The Sunset Splendor of Ozone [PICS]
io9.com — This glorious picture of the sunset by Eschipul in Houston reveals a sky flooded with ozone, a form of airborne pollution. In fact, the American Lung Association just ranked Houston number 5 for ozone pollution in its annual list of most polluted cities. Pollution makes sunsets extra-beautiful, as you can see in these photos
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- FizzanoMatrix, on 05/03/2008, -6/+4Problem solution paradigm much?
- G4M3R, on 05/03/2008, -2/+37See Al Gore? Pollution is our friend!
- nickcozy, on 05/03/2008, -23/+3Whenever i see environmental topics on the front page i fear......
omg Al Gore is coming- Markpdotcom, on 05/03/2008, -0/+1Man bear pig is real?
- nickcozy, on 05/03/2008, -23/+3Whenever i see environmental topics on the front page i fear......
- sryan8913, on 05/03/2008, -1/+23Pollution looks beautiful.
- antdude, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1See http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=fact-or-fictio ... for the article about this.
- JayD16, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1I'm from LA....You mean sunsets aren't supposed to look like this?
- zer0hour, on 05/03/2008, -4/+2DUGG for the bizarre io9 pic.
- mattwalton56, on 05/03/2008, -4/+2...are you saying pollution is a good thing? If so I've been doing everything right.
- psycoticparrot, on 05/03/2008, -5/+28I love sunsets, but does this really deserve the front page?
- joeallam, on 05/03/2008, -0/+3Nope I don't think it does. There's not really anything spectacular in these. Just a bog standard sunset in my eyes. And before anyone criticizes this, I see A LOT of photos everyday.
- butfaktree, on 05/03/2008, -0/+1You don't need to look at a lot of sunset images to realize these aren't even mediocre. Just go outside tonight when the sun is setting and you're more than likely going to see a better one. These are about as boring as they get unless its completely overcast.
- joeallam, on 05/03/2008, -0/+3Nope I don't think it does. There's not really anything spectacular in these. Just a bog standard sunset in my eyes. And before anyone criticizes this, I see A LOT of photos everyday.
- TheThirdLevel, on 05/03/2008, -5/+1I could care less what happens to the Earth, we're going to nuke ourselves to pieces anyway.
- MonkCanatella, on 05/03/2008, -0/+2Well aren't you pleasant.
- gammamike, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1Sooo 1960.
- regression, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1Way to stay positive buddy.
- McWombo, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1You mean you could NOT care less? Because then maybe that would make sense.
- Harelin, on 05/03/2008, -0/+8http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=pollution% ...
- forgiste, on 05/03/2008, -3/+4Al Gore! OMG I'm so in touch with the world because I know who Al Gore is, and that he made a slideshow! Now when I want to sound smart, I just say Al Gore! +1 Coolness
- G4M3R, on 05/03/2008, -1/+2I sense sarcasm...but I'm not quite sure.
- vickyshenoy, on 05/03/2008, -5/+3test
- bratterscain, on 05/03/2008, -0/+6It's working Vicky. I'm not sure you are though.
- fr0mundacheese, on 05/03/2008, -1/+2FAIL!
- BurningSky, on 05/03/2008, -1/+7The pink and purple you see in the sky during sunrise/sunsets is pollution? Interesting...
- Garciat, on 05/04/2008, -1/+0I'm not really sure but I think it happens because the horizon's sun rays reflect on the pollution. Kinda obvious, I know...
- antdude, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1See http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=fact-or-fictio ... ...
- mjoe, on 05/03/2008, -2/+4Houston is the worst city in the world
- Hypomanic, on 05/03/2008, -0/+2Hey I grew up in Houston. I agree.
- Garciat, on 05/04/2008, -0/+0That brown layer is disgusting.
- Hypomanic, on 05/03/2008, -0/+2Hey I grew up in Houston. I agree.
- Donthaveone, on 05/03/2008, -0/+8"Pollution makes sunsets extra-beautiful, as you can see in these photos"
I'd pick clean air over a pretty sunset any day.- Garciat, on 05/04/2008, -1/+0Who wouldn't?
- somacybin, on 05/03/2008, -4/+4so... clouds are pollution?
- kaevne, on 05/03/2008, -1/+5If you guys think this is bad you should see China.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/07041 ...- nationalist, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1lawl
- Ghoztt, on 05/03/2008, -1/+24Looks like a normal sunset to me with a few clouds....
o_O - Sulzer, on 05/03/2008, -3/+13I hate to rain on your little enviro love fest you got going on here, but these are some pretty generic and typical non-pollutant cloud formations... altocumulus if my 4th grade memory serves me well
- MatthewBlack, on 05/03/2008, -3/+1I think environmental and climate science requires a few more qualifications than a vague memory of 4th grade geography.
- warriorscot, on 05/03/2008, -1/+2I would imagine they are talking about the colour rather than cloud formation.
- loggedout, on 05/03/2008, -2/+3the ozone layer is not pollution, it's being destroyed by pollution
- earlycj5, on 05/03/2008, -0/+8Wrong. Low level ozone is pollution. Ozone high in the atmosphere is desirable. That's the one you're thinking of.
- TheVirus, on 05/03/2008, -0/+3So... what you're saying is we need a giant fan to blow that Ozone higher...
