Hypothesis:
“It is expected that Rotterdam Centre will be more polluted than Barendrecht due to the surrounding industrial area”
Rotterdam centre is a very busy place with relatively high population density, Also Rotterdam centre is affected a lot by the neighbouring harbour with lots of industry. Barendrecht is further away (Southerly) from industrial areas which would indicate that overall, Rotterdam contains more polluted air than Barendrecht. Also Barendrecht is a town with less people who live there, which means less pollution from traffic as well.
Research methods:
A location in the centre of Rotterdam and in Barendrecht will be chosen in order to measure air pollution. The method of measurement that is applied is to test the CO2 content present in the air. Not only air pollution will be relevant to measure, also wind direction is relevant to measure if there will be looked at causes of difference in air pollution (if there is a difference). The method of ceteris paribus will be applied in the measurements.
To what extent is the air polluted in Rotterdam?
To what extent is the air polluted in Barendrecht?
The materials that were needed for the intended measurements of these two questions are:
-Particulate matter meter
-smogmeter
– CO2 meter
– NO2 meter (nitrogen)
Unfortunately not all materials were available for measurements to be done. Therefore, only the CO2 meter has been used as a source for measuring air pollution.
Which factors influence air quality?
What is the effect on the health of the people who live in Rotterdam or Barendrecht?
Which measures can be taken on both locations in order to prevent air pollution?
For these questions, secondary sources will be used. For example, for the first question it is relevant to investigate the causes of air pollution on both locations. Looking at the economic activities and wind direction of the chosen locations will help to examine these factors. Online research will be done in order to investigate the effect of air pollution on people’s health. This also applies for the last question, but insight and logical thinking will be used in order to find an answer to the measures that can be taken on the chosen locations.
Planning:
Week 1 + 2
Maandag (19 March)
Plan van aanpak
Dinsdag (20 March)
Literary Research
Friday (23 March)
Field work!
Tuesday (27 March)
Analysing Findings
Wednesday (28 March)
Analysing Findings
Thursday (29 March)
Evaluation + Conclusion
To what extent is the air polluted in Rotterdam Centre?
First of all, Rotterdam Centre is a very busy city. It is a densely populated city of 1.001.000 inhabitants (World Population Review, 2018). There are lots of high schools and businesses, but Rotterdam is also very popular for tourism activities.
The city is known as one of the most polluted cities of the Netherlands. Rotterdam centre is therefore expected to be highly polluted compared to other cities or regions in the Netherlands. In a founded article, research has been done on the most air-polluted streets in the Netherlands, of which eight out of twenty streets are located in Rotterdam(Marije Willems, 2013)
Before doing practical research through measuring CO2 in the city centre, it seemed relevant to first investigate on other gases that are emitted during air pollution. This would give a better indication on air pollution as this research is based on multiple gases, instead of just CO2. Therefore, the first step included doing research on the internet in order to find data about other gas particles that might be present in the air. The data that can be founded for both Rotterdam and Barendrecht are compared to create a first impression of the differences in air quality that occur between city and town. https://www.luchtmeetnet.nl is a website that measures different particles and gases in the air at specific places. The online chosen area is Rotterdam-Schiedamse Vest, where in particular the gases nitrogen dioxide, ozone and particulate matter(2.5 PM) are of too high quantity in the atmosphere. The quantity of other gases such as nitric oxide and particulate matter (10PM) are not high to an extent that it becomes unhealthy or dangerous for humans to live in. Below, healthy values of the different gases are compared to the quantity that is actually present in the air in Rotterdam-Schiedamse Vest.
Nitrogen dioxide(NO2)=31.917 μg/m3, not dangerous until 30 μg/m3
Nitric oxide(NO)= 9.217 μg/m3, not dangerous until 50 μg/m3
Ozone(O3)= 30,083 μg/m3, not dangerous until 30 μg/m3
Particulate matter(PM10)= 19,958 μg/m3, not dangerous until 30 μg/m3
Particulate matter(PM2.5)= 9,489 μg/m3, not dangerous until 20 μg/m3
To what extent is the air polluted in Barendrecht?
