{"id":16323,"date":"2017-09-18T11:27:36","date_gmt":"2017-09-18T15:27:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=16323"},"modified":"2017-09-18T11:43:51","modified_gmt":"2017-09-18T15:43:51","slug":"how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2017\/09\/18\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"How community air monitoring projects provide a data-driven model for the future"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nicoyia Hurt, EDF Oil and Gas Health Policy Intern, contributed to this post<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
Downtown Los Angeles with misty morning smog.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This month marks the one year anniversary since the residents in Imperial County California did something pretty amazing.<\/p>\n

After experiencing some of the highest asthma hospitalization rates in the state, the community got together to launch the IVAN air monitoring project<\/a>\u2013 a community website that provides real time air quality data collected from 40 different pollution monitors across the county.<\/p>\n

Frances Nicklen said the air monitors make a huge difference to her community.<\/p>\n

“The placement of these 40 air monitors throughout the Imperial Valley will be very beneficial so that the people can make educated decisions to protect their health and that of their families,”\u00a0she told the Comite Civico Del Valle<\/a>. \u201cWe only have one valley, and we have to live here, and we need to make it a better place for all of our residents.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a result of the IVAN project, an entire community now has access to real-time pollution data that can identify the region\u2019s largest sources of harmful emissions.<\/p>\n

Even local air quality regulators are using it<\/a> to help inform their policy decisions, demonstrating that community-led science projects can, and do, drive real change.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Several companies are now developing<\/a> lower-cost air pollution monitors that can collect real-time air quality data 24-hours a day with more precision, and can detect a wider array of pollutants than ever \u2013 factors which can help propel<\/a> better environmental controls. These technological advancements<\/a> are incredibly encouraging, and \u2013 as is clear with the IVAN project \u2013 regulators, operators and community groups alike are taking advantage<\/a> of this evolution in environmental technology.<\/p>\n

Communities with poor air quality \u2013 like those in Los Angeles \u2013 appear to be on the verge of getting a new set of tools to help aid in pollution reduction.<\/p>\n

Why Los Angeles?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2015, NASA used data<\/a> from satellites and 14 separate ground-based pollution monitors to confirm high levels of methane (climate pollution) in the Los Angeles region. This reiterated the findings of other studies<\/a> which found that previous estimates of air pollution have been too low, and oil and gas extraction may be releasing twice as much methane and other harmful pollutants than previously thought.<\/p>\n

What these studies didn\u2019t tell us however, is exactly which facilities the pollution is coming from, and how harmful these emissions are to communities living in this region.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the gap new monitoring technology can help close.<\/p>\n

Continuous air pollution monitors can provide real-time data about a vast array of pollutants at a much lower price than the traditional technologies. In turn, these monitors can alert local residents, governmental agencies and facility operators to problems about sites that may be emitting toxic gases.<\/p>\n

Similarly, mobile technology (devices mounted to cars and airplanes) can collect regional information from a wide variety of sources, helping to pinpoint and aggregate information about problematic pollution. Together these technologies can locate problems at individual oil and gas sites, or uncover pollution patterns at the neighborhood level<\/a> and identify hyper-localized hot spots.<\/p>\n