- lukas88, on 05/05/2008, -0/+1He is right about one thing, the brown cloud is not due to low level ozone. Low level ozone, while harmful to our respiratory systems, is not present in amounts significant enough to cause a cloud. The brown cloud that changes our sunsets color is a concoction of dust, debris, and gases.
- earlycj5, on 05/03/2008, -0/+8Wrong. Low level ozone is pollution. Ozone high in the atmosphere is desirable. That's the one you're thinking of.
- JonTheGoose, on 05/03/2008, -0/+2I sure hope the photographer shot the photo from a car and wasn't standing in the middle of a freeway to take a picture...
- nico623, on 05/03/2008, -0/+1Its when the extra teeth, fingers, and eyes start growing that it gets not so good.
- knight666, on 05/03/2008, -2/+3Wasn't... ozone... "the good stuff"?
The stuff we're supposed to protect because it's our protective shield against dangerous space radiation?- Garciat, on 05/04/2008, -0/+0Yeah, I thought that, too.
- Henko, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1In the stratosphere, sure. But we don't want it in the troposphere, where we breathe it. Breathing in excess ozone causes effects similar to premature aging in our lungs.
- earlycj5, on 05/03/2008, -0/+6Ozone causes this? Since when? I thought it was just Raleigh scattering and the fact that the sun is shining through more atmosphere at an angle at sunset. The pic of LA is Mie scattering though.
- candykidd, on 05/03/2008, -0/+1Hey... I was on that road in Houston today. Yay! But yea.... we do have some pretty amazing sunsets thanks to our gunk.
- SabreWolf, on 05/03/2008, -1/+2L.A. has ***** air, but it's usually not that bad. That's picture was probably taken during the California fires.
- Lagger, on 05/03/2008, -0/+3not really impressive at all. You get more spectacular sunsets in the clean air of Alaska. Just some amateur photography trying to co-opt the "green" movement and become popular.
- Me1000, on 05/03/2008, -1/+3Why does this website look like engadget?
- balazs, on 05/03/2008, -1/+1Don't you mean Gizmodo? It's probably run by the parent company of Gizmodo, Gawker media.
- Angostura, on 05/03/2008, -1/+21Buried as inaccurate. The photos do *not* "reveal a sky flooded with ozone, since ozone is a colourless gas which has no effect on sunsets. Particulate pollution can effect sunset colouring and smogs are often rich in ozone, but there is no direct link between ozone and pretty colours in the sky.
- balazs, on 05/03/2008, -6/+1Wrong, ozone is a secondary pollutant to photochemical smog. Ground level ozone can also cause health problems. Ozone is highly reactive and attacks most organic matter, so many materials (such as rubbers, plastics, textiles and paints) are vulnerable to its effects.
- jdpalite, on 05/03/2008, -1/+3You actually didn't refute his point. He (and the article) says that the sunset coloring is caused by ozone. This is false. Ozone is a pollutant and is no doubt present, but is not responsible for the colors.
- diggimator, on 05/04/2008, -0/+2Ozone itself can be colorless yet be able to color the sky by diffraction. Also, particulate pollution is not needed for coloring the sky.
- balazs, on 05/03/2008, -6/+1Wrong, ozone is a secondary pollutant to photochemical smog. Ground level ozone can also cause health problems. Ozone is highly reactive and attacks most organic matter, so many materials (such as rubbers, plastics, textiles and paints) are vulnerable to its effects.
- 5dGuy, on 05/03/2008, -1/+0Sometimes on a hot summer evening an hour or two before sunset I take my 2006 Suburban (http://z.about.com/d/suvs/1/7/i/C/-/-/Front3q.JPG) up to Sonoma (http://www.bodegabayhomes.com/properties/hwyone/Su ... turn the A/C on and just wait until sunset. The red ones are the nicest. Sometimes I take the M3 Cabrio (http://www.malibumotors.ca/store/images/13016_BMW_ ... instead - when I want to take the cover right off and I just sit there in the 333hp beast from Munich (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thum ... and wait for the red glow.
- Jus7in, on 05/03/2008, -0/+4I don't see pollution, just clouds.
- HolyJaw, on 05/03/2008, -0/+2Wait... that's caused by o-zone? I thought it was just sunlight reflecting off a cloud in the horizon. No, seriously...
--/guy from 20 miles from LA.- Ramble, on 05/03/2008, -0/+1You're right, ozone doesn't do this.
- MrSpam, on 05/03/2008, -0/+2Buried as inaccurate
OGC at pictures though...- nationalist, on 05/04/2008, -0/+2OMG...[tilts head 90 degrees]
- nitrojunky24, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1I'm sorry but could they at least link to this top 10 list somewhere!
- Livebold, on 05/04/2008, -2/+1I think those are called chemtrails.
- parkernicky50, on 05/04/2008, -0/+0nice pictures
- PUNJABISINGH, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1isn't air pollution beautiful
- lukas88, on 05/05/2008, -0/+1ozone is not the brown cloud that you see, it is present in such minute amounts that it likely would not contribute to the coloration of the sunset. To put it in perspective, a ton of ozone exists higher up in the stratosphere, in fact, we depend on it to shield us from the sun.
The brown cloud is a concoction of debris and gas which is what makes the pretty sunsets and the rather depressing haze during the day.
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