Smog

Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Smog shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Smog offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Smog at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Smog? Wrong! If the Smog is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Smog then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Smog? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Smog and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Smog wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Smog then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Smog site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Smog, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Smog, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

Smog is a kind of air pollution; the word "smog" is a portmanteau of smoke and fog. Classic smog results from large amounts of coal burning in an area and is caused by a mixture of smoke and sulphur dioxide.

Origin of term as viewed from the World Trade Center in 1988.Coinage of the term "smog" is generally attributed to Henry Antoine Des Voeux in his 1905 paper, “Fog and Smoke,” for a meeting of the Public Health Congress. The 26 July 1905 edition of the London newspaper Daily Graphic quoted Des Voeux, “e said it required no science to see that there was something produced in great cities which was not found in the country, and that was smoky fog, orwhat was known as ‘smog.’” The following day the newspaper stated that “Dr. Des Voeux did a public service in coining a new word for the London fog.”

"Smog" also appears in a Jan. 19, 1893, Los Angeles Times article and is attributed to "a witty English writer."

Health effects Smog is a problem in a number of cities and continues to harm human health. USA Today tropospheric ozone, Sulfur dioxide, Nitrogen dioxide Carbon monoxide are especially harmful for senior citizens, children, and people with heart and lung conditions such as emphysema, bronchitis, and asthma "Who is most at risk from ozone?" . It can inflame breathing passages, decreasing the lungs' working capacity, and causing shortness of breath, pain when inhaling deeply, wheezing, and coughing. It can cause eye and nose irritation and it dries out the protective membranes of the nose and throat and interferes with the body's ability to fight infection, increasing susceptibility to illness. Hospital admissions and respiratory deaths often increase during periods when ozone levels are high Ozone in Wisconsin.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency has developed an Air Quality index to help explain air pollution levels to the general public. 8 hour average ozone concentrations of 85 to 104 parts per notation are described as "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups", 105 ppbv to 124 ppbv as "unhealthy" and 125 ppb to 404 ppb as "very unhealthy" . The "very unhealthy" range for some other pollutants are: 355 μg m-3 - 424 μg m-3 for PM10; 15.5 ppbv - 30.4ppb for CO and 0.65 ppbv - 1.24

in the beige cloud bank behind Golden Gate Bridge

Areas affected air on a day after rain (left) and a sunny but smoggy day (right).Smog can form in almost any climate where industries or cities release large amounts of air pollution. However, it is worse during periods of warmer, sunnier weather when the upper air is warm enough to inhibit vertical circulation. It is especially prevalent in geologic basins encircled by hills or mountains. It often stays for an extended period of time over densely populated cities or urban areas, such as London, New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Houston, Toronto, Athens, Beijing, Hong Kong, the Randstad or Ruhr Area and can build up to dangerous levels.

Historically, there have been List of natural disasters by death_toll#Smog where smog has killed thousands of people in a single metropolitan area.

London London was notorious for its thick smogs, or "pea-soupers", a fact that is often recreated to add an air of mystery to a period costume drama.London has been known for smog since Roman era times. In 1306, concerns over air pollution were sufficient for Edward I of England to (briefly) ban coal fires in London.http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/494657_4 In 1661, John Evelyn's Fumifugium suggested burning fragrant wood instead of mineral coal, which he believed would reduce coughing. The s:Ballad of Gresham College the same year describes how the smoke "does our lungs and spirits choke, Our hanging spoil, and rust our iron."

Severe episodes of smog continued in the 19th century and were nicknamed "pea-soupers". The Great Smog of 1952 darkened the streets of London and killed approximately 4,000 people in the short time of 4 days (a further 8,000 died from its effects in the following weeks and months). Initially a flu epidemic was blamed for the loss of life. In 1956 the Clean Air Act 1956 introduced smokeless zones in the capital. Consequently, reduced sulphur dioxide levels made the intense and persistent London smog a thing of the past. It was after this the great clean-up of London began and buildings recovered their original stone façades which, during two centuries, had gradually blackened. Smog caused by traffic pollution, however, does occur in modern London.

