Pollution in Acapulco
Because Mexico City is one of the world's most polluted population centers, "Mexico" and "Pollution" are highly associated in the mind and in the media. Acapulco is only a few hours' drive from Mexico City, but it is worlds away in all other respects. In Acapulco, the air is clear and fresh. Even during "rainy season" most days are sunny, and between mid-November and mid-May, there are only a few clouds in the sky, usually accompanying the sun as it sets. The breeze comes in off the ocean, and the air is relatively dry. During rainy spells the air becomes moist, but the temperature drops as well.
Acapulco's biggest challenge is not the air -- or lack of it -- as is the problem in Mexico City. It is the water. In the early 1970's the local government began to understand that the purity of the water was its biggest environmental challenge. Even though the sea continued to lap into the shore in a much cleaner state than along many other areas of the Pacific coastline, the outflow of water from the city was threatening the environment in drastic ways: human waste, garbage, fertilizer run-off and industrial pollution were gradually killing the rivers, sullying the beaches, and threatening fowl, fish and whole ecosystems. The city's own growth was a main cause of the problem. Since the 1970's, municipal, state and national governments have started taking measures to keep the waters free of this human-caused problem, especially in the beach areas so popular with tourists.
The Secretaría de Marina has been at the forefront of beach clean-up efforts. In 2002 alone, it supervised the isolation and removal of some 58 million tons of solid waste and 800,000 liters of contaminating liquids from all of Mexico's beaches. According to new guidelines laid out in the Atlas de Contaminación Marina, closed bays, like those in Acapulco and Zihuatanejo, are zones of special vigilance because the tides are no longer sufficient to carry away to open seas all the unprocessed waste.
These efforts are in earnest, and they are increasingly effective, though they have been widely criticized for being far more expensive to taxpayers than similar efforts elsewhere. The Secretaría de Marina has recently put into effect some 600 control operations in coordination with similar-minded agencies like the Coordinación de Programas Contra la Contaminación and Protección al Medio Ambiente Marino. Together they have performed over 300,000 land inspections and have put into place more than 6,000 maritime operations around the coast. The initiative to detect and address water pollution has continued to the present day, with nearly unamimous political and popular support. As of the summer of 2010, Acapulco's bay is much improved.
Air pollution is much less of an issue. The absence of heavy industry in Acapulco has greatly aided this recovery. Air pollution is minimal because no thermal inversion occurs to trap vehicle exhaust. Homes need no central heating. Traffic congestion and carbon pollution can be seen occasionally on the narrow highways at the outer perimeter of the natural amphitheater that creates the bay. These are well distant from the areas of interest to visitors.
Litter and trash remain a persistent problem in most popular neighborhoods around Acapulco, but improvement is noticeable. The city has expanded its landfill operations and has improved the quality and frequency of garbage collection. The city also has hired and trained several hundred employees who regularly patrol the beaches and clean up after the tourists. The ultimate answer will be a change in the culture, when locals and tourists alike will consider littering to be morally unacceptable. But Acapulco is making strides in cleaning up its environmental act until such a time arrives.