In conjunction with our discussions of air pollution and possible solutions for this environmental problem, I wanted to share with you the case of Chattanooga, Tennessee (My Tennessee hometown). It sits on the Tennessee River in a natural basin formed by the Appalachian Mountains. Lookout Mountain, the home of Rock City and Ruby Falls, is a member of this long chain of mountains. After the Civil War, foundries, mills, and other plants of industry were quickly built and the city became one of the leading places of manufacture in the country.
The economic success in Chattanooga was accompanied by negative environmental effects. Because of the topography of the area, being located in a bowl surrounded by mountains, pollutants that were produced from industry were trapped overhead. By 1957, Chattanooga had the 3rd worst particulate pollution in the country and respiratory illness rates were above the national average. In the 1960s, there were many days were people could not see Lookout Mountain from a 1/4 mile away.
In 1969, a U.S. survey of the countries air quality confirmed that Chattanooga was the worst city in the U.S. for particulate matter in the air. Before the Clean Air Act in 1970, in 1969, Chattanooga created its own legislation called the Air Pollution Control Ordinance. It controlled emissions of sulfur oxides, allowed open burning by permit only, placed regulations on odors and dust, outlawed visible auto emissions, capped sulfur content of fuel at 4%, and limited visible emissions from industry. Additionally, new pollution monitoring techniques were set in place to make sure these regulations were being followed.
These efforts did not hinder businesses, but instead created new industrial opportunities related to cleaning up the air, such as starting a local manufacturer of smokestack scrubbers. As a result of these acts, just 3 years after the passage of the city ordinance, Chattanooga ahcieved compliace with the Clean Air Act air-quality standards. To ensure that the project remained a success, the city government started a comprehensive recycling program to divert waste that would have been incinerated to particles in the air. Public and private sectors joined forces to create the largest municipal fleet of electric buses in the U.S.
To read more about Chattanooga and its fight against air pollution, go to www.chattanoogachamber.com
The economic success in Chattanooga was accompanied by negative environmental effects. Because of the topography of the area, being located in a bowl surrounded by mountains, pollutants that were produced from industry were trapped overhead. By 1957, Chattanooga had the 3rd worst particulate pollution in the country and respiratory illness rates were above the national average. In the 1960s, there were many days were people could not see Lookout Mountain from a 1/4 mile away.
In 1969, a U.S. survey of the countries air quality confirmed that Chattanooga was the worst city in the U.S. for particulate matter in the air. Before the Clean Air Act in 1970, in 1969, Chattanooga created its own legislation called the Air Pollution Control Ordinance. It controlled emissions of sulfur oxides, allowed open burning by permit only, placed regulations on odors and dust, outlawed visible auto emissions, capped sulfur content of fuel at 4%, and limited visible emissions from industry. Additionally, new pollution monitoring techniques were set in place to make sure these regulations were being followed.
These efforts did not hinder businesses, but instead created new industrial opportunities related to cleaning up the air, such as starting a local manufacturer of smokestack scrubbers. As a result of these acts, just 3 years after the passage of the city ordinance, Chattanooga ahcieved compliace with the Clean Air Act air-quality standards. To ensure that the project remained a success, the city government started a comprehensive recycling program to divert waste that would have been incinerated to particles in the air. Public and private sectors joined forces to create the largest municipal fleet of electric buses in the U.S.
To read more about Chattanooga and its fight against air pollution, go to www.chattanoogachamber.com