----- Original Message -----
From: "Tarr, Kevin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Sunday, November 05, 2000 11:46 PM
Subject: RE: Hou-llution [Re: discrepancy between Presidential polls]
> xponent
> rob
>
> > Houston is immensely industrialised. We have as many refineries and
> > chemical
> > plants as any part of the country, and Houston has been like this my
> > entire
> > life. The air here has always (as in all my life) been polluted. There
is
> > often a haze in the air and ozone warnings have become common.
> > If you had grown up near refineries as I did, and noticed that the air
> > smells like the refinery much more than it does auto exhaust, you might
> > understand my bias against the refineries.
> >
> > Because of its topography it is very understandable that autos could be
> > the
> > main polluter in Los Angeles. But Houston, with its flat plains and
> > constantly changing weather shouldnt be as polluted as it is. Here its
not
> > the autos so much as it is the industry and the grandfather clause that
> > protects them.
> >
> I'm stepping into the deep end of the pool on this one. I would
> think the topology would make the situation like it is, Houston would have
> higher smog levels. LA is right on the ocean, but I don't know how near or
> high the mountains are. But with the ocean the wind is fairly constant.
I'd
> consider LA to have the chance at more changeable weather but the
mountains
> keep the air contained.
I'm pretty ignorant of LAs topography, but I understood it to be surrounded
by mountains even though its on the coast.....kinda in a bowl. Houston is
pretty much on the coast and a flat coastal plain at that. At 25 to 50 feet
above sea level with no elevations to speak of for a couple of hundred
miles, you couldnt ask for better conditions for wind. OTOH, Ive seen it
windy as hell at the beach with little stirring in town so................
>
> I don't know the square miles of Houston and LA but the effect for
> both is the same. With the miles of buildings and asphalt the cities heat
up
> faster than the surrounding air which creates the temperature inversion
that
> traps the smog. Just because T-storms are rolling by every couple of hours
> doesn't mean that the hot bubble of air is going to be pushed aside. Ah, I
> wished I had gone into weather.
I may be answering myself with this hypothesis. Houston makes its own
weather. Many many times Ive seen rain clouds divide and go around the
Houston Ship Channel (as seen from the ship channel bridge on I610). The
ship channel is surrounded by chemical plants and refineries and is (Im
guessing here) 2 or 3 miles across and 25 to 40 miles long. Its freakin
immense! There is a lot of heat generated in these plants, I should know ,
Ive worked in them often enough. I suppose that there is a constant column
of hot air rising from these plants (high pressure?) forming a barrier to
cooler weather systems. I also suppose this qualifies as a microclimate. I
would think that a lot of the pollutants generated by the same plants are
trapped in this heated cell.
But then its likely that I am ultracrepidating. <G>
>
> I was in Houston/Galveston over Christmas and New Years when it
> snowed and there were ice storms. End of 91 or 92? Everyone was scared to
> drive so I got to be taxi cause I was used to it, being from PA
Generally Houstonians freak at the sight of anything that resembles weather.
(any condition nondry or nonsunshine)
>
> I have a real question. Do you live now in Houston or can you find
> out local information for me. I worked at a company in Houston but cannot
> find an address that matches my memory. Here is the only address I can
find:
>
> Halliburton USA
> 9950 Westpark
> Houston, TX 77063
> 1: 713 243 2325
713 243 4121.......Halliburton-Brown and Root energy services, at the same
address
>
> I thought the company, or one of them, was at 6909 Southwest
> Freeway. Has the freeway been renamed?
Still goes by the same name, but is rumored to be achieving interstate
status in the near future.
> I've actually called the number above
> and they couldn't tell me, didn't know. Don't waste real time on this if
> you, or anyone on the list, don't know the answer.
>
I looked in the business pages of the phone book (we have 4 volumes of
phonebooks here and 3 area codes....whew!) and get 1 promising number:
Halliburton Company.....general information...713 676 3011
It appears Halliburton has a dozen or two divisions here in Houston so
finding specific locations is like wandering a labyrinth.
If you need more help I'm willing to do what I can!!!
xponent
rob
