Air Pollution in Almaty

What is even worse, air pollution in the city comes from the tailpipes of poorly maintained cars, a situation further aggravated by dirty fuel, or by gasoline and diesel that have been homicidally altered to increase fuel volume and profit. Many of the local gas stations sell low quality fuel that has a higher than permitted level of noxious ingredients. The independent expertise center of oil products “Organic” has analyzed the fuel sold at a number of gas stations, but the full results of expertise are not publicly available and whether the examination of gas stations Was useful is not known.

They found that what was sold as 92 octane fuel was in fact 84 octane fuel, which violates the requirements on the content of gasoline and diesel oil, adds components that increase the octane umber of fuel, and consequently lowers the quality of these oil products, which has have negative impact on the population’s health (Evacuations, 2007). “If we don’t act now and take necessary measures to reduce air pollution, it will be beyond our control” – Sultanate Makeover says (the head of department of natural resources in Alma).

The fact is that 3 million people die each year from the effects of air pollution (World Health Organization, 2002). If we apply this evidence particularly to Alma, the number of casualties from air pollution in the year 2007 would amount to 795, in the year 2008 – 519. Vehicles cause colossal emissions of harmful items. All these penetrate into our lungs. Polluted air may cause heart diseases and respiratory illnesses among others.

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The chronically good weather in summer may additionally worsen the conditions since the solar radiation is likely to contribute to high levels of near to ground-level ozone.

Among the health issues originating from the high concentration of noxious chemical substances at ground level are: the irritation of eyes and the mucous membrane of nose and throat, and the exacerbation of pulmonary and different chronic diseases. Some of the cyclic hydrocarbons typically found in polluted urban air are known to be carcinogenic. Moreover, nitrogen products can cause premature mortality (Nitrogen, ERA). The highest concentration Of harmful gases and substances caused by motorized traffic usually will be found at the height of one meter over ground level (round table of Ecology, 2008).

Hence, children breathe more toxic air than adults, and their health thus is jeopardized even more strongly than that of adults. One can say we can no longer be selfish by thinking only of the present and living for the moment. It is up to this enervation to make the earth healthy for the next generation. Of course it is not possible to eliminate pollution completely, but we can try to keep it to a minimum. We can do many things in this direction. For example if people are willing to use public transport, we can reduce pollution considerably.

In conclusion, this research report will find out the main reasons why Alma citizens engage in polluting the air. It will ask government representatives what government programs have been implemented in order to cope with the problem of air pollution in Alma and whether they have been sufficient. Eel this is an issue that everybody should have some knowledge about, and I chose this topic because I want to learn more about how safe the air we are breathing is.

This research report will consider some accessible facts Of air pollution, examine some Of the aspects of this issue, and try to find the most feasible solutions to prevent or at least reduce the air pollution in Alma. Chapter 2 – Literature Review Chapter 3 – Description of Results The previous chapter described the works Of some researchers who study the issue of air pollution in Astrakhan, and this chapter will tell about the exults of the surveys and interview taken from the citizens of Alma.

The main and most interesting part of the research paper is this chapter because it contains information taken from students’ answers to the distributed questionnaires and from an interview with civil servant. The results are based on the survey and interview, which were taken during three weeks in Alma (between September 25th and October 16th). In Alma, according to research done by “Categorized’, approximately 80 % of the noxious gases and gas admixtures are caused by vehicle emissions (Nash Gash, 2010).

And it is not news to anyone that cars, which we all like, are the main cause for it. Moreover air pollution in the city has a significant impact on people’s healthy future lives. Although the new car emission reductions have been substantial, emissions from vehicles on the road continue to be a problem, with relatively small numbers of cars with broken or deteriorated emissions equipment accounting for the majority of the emissions. So this research report aims to find out if there is any progress on the implementation of transport programs to control air pollution on the roads.

A limited quantitative study was conducted by giving questionnaires to twenty students from SKIMP , who gave Very different answers. In the beginning of the survey, the Interviewers elicited from the respondent information about their driving habits and their vehicles as well as the degree to which air pollution bothers them. Then it was necessary to convey to the respondent a great deal of information about the pollution fees: information about the features of the basic plan, such as the technology and uses of the revenues.

In order to keep the respondent engaged in the interview process, resented this information to respondents in questions of the form, “Suppose ‘dirty cars paid a higher rate than cleaner cars. ‘ Would you be more or less likely to support the fee policy? ” Structured interview were carried out to gain a more qualitative picture of the current situation of the transport system and air conditions in the city. The results of the questionnaires are presented first, followed by the quantitative results of the structured interview.

Questionnaires were distributed among 20 students from SKIMP, who have cars, from September 25th to October 14th. Ten of the participants are male ND ten are female. All participants ranged from 18-22 years in age. In the survey there were 6 closed questions with multiple choice answers, but to know the individual approach of the person I made the last choice as “your answer’ to the most questions. So the first question was: “Are you satisfied with the condition of air in Alma? ” 63 % of students answered that they were not satisfied, while the rest answered yes.

This proves that most Of people recognize their home air quality problems. The second question was about what is the major cause of air pollution in Alma. The majority of exponents (78%) agreed that vehicles contribute to pollution and that vehicle emissions are harmful to human health. The third question was: “Do you see any success in implementation of transport programs to reduce air pollution in the city? ” Opinions were divided equally. Less than 50 percent agreed, but 54 percent of students claimed that the entire available budget didn’t return to the public.

