From The Charlotte Observer article Roy highlighted on the county?s attempts to curb air pollution:
The chamber said incentives for voluntary steps by individuals and businesses could replace or be added to mandatory measures. Among several examples, it cited offering reduced or free bus fares on high-ozone days and using county property for free parking by car poolers.
(Have you ever been stuck behind a government bus? Do they really think that buses are really less pollutant than cars ? especially if the bus is only replacing 5 cars on the rode by busing the average load of 5 riders a trip? As for car pooling, are they going to dictate which cars can be used for car pooling? After all, it is environmentally better to have two 2000 Honda Civics on the road than two people car pooling in a 1980 Crown Vic.)
Drive-through lanes at banks and fast food restaurants could be closed some hours of the day. Mandatory air-quality restrictions were among the recommendations the county’s “Breathe” advisory committee made nearly two years ago. They’re being considered now, in part, because attempts to persuade county residents to carpool or volunteer other anti-pollution steps haven’t been widely embraced.
(No comment on the advisory committee’s name. And pay attention to what’s happening. They’ve asked nicely so now they are just going to force people to follow an erroneous public policy. So what’s next? Keep reading!)
Bill Becker, executive director of the Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials, said some California cities adopted similar rules in the late 1980s, such as banning the use of lighter fluid for barbecues. Such measures, he said, not only help reduce pollution but educate the public about the health of their air. “If I know I can’t mow my lawn that day, or go through the McDonald’s drive-through, it would also reinforce the notion that maybe I should carpool today or not take that extra trip,” he said.
