To Dirk : What I meant by not being sure land can/should be managed, I
meant tampered with ecologically, not controlling visitors.
of course I am OK with the latter.
I thought with all of this concern about cars, that an article on
a NPS report on Yellowstone pollution might help illustrate the
complexity of the problem. I guess snowmobilers will be soon forced
to ride the bus as well. :)
As far as the nastyness: Please think of the greater good, and let's
try to keep personal battles off-list.
*= Doris Fang =*
-------------------------------------------------------------------
AIR QUALITY STUDY RESULTS FOR YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK AVAILABLE
Yellowstone National Park announces the availability
of a report prepared by the National Park Service's Air Resources
Division that details concerns over air quality as related to
snowmobile usage in national parks across the United States. The
report is a compilation of studies performed by a number of
different entities, primarily in Yellowstone, including the Montana
Department of Environmental Quality, the Southwest Research
Institute, the University of Denver, the U.S. Geological Services,
and the National Park Service. The studies, conducted over a
4-year period, confirm the park's concerns over the health effects
of snowmobile emissions on park visitors and employees, as well as
the Yellowstone ecosystem.
Motor vehicles emit several pollutants that the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies as known or
probable human carcinogens, such as benzene and hydrocarbons. The
EPA estimates that mobile sources account for as much as half of all
cancers attributed to outdoor sources of air toxics. For a number of
reasons, snowmobiles--a two-stroke engine--are much more polluting
than automobiles--a four-stroke engine. First, up to one-third of
the fuel delivered to the engine goes straight through without being
burned. Second, the lubricating oil is used once and is then
expelled as part of the exhaust. Third, the combustion process
results in high emissions of air pollutants, including hydrocarbons
or volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter,
and carbon monoxide. When compared to automobile emissions,
snowmobiles can emit 100 times more carbon monoxide and 300 times
more hydrocarbons.
The report notes that although the number of
snowmobiles that enter the park during a three-month time period is
much lower than the number of automobiles that enter the park
year-round (on average, one snowmobile for every 16 vehicles),
snowmobile emissions dominate the total annual emissions for carbon
monoxide (78 percent) and hydrocarbons (94 percent) when compared to
other mobile sources, such as cars and RVs. On a peak day--with
2,000 snowmobiles entering the park--32 tons of hydrocarbons and 88
tons of carbon monoxide can be emitted. During a single winter
season, as much as 1,200 tons of hydrocarbons and 2,400 tons of
carbon monoxide can be emitted. The study also found that
snowmobiles contribute approximately 3 percent of the annual
nitrogen oxide emissions and 37 percent of the particulate matter
emissions.
One study conducted in 1996 showed that
concentrations of ammonium and sulfate in snow positively correlated
with snowmobile and oversnow vehicle use, as levels of these
pollutants generally declined a short distance from snowpacked
roads. It was noted that there is a potential for these pollutants
to affect nearby surface waters during snowmelt and spring runoff.
In 1999, a study was done at the park's West Entrance
to monitor personal exposure for particulate matter and volatile
organic compounds. The maximum time-weighted concentration of
particulate matter on the 13th and 14th of February showed
concentrations of 116 and 122 particulate matter, respectively; the
National Ambient Air Quality Standard for acceptable particulate
matter concentrations is 60. To put this in perspective, the
maximum 24-hour particulate matter concentration in the Los Angeles
suburb of Azusa in 1997 was 68.
Under the Clean Air Act, the National Park Service,
as a federal land manager, has an affirmative responsibility to
protect air quality related values--including visibility--from the
adverse effects of air pollution in areas that are designated as
"Class I." As directed by Congress, Class I areas are to be afforded
the greatest degree of air quality protection and are permitted to
have only very small amounts of air quality deterioration from new
or modified major stationary sources. Notwithstanding an area's
designation under the Clean Air Act, NPS areas that have documented
adverse effects due to air pollution must seek to mitigate or
eliminate these impacts.
Some steps have already been taken in Yellowstone
National Park to address these problems. The park uses
biodegradable lubricants gasohol (an oxygenated fuel made by ethanol
splash-blended with regular or premium gasoline; this fuel can
reduce carbon monoxide emissions by 20-25 percent in automobiles) in
its administrative fleet, and the State of Montana has directed that
its administrative snowmobiles use low smoke or biodegradable
lubricants. Longer-term goals for reducing snowmobile emissions are
being addressed in the Winter Use Plan/Draft Environmental Impact
Statement for the Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and the
John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Memorial Parkway that is now out for
public review until December 1, 1999.
-NPS-
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|