Forum calls for clean air

Forum
calls for
clean air
By BRAD RIDENOUR
Staff Writer
GATLINBURG — Participants in a public forum on
air quality in Gatlinburg
Tuesday agreed on at least
one thing — everyone
must work together to
improve the situation.
Representatives of both
environmental factions
and power producers dis-
cussed the subject in a pro-
gram sponsored by a divi-
sion of the Gatlinburg
Gateway Foundation.
Air pollution over Great
Smoky Mountains Nation-
al Park leads to several
days of dangerously high
ozone levels in the Park
each summer and has dras-
tically reduced visibility.
Vesna Plakanis of A Walk
in the Woods said the poor
air quality had hurt her
hiking business so much
she is thinking about shut-
ting it down. She said
everyone should "do a
positive thing" and help
control air pollution.
Jim Renfro, air quality
specialist for the Park, dis-
cussed what chemicals are
depleting the air quality.

He said that the park is one fourth of where it should be in visibility.
Dr. Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said Tennessee residents consume around 1,250 kilowatts on average per month, considerably more than the national average of around 866 kilowatts per month.
He also promoted "green power," which uses solar, methane and wind instead of coal. Using green power is a "very small part, but it is part of the solution," Smith said.
Bill Parkhurst of the Tennessee Valley Authority admitted that TVA is part of the problem, but said the agency is becoming part of the solution through green power and other methods to produce cleaner energy.
Participants agreed that using green power, supporting business that use it, and addressing the issue on the federal level are all thing that individuals can do to help this problem.
"Individual responsibility and conservation can go a long way in cleaning up our air," said Southern Alliance for Clean Energy's Green Power Coordinator Gil Melear-Hough. "I don't think people realize that."