Thursday, January 22, 2009

Inversion Layer

Currently, Provo, Utah has the worst air quality in the nation. That's all thanks to the inversion layer. I thought Californians were the only ones to have a fancy name for smog.

(Tangent)
Growing up, it always made me laugh to hear people say it was "hazy." But doesn't haze sound so much better than smog? If only a name change had the power to make it not as gross to breathe.
(End Tangent)

Since the only way to get rid of all this junk is a nice storm, I'm surprising myself by how anxious I am to have one blow through. Yes, I know that will mean more shoveling, but I'll take it if I can get this headache and sore throat to go away.

5 comments:

Shorty said...

Wow, I had no idea... I thought where I'm at in Texas was one of the worst places for pollution. Does this happen often in Provo, is a seasonal thing, or is it a constant factor that you guys have to deal with? Our pollution is constant. 1 out of every 4 kids have respiratory illnesses associated with our pollution. Lovely.

JMadd said...

The "Inversion" is one of the reasons I hate January and February in Provo. It's so depressing! My husband calls it fog, but it's just a bunch of crap floating around the atmosphere. I'm ready for a storm to blow through, too. I'm not even old and my lungs hurt when I wake up in the morning and my eyes have been burning for a week.

trublubyu said...

ewwww!

Almond said...

I actually like the fog, I like to drive in it! Kind of fun watching the low clouds get sucked under the car. The only not so fun part is driving in it in EMC, they think fog is like ice and you have to drive 5mph to be safe. Come on pick up the speed, let's at least go the speed limit.

Nathan said...

Hi Shorty, It only happens when the weather is just right. I don't know the science behind it, but if the winds don't bring in a storm during the winter, the pollution builds up in the valley and we get all this gross air.

I love the mountains, but sometimes they cause some problems.

Isn't it nice to know we're putting all this junk in our lungs?