Perhaps you've heard of Ozone Falls,Tennessee, a "wide place in the road" on US-70 where a gorgeous, 110-ft falls plunges over the edge of the eroded stream bed. Now preserved as a state natural area, the falls and a roadside tavern were once a stop-over for travelers. Here, they could rest and reinvigorate themselves, breathing in the fresh, clean air generated by the falls. But wait. Ozone Falls? What was that EPA slogan? Good Up High, Bad Nearby?
Oxygen (O2) becomes ozone (O3) when oxygen atoms pass through fast-moving water or come in contact with an electric spark, such as in waterfalls and thunderstorms. Part of that fresh, clean odor that one often smells near a waterfall and after a storm is ozone. But the ozone during these instances is minute and very temporary. It is harmless in these instances. In fact, ozone is produced artificially for use as a powerful disinfectant in industry and utilities, for wastewater treatment, and in potable water treatment. It kills bacteria, molds, and even viruses, great for the bugs but no so great for us.Whether ozone in the tiny amounts near waterfalls has healthful, invigorating benefits is not scientifically known.
Clean air is achievable.
Ground-level ozone is just one of the evils of fossil fuel emissions, but The American Lung Association considers it to be the most dangerous. So how do we begin to get this harmful substance out of our air and our lungs?
When we talk of air pollution in East Tennessee, we have two choices: we can do something or we can do nothing. Oversimplified, perhaps, but that’s how Jonathan Overly, director of the East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition (ETCFC) sums up our roles in this growing concern.
“Yes, we need policies that protect our health and the health of the environment, but not having adequate policies in place doesn’t excuse us from doing what we can,” Overly says. “We all need to be Actors for Change.”
He has a real problem with foreign oil and, steeped in the economics of growing biofuels such as switch grass, feels it’s downright un-American to not support their use. “Why wouldn’t we put money back into America?” he asks.
Overly works largely with fleet managers in helping them understand and gain access to conversion to biofuels. If he can target those persons who have the say-so over what kind of fuels they’ll use in their fleets, he has a broader reach.
Some fleets, like Knoxville Area Transit (KAT) have already made the switch to biofuels In and have an active bus system running throughout the city to get people to their destinations, leaving the car home; and you might note that none of the buses are billowing black smoke.
In 2009, Overly was appointed Principle Investigator (PI) of an $800,000 grant from the Department of Energy to make I-75 in Tennessee an E85/B20 corridor, meaning a pump for one of these fuels will be installed at exits no more than 200 miles apart. The project covers the entire length of I-75, from Sault Ste. Marie, Minn. to Miami, Fla. at a cost of 1.8 million. Overly will coordinate the Tennessee portion.
Since Tennessee is not following suit with a few other states that have mandated every filling station to have biofuels pumps (Minnesota takes the lead), establishing biofuels pumps along I-75 will be the least we can do.
Then on September 16, 2009, the EPA announced that it would reconsider the 2008 national ambient air quality standards for ground-level ozone, based on its own panel of science advisers that say the 2008 standards don’t offer enough protection for human and environmental health. The EPA will offer its final recommendations in December 2009.
Once these recommendations are finally established, whether changed or not, states will be required to submit plans for implementation of clean-up by December 2013. How fast any action takes place is anybody’s guess.
What else can we do? Be mindful. Think about everything you do that uses energy. Imagine that the on and off switch for the lights, washer and dryer, water heater, and dishwasher are all directly connected to TVA’s coal-burning demands. Be mindful of the gasoline you burn, whether it’s in your car, lawn mower or leaf blower and how you can use less. Be resourceful and thoughtful.
“Starter steps,” Overly calls them. “We need to take starter steps.”
