Don't Breathe the Air

Twice so far this month oxygen has been unhealthy in the Long Island Sound area -- not dissolved oxygen concentrations in the Sound itself but the air we breathe (and yes, I know that air is more than just oxygen, but I said "oxygen" for rhetorical purposes). It's interesting that we're spending a billion dollars to restore the Sound so dissolved oxygen concentrations no longer falls to levels that are unhealthy for fish, and yet we hardly hear a peep from anyone when the actual air that we breathe is unhealthy.

In the Sound itself, by the way, dissolved oxygen off Fairfield, Westchester and Nassau counties was at 3.8 milligrams per liter this morning 15 feet below the surface (but higher at the surface and the bottom). That sounds surprisingly low for this time of year -- fish experts start to worry when it reaches 3.5 or 3.0. Check the MySound link at the right for more information.