Author: Andrew Wilkins

Memphis has one of the finest urban forests in the nation, but old age and two summers of drought combined with mismanagement are bringing down some of our biggest trees, say local tree experts.

Though a tree ordinance passed last fall provides limited protection against clear-cutting development sites, Memphis still needs a full-time professional to manage its urban forest and a system to protect the city’s significant individual trees, says Don Richardson, who developed a “heritage tree” program cut from the final tree ordinance.

Trees are oxygen-generators and can save up to 30 percent on cooling costs through shade, provide habitat for animals, and beautify cityscapes, Richardson says. That’s why many cities assume the cost and responsibility of caring for their oldest and biggest trees.

“So many times a neighborhood is defined by its big trees,” Richardson says. “Big trees are natural historic structures and deserve to be protected and celebrated for all they provide to the community.”

It’s a classic Midtown tree situation, says Fred Morgan as he looks up at a 75-year-old willow oak. Green and seemingly healthy, the 70-foot-tall tree shades a schoolyard and a nearby house. A yellow shelf-like fungus along its lower trunk could indicate disease, and the owner wants to make sure the tree is stable.

Using 26 years of experience and high-tech equipment, Morgan determines if the tree is healthy or needs to be cut back or, in a worst case scenario, taken down.

Morgan is a certified arborist, but since Tennessee doesn’t offer arborist certification, training isn’t required for tree-care professionals.

“We’re behind the nation in requirements for arborists, even though more and more people are beginning to understand the concept of what a certified arborist is,” Morgan says. “Right now all you need is a business license, rope, pickup truck, and chainsaw and you can be in the tree business.”

Because falling branches can be a hazard and preventative care can save a tree, homeowners should be aware of their trees’ health. Dying branches in the canopy, fungus along the base of the trunk, and small shoots off the main branches are obvious signs the tree could be diseased and need professional attention.

Morgan recommends choosing a certified arborist to diagnose tree problems, because many tree workers only know how to take a tree down or recommend “topping,” which removes the uppermost branches. Topping forces the tree to grow “waterspouts” — fast-growing leafy shoots off main branches. These are a tree’s emergency response to losing leaves, where food is made through photosynthesis.

Unfortunately, Morgan says, most people think in years rather than decades when planting a tree. This leads them to choose the wrong kind of tree or to plant a tree in a place where it doesn’t have enough room to grow.

Loblolly pines, Bradford pears, and willows are often chosen for their fast-growing canopy, he says. But wood that grows fast doesn’t grow strong and fast-growing trees have a shorter life span.

Most trees, especially oaks, like to spread their roots at least as wide as their limbs, Morgan says. And if the tree doesn’t have sufficient room to grow, it is less healthy and in extreme cases could topple over in the direction its roots are restricted.

Other common mistakes are planting trees too deep, planting in the heat of the summer, disturbing a shallow root system, and using bad watering techniques. Morgan says trees need three or four hours of watering every five or six days rather than a shorter daily treatment.

“In our fine clay soil, watering too frequently and shallowly can cause the upper soil to compress, forming a cap that can prevent aeration and root function,” Morgan says.

Trees have a definite lifespan, and Memphis’ urban forest has certainly entered old age, he says. Age and the droughts of the last two summers have made the city’s trees more susceptible to disease and decay.

Most cities employ an urban forester to take care of the trees, but Memphis relies on a handful of trained arborists, some poorly trained “professionals,” and homeowners with hacksaws, Morgan says.

The Division of Forestry under the Tennessee Department of Agriculture has a position for a regional forester in Shelby County, but because of a state hiring freeze no one can be hired, says Kay Ferman, who works as an urban forester for the department in eastern Tennessee.

The department provides technical assistance and education and distributes $200,000 in federal grants for tree plantings and maintenance. The city of Lakeland and the Memphis Division of Park Services have received grants to hire arborists to maintain their part of the urban forest. Morgan works as a subcontractor for Park Services, inspecting and working on the trees in Memphis parks. This spring, many diseased, dying, and unsafe trees were removed along the parkways, and 300 trees were planted to fill in the gaps.

