to take action to improve air quality and reduce traffic congestion.
Smog Hurts Georgia
Smog poses risks to human health. It can also harm our environment and our local economy.
Environmental Impact
Ground-level ozone is damaging to plant life. It interferes with the ability of plants to produce and store food, so that growth, reproduction and overall plant health are compromised. By weakening sensitive vegetation, ozone makes plants more susceptible to disease, pests, and environmental stresses.
Ground-level ozone has also been shown to reduce agricultural yields for many economically important crops, like soybeans, wheat and cotton.
Animal life can also be harmed. One of the key components of ozone, nitrogen oxides, contributes to fish kills and algae blooms in sensitive waterways.
Particle pollution also damages plants, materials and buildings. By protecting our environment from the harmful effects of ozone and smog, we also protect the quality of life for future generations in metro Atlanta.
Source: EPA, Office of Air and Radiation
Economic Impact
Failure to address Georgia's air pollution problem could cause economic impacts felt by businesses, and in turn individuals, across the state.
These impacts include restrictions on how we use federal money for transportation improvements. In 1998-2000, 44 road expansion projects in metro Atlanta were delayed because of the conformity lapse. All of the money that was to be spent on these projects had to be redirected to other projects. Although the region found a way to redirect all of the available federal funds toward these projects - at least on paper - the conformity lapse prevented the region from solving its mobility and air quality problems in the most efficient manner.
The state could also face a loss of revenue from businesses that are discouraged from locating here. Non-attainment status is a deterrent to businesses considering relocating and to large industrial operations that face constraints on their emissions. Industry could find it difficult to get permits to operate or expand their business, which in turn have the potential to negatively impact jobs and the housing market. In 1998, Harley-Davidson cited air quality limits in its decision not to build a motorcycle plant in metro Atlanta.
Particle pollution is a major culprit in reducing visibility. Visibility problems are not confined to urban areas; they are also a major air quality concern in and around national parks and wilderness areas. Visibility is not only a quality of life issue; it is a vital economic issue for industries dependent upon a pristine environment.
Each day, Americans waste approximately 3.8 million gallons of gasoline by voluntarily idling their cars, and an engine that idles for 10 minutes yields 90 grams of pollutants like carbon dioxide. Plus auto industry experts now say that idling is bad for your car.
Across Georgia, 27 counties or parts of counties are classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a nonattainment area for ground-level ozone, particle pollution or both. Is your county on the list?
The end of September also marked the end of Smog season, the months each year when air quality is most likely to exceed federal standards. How did 2007 stack up to years past?