Air Pollution in Houston, Texas

Air Pollution in Houston, Texas

Today, Houston is a thriving metropolis and enjoys one of the highest per capita incomes in the country. Further, the city continues to enjoy unprecedented growth levels and businesses and new families continue to arrive every day. Unfortunately, an adverse consequence of this economic growth and prosperity has been an increased level of air pollution in the city in recent years, a problem that can reasonably be expected to get worse instead of better given the city's exponential growth. The purpose of this paper is to identify the extent of the air pollution problem in Houston today and what factors contribute to its existing levels. A review of the peer-reviewed and scholarly literature, as well as governmental sources, to this end is followed by a summary of the research and salient findings in the conclusion.

Review and Discussion

In their recent essay, "Perceived Risk and Citizen Preferences," Gerber and Neeley (2005) report that, "Harris County is located in the eastern part of the state and includes the City of Houston, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States, with correspondingly high levels of crime and the dubious honor of surpassing Los Angeles several years ago as having the poorest air quality in the country." In reality, though, Houston faces many of the same problems as other large cities around the world, but in some cases, these problems are especially pronounced there. For example, weather conditions in Houston are extreme, and the vast majority of businesses and many homes are air-conditioned out of necessity. According to Cherni (2002), "High temperatures and unbearable humidity reign for more than six months of the year; average temperatures range between 56°F and 76°F, with a relative humidity of 76%. To facilitate life in this climate, most buildings are air-conditioned. Houston's population cocoons itself from the heat within artificially air-conditioned buildings; indeed air conditioning has played an important role in the city." In fact, the hot season in Houston generally lasts from May until October, and while other large metropolitan areas also experience higher summer mean temperatures, there are few suffer from the inordinately high humidity levels that characterize the Houston area. In this regard, Thomas and Murray (1991) report that although commercial air conditioning was first introduced into Houston in 1923, the majority of business locations were equipped with air-conditioning following the end of World War II. According to Cherni, "Central air conditioning was an essential factor in attracting business to Houston. Homes, cars and schools were air-conditioned in the 1950s and 1960s, followed by other specialized sites in the 1970s. By the mid-1970s, the middle and upper classes had almost completely insulated themselves from the four to five months of severe summer heat and humidity."

Furthermore, because of the vast geographic area comprising the greater Houston metropolitan area, transportation continues to be predominantly by privately owned vehicles and congestion remains common while public transport is highly deficient. Not surprisingly, Houston has experienced a growing problem with air pollution. According to Cherni, "In Houston, outdoor air conditions are usually very unpleasant. In addition to high temperatures and humidity, emissions from numerous cars and industry, and the heat produced by central cooling equipment, contribute to at times unbearable air quality. A report by the Houston Chronicle cited by Cherni reports that while Houston is ranked among the top ten wealthiest areas in the country in terms of personal income, the city has an inordinately high incidence of cancer mortality and infant, childhood and maternal mortality.

One of the most obvious contradictions is that high levels of air pollution make Houston one of the most contaminated cities in the United States. As noted above, Houston is much like other major cities around the world that suffer from high levels of air pollution, but industrial emissions in the region have become particularly problematic (see Figure 1 below). In this regard, Cherni suggests that, "A key issue for this urban pollution is that industrial emission tends to be localized and, despite the fact that large sections of Houston have been frequently invaded by industrial pollution, the residential areas located nearby petrochemical plants have been most adversely affected."