Ozone levels.....

[nota]

....did I miss the thread about the ozone levels in DT?

Kind of eye opening although if I wanted to live DT, that study wouldn't stop me. I'm sure it might stop many though.

The cartoon today couldn't help either.

[ComandanteCero]

from the article:

The UMKC data — plus high readings in September from air-quality monitors near Richards-Gebaur Memorial Airport and in Olathe — strongly suggest that the Kansas City region during summer may have one giant ozone plume that extends from the southland to possibly Atchison and St. Joseph, Volland said.
The UMKC study showed some of the highest ozone readings in neighborhoods such as the Crossroads District, the West Side, Crown Center, Union Hill and Westport, areas where there has been a resurgence of business and residential development.

apparent reason:

The study found that an ozone peak was persistent downtown because:
■ The wind is moving slowly 80 percent of the time. That keeps pollutants cooking not far from their source.
■ The tall buildings easily trap pollutants, again giving ozone time to form.
■ Vehicles are one of the largest sources of ozone, and many major highways pass through downtown.
“You’ve got vehicles going around buildings, (and) only a small amount of their pollution escapes as the wind circulates,â€

[scooterj]

If the PAC falls through, maybe at that site we should construct the world's largest fan. 

[dangerboy]

....did I miss the thread about the ozone levels in DT?

Kind of eye opening although if I wanted to live DT, that study wouldn't stop me. I'm sure it might stop many though.

The cartoon today couldn't help either.

The Northland's pollution is just as bad, and that isn't stopping you and many others from living there... Like the article said, the EPA always thought the Northland had the worst pollution of the entire metro.

Pollution doesn't seem to be stopping people from moving to places like Denver or Phoenix, both of which are growing much faster than KC yet have much worse pollution.

[chrizow]

if pollution changed anyone's behavior, KC's roads wouldn't be clogged with Hummer's and Suburbans.

[skim82]

Um... did i miss something or is someone actually COMPLAINING about air pollution in KC????

I must say after visiting Tokyo, Seoul, L.A., etc. that KC does not have a pollution problem...  In fact, when I arrived back to MCI from LAX today, the first thing I did was take a deep breath of fresh KC air...

[bahua]

I agree that compared to cities many times KC's size, KC doesn't have very much air pollution, but nevertheless, this was the first place where I ever noticed smog.

[kclofter]

Actually, our ozone problem is quite serious and KC has been on the cusp of a federal mandate for a while.  We are heading toward a tipping point.  I'm not sure what we'd have to do - perhaps smilar action to what STL undertook years ago with gasoline fume recovery at the pump, etc.

[bahua]

Tolls.

Real parking fees.

Automatic speed enforcement.

All these things can be done without having to artificially inflate the price of gasoline.

[warwickland]

Here is another example of that damn interstate loop biting us in the rear. Still, while i have noticed bad days during the summer, it is nothing compared to what i have experienced in Denver.

[Joe KC]

KC does not have a serious ozone problem.  We are on the cusp of being out of compliance for EPA air quality standards, but just about every major city is severely out of compliance.  In fact, our compliance with air quality standards almost cost us federal money for air quality initiatives until Sen. Pork Barrel stepped in.

[dangerboy]

The main point here is that urban ozone levels are the same as in the suburbs, which seems pretty intuitive even if it's never been measured before.  I bike and sometimes run all over Midtown and Downtown, and have only had one or two times in 6-7 years where I thought the pollution was noticeable to actually be adverse.

Anyway, kudos to UMKC for some really good research that advances science and benefits Kansas City. 

[warwickland]

that was my department. 

unfortunately, i didn't get to play.

[warwickland]

from the presentation i just saw, it looks like the ozone spike in the core is in the east x-roads and not the loop, but i couldnt see the map clearly because im blind.