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DesideriScuri -> RE: 4th of July Going Away? (7/3/2015 3:56:51 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Lucylastic
Politifact rates the claim as false,
http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2015/mar/26/allen-west/allen-west-says-obama-epa-wants-regulate-backyard-/
more like fox, daily caller and whoever wrote it are fear mongering conspiracy idiots again.quell surprise
edited to add while looking into it.
my bad, that particular article was in previous article written and linked from the article in the OP... Not this latest (s)hit piece.
However..it is pretty much as false as the first.
I have more links coming.
http://www.kansas.com/news/local/article1068398.htmlquote:
Sparklers, firecrackers and flaming fountains of sparks helped push Wichita's ozone levels past the Environmental Protection Agency standards on Independence Day, city officials say.
The city is still walking a tightrope between maintaining acceptable levels of ozone and exceeding the EPA standard, which requires an average of fewer than .075 parts per million of ozone particles during an 8-hour period. If the city has four days with 8-hour averages above that limit, it will have to produce a plan to reduce ozone that could cost taxpayers and businesses millions of dollars.
The city already exceeded the standard twice in April when winds blew smoke into the area from controlled burns in the Flint Hills and wildfires in Oklahoma.
Just in case anyone wants to cry foul, this was from 2011, and not current.
The current standard was set by the EPA in 2008 @ 0.075 ppm. So, Witchita, in 2011, had crossed that line several times (though two were completely out of it's control), and, based on their historical readings, have two more likely coming.
Dropping the standards to a range between 0.065-0.070 ppm would very likely increase the number of days the standard isn't met. As far as the Daily Caller's (which is what the Allen West piece quotes) claim that fireworks and BBQ's would have to be banned, well, it sure seems like fireworks will definitely put Witchita over (since it's already doing it). I can't speak to the impact of backyard BBQ's, though.
In Toledo, the advice to consumers on "Ozone Action Days": quote:
10 Tips for the Public
- Drive less. Drive more slowly. Share a ride, chain trips, walk or bike. Take public transportation.
- Refuel your car or fill gas cans in the morning or after 6 p.m. Avoid spilling gas or releasing vapors.
- Conserve energy in your home to reduce energy needs: hang clothes outside to dry rather than operate a dryer, set your thermostat between 76-78 degrees in the summer to reduce air conditioner use.
- Properly maintain your vehicle. Get a tune up and inflate tires to the correct pressure.
- Turn your car off. Park the car and walk into the building instead of using the drive thru.
- Change your mowing habits. Mow the lawn less frequently or mow earlier in the morning or in the evening.
- Insulate and weather-strip your home.
- Run dishwasher and washing machines only when fully loaded.
- Turn off lights and appliances when not in use.
- Apply paint with rollers and brushes instead of sprays to cut down on fumes and to save paint.
I could have sworn there was a call to not grill on OAD's, too. Maybe that's been relaxed. But, if a few backyards in the same area using grills can cause an increase in ground level ozone to the point where it pushes the general area's level up over the EPA limit, WTF does any fast food burger joint do?!?
I guess, in the end, there is some truth to the scaremongering that new EPA guidelines might put a damper on 4th of July activities, but claiming those things are going to be banned just might be a bit of hyperbole.
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