Broad calls for Americans in large parts of the country to change their behavior to reduce air pollution were criticized today as “outrageous.”
The Indiana Department of Environment urged residents to turn off their lights to reduce unhealthy ozone levels, while officials in Southern California are advising people Drive slowly this weekend to reduce the amount of dust released into the air.
Both recommendations appear to come from AirNow, a federal agency that sets guidelines for what to do in situations of high air pollution.
While these unusual alerts have only been officially instituted in two states, government data shows at least 25 states have similar air pollution levels.
Ohio and other parts of the Midwest appear to be at greatest risk.
Experts told DailyMail.com the requests were “outrageous”, “unscientific” and “exaggerated”, adding that there was little evidence the behavioural changes would have any effect on air pollution.
Data from AirNow, a source of air quality data for the Environmental Protection Agency, revealed that more than 20 states are being monitored for high levels of air pollution. Such measurements are the reason for the “outrageous” orders in Indiana and California on Thursday
“This could be another attempt to do something with Americans,” said Fernando Correa, founder and CEO of Lightcore Energy Solutions.
“If we look at the past, we see what happened during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We can say it is a control tactic, but we can also say it is not. [because we will never really know].
Correa referred to the stay-at-home measures, social distancing and wearing of face masks in 2020.
There is still debate about the extent to which these measures were effective in reducing infections.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) has declared an air quality action day through Friday for the northwestern, northcentral and southeastern parts of the state.
The warning prompted the National Weather Service to urge residents to “conserve energy by turning off lights or setting air conditioning to 75 degrees or warmer.”
“Do not fill up your gas tank or operate gas-powered lawn mowers before 7 p.m.,” the weather service said.
“Avoid the drive-through and combine errands into one trip. Turn off your engine if you’re idling for more than 30 seconds.”
Meanwhile, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) issued a dust advisory Thursday afternoon for the Coachella Valley area of Southern California.
Wind gusts of up to 48 kilometers per hour are expected to bring fine particulate matter (pm2.5) into the air. The agency said motorists should limit their exposure to particulate matter by staying indoors with windows and doors closed or seeking alternative shelter.
The AQMD warned drivers to “drive slowly on unpaved roads” and to “minimize dust pollution by stabilizing loose soil.”
It also urged people to “avoid strenuous physical activity. Turn on your air conditioner and/or an air purifier. If possible, do not use swamp coolers or whole house fans that bring in outside air.”
Juda Engelmayer, who runs a crisis management firm in New York that specializes in environmental issues, said: “[The orders in Indiana and California] seem like nonsensical ideas from people who are just winging it, looking for solutions to problems they don’t even understand.
The National Weather Service advised Indiana residents to turn off their lights to lower ozone levels, but provided no scientific evidence to support this request
The weather service also advised residents to ‘not refuel or use gasoline-powered lawn mowers’
“The number of people driving on California’s dirt roads is not the cause of dust storms and windblown dust, or of dust and air quality.
“As far as lighting goes… That’s not a job if homeowners and renters see that street signs, billboards and commercial areas are well lit,” she added, calling the orders “excessive.”
Data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows that many states in the South, around the Great Lakes and in the Northeast are teetering on the brink of high levels of ozone and fine particulate matter (pm2.5).
An agency map also lists parts of Kentucky, Michigan and Wisconsin as “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” the same category as Indiana.
Ozone, an important component of smog, is present in the human lung walls, among other places.
Particulate matter is created in the atmosphere as a result of complex reactions of chemicals, such as nitrous oxide. These are pollutants emitted by power plants, industry and cars.
These cause pollution through particles that can be smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter, allowing them to penetrate deep into your lungs and bloodstream.
The AirNow website has a list of recommendations for reducing ozone, including turning off lights and appliances, avoiding idling vehicles, and inflating tires to the recommended pressure.
A 2019 study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that a 12 percent increase in summer energy efficiency (by turning off power in homes) could save 475 lives from air pollution in the U.S. each year.
According to the team, this is because power plants produce less energy, as power plants are a major source of pollution.
However, the investigation took three years and the measures for Indiana are expected to last for about 24 hours.
“It’s a band-aid on a machete wound, and Indiana could help people reduce pollution by encouraging them to carpool or use public transportation. Those systems could be improved, too,” Engelmayer said.
Officials in Southern California are advising people to drive slowly this weekend to limit the amount of dust emitted into the air
“They could encourage the use of solar energy on homes and businesses, and much more, in addition to controlling what people do in their homes.”
In California, the warning followed days of poor air quality in the region due to bridge and line fires in northeast Los Angeles.
A smoke warning was issued earlier this week and is expected to remain in effect until at least 11 p.m. PT on Friday.
“The number of people driving on California’s dirt roads is not the cause of the dust storms and the windblown dust, nor is it the cause of the dust and the air quality,” Engelmayer said.
‘It is the lack of water, the dryness of the soil and the inability of environmental agencies in California and perhaps even in the United States to make difficult and perhaps even unpopular (with certain segments of the socio-political population) decisions, such as diverting water flows to dry areas.
“The decisions about how to operate the pumps and fish protection facilities that are the linchpins of the State Water Project are causing this. Yet it’s easier to tell someone to drive slowly than to make a real decision.”
Along with the task forces of both states, a team of scientists is working to analyze air quality. Based on that, they can make decisions like Thursday’s. Correa said they should know better.
“That is not possible because if you do such things in a region, in a city or, let’s say, in the state, it is too little,” he said.
‘Since this is a global problem, it seems that [the demands] are overboard, because that has no influence there.’