Air Pollution

Quoted message said:

Part of my commute to work is a four mile ride on this road with no
stoplights. There is a wide curb but a lot of traffic including large
trucks (dump trucks and tractor-trailer rigs).

Anyhow, this morning I brushed a tall weed growing on the side of the
road. When I got a chance I looked at my arm, expecting to see green
stuff on it. Instead I saw black, like the plant was either muddy or
covered with soot. It wiped off easily.

Could it really be that this plant accumulated all that soot?

I'm no biologist, but unless your area is in a severe drought, I'd say
"no."*

*that's my 85% complete civil/environmental engineering education talking.

--
Paul M. Hobson
Georgia Institute of Technology
http://www.underthecouch.org
..:you may want to fix my email
address before you send anything:.

Paul Hobson said:

Quoted message said:

Part of my commute to work is a four mile ride on this road with no
stoplights. There is a wide curb but a lot of traffic including large
trucks (dump trucks and tractor-trailer rigs).

Anyhow, this morning I brushed a tall weed growing on the side of the
road. When I got a chance I looked at my arm, expecting to see green
stuff on it. Instead I saw black, like the plant was either muddy or
covered with soot. It wiped off easily.

Could it really be that this plant accumulated all that soot?

I'm no biologist, but unless your area is in a severe drought, I'd say
"no."*

I didn't mention that this was in San Diego, where it doesn't rain all
summer.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted post said:

Part of my commute to work is a four mile ride on this road with no
stoplights. There is a wide curb but a lot of traffic including large
trucks (dump trucks and tractor-trailer rigs).

Anyhow, this morning I brushed a tall weed growing on the side of the
road. When I got a chance I looked at my arm, expecting to see green
stuff on it. Instead I saw black, like the plant was either muddy or
covered with soot. It wiped off easily.

Could it really be that this plant accumulated all that soot?

Not too long ago I lived in an apartment next to one of
my city's main arterial streets. Anyhow, my white patio
furniture would quickly blacken from all the diesel exhaust
soot that's being blamed for so many new cases of asthma.
Maybe a little bit of it came from Mt Pinatubo.

If there have been any recent, nearby grass/bush wildfires,
maybe that could account for some of the soot on your
dirty plant?

cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

Quoted message said:

Paul Hobson said:

Quoted message said:

Part of my commute to work is a four mile ride on this road with no
stoplights. There is a wide curb but a lot of traffic including large
trucks (dump trucks and tractor-trailer rigs).

Anyhow, this morning I brushed a tall weed growing on the side of the
road. When I got a chance I looked at my arm, expecting to see green
stuff on it. Instead I saw black, like the plant was either muddy or
covered with soot. It wiped off easily.

Could it really be that this plant accumulated all that soot?

I'm no biologist, but unless your area is in a severe drought, I'd say
"no."*

I didn't mention that this was in San Diego, where it doesn't rain all
summer.

Oh...well, then maybe that is the case. Especially if there have been
fires like Tom Keats was saying down below.

--
Paul M. Hobson
Georgia Institute of Technology
http://www.underthecouch.org
..:you may want to fix my email
address before you send anything:.