In the last ten years, some cities in the region have seen an increase in the number of days on which the air was considered unhealthy. And according to a recent report, much of the blame should be placed on air pollution from cars and trucks. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Mark Brush has more:
Transcript
In the last ten years, some cities in the region have seen an increase in the number of days on
which the air was considered unhealthy. And according to a recent report, much of the blame
should be placed on air pollution from cars and trucks. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Mark Brush has more:
In its report, the Surface Transportation Policy Project highlighted research showing links
between transportation-related air pollution and increased asthma rates, and increased cancer risk.
Jim Corliss is one of the report’s co-author’s. He says progress has been made in cleaning up the
nation’s air, but that there’s still more to be done about pollution from vehicles.
“The increase in driving, the explosion in the number of miles people drive every day and every
year has really undermined a lot of the progress that we’ve made in cleaner engines.”
Corliss says that the increase in the number of miles driven is largely due to the way communities
are designed. He says urban sprawl has led to large increases in the number of miles driven for
everyday errands.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Mark Brush.
Environmentalists are protesting a new air pollution rule from the Bush Administration. They say it will make it easier for the industry to continue to pollute or even pollute more. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Transcript
Environmentalists are protesting a new air pollution rule from The Bush administration. They
say it will make it easier for the industry to continue to pollute or even pollute more. The Great
Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Despite the 1970 Clean Air Act, some factory owners have kept polluting at the same rate for
more than 30 years. That’s because plants only were required to add pollution controls when
making significant updates. Environmentalists say a new rule put in place by the Bush
administration makes that loophole even bigger.
Eric Schaeffer is a former EPA official who quit, protesting the weakening of environmental
rules.
“What this rule says is if you’re sitting on an old plant that’s pretty dirty, that’s uncontrolled, that
isn’t meeting the Clean Air Act standards, you can go in and piece by piece, you can continue to
rebuild these plants and keep them alive and keep them going without putting on pollution
controls.”
The new rule comes in the wake of a General Accounting Office report that found the Bush
White House made the decision based almost entirely upon anecdotes from factory owners rather
than from hard data collected by the EPA.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.
Russ Adams mows his lawn with an electric lawnmower. He does so to reduce local air pollution such as ozone. (Photo by Christina Shockley)
Summer can be a perfect time for barbeques, weekend trips, and yard work. But those very things contribute to a summertime health hazard. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Christina Shockley reports:
Transcript
Summer can be a perfect time for barbeques, weekend trips, and yard
work. But those very things contribute to a summertime health hazard. The
Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Christina Shockley reports:
(sound of gasoline-powered lawn mower)
This time of year, it takes just a short walk along pretty much any residential
street to find someone mowing their lawn.
(crossfade, gas-powered lawn mower sound out, electric mower sound up)
But if you walk past the Minneapolis home of Russ Adams, you might take a
second look.
“My neighbors came over… they were a little bashful ’cause they
weren’t sure how to pose the question. But they wanted to know what I was
doing in my yard and what that machine was. They thought it was some kind of
new-fangled mulcher or something.”
That mulcher is actually an electric lawnmower. The mower is a sleek red and
black. It’s about the same size as a gasoline mower. There’s no cord running
to it. It runs on a battery. There’s a plug on the back of the main unit
that’s used to charge it.
(sound of garage door opening)
“Okay, so this is the garage. Just plug it in
right here, and really it doesn’t take long for it to juice up. And you just
leave it plugged in, and as soon as it’s fully charged it stops drawing on the
electricity, so it’s energy-efficient even in the recharging mode.”
Adams says the main reason he uses the electric mower is that it’s just one way
he can help improve air quality in his city. And as small a step as that
seems, emissions from small engines such as lawnmowers do cause air quality
problems.
Rebecca Helgesen is with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. She says one
major summertime problem is ozone. Helgesen says human activity creates the
ingredients in ozone.
“Certainly motor vehicle exhaust and chemical solvents are major
sources. Also, industrial emissions and gasoline vapors.”
