Title: A City Ordinance to Mandate Tree Barrier to Improve Fontana Air Quality

Background/ The Problem

Consider living in an area where almost half of each year is spent inhaling toxic air and
contemplate the long-term impact this exposure would have on the health of families and
individuals who reside within this contaminated environment. For those living in Fontana City, this
state of living is unfortunately a reality.
Fontana is nestled against the San Bernardino County Mountains and has become the
second largest city in the county and the 20th largest in the State. Over the years, Fontana has
transformed from an agricultural area to a manufacturing center. Industries and trucking-based
companies continue to be part of Fontana’s culture and the city sits at the crossroads of the Union
Pacific railroad track and interstate freeways 10, 15, and 210. These urban developments have
contributed to increased traffic, and through the years have resulted in severe air pollution. The
American Lung Association “State of the Air 2015” report showed that San Bernardino County was
ranked number 16 for people at risk among year round particle pollution, signifying Fontana as one
of the chief sources for pollution (American Lung Association, 2015).
In 2014, San Bernardino County conducted an air quality management survey to include the
area of Fontana. The survey revealed that 136 different types of suspect particulate micrograms per
cubic meter of the air inhaled is above federal and state levels and that 110 fine particulates per
cubic meter were found to be 109, which averaged annually at 13.18% of the air. Lead was also
present but it was in small numbers of .01 per cubic meter and sulfate reached a high of 4.6% cubic
meter. The numbers were compared to the prior year, 2013, and no significant changes were noted.
These particulates can lead to many cases of medical diagnoses for respiratory diseases
such as: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, respiratory associated infections
such as pneumonia and tuberculosis, pulmonary edema, acute respiratory distress syndrome
(ARDS), and lung cancer. These diseases can lead to premature death, cardiovascular associated
distress, shortness of breath, and increased costs for medical treatment (American Lung
Association, 2016). These conditions demonstrate the cause for concern and immediate action
needed to adopt an ordinance that can help restore air quality in the city. Fontana would benefit
from tree barriers to help prevent the flow of contaminated air by surrounding interstates and
industries.

Thesis statement
All existing and newly developed businesses and residential areas in Fontana will be
required to meet a standardized tree planting program in order to improve air quality.

The Proposed Solution

Trees help improve air quality, appeal to the community aesthetics by improving property
value, aid in blocking hot air and dust particles, and help suppress noise due to the density of the
leaves and branches. Trees main purpose is to clean the air by filtering out the pollutant through
photosynthesis. Certain trees such as pine, yellow tulips, larch, and silver birch are better adapted
to absorb and dispose of O3, NO2, CO2, and HNO3 and modify the microclimate by humidifying the
environment (Vos et al., 2013). Researchers have based this study on these types of trees by
investigating four pollutants in particular: nitrogen dioxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide, and particulate
matter less than 2.5 microns in aerodynamic diameter. A single mature tree can absorb carbon
dioxide at a rate of 48lbs a year and release enough oxygen back into the atmosphere to support
two human beings (California EPA, 2015).
The proposed solution is to create a city ordinance that will allow to have trees planted
along the freeways on the city side and around the major industrial areas such as the cement plant,
the Pacific Union, and the trucking liaison areas, while also planting shrubs in residential
neighborhoods and limited space areas. The types of trees planted will vary depending on the area,
amount of water, and maintenance required. Fontana will mimic the “Woodland, CA” ordinance in
environmental protection through tree planting and tree planting requirements. In doing so,
Fontana city officials will survey the types of trees based on the land. Pine trees, weeping willow,
yellow willow, and at times tulip trees may take years to grow and would be appropriate for larger,
more stable spaces surrounding the city near freeways, and railroads. For smaller spaces, night
jasmine, mountain ebony, or Mandarai shrubs are adequate. Schools within the Fontana Unified
School District will also be a part of the ordinance by helping to introduce students to tree planting
in an effort to educate them on the importance of maintaining air quality. Programs such as “Plant a
Tree Day” could be organized with the district for field trips around the city.

Argument Against
There is however much to consider before implementing a tree-planting project in Fontana.
According to a research study from Vos et al. (2013), the study showed that trees have reverse
effects on reducing air pollution. The study notes that in some situations trees may increase the
amount of certain pollutants and reduce ventilation. It showed that previous studies do not report
much on ambient concentrations and for the most part promote urban vegetation and tree planting
to reduce air pollution without further investigation. It was found that planting trees induces higher
concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (N02) and elemental carbon (EC) which are the primary
pollutants related to traffic. Therefore, implementing a tree -planting project in Fontana could fail
because certain trees under various temperatures release Emission Volatile Organic Compounds
(EVOCS). Consequently, the EVOCS mixed with N02 and EC would only worsen the air quality in that
area causing smog (California Environmental Protection Agency, 2016). This project could also fail
since the cost of implementing a project would encompass a tremendous amount of money, time,
and resources for planting, maintaining, pruning, and fertilizing.

Conclusion
However, trees do reduce particulate matter by 7-24 % while also having a cooling effect up
to 2  C (3.6  F) (Kinver, 2016). In addition, they keep homes cool because of the shade they
provide, therefore decreasing air condition use, which would lead to less fossil fuel consumption.
Additional benefits would also be less heat related deaths since more cool spots would be available
throughout the city. The cost of running this program would also not have a severe fiscal impact
because it could be incorporated into the city beautification program already established. This
beautification program would already take care of the costs of trees and the labor of maintaining
them with the only difference of changing the types of trees planted. If any additional trees needed
to be planted, costs to the public could be as low as “$4 a year with 11,000 and 36,000 lives being
saved” (Kinver, 2016). Although planting trees would be a slow process, incorporating it to
additional programs already in place to reduce pollution, would be a great tool in improving air
quality overall.
Planting trees in the city of Fontana to beautify the city will be changed with the focus being
to plant trees that can improve air quality. Pollution will be reduced by the trees long-term and will
lead to additional benefits such as reducing exposure to respiratory diseases, reduction of dust,
keeping homes cooler, less air conditioner usage, and reduction in fossil fuel consumption.
Although, relying only on using trees to combat pollution is not enough to make a significant
reduction in Fontana’s air quality, it is a noteworthy step to incorporate with various programs
within the city that are seeking to reduce pollution.
 References

California Environmental Protection Agency: Trees and Air Quality. 2016. Gov.

Kinver, Mark. "Growth of City Trees Can Cut Air Pollution, Says Report." BBC News. BBC, 31
Oct. 2016. Web. 30 Nov. 2016.

The American Lung Association. "State of the Air 2015." American Lung Association (2015):
17. American Lung Association. Web.

The American Lung Association. "State of the Air 2016." American Lung Association (2016):
30-33. American Lung Association. Web.

Vos. P.E.J., Mahieu. Bino,Vankerkom.J.,Janssen.S., 2013. Improving local air quality in cities:
To tree or not to tree? Environmental Pollution. 183. (113-122).