Legislate against pollution all you like, but don't expect nature to tow the line. Recent research on the wildfires that raged in California in 2007 shows that ground ozone levels were probably pushed significantly past legal "safe" limits. When found high up in the atmosphere, ozone benefits life by blocking harmful radiation from the Sun. At ground level, though, it is responsible for a number of respiratory illnesses, ranging from coughs to bronchitis and emphysema. It also damages crops. Fires increase ozone levels by releasing nitrogen oxides, which form ozone when exposed to sunlight. Gabriele Pfister of the US National Center for Atmospheric Research and colleagues focused on fires in California in September and October 2007. They used software to model the chemicals released by the fires and the ozone produced as a...
[read full story]
Your Web Site
