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Maybe its me, but I don't view Charlotte air as being unhealthy. I am no expert though.
Charlotte named one of America's smoggiest cities - Local News - Charlotte, NC - msnbc.com (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44617772/ns/local_news-charlotte_nc/ - broken link)
It's more a problem of being an inland city where the air tends to pool between the mountains and the ocean. You get pollution blown in from all directions. If everyone in Charlotte stopped driving, you'd still have air quality issues especially during the summer under high pressure and temperature inversions.
I still don't understand why NC doesn't use those "vapor reclamation" nozzles on gasoline pumps. In California, every gas nozzle has an accordian-like portion on it that creates a tight seal around the opening. That alone would help a bunch.
The funny thing is that my daughter asthma improved greatly once we moved here. She has had very few attacks and not once needed to be hospitalized. In NYC, she was a regular in the emergency room. Maybe she is outgrowing her asthma.
If everyone in Charlotte stopped driving, you'd still have air quality issues especially during the summer under high pressure and temperature inversions.
I disagree. I've lived in this area on and off for a long, long time and can only remember air quality issues in the last 10-12 years. We'd be much better off if "everyone in Charlotte stopped driving"... at least as far as air quality is concerned.
This topic reminds me of a comment I heard from one of my air quality friends. He told me if people could "see" how dirty the air was (like they can see dirty water before they jump in) they would be completely horrified. I don't have to see it though... I can smell it and taste it. It's nasty.
It's more a problem of being an inland city where the air tends to pool between the mountains and the ocean. You get pollution blown in from all directions. If everyone in Charlotte stopped driving, you'd still have air quality issues especially during the summer under high pressure and temperature inversions.
I still don't understand why NC doesn't use those "vapor reclamation" nozzles on gasoline pumps. In California, every gas nozzle has an accordian-like portion on it that creates a tight seal around the opening. That alone would help a bunch.
The type of system you describe (Stage II vapor recovery) was only required in the areas that have the worst air quality, and Charlotte's never reached that status. These systems are actually being phased out around the country, since newer automobiles are equipped with onboard vapor recovery systems that essentially performs the same function, so the EPA has determined that in most cases the Stage II systems are no longer needed.
Charlotte experiences high ozone levels due to several factors: 1) we often experience stagnating high pressure systems that essentially "lock in" the air, 2) lots of automobiles that contribute oxides of nitrogen and organic compounds, 3) lots of trees that are natural sources of pollution (terpenes, etc) that lead to ozone formation, and 4) fairly abundant sunshine which breaks the organic compounds down into ground level ozone.
Atlanta has all these problems as well, but with more traffic.
Of these, probably the weather patterns are the biggest problem. Large cities in Florida, which have lots of traffic and certainly more sunshine, have better air quality because the air circulation is much better with sea breezes, etc.
IMO, we'll have ozone problems in Charlotte and Atlanta as long as our transportation is primarily fossil fuel powered. The electrification of the transportation industry is just beginning, and probably won't make a significant dent in the ozone problems for several decades.
Maybe its me, but I don't view Charlotte air as being unhealthy. I am no expert though.
Charlotte named one of America's smoggiest cities - Local News - Charlotte, NC - msnbc.com (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44617772/ns/local_news-charlotte_nc/ - broken link)
Disagree. If you live in a location that has better air quality, the pollution over Charlotte is very obvious. Driving down the highway in the early mornings, the nasty haze over the city is very visible.
Its gross. Only a matter of time before our health issues start to to increase. Childhood asthma, etc.
I know this is an unpopular opinion here in Charlotte but we really need to start enacting regulations to improve our air quality.
Once you've seen the bigger picture, you will notice that there is little "we" (Charlotteans) can do.
^^^This is a US map of areas with certain types of regulated gas. I won't go into details with all of the different types of regulations, but let's talk about the 7.8 (psi) RVP Summer requirements for Meck and Gaston counties.
A gasoline's RVP (Reid Vapor Pressure) is the amount of vapor pressure that the gasoline puts out at 100 degrees F. "Conventional" gasoline has an RVP of 9.0. As you can see, some areas of the country (with tighter standards) require RVPs of 7.2 or 7.0. You can also see that some areas require a certain RFG standard with Ethanol.
The flaws in the system...
The first obvious flaw is the fact that only two counties in metro Charlotte (Meck and Gaston) are required to have 7.8 gas (9.0 in the rest of the metro). You can see that the entire Atlanta metro is required to have 7.0 gas (metro Atl also requires those special fuel pump nozzles that folks from other areas are familiar with). Eventhough Meck and Gaston represent almost half of the metro's population, they also represent the area's best mass transit systems as well as the area's shortest commutes. In short, the bulk of the driving actually occur in counties surrounding Meck and Gaston (counties that are burning unregulated gasoline into Meck and Gaston's air).
Another flaw is the Ethanol factor. As recently as four years ago, metro Charlotte did not use Ethanol. Today, every station in the metro now has atleast 10% Ethanol blended with the gas. The problem with this is that Ethanol raises the RVP of gasoline 1 psi (making 7.8 gas 8.8 and 9.0 gas 10.0; hence the reason why certain areas have a specific Ethanol blended requirement). To offset the RVP boost produced by Ethanol, gasoline providers must produce 6.8 or 8.0 gasoline before blending it with Ethanol. Do they do this in the Charlotte area? Noooooooooooo (and I've seen the paper work that proves they don't). Instead, metro Charlotte has a 1 psi "waiver" that allows the higher RVP as long as Ethanol is present. Who did this to Charlotte you may ask? The federal government, the petro-Nazis, and their gasoline-cartel; THAT's who did it.
Other economic factors of this mess...
Ethanol is nothing more than "corn-moonshine"; and by using corn grain in order to make gas puts our corn in a more limited supply. The problem with this is the fact that corn syrup (fructose) is the main ingredient in almost every item of food that we buy (wondering why grocery prices have shot up at nearly the same rate as gasoline prices; you know why now). As a result, one does not have to drive to fuel (no pun intended) the gasoline-cartel responsible for our dirty air. If you eat, you've fueled the problem. So park your cars and drive your scooters all you want; it won't do a thing. THAT's the truth, and the truth hurts.
I have only lived in NYC, which is polluted. Hence the reason why I think Charlotte air is better.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chance2jump
Disagree. If you live in a location that has better air quality, the pollution over Charlotte is very obvious. Driving down the highway in the early mornings, the nasty haze over the city is very visible.
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Maybe its me, but I don't view Charlotte air as being unhealthy. I am no expert though.
