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CART students will put Valley air to the test
Fresno and Clovis youths will assess pollution with scientific devices after center lands $100,000 grant.
By Mark Grossi, The Fresno Bee (Published Wednesday, April 16, 2003, 8:33 AM)
Some high school students won't have to take the word of adults about the San Joaquin Valley being one of the country's unhealthiest places to breathe.
Using a $100,000 grant to buy equipment and other material, Fresno and Clovis students in the Center for Advanced Research Technology this fall will begin testing the air themselves using two scientific gizmos -- a mass spectrometer and a gas chromatograph.
"We want the students to do their own experiments, take their own samples throughout the Valley and perform their own analysis," said Tara Guentz, vice president of development.
The immediate goal, Guentz said, is to stage a daylong public forum next spring so youngsters can tell other students about air pollution.
The school is known nationally for cutting-edge education, awakening students to such technical disciplines as engineering, professional sciences and global dynamics.
Juniors and seniors from Clovis and Fresno each year can sign up for the half-day program after they have passed key mathematics, English and other courses. They study many real-world problems, such as the dammed and dried San Joaquin River.
The Valley's dirty air seemed like a natural fit, Guentz said. Laced with highly technical issues, such as atmospheric chemistry and the Clean Air Act, the Valley is considered the second-worst polluted place in the country, behind the Los Angeles area.
Research center officials learned early this year about grants available through Clean Air Now, a nonprofit, industry-driven campaign to educate the public and fund practical solutions for clearing the Valley's air. The campaign, which began late last year, is bankrolled by $2 million from Chevron-Texaco.
The nonprofit effort steers clear of politics, officials said. The organization targets efforts outside the political arena and encourages innovation.
The technology-driven research center was an easy choice, said Clean Air Now board member Gus Freshwater, general manager of a roof-material manufacturing company in Kern County. The $100,000 grant is the largest so far from the group.
"I like the fact that it's an educational approach," Freshwater said. "You get bright kids influencing other students."
The influence will go in many directions. The center has various laboratories with broad study focuses, such as the environment, the law, the biomedical world and the marketing of ideas.
The students might present an architectural design demonstrating the costs of constructing an environmentally friendly and efficient building. They might discuss the medical problems associated with air pollution, as well as possible solutions.
"For many students, it's difficult to know how much impact they will have if they don't drive on a certain day," Guentz said. "We all know we have poor air quality, but what can we personally do about it?"
The reporter can be reached at mgrossi@fresnobee.com or 441-6316.
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