Overview of Methane Effects
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, methane is one of the main chemicals that damages the environment and it accounts for about ten percent of greenhouse gas emissions (“Overview of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in 2018.”). On top of that, methane is about 25 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide (“Climate Change Synthesis Report.”). Methane gas is directly linked to the production of ozone in the lowest part of the atmosphere. This dangerous build up of methane is called ozone smog and when it is inhaled, ozone smog can impair lung function, initiate asthma attacks, and aggravate conditions of people with asthma and bronchitis, in some cases leading to premature death (“Health Effects of Ozone Pollution.”). As a result, there are more than 750,000 summertime asthma attacks in children under the age of 18 due to ozone smog (“Gasping for Breath”). Children, the elderly, and people with existing respiratory conditions are the most at risk from ozone smog pollution, which can drive them to have to shelter indoors in the warmest months of the year when smog levels are highest, preventing children from having summers and others of their ability to work and recreate outdoors.
Food Waste Accumulation in DFW Landfill and Methane Emissions
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, a singular ton of wasted food produces 65 kilograms of methane gas. The Dallas/Fort Worth Landfill (located in Lewisville, Texas) collected approximately 1.56 million tons of total waste; of that, 22% is wasted food based on the national average of wasted food to total waste in landfills (“Food: Material-Specific Data.”; “TCEQ 39). This means approximately 343,200 tons of wasted food sits in the Dallas landfill yearly, and according to our previous statistic of tons of wasted food to methane produced, 343,200 tons of wasted food would produce about 22,308,000 kilograms or about 24,590 tons of methane gas in the DFW area annually.
See visual below for better understanding.
See visual below for better understanding.
Methane behaves like all gases in the way that it is dispersed over an area: with wind (National Geographic Society, “Movement of Pollutants”). Therefore it spreads randomly, but because methane collects in the tropospheric ozone layer, which according to NASA is from the ground to 14 km above the ground, therefore the wind moves this air from one community of people to another because of its lack of distance from the ground (“Earth’s Atmospheric Layers”). The cities that feel this effect surrounding the DFW Landfill are Lewisville, Carrollton, Hebron and Coppell. A circle surrounding the landfill with a radius of 8,222 meters encompasses all of Coppell, all of Lewisville, three quarters of Hebron, and about a third of Carrollton. All cities are affected by this landfill because of the nature of the dispersion of air.
See visual below for better understanding.
See visual below for better understanding.
If the volume of air in the tropospheric ozone layer of the area surrounding the DFW landfill is 2,973 km3 and the amount of methane coming from solely that landfill is 24,590 tons annually, then the ppm (parts per million) of methane that comes from the landfill is 0.0087 ppm on a yearly basis.
See visual below for better understanding.
See visual below for better understanding.