The chemicals stew and combine with hot, humid conditions to increase ground
level ozone.
“When the air is stagnant – not moving very much, and it’s hot and
sunny, that’s when you see the chemical reaction that creates ozone.
Helgesen says the Environmental Protection Agency forecasts ozone, so people
will know ahead of time when not to mow their lawns or to stay indoors. The
forecast is called an Air Quality Index. It uses color codes. On a “yellow”
day, the air is dangerous for sensitive people. On a “red” day, everyone is
encouraged to limit outdoor activity. Ground level ozone can cause lung
damage. Helgesen says breathing ozone isn’t good for anyone, especially those
with asthma.
“You’re coughing more, you may find you have some tightness in your
chest, or uncomfortable. You may find that you’re tired more easily.. all of
those mean that there has been some compromising of your lungs.”
Ozone levels start to fall in the evening as people stop driving, as the sun
sets and the air cools. Helgesen says the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
encourages people to wait to pump gas, drive, and mow their lawns until 7 or 8
at night.
Getting people to do these things is where the organization, Clean Air
Minnesota, comes in. Its members include an unusual mix of business groups,
environmental groups and others.
Bill Droessler is the group’s program director. He says Minneapolis-St. Paul doesn’t
have a big ozone problem, like some other cities… yet. Clean Air Minnesota wants to keep it that
way. If levels go up, the federal government could impose restrictive – and
costly – regulations. Droessler says his group holds on-site training programs
at participating businesses to get people to take action.
“Postpone landscaping things, use of internal combustion engines as late as
possible on those days. Avoiding backyard recreational fires.”
He says even using newer gas cans that don’t let vapors escape as easily helps
reduce ozone. Droessler says he hopes people will take the time to make just one change to
help reduce ozone levels.
Russ Adams sees his electric mower as his one small action. He concedes that
the electric mower does use electricity. But while coal-burning power plants
do pollute, his electric mower is better for air quality than a gas-powered
mower.
“My argument is that if everybody had an electric mower, then we’d be cutting
down on the air quality problem. Wouldn’t solve it, but we’d be making a good dent.
I mean, I talk to my friends all the time about how fun it is to use this
mower.”
Shockley: “So I press it down… and pull back…”
Adams: “There you go.”
Shockley: “Oh, it’s very easy!”
(sound of electric mower)
Adams: “Now what I want you to do, is do this part of the yard in the back. I’ll go in and
have some tea, maybe some orange juice, and then we can tackle the front yard
after you’re done back here.”
Shockley: “Okay, that sounds great.” (laughter)
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Christina Shockley.
Spray drift from pesticides might travel farther and last longer than first thought. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Transcript
Spray drift from pesticides might travel farther and last longer than first thought. The Great
Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Pesticide drift – the spray, droplets, and dust that’s stirred up during application – has always been
a health concern, but a study by the California Air Resources Board combined with other studies,
found that pesticide drift lasts longer than just the moment of application.
Susan Kegley is a scientist with the Pesticide Action Network North America:
“It turns out that for many pesticides, the greater part of the drift happens in the hours and days
and even weeks after the pesticide is applied and these levels are high enough to be of concern.
And right now, EPA does not look at those types of exposures for most of the pesticides it
evaluates.
Groups wanted stricter rules on pesticide handling are calling for more studies saying that
pesticide drift might be responsible for higher rates of cancer and other health problems in rural
areas surrounded by farmland being sprayed with pesticides.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.
Smokestack industries, such as coal-fired power plants and foundries, are using huge loopholes to continue to pollute at higher levels 25 years after Congress passed laws to reduce emissions. A government task force is recommending Congress and the Environmental Protection Agency make some major changes in the law to stop the polluters. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Transcript
Smokestack industries, such as coal-fired power plants and foundries, are using huge loopholes to
continue to pollute at higher levels twenty-five years after Congress passed laws to reduce
emissions. A government task force is recommending Congress and the Environmental
Protection Agency make some major changes in the law to stop the polluters. The Great Lakes
Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Congress and the EPA asked for the independent study by the National Academy of Public
Administration. The panel looked at loopholes in the Clean Air Act that exempted older
industrial plants from compliance until they were altered or updated, allowing only routine
maintenance. Much of the industry has taken full advantage of that loophole, defining “routine
maintenance” very broadly. The EPA says 80% of those older plants are under
investigation. Donald Kettl chaired the task force.
