Air Pollution

[KimberlySayWhat]

The San Joaquin Valley, Houston and Los Angeles have the three worst air-pollution problems in America. Their relative rank varies from year to year depending in part on weather conditions.

Article:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lif...mepagenews2-utl

[kjb434]

And all of our homes make the air pollution we are talking about look like pure oxygen.

Home and office air pollution is much more worse for our health than outdoor air pollution.

[Kirzania]

And all of our homes make the air pollution we are talking about look like pure oxygen.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You live with a bunch of guys too, kjb? (Sorry, must be said.)

[kjb434]

I just the particulate matter floating around (that you really can't see) is much more prevalent in the home than outside. Unless you have a complete air filltration system in line with the duct work of you house, your air is not that clean.

I clean my house once a week, but i know the air quality won't be as good as it is outside. I can't wait until the fall and during some of the winter when I can have windows either partially or fully open.

I do live with two other men. One is my partner and the other is renting from us. My partner is a neat freak and can't go to bed unless the kitchen is spotless. Our roomate limits his untidiness to his room. Our chihua is the only other thing to dirty the house, but I think he is cleaner than me.

My real issue with the above article is that they never put these pollution reports into real perspective. The three areas listed do suffer from something that cannot be controlled by man and that is the weather (which at least the article somewhat acknowledges). Many other cities in the US have pollution that is just as bad as ours but their weather situation doesn't amplify it. Heat and humidity is our problem. Los Angeles and the San Joaquin Valley have a weather patter affected by the mountains. If the moutains weren't there, the prevailing westerlies (wind current) would dillute the pollution and pull it out to the desert. It won't get trapped.

Cities like New York, Boston, DC, and Miami, have the luck of being on the coast were their pollution can be pushed offshore.

[kjb434]

Also, I just read an article about the San Joaquin Valley. It seems the cows passing gas is more polluting than all the cars in the valley.

See the article from the Fresno Bee below:

Fresno Bee

I guess the environmentalist will have to start penalizing cows.

[RedScare]

"Every year, the average dairy cow produces 19.3 pounds of gases, called volatile organic compounds"

Hence, the term "Silent but violent".

[kjb434]

yes.

All these years we've been going after cars. It's the cows. I've driven by pig farms too, they must produce some pollution also.

[The Great Hizzy!]

Well, now we know why so many people are lactose intolerant.

[kjb434]

hehe

[Talbot]

Cows contribute to the deterioration of the ozone layer.

[kjb434]

At a larger rate than cars do.

[dbigtex56]

Cows contribute to the deterioration of the ozone layer.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

"Hey, diddle-diddle

The cat and the fiddle,

The cow jumped over the moon!"

So that's the reason for the hole in the ozone layer!

[The Great Hizzy!]

Heh.

[texas911]

Then I say that farmers should be made to pass an emmissions test for their cattle, like I do for my car!

[Guest danax]

I used to drive through the San Joaquin Valley several times a week. There's one dairy ranch in particular along I-5 that stretched for about a mile or two and stenched for many more. The dairy scene there is no joke. They've also got the problem of having the Sierras to the east and the Coast Range to the west plus they get some kind of inversion layer that keeps the air layers pressed down. The "tule fog" down there is famous. It's a fog that occurs often and is so thick you literally can't see the dividing line of the road 5 feet in front of you. Very dangerous. There's one intersection on Hwy. 99 that has had something like 70 deaths.

L.A. has a similar problem being a basin surrounded by mountains, the ocean breezes coming in from the west and the inversion layer causing the pollution to just sit there for months, as they can go from April to November without a drop of rain.

At least we get frequent rains to somewhat clear the air, which I don't know if this study has taken into account.