The Asheville Chapter of the American Meteorological Society
held its first official meeting for 2005-2006 in Laurel Forum, Karpen Hall,
Old
Business
The entire membership had the opportunity to vote online for the slate of officers presented to them in August with space provided for write-ins.
The officers for the year 2005-2006 are:
President—Kenneth Walters, retired Air Force and Civil Service (AFCCC)
Vice President—Mike Cuevas, WLOS Chief Meteorologist
Secretary—Susan Tarbell, Air Force Weather Technical Library, AFCCC
Treasurer—Andrew Lance, UNCA student
President Kenneth Walters discussed upcoming meetings and the speakers. He also mentioned an active member of the AMS Asheville Chapter, John Louer, who is very ill with Leukemia. Our prayers go out to John and his family. John died October 27, 2005.
Our Chapter received a letter from Kelly Garvey, AMS, about
the Chapter Breakfast to be held January 31, 2006 in
Our guest speaker for the night was Keith Bamberger,
Information and Communication Specialist, North Carolina Dept. of Environment
and Natural Resources, Division of Air Quality (DAQ), Asheville Regional
Office,
The title of Mr. Bamberger’s talk was “We All Live Down Wind : Air Quality in the Mountains of North Carolina.” In other words, “Looking at
Air Quality Issues are: Ground level ozone, Particulate material, and Visibility. Ground level ozone is the only one that the DAQ forecasts for. It is mainly a summertime pollutant and is stratospheric and at ground-level (Good up high-bad nearby). Ozone is not emitted directly into the atmosphere. It is formed through complex photochemical reactions involving: sunlight; precursor pollutants which include volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides; and critical meteorological conditions.
Ozone has many public health risks. When inhaled, even at low levels, ozone can
cause inflammation of lung tissue and cause acute respiratory problems. It can aggravate, possibly trigger asthma and
decrease lung capacity. Over one-half of
8th graders in
2002 was a very bad year for ozone levels. During a year like that, western
The primary sources of particulate material are combustion of fireplaces, wood stoves, open burning, vehicles, and industry. Public health risks of particulate material include premature death from heart and lung disease, and aggravation of heart and lung diseases. The latter risk involves more hospital admissions, doctor and ER visits, medication use, and school and work absences.
Visibility is a continuing problem in the mountains of
western
Why is air pollution important? Air pollution is impacting our health,
environment, and economy. Monitoring at
the Great Smoky Mountains National Park since 1980 has shown that emissions of
sulfur, nitrogen, and carbon from eastern
There are many ways we can conserve energy at home and work such as: better insulation of our home; turning off unused lights and computers; adjusting thermostats to save energy; driving less-smarter-cleaner by carpooling and driving within speed limit; limiting idling of your car; keeping your engine tuned up; and taking our lunch or walking to a restaurant.
The Clean Smokestacks Bill received a standing ovation when it became law. This bill will greatly reduce emissions. On March 10, 2005, the EPA issued the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), a rule that will achieve the largest reduction in air pollution in more than a decade. CAIR will ensure that Americans continue to breathe cleaner air by dramatically reducing air pollution that moves across state boundaries. By 2015, CAIR will provide many health and environmental benefits.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan A. Tarbell
Secretary,