Ohio: know the details (Columbus: how much, unemployment rate, buying)

[Ohioan]

Central Ohio's air pollution for both ozone and particulate matter (PM2.5).

As of May 10th, there have been 92 days of "moderate" air pollution with only 38 days of "good" air pollution days.

Go to "Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission's" website at:

airquality.morpc1.org and

airquality.morpc1.org/aqthisyear.cfm and

airquality.morpc1.org/historical.cfm

[Ohioan]

3-24-06: Ohio ranks first nationwide in water pollution.

3-21-06: Industry lobbyists from the Chemistry Council, the Ohio Manufacturers Association, and others have partnered with the Chamber of Commerce to draft and push bills in the legislature (SB 265 and HB 496) that will roll back permit requirements for 74,000 pollution sources. These two bills were actually APPROVED!
lungaction.org/campaign/protectOhioair/explanation

Ohio ranks #1 for soot- and acid rain-causing sulfur dioxide
Ohio ranks #2 for the global warming gas carbon dioxide
Ohio ranks #3 for smog-causing nitrogen oxide
Ohio ranks #3 for power plant emissions of toxic mercury
theoec.org/cage_ohair.html

Map of Ohio Ozone Non-Attainment Areas (counties). This map doesn’t take into account particulate matter (PM2.5, Pm10, etc. greenenergyohio.org/page.cfm?pageId=282

Map of the U.S. showing that Ohio still has the highest concentration of sulfate deposition from precipitation (wet SO4 - acid rain) in the country. Notice the impact on Ohio compared to the rest of the county. epa.gov/airtrends/acidrain.html

SCORECARD, the Pollution Information Site -- this site shows which companies are creating air pollution, what type of chemicals are being released and how much is being released -- look at any city in Ohio. scorecard.org

[rnorth6920]

This thread is useless.

[Ohioan]

The information contained in this thread is far from useless to anyone that is considering moving to Ohio. The threads purpose is to give viewers an opportunity to read about issues that are facing Ohio; issues that they may not be unaware of. This thread is really the untold / unknown story on Ohio.

Additional information on Ohio's air and water pollution:

Air pollution: ohio.edu/outlook/04-05/321f-045.cfm and ohiopirg.org/OH.asp?id2=11107&id3=OH&

Ohio ranked 5th nationwide for the worst fine particle, or “soot,” pollution.

Columbus and east of Columbus -- notice the rise in the number of days of particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution: airquality.morpc1.org/historical.cfm

Ohio has 70,000 sources of air pollutants and 1,200 EPA employees. "It's impossible for us to get every single facility," -- Ohio EPA Director.

Ohio ranks #3 in the nation for emissions of mercury from power plants – and #1 in the Midwest

Ohio is No. 1 in terms of (counties) that have unhealthy levels of sooty particulate matter floating in the air.

US EPA has identified 243 counties in 22 states as having unhealthy PM-2.5 particulate pollution. Ohio has 33 of its 88 counties listed as “non-attainment areas” or 14% of the total for the U.S.

Map locations of Ohio’s coal-fired power plants – do not live anywhere near or downwind from them. Particulate matter air pollution can travel hundreds of miles downwind from the pollution source. dispatch.com/reports/reports.php?story=dispatch/2005/12/05/20051205-A6-02.html l

“Ohio ranks first nationwide in water pollution”: 3-24-06. kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/nation/14177382.htm

Love to fish - read this first: epa.state.oh.us/dsw/fishadvisory/limitmeals.html

Water pollution: ohiopirg.org/OH.asp?id2=20723

Ohio factories and sewage plants violate discharge levels under federal clean-water permits more often than facilities in any other state.

Radon gas map of Ohio and its dangers:epa.gov/radon/zonemap/ohio.htm and epa.gov/radon

[snakecotc]

i love this guy................

[Ohioan]

Great series of articles on some of Ohio's pollution problems: go to Google and type in -- blue smoke, tainted water.

Emerald Ash Borer Beetle: before buying any property in Ohio -- first see how many ash trees are on it. There is a beetle infestation that has the potential to wipe out most, if not all, of Ohio’s ash trees! Most residents are totally unaware of this major ecological crisis that is rapidly growing out of control. Go to Google and type in: pests may make Ohio ash trees a dying breed.

"We are facing an ecological disaster and, given the current funding situation, an inevitable loss in the fight to protect the nation’s ash trees," Taft wrote U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns on Dec. 20.

Layoffs in Ohio, both current and past: jfs.ohio.gov/warn/layoffs.stm

Click on “Current Year's Notices” for layoffs so far this year. Then go to “Archived Notices” for years 1996 through 2005. This information is good if you want to find out if the community that you are considering is in good shape or not. One thing to remember, these WARN notifications are only required for companies that have 100 or more employees; the vast majority of companies in Ohio are small.

This is a good site to see Ohio’s unemployment rate for each of its 88 counties: lmi.state.oh.us/laus/ColorRateMap.pdf

Is any of this information helpful to anyone?

[rnorth6920]

How about something good that's going on in Ohio. If I wanted to hear about all the bad things, I'd just watch the news.

[rrtechno]

You might want to check out the Ohio Public Library Information Network at www.oplin.org. It gives a lot of links to a great amount of information about our state. These are legitimate information links that allow personal comparison of the information. There are links to the many fine attractions we have, as well as data on jobs, education, government, etc. The information I found there give the facts and let you come up with your own opinions. Sure, there are things wrong in Ohio, but there are problems everywhere. If you are down on everything, you will feel overwhelmed with negatives. If you go in with an open mind and look for the positives, you will find them. It depends on how you want to live your life.

[Ohioan]

This thread contains information that MOST people will never come across in their research on this state. Unfortunately, most of it doesn’t portray Ohio in a very good light. Native Ohioans’ always state how great Ohio is, but they NEVER, EVER mention any of the negatives or major issues that Ohio is facing. Hopefully, this thread provides readers’ with a deeper, more complete understanding of Ohio. This thread may show the “dark” side of Ohio, but it is better to know about these issues and problems then to just ignore them, or worst, discovering this information after moving here.

Go to the The American Lung Association’s website and find “State of the Air 2006” for a detailed report on Ohio’s air quality – this report just came out.

[Happy]

Speaking of bad air, how many sinus symptoms have you all had???