As I posted my first message, I was very curious to see what kind of other
responses would come out on this.  I apologize for getting up on the wrong
side of the bed and for being easily provoked.  However, it would seem that
the nay-sayers and gloom-givers always tend to prevail on issues like this,
and no one ever pays any attention to the good side.  Or maybe its just that
they are always the only ones to ever step up and say anything.  Its just
like my daughter pointed out to me one time - whenever someone does
something bad, it shows up on the 6:00 news.  But if the same person were to
have done something good, worthy of recognition, it would go unnoticed and
unappreciated, because society somehow thinks that's what it deserves and
what should have been done in the first place.  I think what society really
needs is a little bit of positive reinforcement every once in a while!

I received an email a little while ago from a friend with a link to the EPA
site (http://www.epa.gov/greenkit/case4.htm) where Chattanooga was listed as
a "model of sustainability."  Which led me to do a little bit more
researching on the subject, and this is what I came up with:

The Air Toxics Study
(http://www.apcb.org/air_monitoring/Toxic_Air_Pollutants/Toxic_Air_Pollutant
s.aspx) that Dr. Craddock refers to was performed in 1998-1999 (almost 10
years ago now!), and at that time, "The study determined that Chattanooga's
air quality is on par with other cities of its size and makeup."  Yes,
Chattanooga did (and DOES) have a pollution problem - this is not in
dispute.  But maybe that study was a wake-up call that initiated clean-up
action, because air quality has been drastically improved since then, and
not just here, but on a national level!  Let's also look at the steps that
Chattanooga is taking to correct the problem, shall we?

In November 2006, the EPA praised Chattanooga's efforts to clean up the air,
and said that we are "ahead of schedule" in our effort to reduce
ground-level ozone, which "is a highly unstable, poisonous gas."  Ozone is
probably where you find the carcinogenic factors, but again, I'm not an
expert.

Chattanooga/Hamilton County has an Air Pollution Control Bureau
(http://www.apcb.org/) with an excellent website, loaded with information.
The Air Quality is monitored and reported on a daily basis, and you can
learn everything you ever wanted to know about what you're breathing from
this site.  They've even got a phone number you can call to find out what
the AQI (Air Quality Index) is for today, which also includes the pollen and
mold count!

               <---Sherri--->
--
Sherri L. Raines, CPS
Administrative Assistant
Southeast Center for Education in the Arts
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
615 McCallie Avenue - Dept 6706
Chattanooga, TN  37403
Ph:    (423) 425-5204
Fax:   (423) 425-4632
Offices at 723 McCallie Avenue
http://www.sceaonline.com

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