Fringe Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 The listThe Houston MSA (No. 7), with its oil refineries, petrochemical plants and blossoming biomedical industry, had the second-highest toxic release amount on our list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTAWACS Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Poppycock! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 It's why Houston has such great sunrises and sunsets! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbigtex56 Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 It's why Houston has such great sunrises and sunsets!And such a great medical center! "It's the smell of money...." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samagon Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 I hear it's also good for the skin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbigtex56 Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 I hear it's also good for the skin. It's called an 'acid peel'; and dermatologists charge for it, in other regions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisPHous Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Umm... Who cares?? Minus chicago all the other biggest cities are in it...it just happens when you are as large as houston right ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 The listI thought we fared rather well. The one unhealthy day during 2009 was only 0.3% of days. It helps that our prevailing winds blow all the crud away from the city. And as for the number of tons of toxins emitted...those aren't our toxins, those are a nation's toxins (settling over Louisiana, naturally). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbigtex56 Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 I thought we fared rather well. The one unhealthy day during 2009 was only 0.3% of days. It helps that our prevailing winds blow all the crud away from the city. And as for the number of tons of toxins emitted...those aren't our toxins, those are a nation's toxins (settling over Louisiana, naturally).The question remains, what is heathy? The recognition that there is even such a thing as air pollution is recent, and hard won. There's a strong economic reason for polluters to deny any effect on the environment - which includes human health. The assumption that we deserve to breathe unpolluted air - and to determine what defines pollution - is not as well funded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fringe Posted March 4, 2011 Author Share Posted March 4, 2011 At least through the majority of the year winds are out of the southeast so we are blowing our pollution towards Dallas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Umm... Who cares?? Minus chicago all the other biggest cities are in it...it just happens when you are as large as houston right ? The three reasons Chicago is not on the list: Proximity to Canada and the Great Lakes, both massive suppliers of fresh air. The EPA isn't hard core on particulate matter yet. Once it is, Chicago will seem more polluted, because today much of the air pollution it has is dust from farms in neighboring states (sometimes in the form of "snert"). Chicago is largely a post-industrial economy. The city pushed factories and other dirty industries out into the suburbs. Then those jobs went to China. Now the suburbs are full of empty steel mills, and the city is turning old brownfields into massive residential/park complexes as fast as it can. What I'm saying is that the only reason that Chicago isn't on the list is dumb luck x3. When the wind comes in from the southwest across the remaining suburban factories, a layer of yellow filthy air covers the city. When I lived there, I happened to live in an apartment higher than the filth layer. Once, I took a picture and posted it on HAIF's sister site, the Chicago Architecture Blog illustrating it: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.