“Park Services knows the urban forest is one of Memphis’ major assets,” says Cary Holladay, public affairs manager for the Division of Park Services. “It’s important to realize the forest has a definite lifespan that requires maintenance and management, and sometimes it is necessary to replace some trees.”

Most of the trees planted were a variety of oak or other species native to this region. Park Services will soon begin advertising for an urban forester, but Holladay says the position will only cover trees on parkland — leaving the remainder of the city’s urban forest unmanaged.

As traffic rushes by on North Parkway, centuries-old hardwoods are reaching the end of their life while stick-like saplings reach skyward. Thanks to city services, here along the parkways, at least, the urban forest’s cycle of life is continuing, providing an example of how to maintain our canopy of green for generations to come.

You can e-mail Andrew Wilkins at letters@memphisflyer.com.

A cardinal’s bright call can be heard above the distant roar of traffic on the Interstate 240 bridge spanning the river downstream. An abundance of fish and birds dart around our canoe, and the nearly pristine river banks are filled with trees and dotted with animal tracks. The bridge seems a surreal intrusion into this verdant strip of nature.

Make no mistake — dramatically rechannelled and used as a sewer and dump for decades — the Wolf River is every bit an urban stream. But through the passage of time and the efforts of the Wolf River Conservancy, the stream is slowly healing and soon will be one of Memphis’ top ecological and recreational resources. In three to five years, conservancy executive director Larry Smith says, a mountain biker will be able to ride from the mouth of the Wolf downtown for 22 miles through forests and wetlands along the river to Houston Levee Road. Along the way are four “doorway” parks — Kennedy, Gragg, Douglas, and Shelby Farms — where residents have access to the greenbelt and river.

Greenbelts are a national trend, Smith says, because cities are beginning to see rivers as a resource rather than just a dumping ground. Not only can the Wolf be used for canoeing and fishing, but its greenbelt is home to almost every species of West Tennessee wildlife and is an important factor in recharging the drinking-water aquifers Memphians hold so dear.

“We are so far ahead of so many cities because the land is bought and the trails and bridges are already in place,” Smith says. “We just need a sponsoring agency like public works or the park commission to jump behind us, because it’s all public land.”

Signs, maps, and minor repairs to the trail are also needed, probably requiring a full-time project director until the trail is up and running, Smith says. Stretching 250 feet on both sides of the 100-foot-wide river, the forested greenbelt blocks out the city and is home to deer, foxes, bobcats, coyotes, minks, beavers, and all kinds of native birds and fish.

During our four-hour trip from Shelby Farms to the Warford Street Bridge, only the sound of overhead bridge traffic broke the serenity of birdcalls as our paddles moved steadily through the muddy brown water.

To the untrained eye, the Wolf seems untouched by development. Trees and grass line the river’s banks, marred only by the occasional beer can or junked car. In spots the earth has been trampled bare by a host of animals drinking from the river. But all the trees and greenery have regrown since the river and forest were razed to build a new straighter and deeper channel, Smith says. The river used to twist and turn through the city on its floodplain, but a new channel was finished in 1962 to accommodate more floodwater and open up the floodplains to development.

“[The present channel is] like the straight piece cutting through the “S” of the dollar sign,” Smith says. As a result of channelization, the wetlands and meanders along the floodplain have dried up, but he says the river is fortunate in that it has been allowed to heal rather than being rechannelized.

Smith is chest-deep in the river, searching the bottom for freshwater mussels. The growing population of mussels is a sign of a healthy ecosystem and good water quality, he says. The river’s animal and plant populations were hurt by the channelization and pollution but through time have reestablished themselves.

Though the Wolf receives treated sewage and runoff from several industries, Smith has no concerns about swimming in the river, though the water should not be consumed. Also, the Memphis Health Department has issued a ban on eating anything caught downstream from the Germantown Road Bridge. But Smith says almost all freshwater fish are contaminated with some kind of pesticide.

