Knoxville Tennessee Essay

As I began to look at the environmental issues in the area in which I live I was amazed to find only one real issue exists. The air quality is the Knoxville Tennessee area is at a moderate level around 57% of the time. It is at an unhealthy level around 12.9 % of the time. This has an effect on all living organisms because of the air quality in which they breathe. With that said, it is important to note that the area is majority agricultural and has an abundance of water due to being connected to so many national park sites. There are several causes for the issue with air quality but the primary factor is geographical. Knoxville sits right in the middle of several mountains. There are the Cumberland Mountains to the east, the Appalachian
From cars, to farm equipment, there is no shortage in the use of fuel in this area. The interstate is also a factor in the amount of pollution that is in the air. Knoxville is host to one of the major interstate connectors in the United States. I40 and I75 interchange in the downtown area of Knoxville. This provides a mass amount of traffic, specifically tractor-trailers hauling material to the north and south. The last factor is the tourism that brings so many visitors from all over the world. The Smokey Mountains is second to only the rain forest for number of living species in a given area. It also hosts the Appalachian Trail that many people love to hike. And of course you have Dollywood and Dolly’s Splash Country that draws well over a million visitors every year. With all of this congestion and the geographical issues, it is no wonder that air quality is bad. There are six common air pollutants that are monitored by the EPA. These are as follow: ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and lead. All of these are monitored by state EPA and have to be reported on the federal level. If there is an issue with a particular area, the local government has to provide a plan to get the area back to acceptable