During legislative testimony in 1995 on the state's tailpipe emissions test, a doctor at the Harvard School of Public Health said a third of Maine's residents risked impaired breathing during high ozone periods. Although today's cars produce up to 80 percent less pollution than cars made in the 1960s, we're buying more cars and driving more. Not only are we buying more cars, we're driving more. On average, the total number of miles Mainers travel increases 2 percent each year, according to Dan Craig, who works in the air quality management section of the state Department of Transportation. In 1999, 66.8 million vehicles drove the toll road.
More travel equals more air pollution.
If you have to drive, drive a cleaner, more fuel-efficient car. It takes a big snowstorm to keep Cerullo from pedaling the five miles from his South Portland home to work. They think of Maine as being pure and pristine, but you know, our ozone levels are getting higher because we're at the end of the pipeline. As people become more aware of that, they applaud me for what I do. Cerullo enjoys the ride, but he's frustrated that traffic engineers don't always include space for cyclists on new roads.