less evaporative gas in the summer and oxygenated fuel in the winter, thus increasing fuel costs. These regulations have put a damper on some sectors of the El Paso economy. Unemployment remains high, even by border standards, and El Paso per capita income is consistently in the bottom 10 among U.S. urban areas. The Paso del Norte’s air quality problem is an international one. Figure 1 displays a typical pattern for ozone concentrations. It shows a high concentration in Ciudad Juárez with a plume extending across the border into El Paso, illustrating the binational nature of the pollution problem in the Paso del Norte region. Achieving air quality standards will require cooperation. In 2000, the Texas Natural 2
Page 1 and 2: THE SCERP MISSION The Southwest Con
Page 3 and 4: Authors SCERP Monograph Series, no.
Page 5 and 6: Published by San Diego State Univer
Page 8: Contents Foreword v Prefacio ix Pre
Page 11 and 12: Improving Transboundary Air Quality
Page 14 and 15: Prefacio “Si vale la pena tener u
Page 16: Prefacio pudiera ser difícil, cost
Page 24 and 25: Introduction Resource Conservation
Page 26 and 27: Introduction approaches to correcti
Page 28 and 29: Introduction into the environment.
Page 30 and 31: Introduction maquiladoras, to hire
Page 32 and 33: Introduction (PM 10 and PM 2.5 )—
Page 34 and 35: Introduction installing scrubbers,
Page 36 and 37: Introduction The existence of emiss
Page 38 and 39: Introduction would require an initi
Page 40 and 41: Introduction EPE generated emission
Page 42 and 43: OVERVIEW Introduction This volume i
Page 44 and 45: II A Snapshot of the Border THE MEA
Page 46 and 47: A Snapshot of the Border states—B
Page 48 and 49: A Snapshot of the Border Table 1. U
Page 50 and 51: A Snapshot of the Border Interestin
Page 52 and 53: Table 3. Percentage Change in Borde
Page 54 and 55: A Snapshot of the Border Another so
Page 56 and 57: A Snapshot of the Border plants tha
Page 58 and 59: A Snapshot of the Border Air Qualit
Page 60 and 61: A Snapshot of the Border quality. T
Page 62 and 63: A Snapshot of the Border million in
Page 64: A Snapshot of the Border THE ENVIRO
Page 71 and 72:
Improving Transboundary Air Quality
Page 73 and 74:
Page 75 and 76:
Page 77 and 78:
Page 79 and 80:
Page 81 and 82:
Page 83 and 84:
Page 85 and 86:
Page 87 and 88:
Page 89 and 90:
Page 92 and 93:
Appendix A Excerpts from the Border
Page 94 and 95:
Environmental Regulation and the Bo
Page 96:
Environmental Regulation and the Bo
Page 99 and 100:
Page 101 and 102:
Page 103 and 104:
Nearly 90% think Mexican environmen
Page 105 and 106:
Page 107 and 108:
Page 109 and 110:
Page 111 and 112:
Page 114 and 115:
Appendix B Survey Instrument Encues
Page 116 and 117:
Manquiladora Attitudes 13) ¿Tu com
Page 118 and 119:
Manquiladora Attitudes 22)¿Habías
Page 120 and 121:
V Designing a Transborder Trading S
Page 122 and 123:
Designing a Transborder Trading Sch
Page 124 and 125:
Page 126 and 127:
Page 128 and 129:
Page 130 and 131:
Page 132 and 133:
Page 134 and 135:
Page 136 and 137:
Page 138 and 139:
Page 140 and 141:
Page 142 and 143:
Page 144 and 145:
Page 146 and 147:
Page 148:
Page 151 and 152:
Page 153 and 154:
Page 155 and 156:
Page 157 and 158:
Page 159 and 160:
Page 162 and 163:
abatement activities, 4, 6-7, 16, 1
Page 164 and 165:
automobile and truck, 47 banking, 2
Page 166 and 167:
nitrogen oxide (NO x), 9-10, 16-18,
show all

Entire Book - Southwest Consortium for Environmental Research ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?