Global Warming Issues

The Antarctic ozone hole reached its annual maximum on Sept. 12, 2008, stretching over 27 million kilometers, or 10.5 square miles. The area of the ozone hole is calculated as an average of the daily areas for Sept. 21-30 from observations from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA’s Aura satellite.

NOAA scientists, who have monitored the ozone layer since 1962, have determined that this year’s ozone hole has passed its seasonal peak for 2008. Data is available at online

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The current ordinance that Springfield has regarding smoking in restaurants is too weak. The Springfield City Council and the next governor of Missouri should work to ban smoking in all public places. Secondhand smoke is a public health issue. It is also a personal one: I have a right to breathe clean air.

In July 2003, Springfield passed a law prohibiting smoking in restaurants, with the exception of eateries with annual alcohol sales exceeding $200,000 or when 50 percent or more of sales come from alcohol. There is also an exception for restaurants with 50 seats or less that may allow smoking, and a restaurant that sells liquor can allow smoking in a separate, ventilated area. If you ask me, way too many “exceptions.”

Many states have placed a ban on smoking in public establishments. For example, the Clean Indoor Air Act became effective in New York in July 2003 and the Freedom to Breathe Act became effective in Minnesota in October 2007. It is now time for the state of Missouri to follow their lead and enact legislation that will ban smoking in all public establishments: restaurants, stores, bowling alleys, bars, etc.

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