“When you’ve got a problem that’s been out there for 25 years and has really remained largely
unaddressed, it’s time for a fundamental, back-to-basics kind of look at the problem and the
creation of a new strategy to try to do what needs to be done much more efficiently, much more
effectively, and to do it in a way that produces much cleaner air.”
The task force recommends Congress close the loopholes completely and that the EPA get
tougher with the enforcement of the law.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.
The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing new clean-air standards for some diesel-powered equipment. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Transcript
The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing new clean-air standards for some diesel
powered equipment. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
The EPA’s new rules would cut the soot and pollution that’s belched by off-road diesel vehicles
such as bulldozers and farm tractors. Frank O’Donnell is with the environmental group Clean Air
Trust.
“Currently there are very minimal controls on big diesel heavy equipment and the fuel itself is
extremely dirty. It’s virtually unregulated. And this EPA proposal will go a long way, over time,
making a significant reduction in the diesel pollution coming from heavy equipment.”
The EPA projects the new rules will prevent almost ten-thousand premature deaths each year
once the standards are fully phased in. But, that’ll take a while with the last of the dirty vehicles
probably taken out of service around the year 2030.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.
A new Harvard study indicates that of two new types of alternative fuels for urban buses, it might be better in the long run to go with the cheaper fuel. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Transcript
A new Harvard study indicates that of two new types of alternative fuels for urban buses, it might
be better in the long run to go with the cheaper fuel. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester
Graham reports:
Soot spewing diesel buses will soon be a thing of the past. But two different alternative fuels are
being considered for mass transit buses. One is compressed natural gas. The other is a low
sulfur-filtered diesel called emission controlled diesel.
A Harvard School of Public Health study of the fuel systems appears in the current issue of the
journal Environmental Science and Technology. Senior Researcher, Joshua Cohen says
compressed natural gas buses might be cleaner, but the health benefits cost six to nine times more
than the same health benefits of the clean diesel.
“If you spend your money on compressed natural gas buses, you’re not going to be able to buy as
many new clean buses as you could if you bought the clean diesel buses. So, that’s an important
consideration to keep in mind.”
So, while a single bus burning compressed natural gas might be cleaner, it’s so much more
expensive that, system-wide, it might be more beneficial to the environment to use the cheaper
clean diesel system in more buses.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.
On March 31st, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will be holding public hearings across the country about changes to Clean Air Act regulations, called New Source Review. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Annie MacDowell has more on the upcoming meetings:
Transcript
On March 31st, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will be holding public
hearings across the country about changes to Clean Air Act regulations, called New
Source Review. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Annie MacDowell has more:
The proposed changes to the New Source Review would relax standards for pollution
controls on power plants that are more than 25 years old.
Environmentalists worry the new standards could allow old power plants to pollute more.
The EPA will hold forums in Albany, N.Y.; Dallas, Texas; Romulus, Michigan; Salt
Lake City, Utah; and the EPA’s Research Triangle Park headquarters in North Carolina.
Bill Harnett is the Director of the Air Permitting Division of the U.S. EPA. He says the
meetings will give the public a chance to ask questions and make comments about
changes to New Source Review.
“It gives them more of a direct feed into the agency and the process, and it’s
something we always do on our rules is offer this kind of opportunity. And on
major rules like the one we’re doing, we always offer it in multiple places in the
country.”
Harnett says he expects a good turn-out, and the hearings could last all day.
After all public comments have been received, the EPA will review them and
decide whether to make the proposed changes.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Annie MacDowell.