New legislation<\/a> demonstrates this information can and should be used to develop local air quality improvement plans. In short, better data can set the stage for new levels of engagement and influence change in a positive direction, and efforts are under way to make that happen.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no denying that the oil and gas industry in California has supplied a huge amount of goods, services and money into the state\u2019s economy. At the same time, it\u2019s clear that leaks and poor environmental performance at oil and gas sites, especially where sites are located within a few feet<\/a> of people\u2019s homes and businesses, can drastically impact quality of life.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, California\u2019s technology boom<\/a> has revolutionized the way we hail a ride<\/a> or rent a home<\/a>. If used appropriately, it can also help create a safer, cleaner environment.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nicoyia Hurt, EDF Oil and Gas Health Policy Intern, contributed to this post This month marks the one year anniversary since the residents in Imperial County California did something pretty amazing. After experiencing some of the highest asthma hospitalization rates in the state, the community got together to launch the IVAN air monitoring project\u2013 a …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91683,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8015,200,439,97888,27598,693],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-16323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-air-quality","category-california","category-climate","category-data-access","category-energy-innovation-series","category-natural-gas"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow community air monitoring projects provide a data-driven model for the future - Energy Exchange<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2017\/09\/18\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How community air monitoring projects provide a data-driven model for the future - Energy Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Nicoyia Hurt, EDF Oil and Gas Health Policy Intern, contributed to this post This month marks the one year anniversary since the residents in Imperial County California did something pretty amazing. After experiencing some of the highest asthma hospitalization rates in the state, the community got together to launch the IVAN air monitoring project\u2013 a ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2017\/09\/18\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Energy Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-09-18T15:27:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-09-18T15:43:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2017\/09\/iStock_55082572_LARGE-300x200.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Irene Burga\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Irene Burga\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/18\\\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/18\\\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Irene Burga\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e3fc951d9fb8dbd8bab5232bdc149c90\"},\"headline\":\"How community air monitoring projects provide a data-driven model for the future\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-09-18T15:27:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-09-18T15:43:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/18\\\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":673,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/18\\\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/38\\\/files\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/iStock_55082572_LARGE-300x200.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Air Quality\",\"California\",\"Climate\",\"Data Access\",\"Energy Innovation\",\"Natural Gas\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/18\\\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/18\\\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\\\/\",\"name\":\"How community air monitoring projects provide a data-driven model for the future - Energy Exchange\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/18\\\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/18\\\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/38\\\/files\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/iStock_55082572_LARGE-300x200.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-09-18T15:27:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-09-18T15:43:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e3fc951d9fb8dbd8bab5232bdc149c90\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/18\\\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/18\\\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/18\\\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/38\\\/files\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/iStock_55082572_LARGE-300x200.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/38\\\/files\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/iStock_55082572_LARGE-300x200.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/18\\\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How community air monitoring projects provide a data-driven model for the future\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/\",\"name\":\"Energy Exchange\",\"description\":\"Accelerating the clean energy revolution\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e3fc951d9fb8dbd8bab5232bdc149c90\",\"name\":\"Irene Burga\",\"description\":\"Irene Burga Manager, California Climate and Energy Irene designs and advocates for policies and programs that reduce pollution from the oil and gas industry, increase opportunities for clean energy development, and help areas most underserved and overburdened by poor air quality. Irene is a Los Angeles native and is currently based there.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.edf.org\\\/people\\\/irene-burga\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/author\\\/iburga\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How community air monitoring projects provide a data-driven model for the future - Energy Exchange","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2017\/09\/18\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How community air monitoring projects provide a data-driven model for the future - Energy Exchange","og_description":"Nicoyia Hurt, EDF Oil and Gas Health Policy Intern, contributed to this post This month marks the one year anniversary since the residents in Imperial County California did something pretty amazing. After experiencing some of the highest asthma hospitalization rates in the state, the community got together to launch the IVAN air monitoring project\u2013 a ...","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2017\/09\/18\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\/","og_site_name":"Energy Exchange","article_published_time":"2017-09-18T15:27:36+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-09-18T15:43:51+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2017\/09\/iStock_55082572_LARGE-300x200.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Irene Burga","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Irene Burga","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2017\/09\/18\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2017\/09\/18\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\/"},"author":{"name":"Irene Burga","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/#\/schema\/person\/e3fc951d9fb8dbd8bab5232bdc149c90"},"headline":"How community air monitoring projects provide a data-driven model for the future","datePublished":"2017-09-18T15:27:36+00:00","dateModified":"2017-09-18T15:43:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2017\/09\/18\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\/"},"wordCount":673,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2017\/09\/18\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2017\/09\/iStock_55082572_LARGE-300x200.jpg","articleSection":["Air Quality","California","Climate","Data Access","Energy Innovation","Natural Gas"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2017\/09\/18\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2017\/09\/18\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\/","name":"How community air monitoring projects provide a data-driven model for the future - Energy Exchange","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2017\/09\/18\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2017\/09\/18\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2017\/09\/iStock_55082572_LARGE-300x200.jpg","datePublished":"2017-09-18T15:27:36+00:00","dateModified":"2017-09-18T15:43:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/#\/schema\/person\/e3fc951d9fb8dbd8bab5232bdc149c90"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2017\/09\/18\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2017\/09\/18\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2017\/09\/18\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2017\/09\/iStock_55082572_LARGE-300x200.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2017\/09\/iStock_55082572_LARGE-300x200.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2017\/09\/18\/how-community-air-monitoring-projects-are-providing-a-data-driven-model-for-the-future\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How community air monitoring projects provide a data-driven model for the future"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/","name":"Energy Exchange","description":"Accelerating the clean energy revolution","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/#\/schema\/person\/e3fc951d9fb8dbd8bab5232bdc149c90","name":"Irene Burga","description":"Irene Burga Manager, California Climate and Energy Irene designs and advocates for policies and programs that reduce pollution from the oil and gas industry, increase opportunities for clean energy development, and help areas most underserved and overburdened by poor air quality. Irene is a Los Angeles native and is currently based there.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.edf.org\/people\/irene-burga"],"url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/author\/iburga\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91683"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16323\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16323"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=16323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}