Mexico City Due to its location in a highland 'bowl', cold air sinks down onto the urban area of Mexico City, trapping industrial and vehicle pollution underneath, and turning it into the most infamous smog-plagued city of Latin America. Within one generation, the city has changed from being known for some of the cleanest air of the world into one with some of the worst pollution, with pollutants like nitrogen dioxide breaching international health standards by 2-3 times. Air pollution in Mexico City, University of Salzburg

Tehran In December 2005, schools and public offices had to close in Tehran, Iran and 1600 people were taken to hospital, in a severe smog blamed largely on unfiltered car exhaust.

United States The United States Environmental Protection Agency has designated over 300 U.S. counties to be non-attainment areas for one or more pollutants tracked as part of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.http://www.epa.gov/oar/oaqps/greenbk/ These areas are largely clustered around large metropolitan areas, with the largest contiguous non-attainment zones in California and the Northeast. Various U.S. and Canadian government agencies collaborate to produce real-time air quality maps and forecasts.Available at http://www.airnow.gov/

Major incidents in the US

1948, October 30-31, Donora, PA: 20 died, 600 hospitalized, thousands more stricken. Lawsuits were not settled until 1951.http://www.radford.edu/~wkovarik/envhist/7forties.html
1953, November, New York: Smog kills between 170 and 260 people.http://www.radford.edu/~wkovarik/envhist/7forties.html
1954, October, Los Angeles: heavy smog shuts down schools and industry for most of the month.http://www.radford.edu/~wkovarik/envhist/7forties.html
1963, New York: blamed for 200 deaths http://washingtonpost.findlaw.com/supreme_court/briefs/99-1257/99-1257fo5/text.html
1966, New York: blamed for 169 deaths http://washingtonpost.findlaw.com/supreme_court/briefs/99-1257/99-1257fo5/text.html

Photochemical smog In the 1950s a new type of smog, known as photochemical smog, was first described. This forms when sunlight hits various pollutants in the air and forms a mix of inimicial chemicals that can be very dangerous. A photochemical smog is the chemical reaction of sunlight, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC's) in the atmosphere, which leaves airborne particles (called particulate matter) and ground-level ozone. Nitrogen oxides are released in the exhaust of fossil fuel-burning engines in automobile, trucks, coal power plants, and industrial manufacturing factories. VOC's are vapors released from anthropogenic (man-made) sources such as gasoline, paints, solvents, pesticides, and biogenic sources, such as pine and citrus tree emissions.

This noxious mixture of air pollutants can including the following:

nitrogen oxides, such as nitrogen dioxide
tropospheric ozone
volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
peroxyacyl nitrates (PAN)
aldehydes (R'O)

All of these chemicals are usually highly reactive and oxidizing. Due to this fact, photochemical smog is considered to be a problem of modern industrialization.

Photochemical smog is a concern in most major urban centres but, because it travels with the wind, it can affect sparsely populated areas as well. Smog is caused by a reaction between sunlight and emissions mainly from human activity. Photochemical smog is the chemical reaction of sunlight, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC's) in the atmosphere, which leaves airborne particles (called particulate matter) and ground-level ozone. Nitrogen oxides are released in the exhaust of fossil fuel-burning engines in automobile, trucks, coal power plants, and industrial manufacturing factories. VOC's are vapors released from anthropogenic (man-made) sources such as gasoline, paints, solvents, pesticides, and biogenic sources, such as pine and citrus tree emissions.

