July 19, 2002
Due to the extreme mugginess here (What, Pittsburgh in the summer? No!) we've had a few ozone action days. Basically, electrical discharges like those made by a spark plug produce ozone. Just to prove I remember high school chemistry, that's 3O2 + E -> 2O3. Normally this isn't bad because the ozone dissipates before it becomes concentrated enough to cause problems. Not when it's muggy though -- it just sits there. So we have Ozone Action Days during which we're supposed to cut back on running combustion engines (cars, lawnmowers, etc.).
What did I do on the last action day? I drove around a few Pittsburgh neighborhoods at not much more than idling speeds, trying to get phone numbers for possible apartment rentals. I was out yesterday for about an hour. So if you know any asthmatics in the Pittsburgh area who had an attack yesterday, it's all my fault.
