Tagged: air pollution

The Louisville Air Pollution Control District is forecasting unhealthy levels of ozone for Independence Day and July 5.

The high temperatures and lack of wind will trap pollution near the city, raising ozone levels. The city's air is expected to be a 122 on the Air Quality Index tomorrow, which is unhealthy for sensitive groups. It's predicted to be slightly lower on Thursday--a 116--but still unhealthy for sensitive groups. These are the 15th and 16th Air Quality Alerts of the summer.

Louisville's Air Pollution Control District has issued air quality alerts for Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The heat wave is exacerbating pollution problems, and ozone levels each day are expected to be unhealthy for sensitive groups. Ozone levels today are forecasted to be unhealthy for everybody. 

From the APCD:  

Here are Air Quality Index forecasts:   

Friday, June 29--156 (unhealthy for everyone)

Saturday, June 30 – 150 (unhealthy for sensitive groups)

Sunday, July 1 – 150 (unhealthy for sensitive groups)

A federal court of appeals has ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency can regulate carbon emissions from vehicles and power plants.

A coalition of energy companies, manufacturers and individual states—including Kentucky and Indiana—challenged the rules in court. They argued that a core provision—the finding that greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide are pollutants and pose a danger to human health—wasn’t based on science. And without that finding, they argued the federal government couldn’t set standards for vehicle and power plant carbon dioxide emissions.

A federal court of appeals has ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency can regulate carbon emissions from vehicles and power plants. The court also upheld the agency’s scientific determination that greenhouse gases pose a danger to human health.

Air pollution monitors in Louisville registered high levels of ozone this weekend, as predicted.

The area ranked a 114 on the Air Quality Scale--where anywhere from 101-150 indicates air that's unhealthy for sensitive groups. Ozone measured at 81 parts per billion--and the federal standard is 75 parts per billion.

So far, the metro area has exceeded ozone standards four times this summer.

So far this year, there have been ten days when air quality is forecasted to be bad in the Louisville area, and as the summer wears on there will be many more. The weather plays a big part in these days of unhealthy air, and pollution from industries contributes, too. But individual actions can also affect the air.