Sunday Evening Conversations on Creation Continue…Online

Christ the King Evangelical Lutheran Church in Houston invites you to a monthly environmental education web meeting series whose theme in 2025 is Environmental Issues & What You Can Do.

Gunnar Schade PhD, Associate Professor, Texas A&M University

Ozone air quality has improved throughout the nation, except …

Near-surface ozone has long been identified as a serious air pollutant with significant health consequences.  EPA set a National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) in 1971, and air quality research since then has led to several science-informed amendments to the ozone-NAAQS. It was recognized in the 1970s and 80s that three ingredients were needed to form ozone in air: sunlight, especially UV radiation, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Thus, to limit ozone formation, which was then a huge problem especially in large urban areas, one had to limit the emissions of the chemicals leading to ozone. First catalytic convertors for tailpipe exhaust lowered VOC emissions. When it was recognized in the late 80s that nitrogen oxides mattered more for ozone than VOCs in many urban areas, improved catalytic convertors — still in use today — lowered their emissions as well. Further improvements were achieved when diesel engine truck nitrogen oxide emissions were regulated during the 2000s. As a result, ozone air quality has improved throughout the nation despite economic and population growth. Except … a small community in southeast New Mexico has resisted this development. The renewed oil and gas boom in the US has caused increasing nitrogen oxide and VOC emissions in rural areas where the industry is operating thousands of deep, hydraulically fractured wells. Recent air quality research by Professor Gunnar Schade of Texas A&M University, and colleagues, has identified high ozone levels in the Permian basin of New Mexico, with oil and gas industry emissions of VOCs and nitrogen oxides as the major culprit. But because the region is sparsely populated, and the industry has a large influence on agencies and policy-makers, EPA has refused to designate the area in non-compliance with the ozone NAAQS. This is a story of how federal and state environmental agencies are failing the rural population despite their better judgement.

This program will be recorded and the recording distributed to all registrants. Time for interactive Q&A with the speaker will be provided. Please register for this talk on www.eventbrite.com at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ozone-air-quality-has-improved-throughout-the-nation-except-tickets-1373761761409. Contact Lisa Brenskelle at gcs.lrc@gmail.com with any questions.