Martha’s Vineyard Has The Worst Air Quality In The State According To New Study

Boston.com – Bad news, beachgoers: the sea breezes on Martha’s Vineyard may be less restorative than you think. An American Lung Association study released on Wednesday indicated that ozone pollution in some Massachusetts counties is far from healthy.

Dukes County, which includes Martha’s Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands, tied with Bristol County for the worst air quality in the state. They both scored an ‘F’.

Elena Craft, a senior scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund, said fuel emissions during hot summer days could be part of the problem, but it’s important to keep in mind that just because air pollution exists in an area, that doesn’t mean it originated there.

“Around coastal areas, weather has an effect,” Craft said. “It can move pollution around. It could be coming from other places but just happens that the area in question has higher concentrations.”

“It can be carried downwind from the source,” said Harvell. “We see jetstreams come through New England and over the water, so we’re getting ozone from other parts of the country.”

The south strikes again. Last week we talked about the Lone Star tick that has invaded us from below the Mason-Dixon and is turning people into vegetarians, now we find out that the jet stream is carrying dirty hillbilly air from the south and polluting Martha’s Vineyard.

It’s probably only a matter of time before rednecks just start piling into Greyhound buses all stocked up on Waffle House grits and moonshine. I guess we might as well build a NASCAR track in Hyannis and put up a couple of South of the Border billboards to make them feel at home.

Look on the bright side though, they’ll probably bring plenty of shotguns and go all Duck Dynasty on our wild turkey population. Not to mention how good us Cape guys will look in our worn out hoodies and flip flops next to a bunch of dudes in mustard stained wife beaters, jean shorts and untied work boots. Nothing better than a few banjo players from deliverance hanging around to make the rest of us all feel better about ourselves.