Although commercial airlines have been replacing their fleets with jets that are quieter and more fuel efficient, the engines actually emit more of certain pollutants. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham explains:
Transcript
Although commercial airlines have been replacing their fleets with jets that are quieter and more
fuel efficient, the engines actually emit more of certain pollutants. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Lester Graham explains:
The federal government’s watchdog agency, the General Accounting Office, issued a report that
finds many airports have worked to reduce air pollution. Some have converted airport ground
vehicles to cleaner burning fuels. Newer jet engines emit less carbon monoxide and
hydrocarbons. But, they produce higher amounts of nitrogen oxides than engines on the older
models. As much as 40-percent more during landings and take offs. Those emissions contribute
to ozone pollution. That’s helping to keep more than half of the nation’s major airports in
violation of the federal ozone standards.
The General Accounting Office noted there are technologies available to limit nitrogen oxides
emissions from some of the newer aircraft models. Many government officials indicate that will
likely have to be the next step if ozone pollution around the airports is to be reduced.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.
Many feel that cars powered by fuel cells will save us from a future of pollution and rising oil prices. But Great Lakes Radio Consortium commentator James Howard Kunstler says there’s more to think about… he says it’s time to reconsider not just WHAT we drive but HOW we live:
Transcript
Many feel that cars powered by fuel cells will save us from a future of pollution and rising oil
prices. But Great Lakes Radio Consortium commentator James Howard Kunstler says there’s
more to think about and that it’s time to reconsider not just what we drive but how we live:
For quite a while now it’s been fashionable among the environmentally-minded to decry the
ownership of SUVs. This says a lot about what’s wrong with the conventional thinking of the
progressive / green crowd.
Would the everyday environment in America be any better if it were full of compact cars instead
of giant gas-guzzling Chevy Denalis and Ford Expeditions? I don’t think it would make a bit of
difference, really. We’d still be a car-dependent society stuck in a national automobile slum. The
problem with America is not big cars, it’s the fact that cars of all sizes have such an
overwhelming presence in our lives, and that driving is virtually mandatory for the ordinary
business of daily life.
Many in the anti-SUV crowd assume that we will solve our car problem with new technology,
like hydrogen fuel cells. Or that low-emission, environmentally-friendly hybrid cars will help to
usher in a sustainable way of life in America.
In fact, cleaner-running, higher mileage cars would do nothing to mitigate the degraded public
realm of a nation that has become a strip mall from sea to shining sea. They would not lessen
commuting distances or times. They would not reduce the number of car trips per day per
household. If anything, they would only promote the idea that we should continue living this way
– that suburban sprawl is normal and desirable, instead of what it is: the most destructive
development pattern the world has ever seen, and a living arrangement with poor prospects for
the future.
Why do we believe that better-running cars will save us? Because environmentalists are stuck in
a culture of quantification, just like their corporate bean-counter adversaries. It’s easy to count up
the number of carbon dioxide molecules in a cubic foot of air, and reduce the whole car issue to
good air or bad air. But air pollution or miles-per-gallon are hardly the only problems with car
dependency. The degradation of the everyday environment in general and of public space in
particular is at least as important, and is not subject to statistical analysis. It’s a question of
quality, not numbers.
In the age of austerity and global strife that is coming down the pike at us, we are going to need
walkable neighborhoods, towns and villages and public transit systems that are a pleasure to use.
Many of us pay premium prices to vacation in European cities precisely because they offer this
way of living, with great railroad and streetcar systems. Europeans still have cars, but they’re not
sentenced to own one per family member or spend two or three hours every day in them. It
would be nice to have these options here in the USA.
In the meantime, I really don’t care whether Americans drive Humvees or Toyota Priuses. Both
big and small cars are cluttering up our everyday world and wasting our lives.
James Howard Kunstler is the author of ‘The City in Mind: Notes on the Urban Condition’ and
other books. He comes to us by way of the Great Lakes Radio Consortium.
