Recently the air quality in Dallas has been slowly deteriorating with no signs of stopping, showing that the city’s air pollution levels frequently reside in the “moderate” range. While this might not look concerning on the surface, this is some of the lowest that air quality has been with signs of it only becoming worse.
According to the Dallas Air Quality Index, Dallas is a city with one of the greatest amounts of pollution and specifically PM2 particles — molecules that are less than ten micrometers in diameter and are easy to inhale, which can lead to environmental deterioration.
These issues have mostly to do with the rapid modernization that has taken control over most of Dallas. This includes the need for more transportation, which rapidly begins to build up an ozone layer, eventually affecting the environment and the people living in the city.
“More people means more construction. Leading to more vehicles on the road. This increases the release of gasses like nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide,” AP Environmental Science Instructor Ryan Brewer said.
There are many ways that the school is able to contribute to the Dallas community by attempting to help mitigate pollution. With the construction of the new athletic building, there will be a need for more trees and greenery around campus.
In general, to make Dallas a cleaner city, a major factor involves facilitating more nature around the area.
“St. Mark’s could put solar panels on the old gym or raised solar panels over the parking lots (which would also provide shaded parking), promote carpooling, install plug-in stations for electric vehicles and purchase 100% renewable electricity for all of our buildings,” ex-instructor Dan Northcut said.
