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By now, it’s hardly breath-taking news that North Carolina has serious air-pollution problems.
Recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports have ranked the state among the worst in the country for its ozone levels. The Charlotte region is particularly susceptible to dangerously smoggy days during our long, hot summers. Along the state’s western border, Great Smoky Mountain forests are under serious distress from ozone and acid rain. Last year, North Carolina had the fifth-dirtiest air in the nation, according to the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.
Still, even knowing all that, it’s hard to shrug off a new American Lung Association study that gives most of the Charlotte region — including Rowan County — an “F” on air quality. Maybe it’s the suggestion of terminal failure that makes that “F” so ominous. Or maybe it’s particularly troubling because of who issued it. The American Lung Association’s name reminds us why air pollution should be a concern for everyone. Ozone may be colorless, but it isn’t harmless; on those “ozone alert” days, we inhale it with every breath, and it damages our lungs.
What’s especially striking about the ALA report is how poorly our area ranked compared to similar regions around the country. The Charlotte region ranked eighth worse among U.S. metropolitan areas, behind even Atlanta, New York and Raleigh-Durham. To arrive at those rankings, the ALA sifted through federal air pollution statistics from 1996 through 1998.
You can blame the bad air partly on the Carolinas’ economic boom, which has attracted many new residents, driving many more cars. Tailpipe emissions are one of the primary sources of ozone, with coal-fired power plants and other industrial sources also releasing significant amounts of nitrogen oxide, which reacts with sunlight to form ozone.
Simply knowing the sources of air pollution doesn’t help remove them, however, and most of us are reluctant to take the individual steps that can make a difference. We drive too much and car-pool too little. We think of walking or biking merely as forms of exercise, not practical ways to run short errands. We’re far too indifferent about supporting public-transportation initiatives and projects such as the high-speed rail proposal that will be the subject of a May 31 hearing in Rowan County. Instead of supporting expanded auto emission tests, which the Legislature is expected to enact within the next few years, we grumble about the expense and inconvenience.
Reducing air pollution requires individual sacrifices, as well as a commitment by public officials and private corporate interests. The more we whine and delay action now, the more likely we’ll be wheezing later.
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