Winter Smog is new - this is the very first time in Toronto a smog alert has been issued in February, one of the few in winter ever issued.
And in Chicago : "Soot pollution trapped over much of the urban Midwest led Illinois officials Wednesday to issue their first-ever wintertime alert for dirty air, and they cautioned the health warnings could last through the weekend." [Tribune]
Warmer air , stagnant wind conditions, inversion [warm air on top of cooler ground level air], and the increase in particulates due to winter habits are named as the reasons for the worsening air conditions in winter.
Climate change means more warm days in winter. Cold air may allow particulates to settle out much easier.
The problem is , as we know, "cars, diesel trucks, factories, residential fireplaces and power plants that burn coal or other fossil fuels". They are spewing the dangerous particulates and other smog forming chemicals, as well as adding to global warming [whatever is warming up the earth's air temperature, fossil fuels are making it worse, in case you are a denier of GW].
Toronto - http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...le&cid=1107471010433&call_pageid=970599119419
Switzerland - http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=511&sid=5411043
Chicago - http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...ll=chi-newsnationworld-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true
- links - all of them cites around the world that are having these new problems with winter smog This from a simple search on google, so we can assume it is going on everywhere in the Northern hemisphere.
Here is a link to find your air quality [Canada] -
http://www.airqualityontario.com./
Karlin
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PS - OZONE is often mentioned as an AIR POLLUTANT. This is a misdirection and an incomplete understanding results from the way it is used to measure air pollution.
Ozone is actually good for the air quality. "O3" [oh-3] gives us more oxzygen, which is good considering oxygen levels have dropped from over 30% historically to 22% now.
When sunshine hits toxic air, ozone is formed. The ozone then 'neutralises' the toxins and better quality air for breathing is left.
Some asthmatics find high ozone levels irritating.Thats because ozone is cleaning up their bronchial tubes, producing phlegm that must be coughed up. That is irritating , but they should be grateful for the healing that is taking place. Let me know[reply] if your experience is different than this. Pharmaceuticals will interfere with this healing process as they reduce the ability to cough it up or something like that, so ozone is labelled as bad: "thats why your asthma is bad today - ozone" [medical industry says this].
Ozone and other oxygen therapies could HEAL lots of conditions, but as a naturally occuring element, O2 cannot have a patent, so is discarded as a medical therapy. "Sure, Oxygen therapy is very useful, but we need a healthy pharmaceutical industry so the programs your hospitals depend on can be paid for.. or for jobs and the taxes they pay, or or or..." [Bullsplat from the medical industry]
So don't name OZONE as a pollutant, IT IS AN ANTI-POLLUTANT. Fossil fuels are the only culprit in air pollution, other than wood burning. Alternatives are available but restricted.
HO!!!
And in Chicago : "Soot pollution trapped over much of the urban Midwest led Illinois officials Wednesday to issue their first-ever wintertime alert for dirty air, and they cautioned the health warnings could last through the weekend." [Tribune]
Warmer air , stagnant wind conditions, inversion [warm air on top of cooler ground level air], and the increase in particulates due to winter habits are named as the reasons for the worsening air conditions in winter.
Climate change means more warm days in winter. Cold air may allow particulates to settle out much easier.
The problem is , as we know, "cars, diesel trucks, factories, residential fireplaces and power plants that burn coal or other fossil fuels". They are spewing the dangerous particulates and other smog forming chemicals, as well as adding to global warming [whatever is warming up the earth's air temperature, fossil fuels are making it worse, in case you are a denier of GW].
Toronto - http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...le&cid=1107471010433&call_pageid=970599119419
Switzerland - http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=511&sid=5411043
Chicago - http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...ll=chi-newsnationworld-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true
- links - all of them cites around the world that are having these new problems with winter smog This from a simple search on google, so we can assume it is going on everywhere in the Northern hemisphere.
Here is a link to find your air quality [Canada] -
http://www.airqualityontario.com./
Karlin
----------------------------------------------------
PS - OZONE is often mentioned as an AIR POLLUTANT. This is a misdirection and an incomplete understanding results from the way it is used to measure air pollution.
Ozone is actually good for the air quality. "O3" [oh-3] gives us more oxzygen, which is good considering oxygen levels have dropped from over 30% historically to 22% now.
When sunshine hits toxic air, ozone is formed. The ozone then 'neutralises' the toxins and better quality air for breathing is left.
Some asthmatics find high ozone levels irritating.Thats because ozone is cleaning up their bronchial tubes, producing phlegm that must be coughed up. That is irritating , but they should be grateful for the healing that is taking place. Let me know[reply] if your experience is different than this. Pharmaceuticals will interfere with this healing process as they reduce the ability to cough it up or something like that, so ozone is labelled as bad: "thats why your asthma is bad today - ozone" [medical industry says this].
Ozone and other oxygen therapies could HEAL lots of conditions, but as a naturally occuring element, O2 cannot have a patent, so is discarded as a medical therapy. "Sure, Oxygen therapy is very useful, but we need a healthy pharmaceutical industry so the programs your hospitals depend on can be paid for.. or for jobs and the taxes they pay, or or or..." [Bullsplat from the medical industry]
So don't name OZONE as a pollutant, IT IS AN ANTI-POLLUTANT. Fossil fuels are the only culprit in air pollution, other than wood burning. Alternatives are available but restricted.
HO!!!
