USU students focus on air quality issues
For many Utah State University students, the Logan environmental problem is something distant and without importance, but for the students of Honors 1360 this is a serious topic.
The Planet Earth class met together in the Taggart Student Center Walnut Room Monday, Nov. 21, to discuss pollution in Cache Valley. Jim Evans, a USU geology professor, divided his class into groups – each one playing the role of an important group in the Logan community.
“The objective of this activity is to simulate a town council meeting. The groups of students have to think about the concerns of the people they are playing,” he said.
The class groups represented farmers, businessmen, scientists, elderly residents and students. To create a realistic mock council meeting, Evans said he invited a specialist to talk with the residents. Randal Martin, an engineering professor who holds a doctorate in air quality, explained the properties of the inversion that affected Cache Valley last winter.
Martin said the level of particulate matter (PM) 2.5 – a chemical particle that helps indicate the quality of air in the Valley – is high due to a combination of factors like the amount cow manure, the number of vehicles, the low wind and the unburned fuel. The cold, the snow and the higher pressure during winter also helps the accumulation of pollutants in the air, he said.
Martin also said the level of PM 2.5 is considered unhealthy for sensitive people, such as young children and the elderly, when it is below 40 mg/m3. For adults this level goes up to 65 mg/m3. Just this year the levels in Cache Valley were above 65 mg/ m3 for 17 days and above 100.5 mg/ m3, the previous highest level, for four days, he said.
He also said the vehicle inspection would decrease the number of P.M. 2.5 in the atmosphere.
“The estimate is that 5.4 percent of the cars in Logan have emission problems, if those cars had to pass a emission test, the levels of pollutants would decrease 11 to 15 percent,” he said.
After the brief lecture, students asked questions as the groups of people would evaluate the situation. The students representing the elderly asked questions related to health and the effects of P.M. 2.5 on people. The students representing farmers asked questions related to the cow manure and what could they do to help prevent the inversion.
Rebekah Bradway is taking the class and was in charge of public relations for the mock town council meeting. She said the students felt that the activity was really helpful.
“We hear people talking about environmental problems, but they all seem far away from us. When we see how they affect our community we become more aware,” she said.
-acanutunes@cc.usu.edu