Barendrecht has a lot of inhabitants; approximately 48.423(Google info, 2017). It consists out of a huge residential area, a small shopping mall and on the east side small company premises. There is a highway that runs straight through Barendrecht. When doing research on the internet, articles or findings about the air quality in Barendrecht were hard to find. However, data could actually be found for another area next to Barendrecht on the north-east side. These findings were used in order to create a preliminary comparison between air pollution in Barendrecht and Rotterdam.
When looking at the same gases that were measured in Rotterdam Schiedamse Vest, this is what research shows for Ridderkerk:
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) = 38,017 μg/m3, not dangerous until 30 μg/m3
Nitric oxide (NO) = 20,85 μg/m3, not dangerous until 50 μg/m3
Ozone(O3) = 34,18 μg/m3, not dangerous until 30 μg/m3
Particulate matter (PM10) = 21,124 μg/m3, not dangerous until 30 μg/m3
Particulate matter(PM2.5) = 13,075 μg/m3, not dangerous until 20 μg/m3
Concluding from the dangerous line, nitrogen dioxide and ozone are of too high quantity present in the air. There are different possible explanations for this outcome.
Barendrecht consists of two main polluting factors. The residential area and two highways running straight through it, which are the A15 and A16. Having such a high nitrogen dioxide level and high amount of particulate matter can be explained by these factors. High amounts of gases blown from other areas and the huge emissions of the vehicles that drive on the highway running through Barendrecht can be possible explanations for the high quantity of certain gases. In this case, the emission of vehicles driving on the highways presumably weighs the most and are therefore the biggest polluting factor in Barendrecht. Also these vehicles caused such a high quantity of nitrogen dioxide in the air. Nitrogen dioxide is one of the gases that is an important pollutant of air because it creates the formation of photochemical smog, which highly impacts human health (Department of the Environment and Heritage, 2005). The following article also supports that there is a relatively high quantity of nitrogen dioxide present in the air in Barendrecht(Ridderkerk):
(Coordinator Milieu Den haag, public space info, 1.1 Luchtkwaliteit) the two images below are copied from this website and used for analysis.
Before analyzing the images, this research was done in 2005, which is 13 years ago. This is actually too long to use the data in this research project, because the measurements of air quality need to be up-to-date and in this timeframe there is a lot that can change. However, the data can actually be used in order to show how toxic gases are spread in Barendrecht, around the highways.
What can be concluded from these pictures are mainly two things. The first one being (as mentioned before) that the biggest producer of particulate matter are motor vehicles based on the fact that only the neighbourhoods very close to the main roads and highways, experience a lot of particle matter, which therefore makes motor vehicles the biggest polluters in Barendrecht.
Next to that, seen in the second picture, cars are also a very big factor for the emission of nitrogen dioxide. This is because the values are the highest near the highways and the area around them. Nitrogen dioxide however, spreads easier than particulate matter. The coloured area in the image prove the easy spread of this gas, as big part of the area is affected. It is seen by the green colour that there are also values of nitrogen dioxide present around the main, regular roads. Although the quantity is limited, a correlation can be found between the values and the fact motor these quantities are around motor vehicle roads.
Next to that, on the east side there is a high value of nitrogen dioxide, which is on company premises so the gases are likely to be caused by emissions of factories.
Lastly, ozone is of too much quantity in the atmosphere in Ridderkerk. Ozone is not directly emitted into the air, but it is created by chemical reactions between nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds when sunlight is present (Airnow, 2003). As mentioned before, examples of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds are motor vehicle exhaust or emissions from industrial facilities, which explains why there are high values of ozone in the atmosphere.
If there is a difference in air pollution between the two locations, which possible explanation could be given for this? (according to both research results and measurement results)
Analysis research measurements
Collecting and analysing data from secondary sources on the internet, helped to create an indication on the level of certain gases in the atmosphere and the location of these gases. To be able to draw a fair comparison between the online chosen locations, the average of each gas particulate is used.