All the industries that dump into the Wolf have to be issued a permit, he says, with only a certain amount of effluence allowed. The Wolf is lucky, Smith says, because only nine industries are allowed to dump into the river. Among cities that already have a greenbelt the Wolf is one of the cleanest urban rivers in the country, he says. “They are considering basing permits on the TMDL — ‘the total maximum daily limit’ [of pollutants] — for each river, but right now permits are issued in a vacuum,” Smith says.

To most Memphians the Wolf is little more than a brown flash seen from the window of a speeding car, but Smith has been trapping and canoeing on this river since he was old enough to ride a bicycle. He still spends much of his time here, checking on the health of animal populations and making sure polluters are within their permit limits.

On visits throughout the country, Smith has seen how cities are slowly becoming aware of the importance of fresh water: how New Orleans gets its drinking water from the heavily polluted Mississippi; how Orlando has just determined sewage water must now be treated for drinking. “In ten years water is going to be more valuable than oil,” Smith predicts. It’s a hard concept to grasp in Memphis, where rivers and streams criss-cross the landscape and a giant aquifer holds some of the best drinking water in the world.

Smith frequently uses the Wolf as an outdoor classroom to lecture school children (and whoever else will listen) on the important linkage of Memphis drinking water to the Wolf River. While many of our rivers, including the Mississippi, are heavily polluted, and development in eastern Shelby County threatens our aquifers, government officials don’t seem to care, Smith says.

But the situation isn’t hopeless. The Wolf River is a good example of how time — and citizen involvement — can rebuild a natural resource.

“It’s a different river than it was in the 1950s,” Smith says. “And in the 1960s it was declared dead. But now it’s definitely on the rebound.”

You can e-mail Andrew Wilkins at letters@memphisflyer.com.

It’s a spring afternoon in Overton Park and scores of Memphians are enjoying the beautiful weather. Dog owners, Frisbee players, and walkers are taking a relaxation and recreation break in one of the most popular of Memphis’ many parks.

From the downtown riverfront parks to the neighborhood parks out east, the Memphis park system is one of our city’s greatest resources. But recently some park land has been sacrificed to development, troubling many of the city’s environmentalists.

“There’s a trend recently in the city to treat park land like surplus property to be sold to the highest bidder,” says Scott Banbury, president of the Memphis Audubon Society. “This flies in the face of park tradition that says this land should be set aside.”

The boldest example came when Williams Petroleum was given the rights to develop seven acres of the Martin Luther King Jr. Park in southwest Memphis. Even though much of the surrounding neighborhood protested the decision, Park Services deputy director Bob Fouche says giving up the park land was worth it because the rental fees from Williams pay for a full-time staff and improvements to the park.

Glenn Cox, president of Park Friends, thinks giving up public space for profit is a bad idea. He says about a year ago Park Services even considered installing cell phone microwave-transmission towers disguised as trees to bring revenue into the park system. So far that hasn’t happened, Cox says.

Cox and Park Friends are constantly on the lookout for the city’s encroachment on park land. He says a year ago thousands of saplings were cut down to construct a cancer survivor park without proper public notification, and right now the group is fighting to keep Riverside Drive from expanding into Tom Lee Park.

Since the Memphis Park Commission was dissolved last year it’s become more difficult for citizens to have their opinions heard. The commission’s board used to meet once a month to hear citizens’ complaints and concerns, but now the city council has assumed that responsibility.

“The city council meets twice a month, where the park commission met only once a month, but park issues are just one of hundreds of things on the city council’s agenda. And sometimes it’s difficult to get the commissioner’s ear,” Cox says.

The future of the riverfront and its parks has been the subject of intense debate in a series of recent public meetings. The non-profit Riverfront Development Commission (RDC) has been given the responsibility to develop a plan to reconnect Memphis to the waterfront and in the process wants to develop some public and park space. Though the plan would result in a net increase in park land, many citizens at the last meeting were upset at the thought of losing Jefferson Davis Park and downtown’s library and fire station to development.

