The Atmospheric Particle Pollution Commons

Abstract

San Diego County ranks #5 nationally for year-round particle pollution, yet coastal communities like Rancho Santa Fe often experience markedly cleaner air — because official rankings use county-wide averages that merge port, freeway, and cross-border diesel emissions with geographically distinct micro-climates. Cloud-seeding programs add a second, untracked layer. The paper frames this as a measurement-architecture failure and proposes a National Atmospheric Quality Monitoring Body (NAQMB) with a Cumulative Impact Index that separates natural, anthropogenic, and intentional atmospheric contributions at sub-county resolution.