Values Rotterdam(Schiedamse-vest) average 2017:
nitrogen dioxide(NO2): (42,5+38,5+38,2+26,6+25,7+22+22+32,4+27,9+38,5+30,3+35,4)/12=31.917 μg/m3
Nitric oxide(NO): (21,4+10,6+11,1+4,4+4,2+3,3+4+5,3+8,1+7,5+15,6+15,1)/12=9.217 μg/m3
Ozone(O3): (21,7+24,2+38,7+56,6+54,8+56,6+45,6+44,3+30,2+32,4+24,1+27,8)/12= 30,083 μg/m3
Particulate matter(PM10): (28,8+30,1+21,3+18,5+17+18,7+16,6+17,6+17,7+19,2+18,3+15,7)/12=19,958 μg/m3
Particulate matter(PM2,5): (18,2+22,1+7,9+7,3+5,8+4,9+6,3+7,1+5,8)/9=9,489
Values Barendrecht(ridderkerk), average 2017:
nitrogen dioxide(NO2): (53,5+43,9+48,6+35,6+29,1+26,9+26,2+31,2+36,1+36,1+45,7+43,3)/12=38,017 μg/m3
Nitric oxide(NO):(40,4+23,3+27,8+13,8+8,1+7,9+9,6+10,9+19+18,6+37+33,8)/12= 20,85 μg/m3
Ozone(O3): (16,9+23+33,7+52,1+52,1+41,2+38,8+25+24,9)/9=34,18 μg/m3
Particulate matter(PM10): (27,3+29,4+22,8+19,4+18+19,4+17,3+19,2+18+20,7+22,2+19,8)/12=21,124 μg/m3
Particulate matter(PM2,5): (20,4+23,9+14,2+11,9+11,6+9,3+7,5+10,1+10,7+10+14,2+13,1)/12=13,075 μg/m3
The findings can be differentiated in the table below:
Rotterdam(Schiedamse Vest)
Barendrecht(Ridderkerk)
nitrogen dioxide(NO2): 31.917 μg/m3
nitrogen dioxide(NO2): 38,017 μg/m3
Nitric oxide(NO): 9.217 μg/m3
Nitric oxide(NO): 20,85 μg/m3
Ozone(O3): 30,083 μg/m3
Ozone(O3): 34,18 μg/m3
Particulate matter(PM10): 19,958 μg/m3
Particulate matter(PM10): 21,124 μg/m3
Particulate matter(PM2,5): 9,489 μg/m3
Particulate matter(PM2,5): 13,075 μg/m3
According to this data, the air in Barendrecht(Ridderkerk) is more polluted than in Rotterdam(Schiedamsevest). This conclusion is based on the fact that for every gas particulate, there is a higher quantity present in the air in Barendrecht(Ridderkerk).
The most shocking data is that Barendrecht(Ridderkerk) has more than twice the amount of Nitric oxide in the air than Rotterdam Has. A possible explanation for this could be that generally, the wind direction of Barendrecht(Ridderkerk) is southwest wind. This air contains lots of heavy industry or burnt car fuel because of its location near the highway. Still it remains unclear why the difference is this big. When looking at the measuring point of the online measurements that were researched, it is located right next to the A15 highway. This proves the results that the values of toxic gases are higher in Ridderkerk than in Schiedamse Vest. Although Rotterdam Schiedamse Vest is also surrounded by the highways, its location is more in the centre, further away from the highways. This means that the values of these particulate gases (shown above) are less intense than in Ridderkerk. When comparing these outcomes to the hypothesis, the results do not correspond. This is mainly because of the different chosen location. While the measurements were meant to be made in Smitshoek, west side of Barendrecht, Ridderkerk is located at the east side of Barendrecht. The measurements are therefore not exact according to the chosen locations. It did however create a clear view on the average and standard values of particular gases.
Although these measurements give a clear view on what can be expected from particle matters, these are not exact measurements for the given hypothesis.
