For the past 2 days New York City had an air quality alert due to the “high levels of pollutant ground-level ozone level.” Even before I looked up what this meant, I took one look at that air and thought that it might not be the greatest breathing option. (The color scheme of this photo is not due to a sunrise — it was taken around close to noon.)
After I googled “ground-level ozone,” I learned that (or, perhaps, re-learned?) that it’s mostly created in urban and industrial areas, mostly in summertime. Why? How? Cars, industrial, residential and conventional energy facilities emit nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds (don’t be confused by the term “organic” here; it’s nothing you want to find at your local Whole Foods) that enter into a chemical reaction in the presence of sunlight and produce ozone. Another important distinction: ozone up high = good (ozone layer); ozone down low = bad. The US Environmental Protection Agency website says that “[b]reathing ozone can trigger a variety of health problems including chest pain, coughing, throat irritation, . . . CONTINUE READING → summer signs and warnings
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