Kansas City Air Quality...

[beccanator]

Today is Kansas City's first ozone alert for this season:

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 14, 2007

First Ozone Alert issued for Kansas City region

Higher temperatures bring higher concentrations of harmful pollutant

KANSAS CITY, Mo. —The Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) has issued an Ozone Alert for Friday, June 15, for the Kansas City metropolitan area. Ground-level ozone concentrations are expected to be in the “orange alert” category. This alert indicates that tomorrow’s expected combination of polluting emissions and hot, sunny weather will put the region at risk for developing high concentrations of ground-level ozone pollution — which means potentially unhealthy air quality throughout the region.

Exposure to ozone pollution can be especially dangerous to children and to anyone who suffers from bronchitis, heart disease, emphysema, asthma, or other cardiovascular or respiratory problems. Ozone pollution can also cause a variety of problems in healthy people, including chest pains, coughing, nausea, throat irritation and difficulty breathing. People who work or exercise outdoors — or even those who spend a lot of time outdoors — may also be affected.

To avoid unhealthy exposure to ground-level ozone pollution tomorrow, area residents should limit vigorous outdoor activities to the morning or evening hours — before 10:00 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m. — and avoid prolonged periods of outdoor exertion.

MARC’s daily SkyCasts help area residents plan outdoor activities by forecasting the next day’s ozone concentrations:

“Green” SkyCast indicates good air quality.
“Yellow” indicates moderate ozone concentrations with some increased health risk for particularly
sensitive people.
  “Orange” indicates an Ozone Alert with unhealthy air quality for sensitive groups. Children and people with respiratory or cardiovascular problems should cut back or reschedule strenuous outside activities.
“Red” indicates an Ozone Alert day with unhealthy air quality. Everyone should cut back or reschedule strenuous outside activity, and sensitive people should avoid it altogether.


SkyCasts are available daily on the MARC Web site (www.marc.org), by calling the air quality information line at (913) 383-7557, and via many area media outlets.

[PumpkinStalker]

A radio station this morning said that someone said that this was because of our blatant disregard of clean air laws...Making it sound like we chose not to obey them, rather than just had sloppy practices...  I wish I'd paid closer attention now that I see there's a thread about it.

Anyone else?

[KCTigerFan]

Well, they are right in essence.  We have chosen not to obey by:
-Not building light rail
-Not instituting biking and commuter programs
-Building the largest highway network per-capita in the U.S.
-Allowing suburban sprawl / not tying to control it with any legislation or fees

As it gets worse and people get more ill from it, hopefully we will wake up, but I doubt it.

[anniewarbucks]

Well, they are right in essence.  We have chosen not to obey by:
-Not building light rail
-Not instituting biking and commuter programs
-Building the largest highway network per-capita in the U.S.
-Allowing suburban sprawl / not tying to control it with any legislation or fees

As it gets worse and people get more ill from it, hopefully we will wake up, but I doubt it.

You said it right KCTigerFan. any city that has implemented these items are more likely to reduce the ozone in the air. Light rail for instance would cut down on the ozone in the air. I can not figure out why the light rail is not under construction instead of being held up in planning Wait a minuit that is another thread. I have noticed when I was in St. Louis a number of years ago that on I70 in Missouri they have 2 bonus lanes for rush hour traffic, speeding the commute for downtown workers. And yet in KC the air quality is worse than St. Louis. Maybe there should be a symposium put on by St. louis leaders to teach the KC leaders how to clean the air.
As far as suburban sprawl if there were light railserving these areas maybee there will be a reduction in ozone.

[DaveKCMO]

Well, they are right in essence.  We have chosen not to obey by:
-Not building light rail

or lobbying for cleaner buses...

[DaveKCMO]

http://www.kansascity.com/news/breaking ... 51822.html

Area officials are nervously watching the hourly ozone readings today from at least two air quality monitors in the Northland, hoping that they do not violate the federal Clean Air Act.

Below are three hours of ozone readings from the Rocky Creek air monitor:

At 10 a.m.: 71 parts per billion

At 11 a.m.: 81 parts per billion

At noon: 83 parts per billion

At 1 p.m.: 86 parts per billion

The highest levels of ozone are expected this afternoon. If the Rocky Creek monitor has an eight hour average of 84 ppb, the area will be in violation.

[beccanator]

^yes, things are getting tense. If you would like to place bets, I suggest you do so now.

[LenexatoKCMO]

The article wasn't very clear - just what exactly are the ramifications of a one day violation?

[DaveKCMO]

^yes, things are getting tense. If you would like to place bets, I suggest you do so now.

i hope there's more than "watching" going on! is there any plan to be more forceful? honestly, most people barely read the paper, let alone understand the "ozone alert" flashing on the bus means they shouldn't gas up. can a city force gas stations to close? or ticket people for mowing?

[beccanator]

The article wasn't very clear - just what exactly are the ramifications of a one day violation?

When speaking of a violation for a monitor it's refering to an exceedence of the fourth-highest value for a monitor over the course of three years on that day. It's a bit complicated to explain, but it's likely that the violation on one day is not an isolated incident and will occur again during the season. If one monitor violates the standard, the whole region will go into violation, as specified by the Clean Air Act (the pollutants that cause high readings at one specific monitor are generated throughout the entire region and as our air is not kept separate by invisible walls, if it's polluted in one place, it's polluted in another). It is pretty likely we will violate as a region this summer.

i hope there's more than "watching" going on! is there any plan to be more forceful? honestly, most people barely read the paper, let alone understand the "ozone alert" flashing on the bus means they shouldn't gas up. can a city force gas stations to close? or ticket people for mowing?