These measurements are an average over the whole year and it is not measured on the chosen location in Barendrecht itself. Therefore, measurements of air pollution were done at the specific places through practical action supported by own equipment. The measurements are based on the CO2 level that is present in the air, while the research results are based on other toxic gases. Therefore, different results are expected from the practical research. The results from the practical research are shown below:
Analysis practical measurements
Measurements Barendrecht (Smitshoek):
Average: 476 ppm (particles per million)
Highest: 487 ppm
Measuring the CO2 was done in a time period of 400 seconds, seen by the graph above. These measurements were taken during the day, in Smitshoek, located at the North-west side of Barendrecht. Like Ridderkerk, this location is near the A15 highway. This means that it should be one of the more polluted places in Barendrecht. This can be concluded because as shown in the pictures of the “luchtkwaliteit of Barendrecht”, two of the present toxic gases were in highest amount near the highways. Therefore it is expected that this would also be the case in Smitshoek. The global average of CO2 is 403 ppm. (Jonathan Watts, 2017). Looking at the difference between the global average and the measured average in Barendrecht, there is a difference of approximately 15%, which is relatively high. Taking in to account that this is not yet the most polluted area of the Netherlands, the numbers are worrying. When having a world average of 476 carbon dioxide parts per million, the consequences will become enormous. For example there will be an increase of 2C° (Bob Willard, 2014). This seems like small increase but would have a major effect. This is because it is an average, which means that in some places the temperature difference could be twice as big as in other places. This can result in damaged or even destroyed nature and could extinct certain animals.
Looking at the graph above, it shows the development of the quantity of CO2 over a period of 400 sec. As shown, it is a steady line without any surprising differences. The values are constant with little variation. Further in the project, there will be looked at the different possible factors that influence the values of CO2 in the atmosphere.
The image below shows location of the measuring point of Smitshoek in relation to the highway.
Measurements Rotterdam (centre):
Average: 651 ppm
Highest: 675 ppm
As shown above, the average CO2 value of this measurement was 651 ppm as a highest CO2 amount is enormous taking in consideration that the global average is 403 ppm, there is a difference of approximately 38%. This proves the quantity of CO2 that is present in the air in Rotterdam is extremely high when comparing it to the global average. One can conclude that these numbers show that Rotterdam is a very polluted city. The main explanation that can be found for this high number is because of the high CO2 emissions that come from traffic in the city. Rotterdam exists of high office buildings. Because the city is densely populated, there is a lot of emission on a small surface area. The tall buildings stop the CO2 emissions from escaping, which creates a lot of pollution. This analysis combined with the
fact there is an industrial area near Rotterdam centre, clarify the high CO2 values that are measured.
The high numbers of CO2 means that people in living in or near Rotterdam have a high chance of getting breathing related diseases. As Rotterdam is becoming more popular as a city for businesses to settle and tourism, more traffic will even further increase air pollution in Rotterdam centre. Therefore, it is necessary to get a clear view on the alarming values that are now present in order to spread awareness about what the dangers of pollution are for the future (see paragraph on ‘effect on health…’).
When comparing the results of the practical research of Rotterdam(centre) to Barendrecht(Smitshoek), a clear difference can be noticed. In the graph of Rotterdam, the values are just as in Smitshoek, not variated and stay constant during the measuring period of 400 seconds. However, the line in the graph of Rotterdam is much higher than in the graph of Barendrecht. This is because of the difference in average CO2 values. The average number in Rotterdam was 651 ppm whilst the average in Barendrecht was 476 ppm, which is a difference of 27%. This difference in values are above the expectations. Because Barendrecht is also affected by the industry near Rotterdam, the difference need to be found in the explanation about traffic. The surrounding area of Smitshoek is mainly an inhabited area, but not very densely populated. Also, no tall buildings can be found in this area, which makes it easier for toxic gases to fly over and escape. In Rotterdam there is more stagnant wind. The fact that there is traffic the whole day long in Rotterdam reinforces the idea that the centre of Rotterdam experiences a lot more air pollution than Barendrecht(Smitshoek). In addition, Rotterdam has an airport which means the city also experiences the effects of pollutants from low flying airplanes.
Which factors influence air quality at the two locations? How can these factors be clarified?
Factors that influence air quality are mostly caused by human activities. When looking at the city of Rotterdam, it is located next to the biggest industrial area of The Netherlands, which is in Pernis. The industry in Pernis is mostly petrochemical industry, which causes chemicals, carbon monoxide etc. to pollute the air. The industrial area is located very close to residential areas, which makes the pollutants even more damaging (Wikipedia, 2018). Not only the industrial area that is located nearby Rotterdam centre is polluting the atmosphere, also the port of Rotterdam affects the air quality. The port of Rotterdam is the biggest harbor of Europe (Havenautoriteiten,2017) and thereby one of the main income sources of the dutch economy (222.2 million euros)(havenbedrijf rotterdam opbrengsten, 2016). Although it brings us a lot of welfare, exhaust gases from boats pollute the city and the area around it. It is not just the freight vessels from abroad but also the inland vessels and most importantly cruise ships that sail on the Maas or Rhine straight through Rotterdam. Especially cruise ships are very polluting; one cruise ship per day is just as polluting as one million cars per day (NABU, 2017). Cruise ships sail on heavy fuel oil, which is left from the production of diesel and petrol and which is very cheap. Not only carbon dioxide is released during combustion, also nitrogen, sulfur and particulate matter. Cruise ships are therefore very polluting, which makes risks for lung disease amongst passengers high.