Southeast Asia 's Downtown Core on 7 October 2006, when it was affected by wildfire in Sumatra, Indonesia.Smog is a regular problem in Southeast_Asia caused by wildfire in Indonesia, especially Sumatra and Kalimantan, although the less political term haze is preferred in describing the problem. Farmers and plantation owners are usually responsible for the fires, which they use to clear tracts of land for further plantings. Those fires mainly affect Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, and occasionally Guam and Saipan The economic losses of the fires in 1997 have been estimated at US$9.3 billion . This includes damages in agriculture production, destruction of forest lands, health, transportation, tourism, and other economic endeavours. Not included are social, environmental, and psychological problems and long-term health effects. The 2006 Southeast Asian haze to occur in Malaysia, Singapore and the Malacca Straits is in October 2006, and was caused by smoke from fires in Indonesia being blown across the Straits of Malacca by south-westerly winds.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) reacted and signed ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, formed a Regional Haze Action Plan (RHAP) and established a co-ordination and support unit (CSU). RHAP, with the help of Canada, established a monitoring and warning system for forest/vegetation fires and implemented a Fire Danger Rating System (FDRS). The Malaysian Meteorological Service (MMS) has issued a daily rating since September 2003. The Indonesians have been ineffective at enforcing legal policies on errant farmers.

Natural causes An erupting volcano can also emit high levels of sulphur dioxide, creating volcanic smog, or vog.

Pollution index The severity of smog is often measured using automated optical instruments such as Nephelometers, as haze is associated with visibility and traffic control in ports. Haze however can also be an indication of poor air quality though this is often better reflected using accurate purpose built air indexes such as the American Air Quality Index, the Malaysian API (Air Pollution Index) and the Singaporean Pollutant Standards Index.

In hazy conditions, it is likely that the index will report the suspended particulate level. The disclosure of the responsible pollutant is mandated in some jurisdictions.

The American AQI is divided into six color coded categories. Technically AQI runs only from 0 to 500. The 301 to 500 range is categorised as hazardous and colored Maroon (color).

The Malaysian API does not have a capped value; hence its most hazardous readings can go above 500. Above 500, a state of emergency is declared in the affected area. Usually, this means that non-essential government services are suspended, and all ports in the affected area are closed. There may also be prohibitions on private sector commercial and industrial activities in the affected area excluding the food sector. So far, state of emergency rulings due to hazardous API levels were applied to the Malaysian towns of Port Klang, Kuala Selangor and the state of Sarawak during the 2005 Malaysian haze and the 1997 Southeast Asian haze.

Cultural references made several trips to London between 1899 and 1901, during which he painted views of the River Thames and Palace of Westminster which show the sun struggling to shine through London's smog-laden atmosphere.

The London "pea-soupers" earned the capital the nickname of "The Smoke". Similarly, Edinburgh was known as "Auld Reekie". The smogs feature in many London novels as a motif indicating hidden danger or a mystery, perhaps most overtly in Margery Allingham's The Tiger in the Smoke (1952), but also in Charles Dickens' Bleak House (1852).

s he handed me into a fly after superintending the removal of my boxes, I asked him whether there was a great fire anywhere? For the streets were so full of dense brown smoke that scarcely anything was to be seen.
"Oh, dear no, miss," he said. "This is a London particular."
I had never heard of such a thing.
"A fog, miss," said the young gentleman.
— Dickens, Bleak House

The 1970 made-for-TV movie A Clear and Present Danger, which featured Hal Holbrook, E.G. Marshall, Joseph Campanella, Jack Albertson and Pat Hingle, was one of the first American television network entertainment programs to warn about the problem of smog and air pollution.http://imdb.com/title/tt0065558/ (This film is not to be confused with the Clear and Present Danger (film) with a similar name.)
'Smog' or 'Smoggy' has also come into use to describe a resident of Teesside (in North East England) or a supporter of Middlesbrough Football Club, due to the high concentration of chemical and heavy industry in the Teesside area. Although it has now been proven that the Teesside air is cleaner than London, Newcastle, Sunderland and many other British cities, the main source of pollution in the air is now vehicle exhaust fumes, like most urban areas..