"Air pollution in Wyo. community rivals that of big cities" (Cheyenne: how much, buying)

[GraniteStater]

Air pollution in Wyo. community rivals that of big cities - Yahoo! News (broken link)


What do you think about this story? It seems like their are obviously pros and cons due to this latest energy boom in Wyoming.

[Chris19]

In some ways, it does not surprise me. In a sense, it is weird thinking that a place in Wyoming would rival large cities regarding air pollution.

[molon labe]

Hmmmm.... not sure I'm buying that. The Powder River Basin has the most concentrated amount of energy operations in the world (produces 1/6 of the world's energy according to the plaque at the Powder River rest area), and the air here is NOTHING like what it was in Modesto, CA. In CA you would come out of the Sierras and see a brown fog hanging over the valley. Coming out of the Big Horns you can look east and see for 100 miles on a clear day.

I'm sure the energy has it's impact... blasting emissions can't be great for anybody. However, I would gauge this as more of an enviro hit piece on Wyoming. The AP is great for getting with the neo-hippies on running propaganda that helps to enforce their will on others.

[Clay Lady]

I've seen the brown fog that molon labe mentions in his post. If conditions like this or worse were happening in Wyoming more people would be saying something.

[wyoman]

Originally Posted by molon labe

Hmmmm.... not sure I'm buying that. The Powder River Basin has the most concentrated amount of energy operations in the world (produces 1/6 of the world's energy according to the plaque at the Powder River rest area), and the air here is NOTHING like what it was in Modesto, CA. In CA you would come out of the Sierras and see a brown fog hanging over the valley. Coming out of the Big Horns you can look east and see for 100 miles on a clear day.

I'm sure the energy has it's impact... blasting emissions can't be great for anybody. However, I would gauge this as more of an enviro hit piece on Wyoming. The AP is great for getting with the neo-hippies on running propaganda that helps to enforce their will on others.

10-4 on that molan-been to places I won't mention-where you coudn't see the sky for the haze of emissons from the cars or whatever the hell it was-never went back or ever will!

[WyoMama]

I've LIVED in places you couldn't see the tops of some buildings in the winter because of inversion dome (back in the 1970's). AND I was on codeine just to breathe cause I coughed from it so bad. As soon as I moved to Wyo never had any more probs. VERY few times I didn't come down the east side of the Big Horns & couldn't see nearly to Newcastle!!! If I couldn't was because of weather. Remember....the Rainbow Ppl (can't remember what they call themselves formally - but "neo-hippies" works - MAJOR tree-huggers who met in Pinedale about 10 yr ago) are returning to Wyo this yr for their annual gathering. Isn't that nice So there may be some media hits on Wyo promoted by them. Who knows? Just a thought...

[WyoMama]

Well, Jensen didn't mind getting the $$$ for his toys - there are 2 days where there were measurements cited comparing them to Denver & LA on each of those days. Two days & that rivals the large cities??? And the parts per million DOES include dust being blown around which cannot be stopped. I'm sorry but I think is a crock & somebody just blowing something out of proportion to the real issue, which is that he wants energy hunting out of his backyard. And apparently (due to his final statement, "I'd give it up right now if all them rigs moved,", he apparently still enjoys his portion of energy to power his "toys". And I see a large 5th wheel horse trailer (i.e., large truck somewhere) and what is wrong with that bright blue sky I see in the pic???

[ElkHunter]

I agree with you Wyomama. I don't see anything. Course, might not have to. They're talking an ozone problem, not a smog problem. Any you can't see ozone depletion, but you can measure it.

[WyoMama]

But they talk about the color & how they can't see the clear sky....How much of it gets blown from other cities - perhaps from SLC? I know you can now see Denver smog as far north as Cheyenne now!

[bitterbrush]

I have lived in Pinedale for the better part of three decades and have minded my own business. I have stayed here because the wild beauty of this place is everything. Ten years ago we had the cleanest air in the country. Now the gas industry is making it dirty and all we ask is for them to use the best methods and the best equipment instead of their second rate junk and practices that release pollutants into our air. It doesn't mean a damn thing to me when somebody says the air is worse in California or Salt Lake City. Those places had clean air once upon a time and they lost it because the people wouldn't fight for what they had. Somebody on this thread said she couldn't breathe until she moved to Wyoming, but now she's calling us names for trying to preserve her ability to breathe our sweet clean air. Does that make any sense?