It is however not the port of Rotterdam that is the main cause of air pollution in Rotterdam. Consumers together with industry and ships only make up 10% of the air pollution in Rotterdam (gezonderelucht, 2017)). Most exhaust gases come from road traffic in the city. In Rotterdam, the use of cars compared to the number of bikes and public transport is more than in other dutch, big cities. Traffic makes up 50% approximately of air pollution in Rotterdam (gezonderelucht, 2017), which makes it the biggest cause of air pollution in the city. The bad gases that cars emit are sulfur dioxide (SO2), Hydrocarbons(HC) nitrogen dioxides (NO2), carbon dioxide (CO2), Hazardous air pollutants(toxics), soot and particulate matter. Polluting gases in the atmosphere can be placed into two groups: primary pollution and secondary pollution. Primary pollution are gases that directly come in the atmosphere. Secondary pollution results form chemical reactions between gases emitted from the motor and certain particles which are already in the atmosphere(Union of concerned Scientist, 2014) Because Rotterdam has a relatively high population density of 3.043/km2 (Wikipedia) the huge amount of burned fossil fuels from cars or trucks are the main cause of air pollution. Next to that, indoor air pollution from households also contribute to the pollution of air. This includes the release of toxic chemicals that come from paint supplies like pigments, binder (e.g oil), diluent (e.g turpentine) and additives. The large number of people living in Rotterdam makes this cause more pollutants to come into the air. The number of people living in Rotterdam is even increasing due to the fact that there is more labour migration. Rotterdam is seen as the city of job opportunities, mainly because of its port. This also increases gas emissions in the city (e.g more traffic), which again affects the air quality. What can be concluded out of this is that on a regional level, the average life expectancy in Rotterdam is lower than in other parts of The Netherlands (VMU,2017) because of the unhealthy atmosphere that the inhabitants live in.
Airplanes is one of the other factors of air pollution that will become a bigger concern in the future. This is due to the more frequent and lower flying airplanes that fly over Rotterdam and the surrounding area. The cause of this is Schiphol, largest airport in The Netherlands, which is expanding for different reasons. One of them is to improve the international trading position of The Netherlands. More international companies will settle in the area around the airport. Next to that, travelers are able to choose more destinations, and the expansion of the airport will also cause more job opportunities. However, because plane traffic around Schiphol increases, it becomes too busy in the airspace. Planes that fly to Rotterdam are now forced to have different flight paths in order to give priority to the airplanes that fly to Schiphol, Amsterdam. This causes other airplanes to fly on a lower altitude, close above the residential areas. The quality of the air in Rotterdam and the area around it (e.g Barendrecht) is highly influenced by this, as the kerosine that comes from planes cause an immense amount of pollutants in the air, approximately 200 gram CO2-equivalent per person per kilometer(zaailingen, 2015).
In Barendrecht, the main source of CO2 comes from the two highways of which Barendrecht is located in between. The A16 is the most important one, which is between Rotterdam and Antwerp and functions as a supply route from the port of Rotterdam going abroad. Therefore, it is a route on which there is a lot of freight transport. It is not only vessels going abroad from the port but also trucks. These vehicles consume a lot of fossil fuels, which causes the air in Barendrecht to be polluted.
A last factor that causes more pollution in Barendrecht is by the fact the town has expanded since the 20th century. More buildings, more people, more cars etc have caused more pollution.
Although Barendrecht has its own factors that cause air pollution, the fact that this town is located close to Rotterdam and that truck transport from the port of Rotterdam goes through Barendrecht, contributes most to the fact the air is polluted. The spread of pollutants in the atmosphere in the industrial area near Rotterdam causes the surrounding areas, including Barendrecht, to become polluted.
