Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Thursday 19 July 2018

Study links air pollution to drop in national park visitors

By MATTHEW BROWN confirm the findings.
Associated Press Ozone concentrations na-
DENVER (AP) — Visitors ap- tionwide have generally
pear to be steering clear of fallen since the Clean Air
some U.S. national parks or Act was amended in 1990
cutting visits short because to address the problem, ac-
of pollution levels that are cording to the U.S. Environ-
comparable to what’s mental Protection Agency.
found in major cities, ac- Yet amounts still regularly
cording to a study released exceed national guide-
Wednesday. lines, and the researchers
Researchers at Iowa State determined that many na-
and Cornell universities tional parks have pollution
looked at more than two levels similar to New York or
decades of data on ozone Los Angeles.
pollution at 33 parks — from A comparison of ozone
Shenandoah to Yellow- in parks to levels in the 20
stone, the Grand Canyon most populous U.S. cities
and Yosemite. They say showed they were “statisti-
visitor numbers dropped al- cally indistinguishable,” ac-
most 2 percent when ozone cording to the study.
levels went up even slightly At Sequoia National Park,
and by at least 8 percent in about 200 miles (322 kilo-
months with three or more meters) north of Los Ange-
days of high ozone levels les, there have been more
compared with months In this May 11, 2012, file photo, Sequoia National Park air resource specialist Annie Esperanza bad ozone days than in
with fewer days of high explains how ozone diminishes the view from Beetle Rock in Sequoia National Park, Calif. the city in all but two years
ozone. Associated Press since 1996, the study said.
Study co-author Ivan Rudik scape, quite a lot of peo- from cars, power plants dia, Great Smoky Moun- Park visitors who live nearby
said air quality warnings is- ple are being exposed to and industrial facilities re- tains, Mammoth Cave, Pin- are more likely to change
sued by parks and other ozone levels that could be act with sunlight. It limits vis- nacles, Rocky Mountain, their plans than out-of-
government agencies may detrimental to their health,” ibility and can cause respi- Sequoia, Kings Canyon, town visitors who have sunk
be causing the visitation said Rudik, an assistant pro- ratory problems. Shenandoah and Yosem- money into airplane tickets,
drop. That’s consistent with fessor of economics at Cor- In parks, ozone is carried ite. lodging and rental cars,
previous research on so- nell. in on the wind and also Virginia Tech economist said John Loomis, an eco-
called avoidance behav- The study, published in the caused by traffic and other Kevin Boyle, who has re- nomics professor at Colora-
ior in response to pollution journal Science Advances, activities. searched ozone in parks do State University who was
alerts in other settings. comes as national parks The National Park Service and was a peer reviewer not involved in the study.
The study sought to con- have seen record numbers was reviewing the study but for the study, said it pro- Studies of air quality alerts
trol for seasonal variations of visitors in recent years hasn’t evaluated whether vides “strong, suggestive and the reactions they trig-
and daily changes in the despite any concerns over ozone and visitation are evidence” that air pollu- ger among schoolchildren
weather. pollution. linked, spokesman Jeffrey tion is changing people’s in England and children
“Even though the national Ozone, the main ingredient Olson said. He said nine behavior when planning a and the elderly in Los An-
parks are supposed to be in smog, is formed when parks issue ozone alerts park visit. Boyle said follow- geles have reached similar
icons of a pristine land- small particles of pollution when warranted — Aca- up research is needed to conclusions.q

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launches

spacecraft higher than ever

By MARCIA DUNN done before. the spacecraft to an alti-
AP Aerospace Writer The New Shepard rocket tude of 389,846 feet. That’s
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. blasted off from West Texas 74 miles or 119 kilometers.
In this image from video made available by Blue Origin, the (AP) — Jeff Bezos’ Blue Ori- on the company’s latest It’s part of a safety sys-
company’s New Shepard capsule lands during a test in West gin rocket company shot a test flight. Once the boost- tem intended to save lives
Texas on Wednesday, July 18, 2018. capsule higher into space er separated, the capsule’s once space tourists and
Associated Press Wednesday than it’s ever escape motor fired, lifting others climb aboard for
suborbital hops.
Wednesday’s passenger
was Mannequin Skywalker,
an instrumented dummy
in a blue flight suit that’s
flown before, plus science
experiments.
The booster and capsule —
both repeat fliers — land-
ed successfully. It was the
ninth test flight and lasted
11 minutes.q