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COPYRIGHT 2006 Texas Monthly, Inc.
Everyone's bitching about the price of gas these days, but $3 a gallon regular is probably the best thing that's ever happened to us--or to our collective health, anyway. Look at it this way: We'll all drive less, automakers will be forced to produce more-fuel-efficient cars, and regional entrepreneurs--from Willie Nelson to Exxon Mobil--will continue to pursue cleaner-burning, alternative fuels. Which means, of course, that we'll have purer air to enjoy. If that doesn't have you breathing easy already, consider this: Texas's most underrated public health menace is ozone. I don't mean the stuff in the atmosphere that shields us from the sun's heat. I'm talking the noxious air we're forced to inhale every summer when blistering temperatures combine with emissions from our cars and utility plants to literally "cook up" a poisonous ground-level haze. You might say ozone is our official state pollutant.
Every breath you take? Yep, pretty much. I didn't always regard ozone as a health threat. Truth be told, I used to scoff at fellow...
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