Consortium Contact
Devon Howard
Administrative Coordinator
5500 Campanile Dr.
San Diego CA
92182
619-594-0568
dhoward@projects.sdsu.edu
SCERP-LASPAU Binational Air Quality Improvement Project
The sister regions of Mexicali, Baja California and Imperial Valley, California house some of the world’s most polluted air, and Imperial Valley’s population has one of the highest asthma morbidity rates in the United States.
Because Mexicali and Imperial Valley are only separated by the international border, it is intuitively obvious that these two regions share the same airshed and that their air quality issues are international issues. (The 2006 edition of the Random House dictionary defines an airshed as, “a geographical area within which the air frequently is confined or channeled, with all parts of the area thus being subject to similar conditions of air pollution.”)
However, before decision makers and stakeholders can work with and use an intuitively obvious scientific phenomenon, the phenomenon must be backed by rigorous scientific study. This is why SCERP and LASPAU have decided to partner on a project that can help researchers scientifically define the airshed that Imperial Valley-Mexicali residents live in and breathe from.
By identifying, collating, and collecting data on the Imperial Valley’s and Mexicali’s geography, meteorological forces, climate, and other factors, SCERP’s and LASPAU’s project can help scientists define a Multinational Common Airshed (MCA). Once the MCA is established, stakeholders can use it to identify who pollutes, what pollutes, where the pollution goes, when and why the pollution occurs, who is affected, and how the pollution can be abated.
SCERP’s project with LASPAU will further SCERP’s extensive air quality work. It may also produce opportunities for Emission Reduction Credit trading programs in the border region, as the finished project will give investors and stakeholders information on what pollution sources and market forces can be harnessed to produce such trades.
While many environmentalists initially criticized Emission Reduction Credit Trading programs as “permits to pollute” when they first appeared on the scene in the late 1980s, Washington and U.S. policymakers, academics, and specific agencies now recognize the value and effectiveness of emissions trading. (The U.S. Acid Rain Program, which was conducted between Michigan and Ottawa, is a fundamental example of a successful international Emission Reduction Credit program.)
About LASPAU and SCERP
SCERP has studied the U.S.-Mexican border region’s acute air quality problems since 1991, and has published several articles and monographs on it, such as Air Quality Issues along the U.S.-Mexican Border and Binational Air Quality Management.
LASPAU is a nonprofit organization affiliated with Harvard University and governed by an independent, inter-American board of trustees. LASPAU designs, develops, and implements academic and professional programs to benefit the Americas. LASPAU’s Border Ozone Reduction and Air Quality Improvement Program offers grants to investigate and implement effective, scientifically based and measurable methods to reduce ozone creation and improve air quality in the border region between Mexicali, Mexico, and Imperial County, California. The program also addresses cross-border policy issues such as shared environmental standards and the purchase of emission reduction offsets or other mitigation efforts that achieve a similar benefit.
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