The library and fire station are part of the Overton Blocks, prime bluff-top property given to the city under the condition it be used only for the public interest. Benny Lindermon, president of the RDC, says the public services should be moved and the property developed for the good of the city. If necessary, Lindermon says, the RDC will go to court to proceed with its plan.

“The fire station and library create almost a barrier between downtown and the riverfront,” he says. “If we use it for retail or housing so it’s not a dead zone, we would lose public space, by definition, but we’d create something beneficial to the public.”

Lindermon says the property could maintain its public use definition by reserving the ground floor of the fire station for some sort of cultural attraction, while using the upper floors for commercial or residential use. Cox says many people feel we can’t have too much park space, but he says he doesn’t have a problem with losing some public space if it will lead to a net improvement of downtown open space.

Though the public interest served in developing the Overton Blocks and public space downtown remains to be seen, another public/corporate partnership concerning a downtown park has disappointed some Memphians.

Before Handy Park was renovated, it was a place where on any spring or summer afternoon blues bands would play for tourists and locals lounging on benches in the shade of mature hardwood trees. But the city agreed to a deal which allowed a private company to turn the park into an amphitheater on the condition a “park-like” feel would remain.

The wooden benches are gone, replaced by a scattering of faux-wood picnic tables, an amphitheater with a gift shop, a snack bar, and a brick edifice emblazoned with a Budweiser sign. There is more green space and new public bathrooms, but Wendell Cooper, manager of Alfred’s on Beale, says he liked the park better the way it was before.

“It used to be a place where people could come down and hang out and listen to music. But people don’t really hang out there anymore,” Cooper says. “It’s more of a corporate thing, where people can come down and drink so people can make money.”

Public/private collaborations are commonplace, Fouche says, and Parks Services remains open to more of these ventures. Even though he says their budget is sufficient at this point, his department could always do more with more money. Fouche adds that the loss of the park commission doesn’t affect citizens’ opportunity to speak their minds and he’s satisfied with the results of the Handy and MLK Park deals.

You can e-mail Andrew Wilkins at letters@memphisflyer.com.

To many Americans the rolling blackouts in California and skyrocketing
prices for heating and automobile fuel prove that the country is in the grip
of an energy crisis.

To solve the “crisis,” President Bush wants to probe
our national lands for new oil reserves, build more power plants (and decrease
emission standards of those already online), dirtying our environment and
furthering our national addiction to oil.

But there are alternatives, even in Tennessee. A coalition of 20
environmental groups recently sponsored a cross-state tour of conservation and
alternate energy programs to prove the United States has options beyond an
increased dependency on oil.

“President Bush could get up there and preach about
conservation or alternative energy and America would listen,” says Jeff
Barrie, part of the energy tour. “But he is an oilman and a businessman
and he’s going to choose options that support his interests.”

The energy tour took off from Memphis in two cars — a fuel-
efficient Saturn sedan and a sport utility vehicle — to highlight the
disparity in gas consumption on America’s highways. The Saturn got 33 miles to
the gallon, compared to a little over 21.7 for the SUV. Barrie says that while
technology to increase fuel efficiency has improved over the years, our gas
mileage average has actually decreased since 1988 due to the popularity of
larger vehicles.

The energy tour’s first stop was Shelby County’s Macon Elementary
School, where a student-led conservation effort saved the school $300 on its
February power bill. After learning about energy and conservation in their
science class, teacher Jane Hobson says the students attended a speech by the
secretary of energy, who gave them the title “energy ambassadors”
and information about how to cut consumption at their school.

“They got T-shirts and went around the school doing spot-
checks, getting teachers and students to turn off computers and lights,”
Hobson says. “They would leave little happy- or sad-faced stickers for
good and bad uses of energy.”

The students are also angered at the thought of disturbing the
caribou living in Alaska’s 2-million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
(ANWR) when other cleaner, more sustainable options are available. Barrie
agrees, saying the U.S. Geological Survey estimates the oil field in the ANWR
would provide only about 3.2 billion barrels of oil — less than a six-month
supply for America at our current rate of consumption.