For both Barendrecht and Rotterdam, wind is a factor in spreading gases that lower air quality. In Rotterdam and Barendrecht it is one of the bigger factors that contribute to the air pollution, because the air pollution that is created by one vehicle or industrial company can spread over a 100 KM, depending on the speed at which the wind blows. Global wind patterns generally determine wind speed and wind direction. Barendrecht and Rotterdam are mostly affected by a south-western wind. The fact that it is a western wind causes the air to be more polluted in the two areas. When looking at the areas south-west of Rotterdam and Barendrecht, Zeeland is one of the provinces where part of the air comes from. In Zeeland, there is an industrial area, in Moerdijk. This impacts pollution in the chosen locations, due to the wind patterns. However, it does matter whether it is a northern or southern wind direction, because the toxic gases spread like a funnel in the atmosphere. This means that areas are affected by gases no matter where it is located. Only the width of the area determines to what extent the air is polluted. Rotterdam and Barendrecht are therefore both highly affected by the not far off industrial area.
What is the effect on the health of the people who live in these areas?
For each gas and particulate that is used in this research project, the physical consequences of a too high quantity of the gas particulates will be explained.
Nitric oxide(NO)
This gas cannot harm humans a lot, because it is invisible. Next to that, it can not be smelled nor be tasted.
Nitrogen dioxide(NO2)
Too high quantities can effect in irritation of the airways, nose, throat, eyes. Very high quantities can effect in asthma-attacks and increased hospital admissions. People living near highways have a higher chance of having irritated airways. This effect is even more extreme for Asthma patients(Australian government Department of the environment and energy, 2013). Also coughing more often, having flu and getting bronchitis are all potential effects of a higher concentration of nitrogen dioxide. The youth and elderly are most at risk or have a higher chance of getting these symptoms. Also it will cause more frequent, extreme and intense attacks and impact on their body and further health(gezondheid & Milieu, 2017).
Ozone(O3)
Again Younger children and elderly people and people who have asthma are at the highest risk of experiencing the effects of ozone. Also humans that are very active outside and spend a long time outside, people with special genetics, and people who have a lack of C and E will experience the effects of ozone more.
The possible effects that may occur when being exposed to too much ozone are: Not being able to breath deeply, experiencing pain when breathing deeply, coughing, damage to the airways, asthma, emphysema, bronchitis, increase frequency of asthma, continuous damaging the lungs, make the lungs more weak so infection is more likely to occur.
So ozone can lead to asthma and lung damage and has the biggest effect on young children because they are still in their development and the permanent lung damage can follow them for their whole life.
Studies also have shown that being exposed on a short-term to a very high concentration of ozone can lead to all of the things listed above but could even lead to death. Long-term exposure to a concentration that is a bit too high has not specifically shown death as a result but there is a higher chance that people get lung diseases and damaged lungs, which creates a high risk of death.
Particulate matter(PM10) Particulate matter(PM2,5)
These are discussed together because it is practically the same particulate except for the size of the particulates, which are different. Research has shown that the smallest particles have the most influence on people. High concentrations of the particles will effect the lungs negatively. Children their lungs could stop growing and will then have a decreased lung capacity when they are older. Lots of studies have different outcomes, however it is sure that Particulate matter have a negative effect on the lungs. Studies have not yet shown that particulate matter of any size will increase the chance of getting asthma or respiratory disease of any kind.
Another effect Particulate matter can have is on the heart and blood vessel system. The heart will function less and people have a higher chance of getting a heart attack when there is an high concentration of particulate matter in the lungs or in the air. The effect is big on humans however CO2 and NO2 have a way bigger effect. The blood vessels are also directly influenced in a negative way when there is particulate matter of any seize in the air, where humans are active. Arteriosclerose is a illness that is caused by particulate matter, so is an effect of particulate matter in the air. However Arteriosclerose is disease which is caused by the smallest zeise of particulate matter which are smaller than 1 micrometer, these are not taken in account in the research for this project because they are harder to measure and there is no secondary resource which displays the amount of this small particulate matter in the air in different places(Jules Kerckhoffs, 2012)
Carbon Dioxide(CO2)
High levels of elevated levels of Carbon dioxide can lead to acute hypercapnia or heavy gas exchange so heavy breathing, high exposure is the effect of pollution or volcanic activity.
