Tom Whitehurst

Public is urged to work for cleaner air

There are more people, driving more cars disproportionately more miles. That's why Nueces and San Patricio counties are in danger of losing their clean-air status, local and state officials said Tuesday.
   The population of the two counties increased 8.4 percent and vehicle registration grew 7.7 percent between 1990 and 1998, according to statistics compiled by the Corpus Christi Air Quality Committee. Vehicle miles grew 16.2 percent in that time, according to the statistics.
   A nationwide trend
   The disproportionate growth in vehicle miles isn't peculiar to the Corpus Christi area, said Bill Hennings, chairman of the committee. It's a nationwide trend.
   The committee also found, during a three-week test last September of vehicles passing by on Shoreline Boulevard, that 13 percent of the vehicles caused 80 percent of the tailpipe emissions.
   Corpus Christi-area large industries and small businesses, meanwhile, received praise Tuesday from Jeff Saitas, executive director of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, for the efforts they've made to control emissions. Industries and city officials have been working together since 1994 to curtail ozone-causing emissions, and local industry has spent hundreds of millions of dollars voluntarily on air-pollution control.
   "That is the best way to achieve these goals," Saitas said during a news briefing at the Art Center of Corpus Christi. "It isn't necessary to create some regulatory structure to achieve them."
   City needs individuals' help
   The upshot of the message delivered at the briefing was that more help is needed from individuals to maintain air quality at federally acceptable standards because business and industry already is doing a lot. Taking fewer car trips, maintaining cars better and curtailing use of gasoline-powered lawn equipment are among the key actions that individuals can take.
   "Anybody who drives a car or truck to work can experiment," Hennings said. "Take a co-worker to work. Take it a step further: Check out the bus schedules. Do more work at home by telecommuting instead of driving to the office."
   The air committee is seeking to improve response on ozone action days - the days when weather conditions make ozone formation more likely. The committee will distribute large yellow Ozone Action Day flags to businesses that can display the flags prominently.
   Weather service to help
   Also, the committee is working with the National Weather Service to improve ozone action day forecasting, Hennings said. Now, the soonest forecast is 2 p.m. on the previous day, but by mid-August, the weather service is expected to be able to give three days' notice, he said.
  
  
  

---

---

  © 2000 Corpus Christi Caller Times, a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved.