Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Fwd:Kalifornia Rules!

[ken rentiers (rentiers]

Larry - a lot of it has to do with ozone. In the case of Harris  
County the intense sunshine down here at 29^ N plus the humid coastal  
air gives you naturally high levels of ozone even before you factor  
in evil humans. Politicansplay the numbers game, there are way more  
tree-huggers than afficianados of fine old automobiles.   ken

Houston, Los Angeles Tops in Ozone - the smoggiest cities in the US -  
Brief Article - Statistical Data Included
Public Roads,  Nov, 2000

In a seesawing battle, Houston and Los Angeles continue to vie for  
the dubious distinction of having the smoggiest sky in the nation. At  
last count, it appears that the Texas city is likely to retain its lead.

With the ozone -- or smog -- season beginning to wane m Southern  
California, the metropolitan area surrounding Los Angeles logged 34  
exceedances of EPA's one-hour ozone standard as of early September.  
Historically, the closing weeks of summer find the Southern  
California skies to be the smoggiest.

Houston, which overtook perennial ozone leader Los Angeles in the  
1999 seasonal total, recorded its ninth straight day above the  
standard during early September. With Texas suffering through the  
hottest and driest summer in 50 years, the meteorological conditions  
for ozone formation have been nearly perfect, as Houston's network of  
air quality monitors have thus far recorded a national high of 37 bad  
air days.

Adding to the plight of the Texas city is the prospect for more hot  
weather and historical trends for smog formation that stretch the  
season late into the calendar year, frequently into November. Last  
season's totals left Los Angeles with 41 exceedances of the standard,  
while Houston logged 52 days above the ozone mark.

Although the ozone concentration levels and the precursors --  
nitrogen oxides (NOx) and hydrocarbons -- are very similar, the ozone  
formation patterns are divergent for the two cities. Smog is  
generated in Southern California by motor vehicles and industrial  
smokestacks, as the two major sources produce the chemicals that  
react with summer sunshine. Houston's ozone troubles, however, are  
traced more to the hydrocarbons from petroleum refineries, the  
related petrochemical industry, and multiple pollutants from  
oceangoing merchant vessels.

COPYRIGHT 2000 Superintendent Of Documents
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group

On Apr 1, 2008, at 9:08 AM, LarryT wrote:

> Doug wrote <<Well, Kalifornia DOES have 9 of 10 dirtiest counties  
> in the
> USofA.  Out of
> 3,143 counties >>
>
> This is just a question (it may be a crazy comment) - I have no  
> backup for
> this thought - Just wondering if -- Since southern Ka. is basically  
> a desert
> bowl and the mountains help keep ocean breezes from cleansing the land
> (correct?)  - wouldn't the air be fairly stale even without cars  
> running
> around?  IOW, how much would the air improve even if there were  
> *no* cars?
> As I write this I keep thinking that while the air would be stale
> (stagnant?) because of the geographical conditions it *is* made  
> worse by
> cars and factories, etc, but isn't there a limit to how clean the  
> air can
> get?  If that's a correct statement, doesn't going after '76 and  
> older cars,
> many classics & admittedly a tiny part of the auto population - a  
> silly
> thing to do?  I would think it would p_$$ off a lot of upper middle  
> class
> and above people who may be politically active?
>
> ;-)
>
> Larry T (66 MGB, 74 911, 91 300D)
> www.youroil.net for Oil Analysis and Weber Parts
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uncle ken


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