Air Quality: Much Worse on Paper Than in Reality No area outside California comes anywhere close to having "some of the worst air pollution in the nation." And yet a search through newspapers both large and small reveals that journalists and environmental activists have collectively put more than half the country into this category. This may be one of the few cases where a thousand words are worth much more than a picture. Here then is a partial inventory of air quality false alarms. Chicago, the Chicago Sun-Times reports, has "some of the worst air pollution in the nation."[3] Eighty miles north of Chicago is Milwaukee, which the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says has "some of the worst air pollution in the nation."[4] Toledo joins its Midwestern brethren with "some of the worst ozone pollution readings in the nation," according to the Toledo Blade.[5] Ditto for Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which according to the Associated Press "has some of the most polluted air in the nation."[6] The Dallas-Fort Worth area has "some of the country's worst air," claims the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.[7] The Baltimore Sun says Baltimore has "some of the worst air pollution in the country" as well.[8] Houston? "[S]ome of the worst air pollution problems in the country," says United Press International.[9] The New York metropolitan area has "some of the country's dirtiest air," according to the Westchester Journal News.[10] Don't forget Atlanta, which the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says has "some of the worst air pollution in the country," with agreement from the Associated Press as well.[11] Raleigh, North Carolina's News & Observer says it is not only Atlanta, but the entire Raleigh-Greensboro-Atlanta "megalopolis" that has "some of the worst air pollution in the country."[12]....
Scientists turn from brown to green chemistry A quiet revolution to discover more environmentally friendly products and processes is under way in one of society's most polluting industries. Called "green chemistry," the idea is to make chemicals using less toxic or environmentally benign feed stocks and to develop chemical manufacturing processes that take fewer steps and therefore use less energy, water and potentially harmful substances. While the idea has been around a long time, it has only begun to gather steam in recent years. Although not as widespread as industry and environmentalists would like, a new generation of chemists is gradually being introduced to the concept of green chemistry - as opposed to the old "brown chemistry" - in high schools and colleges across the country. The Environmental Protection Agency and the National Science Foundation have been underwriting green chemistry research for the past decade, the fruits of which are beginning to be seen....
Experts Are Listening to Grand Canyon Mounted at about ear level on tripods, microphones are capturing the sound of quiet at the Grand Canyon. The four microphones are attached to sound level meters and computers that will later screen out all manmade sounds, such as the chatter of hikers, the rumble of cars and the buzz of sightseeing planes and helicopters. All that will be left will be the sounds of nature: the wind in the trees, the chirping of birds, for example. Park officials are doing this because they need to establish the natural decibel level at the Grand Canyon before policymakers can decide whether the current noise-reduction regulations governing flights over America's most breathtaking natural wonder are adequate. Although the listening devices are new, the effort to determine whether the park is as quiet as it should be goes back a generation....

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