Air Pollution Is Killing Millions and Rising Exponentially--A Shift in Agriculture Can Solve It

[Judi Lynn]

JUNE 26, 2024

BY JIMMY VIDELE

In 1958, geochemist Charles David Keeling set up the Mauna Loa Global Monitoring Laboratory in Hawaii, which measured carbon dioxide (CO2). Keeling believed that CO2 levels were rising and wanted to prove it. Mauna Loa was a perfect location to obtain precise readings since it was located at an elevation of more than 13,000 feet in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. By 1959, the level of CO2 was 316 parts per million volume (ppmV). Since then, the curve has seen an exponential rise. As of May 2024, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere had risen to more than 426 ppmV.

It has been more than 4 million years since CO2 levels were as high as today. “[The] CO2 levels are now comparable to the Pliocene Climatic Optimum, between 4.1 and 4.5 million years ago, when they were close to, or above 400 ppm. During that time, sea levels were between 5 and 25 meters higher than today, high enough to drown many of the world’s largest modern cities,” stated a report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

These pollution levels are undoubtedly human-caused and have primarily resulted from burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and land-use change by industrial agriculture. In designing our society from an anthropocentric point of view (prioritizing humans above all other species), we have not only neglected but also harmed the Earth’s natural systems. To maintain a sustainable environment, we must adopt an eco-centric point of view that prioritizes the intrinsic value of all living things and preserves the ecological balance.

The Perfect Balance

Carbon dioxide gives our planet life. All living plants need it, converting it into an energy source. They assimilate carbon and expel the oxygen that all faunal beings require. When humans and animals breathe in oxygen, they exhale carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas (GHG) that traps heat. Other gases that heat the atmosphere include methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O).

More:
https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/06/26/air-pollution-is-killing-millions-and-rising-exponentially-a-shift-in-agriculture-can-solve-it/

[NJCher]

1. Eliminating monocultures plus

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Converting to a 100 percent plant-based agricultural system that eliminates the use of domesticated animals, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides will help mitigate the release of these greenhouse gases considerably.

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The suburban lawn Is a monoculture. I would like to see people change lawns to native species ground covers. For those with an interest in doing so, part of their property could be used to grow vegetables.

Our city council voted in a measure that would go just a little way in terms of cutting the pollution but our mayor vetoed it. The lawn service companies got to her. Corruption.

Talk about undemocratic.

[eppur_se_muova]

2. Green 'pool table' lawns are what realtors want, too. Many local govt's are in developers' pockets.

Our local codes were written with an eye to keeping the real estate market thriving -- not reflecting environmental needs. More home sales mean more taxes, after all. And check out how many of your local city council are realtors or former realtors.

[NJCher]

3. I'm the only one without a pool table lawn

in this neighborhood.

I will check that (occupation of council members) The thing is that the town council passed it unanimously but the mayor vetoed it. The ordinance was put together by the local environmental group.

It's not even an onerous ordinance. All it asks is for lawn service companies to use battery-powered leaf blowers. By 2028 Home Depot will reduce their inventory to this kind. Yet these idiot lawn service companies insist on using the loud, gas-powered ones. They pressured the mayor, who was never on board for this ordinance to begin with, and she vetoed it. I'm glad I never voted for her. I had a bad feeling about her from Day One, even though on paper she looks great.

This is such a good article. I am going to photocopy it and send it to each councilperson as well as the mayor.