Another school the tour visited in Dyer County was equipped by
the Tennessee Valley Authority with solar panels as part of its pilot program,
Green Power Switch. The program is a success; the solar panels provide two to
three times the power the school needs.

The tour also stopped at Johnson County High School to link
alternative energy resources, the economy, and the environment. The school’s
geothermal system taps the constant 53-degree temperature several feet below
the earth’s surface to lessen heating demands during the winter and cool
buildings during the summer. The system has resulted in significant energy and
cost savings, says teacher Kenneth McQueen. The school is paying only $400 per
month as opposed to the $1,000 per month it spent using only propane.

“America’s energy solutions are here in East
Tennessee,” Barrie says. “Geothermal technology holds tremendous
potential in reducing America’s energy demands with minimal impact on the
environment. Drilling in the ANWR is not an energy solution, and I hope that
Senators Thompson and Frist can see the alternatives. If we invest more in our
clean energy resources, we’ll keep our economy strong, create more jobs for
Tennesseans, pay less to heat and cool our homes, clean our air, and meet our
energy needs.”

In Chattanooga, Advanced Vehicle System, Inc., is designing and
building buses that use an electric motor combined with natural gas or diesel
fuel to produce what Barrie calls “the cleanest bus in the world.”
In use in Chattanooga and all over the world, the buses not only use fuel more
efficiently but reduce the need for automobiles.

At a gas station, of all places, Barrie says he met a man using
underground temperatures to air-condition houses, which costs up to 70 percent
less than traditional methods. The system uses large copper pipes buried in
the yard to channel cool air and can pay for itself in energy savings in only
three or four years.

The energy tour also looked at companies making more efficient
fuel from corn, fuel-cell technology, and super-efficient lighting. Others in
Tennessee are using passive solar architecture, harnessing energy from the
wind, and exploring the use of hydrogen as a fuel, according to Barrie.

While individuals and companies throughout Tennessee and the
nation are pursuing smart energy solutions, getting the federal government
involved would help the U.S. wean itself from its oil dependency sooner,
Barrie says. The federal government could turn the tide in energy consumption
by simply promoting conservation and providing tax incentives for renewable
energy industries.

Instead, Bush’s budget proposes a $200 million cut in renewable
energy alternatives, enriching oil investors and executives while the majority
of Americans foot the bill.

“Right now we are at a turning point,” Barrie says.
“We can foster a rate of energy consumption that’s not sustainable or we
can pursue other options. The energy crunch might be bad today, but I see a
harsher future in 10 or 20 years when our oil reserves begin to dry up.”

You can e-mail Andrew Wilkins at letters@memphisflyer.com.

Growth means progress. It’s an American myth probably carried over from our frontier heritage — the taming of a vast, undeveloped continent. But cities across the country are beginning to realize unchecked, inefficient growth, often referred to as urban sprawl, really means a loss of open space, more time in traffic, and higher taxes due to strains on infrastructure.

Recently analyzed data found Memphis’ sprawling growth comes not so much from increased population but poor land usage. Between 1982 and 1992, the amount of urbanized land in Memphis shot up 38 percent, while our population grew by only 10 percent. The city’s loss of population density ranks third in the nation behind only Nashville and New Orleans. Such a change is an important factor in determining “bad growth,” says Professor Rolf Pendall of Cornell University, who analyzed government data on more than 200 American cities in a recent Sierra Club report.

“While population is an important predictor of how much land we will consume, it is only part of the story,” Pendall says. “It is clear that population increases are not the only contributor to sprawl. Increasing population growth is most problematic when it happens in regions with poor land-use decision making. In those regions, our open spaces are being devoured at the highest rates in the nation.”

