Ozone Defense

There’s a silent killer lurking in our community. You can see it on really hot days. That haze coming off the ground you see when your driving or walking across campus. 

Ozone (O3)

A less stable triatomic allotrope of oxygen (0), Occurs naturally in the upper atmosphere which is not where the problem lies. However, ground level ozone (sometimes referred to as tropospheric ozone), is a secondary pollutant that is created when sunlight reacts with air polluted with hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides. These NOx and hydrocarbons mainly comes from the transportation sector. Ozone is a key component of smog, and in the past there have been incidents where poor air quality could be directly attributed to the deaths of many in the Post WWII era. The Great London Smog 1952

Health Effects

The health effects of ozone pollution include decreased cardiovascular and respiratory functioning and is correlated to many diseases and ailments. Health Effects of Ground Level Ozone. This is a link to the EPA website's health risk page for ozone.

Climate Change and Human Impact

Global warming coupled with all the burning of fossil fuels have cause many areas in America to reach levels of ozone that have began to raise some eyebrows. The EPA breaks down the rating of ozone into 6 different categories in the Air Quality Index (AQI): Good, Moderate, Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, Unhealthy, Very Unhealthy, and Hazardous. Most of America has been slipping into the Moderate to Unhealthy range and the situation is even worse in the summer. 

This problem was created by humans, and the solution can be too. I think more research into renewable energies is in order! We need to cut our dependence on fossil fuels. Mass transit, biofuels, and better fuel economy are just a few of the options that have come out. 

Air Quality Forecast!

http://www.weather.com/activities/health/airquality/

Go to the link above, select a state, and you can see the Air Quality Forecast for that particular area’s major cities. The thing to notice is the principle pollutant is almost always ozone, a secondary pollutant, think about that one.