What use is an air pollution plan if it ignores big polluters in NC?
When a bike gets rolled into my bike shop in Asheville for a service, like any good mechanic I identify the problems and start with the biggest. If the brakes don’t work, I fix those before I clean the chain and raise the saddle.
What I wouldn’t do is ignore the single biggest problem and focus instead on more minor issues. Yet sadly, that’s exactly the approach the North Carolina government is taking when it comes to protecting the air in our treasured outdoor places.
The state has proposed a new plan to supposedly address air pollution that causes hazy skies in places like Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness area, Linville Gorge, Shining Rock Wilderness Area and Great Smoky Mountains National Park. However, the plan ignores big polluters like Duke Energy’s coal plants and does not require new pollution controls or early retirements on any of the sources it reviewed.
This approach is not only nonsensical, it threatens the health of North Carolinians and the state’s economy.
The same air pollution causing hazy skies that the state’s new plan fails to address is terrible for people’s health. It triggers asthma attacks, worsens respiratory problems, and aggravates heart diseases resulting in more hospital admissions and premature deaths. The people who live near polluting facilities are harmed first and worst by air pollution.
A bright spot in North Carolina’s economy in recent years has been its outdoor recreation industry. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited national park in the country, attracting more than 12 million visitors in 2020. An even higher number visited the Blue Ridge Parkway.
The magnitude of outdoor tourist attractions and sites of natural beauty in which to hike, bike and explore have been a major boon for the state and created opportunities for many businesses like mine. But the Smoky Mountains are also the second most haze-polluted national park in the U.S.
Our outdoor recreation industry provides more than 260,000 jobs in the state and contributes $28 billion to the N.C. economy each year. While other industries suffered during the pandemic, the demand for outdoor recreation increased, bringing much-needed revenue. Tourists flocked to nature to escape lockdowns or picked up new outdoor hobbies. So many people dug out old bicycles from their garages that my service department was backlogged for weeks.
This is a growing industry that the state should nurture. But it’s dependent on, not just the great outdoors, but clean air. When people are hiking or biking in our public lands, they breathe in more air than normal, particularly if they are young or elderly. When air quality is bad, people are less likely to hike, mountain bike or spend time exercising outdoors.
As an asthmatic, I can no longer ride my bike outdoors on days when the air quality is bad. I’m far from the only one. Even national parks see visitors drop on days when air pollution is heightened.
If the state lets major polluters off the hook it will hurt those forced to breathe dirty air, but also our long-term economy as more people stay indoors or travel to cleaner outdoor air elsewhere.
Failing to prioritize the importance of clean air in our public lands will hurt a huge and growing industry that promises to provide income and jobs for the state for decades to come. It is time that North Carolina took this process seriously and revised its plan to meaningfully deliver cleaner air in our most treasured outdoor places.