Alviso Environmental Impact
This project aims to deliver critical environmental education, community leadership experience, and accessible monitoring data creation for Santa Clara County youth, particularly from Alviso.
About our Project
Our primary project goal is to deliver critical environmental education and community leadership experience to Santa Clara County youth, focusing on youth from Alviso. We’ll do this through a community-driven environmental impact project that will create and provide accessible monitoring data for the Alviso community. Alviso residents will have live, user-friendly data on potential threats of air, water, soil, noise, and waste pollution, enhancing their ability to prevent and prepare for emergencies.
Dashboard — aggregated air, water, sound, Mecury Data
Alviso Water History
Mercury in the water is found all around San Francisco Bay. The problem started in the early 1800s during the Gold Rush. Mines of mercury throughout the Coastal Ranges were used in Sierra Nevada to extract gold. Meanwhile, mercury that was left unattended drifted into the Central Valley’s rivers, which carried the mercury to San Francisco waters. Methyl Mercury is toxic pollution affecting the air and water in the Bay Area. Methyl mercury affects the environment when marine life, such as plants and tiny organisms, including fish, absorb these toxic minerals. This substance has affected most of San Francisco Bay, and Alviso is one of the most contaminated waterways due to the mercury. Researchers have studied the fact that fish eat these toxins in the bay, which get into human food and cause health issues. Therefore, over the years, they have spread awareness around the Bay Area to restrict the fish from these contaminated waters.