In an ideal world, people might understand the necessity of temporarily closing gas stations to close or fine people for mowing at the wrong part of the day,etc., but sadly, I'm inclined to think that most people would believe that this would be an encroachment upon their civil liberties, a threat to national security and who knows what else....

Here's a bit of information about the regulatory processes we might expect:

Areas like Kansas City that have failed to meet federal standards for ground-level ozone in the past are required by the Clean Air Act to have plans for staying in compliance with the ozone standard. States take the lead in developing these plans, called State Implementation Plans, or SIPs, which must contain specific air quality goals and legally enforceable measures for achieving those goals.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources work closely with local leaders, through the Mid-America Regional Council’s Air Quality Forum, to develop and update the SIPs. The Air Quality Forum is made up of local elected officials, state and local government staff, business and development interests and community group members who work together to identify the region’s clean air goals and to develop policies that help
meet those goals.

The SIPs currently in place contain regulations that limit emissions from a variety of sources. For example, since the late 1990s, drivers in Kansas City have been using a less volatile blend of gasoline during the summer months. The fuel costs a few cents more per gallon, but keeps hundreds of tons of pollution out of the air. Other regulations limit emissions from printing and auto painting operations, industrial solvent use, and the manufacture of paints, solvents and pesticides.
While these regulations may add to the cost of producing goods, they also provide benefits in terms of cleaner air and better health. Clean air also makes the region more competitive in attracting business investments and jobs.

Regulatory processes however, are not enough, as 50% of the air pollution in our region is produced by the daily activities of everyday citizens, such as driving, refueling your vehicles, lawn mowing, etc. Therefore, individual actions play a very large role in the quality of our air.

[tat2kc]

its not the one day violation that is a problem, its the number of violations over the last several years. One more this year, and we are in violation of federal clean air regs, and the consequences could be pretty severe.

http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/new ... etail.html

to quote the article:

If there is one more high ozone reading this year, it could put the metro area over the acceptable EPA range, which means Kansas and Missouri will have to work out ways to cut emissions and clear the air.

[Steve52]

KC breaks federal standards on ozone

"Anybody who breathes on a regular basis should be concerned about the ozone problem," Dr. Jay Portnoy, Children's Mercy Hospital, said.

"If you have the sense that your eyes are watering, your nose is itchy, that you might be having a little bit of shortness of breath today - that's not your imagination," Dr. Portnoy said. "There actually is something in the air that's doing that to you, and that's the ozone."


Smog Seen Over Kansas City. (New Condos and Skyscrapers Not Visible.)


"Nobody will act to clean the air unless the air is making folks drop dead in the streets" (poster)

He's probably right.

[Steve52]

Bus fare reduced to 50 Cents.

Might help to toss in complimentary champagne, food, in house movie, and shoulder massage.

Or free Custard for the after work day cruise.

[Steve52]

Robert on the Star Board makes a good point. One of MANY.

"We should thank our local governments (e.g. Mission, Lenexa, Olathe, KC) for the asinine traffic control that contributes to the ozone problem.

For reasons only a government official can understand, thousands or cars creeping from one red light to the next is seen as desirable.

Normal people would figure that flowing traffic would yield less pollution than stop-and-go traffic.

So, the same governments that contributes to the problem will be the same goverments that confiscate more of our money to "solve" a problem they mostly created."


And Ned

2 thoughts ...
1 - Start building light rail.
2 - Stop building coal power plants.

[Steve52]

Imagine whats it's going to be like when KC becomes a major hub for NAFTA semi tractor trailer traffic.

[beccanator]

It's official, we have violated the Federal Clean Air Act.

From the front page of Saturday's Star:

AIR QUALITY | The area exceeds the limits, and compliance probably will cost billions

KC breaks federal standards on ozone

This Clean Air Act violation is likely to trigger restrictions for businesses and people.
By KAREN DILLON
The Kansas City Star

Friday’s heat and humidity pushed Kansas City over its pollution limit, an event that will have long-reaching and potentially very costly effects.

Officials had feared for more than three years that the area was on the verge of violating the federal Clean Air Act, which triggers a series of events including possible fines and strictures on businesses and industry, and to a lesser extent on individuals.

Complying with the law will most likely cost the area billions of dollars, officials have said....

Read the rest of the article here.

[KC0KEK]

Robert on the Star Board makes a good point. One of MANY.

"We should thank our local governments (e.g. Mission, Lenexa, Olathe, KC) for the asinine traffic control that contributes to the ozone problem.

For reasons only a government official can understand, thousands or cars creeping from one red light to the next is seen as desirable.

Normal people would figure that flowing traffic would yield less pollution than stop-and-go traffic.

So, the same governments that contributes to the problem will be the same goverments that confiscate more of our money to "solve" a problem they mostly created."

I thought that MARC's traffic program was supposed to help with this issue.

[DaveKCMO]

I thought that MARC's traffic program was supposed to help with this issue.

yeah, but the technocrats balked. i think it was even stripped out of smartmoves or bistate II (please correct me here) because it was so unpopular.

[dangerboy]

Normal people would figure that flowing traffic would yield less pollution than stop-and-go traffic.

This might be correct in the short-term, but a long-term consequence of improving traffic flow is that it can create more traffic.  Make it easier to drive, and people will drive more.  Similar to how building a new or expanded highway induces more demand.

[KC0KEK]

yeah, but the technocrats balked. i think it was even stripped out of smartmoves or bistate II (please correct me here) because it was so unpopular.

That could be.

This mentions what I was referring to: www.alvarion.com/presscenter/pressreleases/2113.