The fourth question was about the cause of failure of these programs. Approximately 52% do not believe that taxes are spent wisely, 30% of respondents considered that the cause of this were corruption r stealing government money by civil servants, and 18 % of respondents answered that they did not think about it before and they do not care about it . The fifth question: ‘M/hat must be done to make the ecological situation of Alma better? ” There must be much more green plants in the city (36%). The number of cars must be reduced (24%). The traffic must be limited (20%) We can do nothing already (13%). O not know (7%). The sixth question, can you use public transport as an alternative to using private car? 87% of students said no, the rest yes. It is obvious that there are no good alternatives to using ears. People are selfish and for them comfort comes above all else. However for the same question but with addition point, the results of answers were definitely different. “Can you use public transport as an alternative to using a private car? (if government improves the condition of public transport, and the prices increase, because of the cost of changes in quality)” 72 % answered no, the rest responded yes.

As internet makes our life easier to communicate, I conducted the flogger interview by asking questions related to my topic to Alma Deputy Akin (Mayor) Victor Telephoned. Victor Telephoned is a Deputy Akin of Alma since April 2008. He is at age 63 and has 44 years of work experience in building and construction management. First of all, I sent him a letter where I introduced myself and briefly explained my reason for writing. Then I asked interesting questions related to my topic. The office of Deputy Mayor quickly sent some answers to my questions. However in my opinion answers were quite formal.

The first question was concerning the increasing number of cars in the city. “There are currently more than 500,000 vehicles registered in Alma. What actions have been ken by local authorities to reduce this number? ” Doltishness answer was that on 1 July 201 1 the government of Astrakhan established preferential tariffs on the import of cars by individuals for personal use. In other words, the new law indicates that taxes on import cars have been increased. And certainly it leads to decreasing number of import cars. Then interviewee answered on the second question that was about new transport programs in Alma.

Telephoned responded that they strengthened control over the quality of motor fuel, emission standards and technical inspection of vehicles ND improved transport infrastructure to reduce automobiles’ burden on the city. He stated : “In the last 3 years alone, 7 new interchanges, tunnels, and the first section of Eastern bypass were built. And works in these directions will continue. ” When Telephoned was asked a question about the quality of air in the city, he explained that they plan to purchase 200 modern trolleybuses, launch a large-scale project on creation of light rail system through a mechanism of state- private partnership.

In addition, the interviewee showed his strong position in favor of using natural gas by transport vehicles: ‘There are 200 uses working on compressed natural gas, 50 of which serve the city routes have been already purchased. ” After this response, I was most concerned about the use of natural gas instead of diesel fuel. So the next question was how they plan to implement this transport strategy. The mayor explained that the mayors office intends to economically encourage owners Of private cars to use natural gas. He stated: “Legal persons, buying gas instead of diesel fuel pay half less.

One can count himself: the cost of using gas is 14. 85 tinge per one km. At the same time at using diesel fuel one has to pay – 24. 4 tinge, and 29 tinge if your car works on gasoline. Obviously, the natural gas has advantage. ” However Alma has a weak transport policy which favors automobiles rather than public transport. And it is clear that if people used their cars less this would help to prevent the greenhouse effect. So the next question I asked the deputy akin was when conditions of the public transport will improve.

Because it is no secret how many problems drivers of private passenger vehicles make on the roads. In addition, there are still a lot of complaints about the quality of passenger service, rude inductors and the unsightly appearance of the buses. On this question the mayor claims that Traffic Police Department of Internal Affairs regularly conduct raids to detect and prevent violations of passengers and traffic rules by drivers of public transport. By finding facts police impose administrative fines, and not only for drivers but also for managers and executives of enterprises and carriers.

Road safety engineering courses and customer service trainings are held daily with the drivers of public transport in the city. In conclusion, despite intense regulatory efforts to reduce vehicle emissions ever the past twenty years, emissions from vehicles continue to be major source of air pollution problems in the financial capital of Astrakhan. By surveying local people from Alma about vehicle pollution, it was clear that people who have become too reliant on cars can cause many problems.

Moreover, what Object to is that the view Of Deputy Mayor about success the implementation of transport strategies particularly does not coincide with opinions of students. However, it is important to mention that the levels of us port transport strategies by students were significantly affected by the design features of plans. The survey results clearly indicate that good structured transport strategies and introducing pollution fees on motor vehicles in Alma can attract majority public support. The results also indicate where support and opposition to these plans may be found to aid in targeting publicity and informational campaigns.

Finally, I think examination of these statistical results may be useful in the development of pollution fee programs to present to the public. Chapter 5 – Conclusion The main objectives Of this project were to discover the causes Of a weak transport policy in Alma. As was described in survey chapter, research indicates that urban planning is a new trend in city programmer, which will help to develop Alma as a “multicultural” city and thus to reduce travel distance. These programmer also include buses working on gas and blouses.

However, there is a concern over whether the political power will be strong enough to implement this long term task. By surveying local people from Alma about vehicles pollution, it was clear that people became too reliant on car that can cause many problems. Moreover, the view of Deputy Mayor about success implementation of transport strategies particularly does not coincide with opinions of students. However, it is important to mention that the levels of support transport strategies by students were significantly affected by the design features of plans.

Reading different articles found out that road pricing is an essential part of any solution. Take for example case in London, congestion charging was introduced in order to reduce traffic congestion, and despite some weaknesses and high costs the scheme has achieved its main targets – reduce of air pollution. Second solution is the development of strong public transport as an alternative travel mode to the car. And third solution is investment of all venues from the pricing scheme in the transport sector.

However, Alma is an city from developing economy, the implementation of road pricing in a city with poor public transport and a bureaucratic and ineffective taxation policy would not bring desirable effects in congestion and urban pollution reduction problems. Therefore all we need to do to reduce the problem is simply to be less wasteful. People can make less air pollution just by doing every day small things like drive less, more walk or use the bike. One can say it will definitely improve the protection of the environment as well as human health.