Which measures can be taken on both locations in order to prevent pollution?
It is difficult to determine what solutions can be possible for the over-polluted areas Rotterdam and Barendrecht. Industry, transport, aviation etc. are all factors that are used on a daily basis by the population. It is the question if the dutch economy will be negatively affected when trying to stop factors that cause air pollution. The importance of consumption increases nowadays, which damages both human and environmental health. What causes attention is the fact that everything in society seems to be about money and making profits. Efficiency and speed of production is more important amongst population than keeping the environment healthy. Society in general has become more materialistic, which makes people feel more removed from nature. Next to that, it creates an individualized society in which people are more focused on themselves.
Luxury mass products are cheap and consume a very high amount of energy and raw materials, while labor-intensive goods that are really important for human well-being (e.g healthcare) are becoming increasingly expensive. The fact that lots of energy is consumed for production, causes the air to be polluted. This makes it a difficult task to create solutions that will lead to the prevention of air pollution, as consumption becomes an increasing part of the economy.
The Netherlands however, is one of the most important innovation and knowledge centers of the world. Clean energy resources are supported by the government through for example the production of sun panels in China, which the Dutch have designed. Sun energy is emerging and will become the new main source of energy in The Netherlands. The development of sun panels can be seen as one of the measures that are taken in order to prevent pollution. It is a measure that applies to the entire country, which includes the two locations on which there has been research done. Sun energy however is not the only example of clean energy. ‘Biobased chemistry’ is another form of new, clean energy that is upcoming. Biobased chemistry is used for products that are produced by the use of oil in the chemical industry. This is a form of sustainable energy that will cause less pollution from industry. The use of sustainable energy can be applied at every form of consumption of energy. The dutch government is supporting this, by for example introducing port money discounts for ships that sail on clean energy, as well as using cleaner fuels for own shipping industry.
Not only creating clean energy is a new optional form of energy, also conserving energy is a way in order to decrease air pollution. Large amounts of fossil fuels are burned in order to produce electricity for everyone. People need to be encouraged to switch off every electronic device when going out. This saves a lot of energy, which creates less dangerous gases to come in the air. In addition, people can use efficient energy devices such as CFL lights. These consume less electricity and last long. Using these lights help to reduce consumption of energy and therefore reduce pollution.
When looking at the city of Rotterdam, there are different ways to move yourself. Public transport is available at almost every place in and around the city. However, referring back to what is said earlier about traffic in Rotterdam, a lot of people use their car to go to work. People need to be encouraged more to make use of public transport. In order to attract and persuade people, the public transport can be improved by making it more comfortable and providing cheaper subscriptions. Also, more electric vehicle charging stations can be installed in order to promote more sustainable traffic in the centre.
People have been introduced in the past to recycling. Spreading awareness about to what extent recycling contributes to the reduction of air pollution, also encourages people to make use the concept of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. For example, the government can make it obligated to spread your waste into different waste containers. Also people should not easily throw away stuff that are not in use but can be reused. These measures all contribute to saving energy, which help reduce the amount of pollutants in the air.
These measures all depend on people’s will to contribute to a clean environment. Encouragement is therefore a big factor that determines the effectiveness of these measures. Only by making people aware of the consequences of air pollution, one can feel addressed to make a change.
In Barendrecht, there has been a long going discussion going on about placing wind turbines. Wind turbines function as fresh air ventilators, powered by the wind. This ventilates the polluted air from the A15 highway that runs through Barendrecht. Wind turbines are not powered by electricity, which is an advantage that supports the idea of clean energy. These wind turbines save money by operating all in itself. However, the municipality of Barendrecht protested against this initiative because they claim Barendrecht is a densely populated municipality. According to the municipality, Barendrecht is an unsuitable location for the placement of wind turbines. Factors that support this claim are safety, recreation and nature but also the noise and the drop shadow that comes from the wind turbines. Although realizing these turbines will have an effective result on the production of wind energy and ventilation of polluted air, it remains unclear if it is possible due to the great resistance from the municipality Barendrecht(Gemeente Barendrecht, 2017).
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