Joined: 22 Feb 2006 Posts: 8185 Location: Fingerlakes - NY usa
Study: Ethanol May Cause More Smog, Deaths
Quote:
By SETH BORENSTEIN
WASHINGTON - Switching from gasoline to ethanol - touted as a green alternative at the pump - may create dirtier air, causing slightly more smog-related deaths, a new study says.
Nearly 200 more people would die yearly from respiratory problems if all vehicles in the United States ran on a mostly ethanol fuel blend by 2020, the research concludes. Of course, the study author acknowledges that such a quick and monumental shift to plant-based fuels is next to impossible.
Each year, about 4,700 people, according to the study's author, die from respiratory problems from ozone, the unseen component of smog along with small particles. Ethanol would raise ozone levels, particularly in certain regions of the country, including the Northeast and Los Angeles.
Ozone is a gas that occurs both in the Earth's upper atmosphere and at ground level. Ozone can be good or bad, depending on where it is found:
Good Ozone. Ozone occurs naturally in the Earth's upper atmosphere-10 to 30 miles above the Earth's surface-where it shields us from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays.
Bad Ozone. In the Earth's lower atmosphere, near ground level, ozone is formed when pollutants emitted by cars, power plants, industrial boilers, refineries, chemical plants, and other sources react chemically in the presence of sunlight. Ozone pollution is a concern during the summer months when the weather conditions needed to form ground-level ozone-lots of sun, hot temperatures-normally occur.
Hey, that's scientific enough for me! lol They don't even attempt to describe the atomic structure of it. Isn't Ozone...Oxygen?
What is ozone?
Ozone is three atoms of oxygen
Ozone is not smog
Smog is mostly man-made
Ozone is made by the sun and oxygen
Ozone is nature’s way of cleaning the environment
Ozone is not smog. Listen to the news and you’ll think ozone is air pollution or smog. It is not either one. The name "ozone" is derived from the Greek word "ozein" which means "to smell". Ozone is a bluish, water-soluble gas with a distinctive smell. It made of three atoms of oxygen and occurs naturally in nature. It is formed when oxygen and ultraviolet light interact high in the stratosphere.
Ozone is a molecule composed of three atoms of oxygen. Two atoms of oxygen form the basic oxygen molecule--the oxygen we breathe that is essential to life. The third oxygen atom can detach from the ozone molecule, and re-attach to molecules of other substances, thereby altering their chemical composition. It is this ability to react with other substances that forms the basis of manufacturers’ claims.
How is Ozone Harmful?
The same chemical properties that allow high concentrations of ozone to react with organic material outside the body give it the ability to react with similar organic material that makes up the body, and potentially cause harmful health consequences. When inhaled, ozone can damage the lungs (see - "Ozone and Your Health" - www.epa.gov/airnow/brochure.html). Relatively low amounts can cause chest pain, coughing, shortness of breath, and, throat irritation. Ozone may also worsen chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma and compromise the ability of the body to fight respiratory infections. People vary widely in their susceptibility to ozone. Healthy people, as well as those with respiratory difficulty, can experience breathing problems when exposed to ozone. Exercise during exposure to ozone causes a greater amount of ozone to be inhaled, and increases the risk of harmful respiratory effects. Recovery from the harmful effects can occur following short-term exposure to low levels of ozone, but health effects may become more damaging and recovery less certain at higher levels or from longer exposures (US EPA, 1996a, 1996b).
The so-called "ground level ozone" (called this to differentiate it from ozone in the upper atmosphere - the "ozone layer") that is said to be the "main culprit" in smog is really a collection hydrocarbons - CO² CO, and SO² - that react with UV rays from the sun to form nitric oxides (NOX), halogenated by-products, and lead and sulfur compounds. These composites do indeed cause offensive odors, aggravate respiratory problems and burn eyes. But it is NOT the ozone that is the true villain. Ozone naturally forms not as a true component of smog but, more accurately, as a means of eliminating it. As the level of VOCs and particulate rises in the air, the ozone level rises as Nature herself tries to clean up man's mess!
If you remove the manmade components of smog - the VOCs and industrial particulates - then you simply have a natural process where the ozone and nitrogen dioxide are normalized to safe and healthy levels. When you add a large amount of man-made hydrocarbons to the equation, then the amounts of nitrogen dioxide and ozone are artificially increased.
The main reason that ozone gets the label of "Public Enemy Number One" is that while man-made hydrocarbons are very complex and as such quite difficult to measure, ozone is very easy to accurately measure. Consequently, ozone has long been used as an indicator for the severity or presence of smog because as the levels of the true components of smog rise, so does the level of ozone.
By conveniently placing the onus on ozone, government and industry are effectively relieved of the responsibility for the millions of pounds of toxins released into the air every year. Rather than taking steps to control the real culprit, we are actually allowing our government to shoot the messenger - good guy ozone.
lol
Quote:
SMOG LIES FROM YOUR EPA:
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Economic Analysis and Census Bureau
Smog is formed when volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emitted from a variety of sources combine to form ozone. The formation of ozone from VOCs and NOx is accelerated by sunlight and heat, thus making smog more pervasive during warm weather months. In California, VOCs and NOx are emitted from numerous sources including cars, trucks and buses, power plants, industrial facilities, aviation, agriculture, small engines such as lawn mowers and the use of solvents and other chemicals.
(ED. Here, the EPA is sneakily implying that smog is equivalent to ozone, redefing the term in the worst Orwellian way. Then they get their media whores to repeat it over and over in news reports etc., and, as any good propagandist knows, a lie repeated often enough becomes the truth to most people. These Madison avenue techniques are topped with a good portion of Nazi and Communist brain washing methods. The American people are being programmed into slavery and death. (Ozone has been used around the world for over 50 years to cure many so-called “incurable” conditions that are repressed in the USA!! Amazing but true.)
