Environment & Energy

xchrom

(108,903 posts) Tue May 6, 2014, 08:57 AM May 2014

The U.S. Faces Longer Summers of Worsening Ozone Pollution

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2014/05/us-faces-longer-summers-worsening-ozone-pollution/9041/

***SNIP

As ozone is most likely to soar to harmful levels in already polluted, heat island-shrouded urban environments, these findings do not bode well for America's major cities. Although the threat affects the country broadly, the scientists see certain regions that already struggle with foul air at risk of long stretches of unhealthy ozone. They say:

Unless emissions of specific pollutants that are associated with the formation of ozone are sharply cut, almost all of the continental United States will experience at least a few days with unhealthy air during the summers, the research shows. Heavily polluted locations in parts of the East, Midwest, and West Coast in which ozone already frequently exceeds recommended levels could face unhealthy air during most of the summer.

"It doesn’t matter where you are in the United States – climate change has the potential to make your air worse," said NCAR scientist Gabriele Pfister, the lead author of the new study. "A warming planet doesn't just mean rising temperatures, it also means risking more summertime pollution and the health impacts that come with it."
Those health impacts range from chest pain to congestion to coughing to shortness of breath. Ozone can worsen serious conditions like emphysema and bronchitis, and is especially harmful for children who have asthma. Breathing in ozone on a regular basis "may permanently scar lung tissue," says the EPA. The damage even stretches over to the world of trees, as certain species exposed to the stuff manifest stunted growth and messed-up leaves, like these guys:

5 replies

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The U.S. Faces Longer Summers of Worsening Ozone Pollution (Original Post) xchrom May 2014 OP

If you are a climate change denier you are guilty of murder randys1 May 2014 #1

Here's an entire blog devoted to the unnoticed death of trees from ozone. GliderGuider May 2014 #2

+1 xchrom May 2014 #3

K&R nt eppur_se_muova Aug 2014 #4

Press release and link to publication: eppur_se_muova Aug 2014 #5

randys1

(16,286 posts)

1. If you are a climate change denier you are guilty of murder

Reply to xchrom (Original post)

Tue May 6, 2014, 08:58 AM

May 2014

Maybe if we call terrorists, terrorists (everyone on the rightwing) and we call murderers, murderers (purposely denying climate change) we might start getting somewhere

GliderGuider

(21,088 posts)

2. Here's an entire blog devoted to the unnoticed death of trees from ozone.

Reply to xchrom (Original post)

Tue May 6, 2014, 09:08 AM

May 2014

http://witsendnj.blogspot.ca/

Gail Zawacki is dedicated to this topic, but has found it difficult to get anyone to investigate what she's seeing across the US.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)

3. +1

Reply to GliderGuider (Reply #2)

Tue May 6, 2014, 11:32 AM

May 2014

eppur_se_muova

(36,266 posts)

4. K&R nt

Reply to GliderGuider (Reply #2)

Fri Aug 29, 2014, 09:52 PM

Aug 2014

eppur_se_muova

(36,266 posts)

5. Press release and link to publication:

Reply to xchrom (Original post)

Fri Aug 29, 2014, 09:55 PM

Aug 2014

May 05, 2014

BOULDER—Ozone pollution across the continental United States will become far more difficult to keep in check as temperatures rise, according to new research led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The detailed study shows that Americans face the risk of a 70 percent increase in unhealthy summertime ozone events by 2050.

This is because warmer temperatures and other changes in the atmosphere related to a changing climate, including higher atmospheric levels of methane, spur chemical reactions that lead to ozone.

Unless emissions of specific pollutants that are associated with the formation of ozone are sharply cut, almost all of the continental United States will experience at least a few days with unhealthy air during the summers, the research shows. Heavily polluted locations in parts of the East, Midwest, and West Coast in which ozone already frequently exceeds recommended levels could face unhealthy air during most of the summer.

“It doesn’t matter where you are in the United States—climate change has the potential to make your air worse,” said NCAR scientist Gabriele Pfister, the lead author of the new study. “A warming planet doesn’t just mean rising temperatures, it also means risking more summertime pollution and the health impacts that come with it.”

However, the research also showed that a sharp reduction in the emissions of certain pollutants would lead to dramatically decreased levels of ozone even as temperatures warm.
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more: http://www2.ucar.edu/atmosnews/news/11540/climate-change-threatens-worsen-us-ozone-pollution
abstract/paywall: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2013JD020932/abstract

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