When you think of California and climate change, you might picture the leader against the crisis in the United States, leading the charge with innovation and activism stronger than any other state. With a long history of activism and so many switches to clean energy, we have come a long way. Also, most people in California view climate change as a serious problem, so many are on board to fix the problem. Governor Gavin Newsom even created a plan to achieve carbon neutrality by the year 2045. Some of the goals in mind include cutting air pollution by 71%, cutting demand for oil by 94%, and cutting down greenhouse gas emission by 85%. And according to the California Government Office, “California reached its 2020 climate targets six years ahead of schedule in 2014 rather than the initially estimated four”. It is clearly evident that California is doing great work to fight against the climate crisis and setting an example for the rest of the country and even world to follow.
However, despite all of this there is still something big slipping under the radar. Although California is doing a lot of good to fight against the climate crisis, there are surprising discoveries that have been made about California’s greenhouse gas emissions. Studies have found that in this state, most of the 17% of U.S. emissions of a greenhouse gas called sulfuryl fluoride can be traced to a couple counties in California. California? How could that be possible? That is what I thought as well. However, a team of researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that a whopping”60-85% of sulfuryl fluoride emissions in the U.S. come from California, primarily Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties”.
That is an alarming statistic, but what is sulfuryl fluoride and where does it come from? Sulfuryl fluoride is a greenhouse gas that has been used as a pesticide and fumigant in the United States since 1959. A large percentage of its usage comes from fumigating buildings to get rid of pests like termites or bedbugs for example. The process works as gas is pumped into an airtight tent, and directly released into the atmosphere after killing the pests. A small percentage also comes from agricultural use. This is extremely bad because sulfuryl fluoride has a very long atmospheric life of about 40 years, and humans have been releasing it much too fast for the gas to be able to naturally break down in time. This has created an enormous accumulation of the gas in the atmosphere as of 2023, a number which is steadily increasing. Sulfuryl fluoride also has powerful infrared absorption, meaning more heat from the sun is trapped in the atmosphere, warming our planet. All of this contributes to being very harmful to the ozone layer of the Earth as a greenhouse gas.
However, we also have to acknowledge the presence of drywood termites in California, and the fact that other methods of eradicating the termites besides fumigation aren’t as effective. Also, many other fumigants besides this one have been banned in California, so there aren’t many good options for getting rid of termites in people’s houses. According to a study done by a group of scientists including professor Dylan Gaeta at Johns Hopkins University, one possible solution we could implement includes using basic solutions and organic solvents to absorb sulfuryl fluoride in the vents of structures, which although may require looking into the cost and technicalities of production, could be a step into the right direction.
In conclusion, even though California is a leader in climate policy, we also need to look into the different greenhouse gases like this one that may fall under the radar. Carbon is usually the main target we see for greenhouse gases, but it is important to do research into lesser known ones, including their sources and how exactly to combat their release. Our state should develop more sustainable methods for combating pests or more effective infrastructure in the future so we are not using fumigants that are harmful to the atmosphere. If we want our state to be as green as we claim, it is imperative that we look carefully into all potential problems, no matter how small they may seem.
References
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/04/240403130619.htm
https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-024-01294-x
https://scripps.ucsd.edu/news/california-leads-us-emissions-little-known-greenhouse-gas
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