Orange You Breathing OK?

The East TN Regional Air Coalition has issued an Alert about the bad air quality for the next few days, putting us at the Orange Alert Level. Check out their Link, right Here or over in the Links section to the right.

You don't have to be a scientist or even suffering from breathing problems to know that we are sucking down some lousy pollution. Just take a look around. Try looking at the horizon lines, or if you can see them, try looking at the mountains surrounding our fertile - er, polluted valley. Just look around at the haze that is obscuring anything more than 100 or 200 feet away. (We used to just call this Smog, but now it has names like "particulate matter" and '"unhealthy effects of ozone." That keeps the meaning nice and obscure, just like the Smog!!!

Don't get me wrong, I am glad to have the ETNRAC -- we do get Alerts now, usually folded into a weather forecast, as if this were all just ... weather. It isn't. It's pollution. At the Orange level (GO BIG ORANGE!!!!!) it is dangerous for "sensitive groups", such as "children or adults who are active outdoors", and people with respiratory disease. That seems like a pretty big chunk of population here in the Valley, but the Alert also notes - "Even healthy adults involved in moderate or strenuous outdoor activites can experience the unhealthy effects." So that's pretty much anyone who GOES OUTSIDE and breathes.

Again, just look around. Sure, we have the Smoky Mountains, but they got that name because you could SEE them long ago. And you could see water vapor around their rolling slopes and inclines.
So if you live in Hamblen, Jefferson, Sevier, Cocke, Grainger, Knox, Anderson, Blount, Loudon, Roan or Union counties, make a note of the ETNRAC web site. (Located in the Links section of this page).

There are several suggestions made in the Alert (GOOOOO BIG ORANGE!!!!) about how you can help prevent .... well, it is Your fault isn't it.

Relax, breathe deeply (if you're inside) and enjoy the beautiful scenery (if you can see it,)