Nationally, Pendall says only 30 percent of urban sprawl can be attributed to population growth; most sprawl is a result of poor land-use decisions. The population of Portland, Oregon, and Atlanta, Georgia, grew at about the same rate in the mid-1980s, but Atlanta’s lack of growth regulations caused the suburbs to grow at 100 times the rate of the city, while Portland’s stricter laws checked the city’s sprawl, resulting in a more compact, pedestrian-friendly urban area.

Tennessee requires its cities to submit growth plans, but John Lawrence, director of planning with the Center City Commission (CCC), says suburban subsidies and cheaper construction costs push the majority of the city’s new construction projects into the suburbs. Land costs are much cheaper: $2 per square foot in the suburbs compared to $8 downtown. Renovation of historic buildings is even more expensive, Lawrence says — around $60 or $70 per square foot, compared to less than $50 in the suburbs.

The CCC is trying to level the playing field for downtown development with special loans and tax freezes. Though it may be more expensive in the short-term, downtown projects are a better investment, Lawrence says. “It is cheaper to build in the suburbs, but our community, through taxes and utility costs, is also subsidizing it,” Lawrence adds. “This prices many [developers] out of new, more costly inner-city opportunities and leaves much of the existing infrastructure in disrepair. It also adds to increased traffic congestion and longer commute times. The result is higher taxes, higher utility costs, and lower quality of life for all citizens.”

Though Memphis’ remaining undeveloped perimeter continues to be gobbled up by mini-malls and housing tracts, the recent development boom downtown shows some Memphians are trading sprawling, car-dependent suburbs for more space-efficient, pedestrian-friendly downtown living.

Born and raised downtown, developer Kevin Norman of BHN Corporation says it’s just a matter of time before people realize how much nicer it is to have your office, home, and living needs all within walking distance of each other.

“Have you ever been downtown on Main Street on a Saturday afternoon?” Norman asks. “It’s got this relaxed, easy-going pace. Compare that to the traffic happening on Germantown Parkway and you’ll understand why I’m living down here.”

Norman says he believes so strongly in Memphis and the benefits of downtown living he bought the old Tennessee Brewery. Built in 1890, the brewery’s neo-gothic architecture and commanding river views are a historical treasure Norman thinks the city shouldn’t lose.

“Nothing has been done with the brewery up to this point because the numbers don’t immediately work,” Norman says. “But I have faith that this city will come around and the brewery will be an important part of downtown’s redevelopment.”

Norman says workers are finishing up the “mothballing” phase, which will keep the brewery’s structure from further degradation until a development plan is established. Though he encourages suggestions from the community, Norman says he is considering making the brewery a combined living and working space for artists.

Lawrence says mixing retail, office, and living space is what is most encouraged for downtown. Having everything an individual needs in one location cuts down on the need for automobile transportation and simplifies living.

Sprawl is one of the most important issues communities are facing today, Lawrence says, whether they know it or not. But by recognizing the problems associated with suburban growth and encouraging smart downtown re-development, Lawrence says Memphis can learn from the mistakes of the past and rebuild on the foundations once left abandoned.

You can e-mail Andrew Wilkins at letters@memphisflyer.com.

If you think avoiding polluted air from smog and smokestacks is as simple as staying inside, think again. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates indoor air quality as the fourth-greatest threat to American health.

Indoor air is susceptible to the same pollutants as outdoor air, plus second-hand smoke, pet dander, mold, and dust mites, making it two to seven times — and sometimes up to 100 times — worse than outdoor air.

“In buildings, houses, and schools without proper ventilation, pollution can build up,” says Kristy Miller, a public affairs officer for the EPA. “It’s like a holding tank.”

Since Americans spend 90 percent of their time inside, poor indoor air is now being blamed for a variety of respiratory problems, especially in children. Asthma and allergy attacks can result, as well as “sick building syndrome” — a series of symptoms including headaches, dizziness, sinus congestion, itchy or watery eyes, scratchy throat, nausea, lethargy, and inability to concentrate.

