Stop at the Click (New York)
Just like a recipe, the atmosphere needs all the right ingredients to make ground-level ozone – a harmful air pollutant that is common during the summer months. When the temperature rises and the sun is shining, heat and sunlight mix with nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds that come from car exhaust, power plants, refineries, gasoline vapors at gas stations and other sources to “cook-up” ground-level ozone. High ozone pollution levels can trigger health problems for people with asthma and other lung conditions – more than 1.1 million adults and 361,000 kids in New York have asthma.
Viewer Tip: You can help protect air quality by stopping at the click when you refuel. Spilling just one ounce of gasoline releases the same amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as driving a car for 56 miles! Also consider refueling at night when heat and sunlight – key ingredients in the ground-level ozone recipe – are at a minimum.
Season: Summer
(Sources: Federal Highway Administration. “It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air.” www.italladdsup.gov; American Lung Association. “State of the Air 2009.” www.stateoftheair.org)