PRESERVE TO CONSERVE
Aashna Dalal is 15 years old and is
a rising junior in high school.
She is an only child and enjoys spending her spare time with
friends and family. Her hobbies include playing tennis, swimming,
and traveling.
Analei Song Turnbull is a 15 year
old homeschooler going into junior year. She enjoys acting, filmmaking, drawing, playing video games, watching movies, and spending
time with friends. She hopes to go to college for Filmmaking.
Brianna Ganiere is a 16 year old homeschooler. When she's not doing school she's probably playing video games, writing, coding, watching movies or tv shows, or cosplaying. She has so many fandoms and loves her family.
Kirsten Go is 17 years old and lives in San Marino, California with her
family and her two dogs. She is about to start her senior year of high
school and is nervous about doing
college applications.
Leila Khorrami is 16 years old and a rising junior! She has 2 siblings and loves spending time with friends and family! She enjoys using technology to make her dreams come to life with digital art, web design, and entrepreneurship.
Sammy is a Teaching Assistant at Girls Who Code this summer and a Girls Who Code alumni. She is also a sophomore studying cognitive science at UC Davis. In her free time, she enjoys playing guitar/ukulele and spending time with her mom.
We collected annual data from the years 2013-2017 about the average levels of PM2.5 pollution in California, New York, and Hawaii. We chose California because it is our home, New York because of all the hustle and bustle of a big city, and Hawaii because of the idyllic, island lifestyle. Our data is sourced from the United States Environmental Agency.
PM2.5 is a fine particle that can come from many sources such as power plants, vehicles, fires, airplanes, dust storms, and more. PM2.5 can be harmful when inhaled by animals or people. PM2.5 helps cause lung and heart disease; it also worsens asthma. Long term exposure to this chemical can cause your arteries to close and make heart attacks more likely.
The data graphs were made in python. We collected the data and had to parse through it. After parsing through we picked the data we wanted and started to code the graphs. We were able to add the data into the graph in python and imported it into HTML.
From 2013 to 2017, New York (the state) showed a decrease in overall AQI, showing that the quality of the air has improved. This improvement can be best seen in the air quality trends of New York City. In the past, New York City had large amounts of air pollution and was one of the most polluted cities of the United States. Now, the air quality of New York City is very different. According to an article written in April 2018, New York City has “the cleanest air that the city’s had for centuries.” The example of New York City shows that pollution can be reduced significantly through the efforts of people working together.
Despite an overall increase of air quality index(AQI) from 2013 to 2017, California still has some of the most polluted cities in the United States. These polluted cities include Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Bakersfield, which are all in Southern California. The high levels of pollution are attributed to increasing population, the usage of cars, and increasing temperature. Even though Southern California is highly polluted, the cities of Northern California have very good air quality. This helps to balance the overall AQI of California as a result.
As can be seen in the graph, the range of numbers in Hawaii’s overall AQI is within a healthy range. However, the air quality can sometimes be negatively affected by the volcanoes on the islands. Harmful gases can be released from active volcanoes and combine with normal air to form volcanic smog. Since Hawaii has relatively clean air, volcanic smog is the only major source of air pollution in Hawaii.
Public Participation for Managing Air Quality
"A global, independent campaigning organization that uses peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future."
Tips to Fight for Healthy Air in Your Community