Many studies link asthma and other respiratory illnesses to air pollution. The percentage of asthma-related hospital visits has increased 75 percent nationwide since 1980, leading doctors and researchers to look to the stale, dirty air that Americans breathe. Since many dirty industries and power plants are located in low-income neighborhoods, African Americans have been hit especially hard by the disease.

Unlike clean outdoor air or water, good indoor air is one of the few environmental risk factors individuals can control at home without spending a lot of money. The EPA Web site (www.epa.gov) says intensive cleaning, banning indoor smoking, keeping pets outside, making sure dryers and furnaces are vented properly, and reducing indoor humidity will reduce many of the airborne particles that can bring on asthma and allergies. Dust mites and mold grow in humid climates, but by keeping the thermostat below 70 and opening the windows occasionally their growth can be checked.

Miller says the surgeon general also recommends all American houses be tested for radon, a cancer-causing gas that is a product of the decay of naturally occuring uranium in the earth’s crust. A test kit can be purchased for less than $20, she says. If radon is detected, the problem can be easily fixed. Asbestos, a cancer-causing insulator, is harder to get rid of but is a serious problem in many older buildings.

Exacerbating the air problem is the fact that most office buildings and houses built since 1980 are airtight to reduce heating and cooling costs. Not only is the same air constantly circulated, but dust mites and molds can easily thrive in the heating and cooling ducts.

While reducing indoor air threats in a house is fairly simple, making sure office buildings are safe is more difficult. Not only are there thousands of feet of air ducts where dust and mold can build up, but building managers rarely take the steps necessary to avoid a problem.

The EPA Web site recommends that office workers report all air-related symptoms to management and encourage them to have their building inspected if symptoms persist. Risk-assessment materials and inspections, if needed, can be found by calling the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (800-35NIOSH).

Indoor air in buildings can be improved by replacing standard cardboard filters with electrostatic filters which also increase the life of the heating and cooling equipment. Traditional filters trap only 15 percent of airborne particles and are ineffective for pollen, microorganisms, and smoke. Although more expensive, electrostatic filters trap 95 percent of all airborne pollutants by charging the particles and catching them magnetically.

Allergy and immunology specialist Dr. J.D. Fleenor of the University of Tennessee-Memphis sees the effects of bad air every day. The same children keep coming back to the intensive care unit with asthma so bad their parents fear for their children’s lives, he says. When treatment doesn’t help, Fleenor sometimes tests their everyday environment for allergens.

“We often find that they are being exposed to what they are allergic to every day,” Fleenor says. “Sometimes we try to get the parents to move or change jobs to protect their children.”

Electrostatic filters work for some people, Fleenor says, but studies have found the best way to decrease symptoms in the home is to cover pillows and bed linens when they are not being used in order to keep allergens from settling there.

One 5-year-old child described his difficulty breathing as being like “a fish without any water.” Children’s lungs are more sensitive because they are growing, so bad air affects children worse than adults. In the last 15 years, there has been a 160 percent rise in diagnosed cases of asthma among children, according to EPA studies.

A federal General Accounting Office study found that half of our nation’s schools have poor ventilation and pollution. The same techniques used to reduce airborne particles in homes and offices can be used in schools. Additional resources such as checklists, facts sheets, and teaching tools for schools, can be obtained from the EPA Web site.

The connection between indoor air quality and respiratory ailments such as asthma was studied by the National Academy of Sciences in a study released last year.

“The prevalence of asthma continues to rise dramatically in this country and the reason why is a mystery,” says the study’s committee chair, Richard B. Johnston Jr., a professor in the department of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. “People spend most of their time inside, and it’s vital that we understand how the indoor environment may contribute to the disease.”

The study found that dust mites can lead to asthma in those predisposed to the disease, and that allergens from cockroaches and pets can worsen the condition. Second-hand smoke was also linked to worsening of the condition in preschoolers, but the results were inconclusive for older children.

While the direct cause of asthma remains unclear, Miller emphasizes simple steps can be taken so asthmatics and everyone else can breathe just a little bit easier.

You can e-mail Andrew Wilkins at letters@memphisflyer.com.