Something's in the Air

I visited California over the holidays and had a great time. Zoos, museums, theme parks – the various tour guides and ticket salespersons extolled the virtues of their home, pointing out the battleships, the condos, the seafood restaurants. I took a harbor cruise, and found if I squinted enough I could pretty much make out the buildings on shore through the brown haze. No one mentioned the air quality, of course, but no one had to – it was all right out there where we could see it. Literally.

Of course California isn’t the only place where air quality leaves a bit to be desired. I remember about twenty years ago reading a newspaper article claiming that the last bit of “clean air” in the US – somewhere in the Arizona desert, if I recall correctly – had finally been contaminated by air masses wafting in from other parts of the country (which shall remain unmentioned to avoid lawsuits, since at this point I couldn’t find the original article again to save my soul). It is known, though, that maximum visibility at Grand Canyon National Park, once about 185 miles, is now sometimes less than 12 miles, meaning that visitors on one side of the canyon at times can’t see across it to the other side.

Not all air is by nature pristine, nor is man the only source of atmospheric contamination. Volcanoes are infamous for their effects on air quality – they routinely spew up inordinate amounts of dust, ash, acidic aerosols, and toxic gases. Cows do their part (as do anaerobic bacteria in soil and in the intestines of warm-blooded animals) by adding bits of methane now and then. Oceans crashing on the beach contribute salt, and desert storms add sand or dust particles. Oh, and let’s not forget the Great Smoky Mountains, so named because of the aromatic oils from their forests which combine with sunlight to form a perfectly natural but still unseemly haze on warm days.

Still, you won’t find anyone these days who denies that man has pretty much mucked up air quality, especially in larger cities. Much of the blame goes back to fossil fuels, that Great Satan of the Environment. In the United States, the Clean Air Act of 1970 identified seven air pollutants of concern – sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, particulates, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, photochemical oxidants, and lead – six of which are produced by the use of fossil fuels, either by motor vehicles or electric utilities. All seven if you agree that particulates, nearly half of which comes from roads, became indirectly tied to fossil fuel use when we abandoned horses as our primary means of transportation. Now, fossil fuel use doesn’t produce the total amount of the criteria contaminants, but they do account for roughly 25% (for lead) to almost 75% (for carbon monoxide).

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic