Athens is a rich center for environmental research and study. The University alone provides an environment that affects tens of thousands of people every day. Outside of that, there are over 60,000 Clarke County residents who create and live in a multitude of their own environments.
One of the most seemingly troublesome environmental issues in Athens is air quality. Air quality is affected by many things including car exhaust, particle pollution and even presence (or lack thereof) of trees, shrubs and other greenery. Organizations such as Clean Air Athens are working to improve the local air quality through both short and long term goals.
A recent article published in the Savannah Morning News discusses an EPA proposal to further lower the ozone limit levels nationwide. If this occurs, Georgia cities such as Atlanta, Augusta and our very own Athens could be faced with requirements much more difficult to meet than current standards. If our cities were unable to meet said requirements, other changes such as a switch to a less harmful (but more expensive) type of gasoline might take place. The implications of such a change are not set in stone but could pose some economic problems in the future.
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3 comments:
Have you heard of something called the Brain Train? The commuter rail proposal would connect Atlanta (i.e. Emory and the CDC) with Athens by commuter rail. Think of how much smog we could eliminate by getting that many people off the road. Another interesting angle is telecommuting.
Air quality is something that is constantly affecting us and also something we rarely think about. When we go outside to "get some fresh air" we hardly stop to think that we are getting just the opposite. I think this is an interesting issue, one where there are many opportunities for changing our lifestyles to improve our environment and our health.
Growing up in the Atlanta area, I don't think I'd even know what to do with clean air. I've battled lung problems my whole life and hopefully I've adapted to the best of my ability. I'd like to see a better system for getting around town besides the bus system, cause driving my car 6 miles per day just seems kinda dumb and wasteful.
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