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Plants benefit air pollution more than they harm it

Another View

By TOM FRANTZ, Shafter | Thursday, Sep 28 2006 4:45 PM

Last Updated: Thursday, Sep 28 2006 4:49 PM

The recent Californian article, "Dispute persists over trees as polluters," was very misleading. The story begins: "Here's the ugly truth: Plants are a thriving source of air pollution. Tree emissions dwarf what comes from dairy cows."

Despite Ronald Reagan's similar anti-tree pronouncements many years ago, these statements are directly attributable to dairy industry propagandists. Who else could say such things with a straight face?

Here is the real truth: Plants and trees benefit our environment tremendously and serve to limit pollution in many ways.

The natural, smog-forming gases from trees are dwarfed by their pollution absorbing properties. And think about this: Tree emissions can only produce smog when mixed with car and truck exhaust.

High above the San Joaquin Valley floor grow the majority of our trees. Their volatile organic compound emissions produce almost zero smog because there is little traffic in the forest. What you get instead is the rather pleasant smell of pine trees. Yet the dairy industry would like us to equate emissions in our national forests with the smog forming volatile gases milk factories produce near our cities and highways.

In a recent Atlanta study, experts studied the effects of tree loss over 15 years and found the drop of VOC emissions from lost trees had caused a 5 percent drop in ozone. But, they concluded, other direct and indirect consequences of losing the trees had actually increased ozone about 20 percent. This is because trees in a polluted city are absorbing vast amounts of ozone daily and their cooling effect prevents even more ozone from forming.

Here in the San Joaquin Valley, our farm crops are also a great benefit to air quality if you ignore the negatives of dust and pesticides. Yes, our cotton, grape and almond acreage produces anywhere from 10 to 30 tons of VOCs per day. What cannot be forgotten, according to figures from the California Air Resources Board, is that these same fields are also removing more than 100 tons of ozone every day.

It is the relatively recent import from Chino of megadairies that has changed the positives of our traditional valley agriculture into a huge negative. The conservative estimate of 60 tons per day of VOCs makes these gigantic dairies the single biggest source of controllable smog forming precursors here in the valley.

Considering the huge plumes of ammonia, the noxious hydrogen sulfide fumes and the globally threatening methane gases, which also arise daily from every milk factory, it is no wonder many people are now thinking twice about the wisdom of allowing more of these groundwater polluting, fly- and mosquito-producing manure/milk farm behemoths to build here. In any case, we should not allow the denigration of valuable trees by a polluting industry to take our minds off the real issues. The dairy folks need to do their part for cleaner air like everyone else and stop changing the topic.

Tom Frantz is a lifelong resident of Kern County, a former almond farmer, a high school math teacher and president of the Association of Irritated Residents, a group advocating for cleaner air in the San Joaquin Valley. Another View is a critical response to a Californian editorial or story. It may contain up to 500 words. The Californian reserves the right to reprint contributed commentaries in all formats, including on its Web page.