But bad ozone, or ground-level ozone, forms when automobiles and power plants release pollutants that react with sunlight.
"Over the past five years we've had increasing levels, except this past year because we had so much rain," Mather said.
Smog levels depend on the amount of precipitation during the summer months.
Mather said North Carolina had 35 days when smog levels surpassed federal regulations in 2000, ranking it seventh in the nation for smog days last year. But in 1999, North Carolina racked up 68 smog days because of a decrease in rain during the summer months.
In North Carolina, the smog season begins April 1 and lasts until the end of October, Mather said.
California, a state that has been scrutinized by environmental groups in the past for its air pollution, first experienced major smog problems in the 1970s and '80s. In 2000, California experienced 120 days of smog, topping the list of states with the most smog days.
Yet Rep. Pryor Gibson, D-Anson, said it is important not to link California's smog problems with North Carolina's "air quality" problems, which he said are "very serious."
Nitrogen oxide, better known as NOx, is the main cause of smog, Mather said. "NOx interacts with hydrocarbons in hot, sunny weather, causing ozone," he said.
According to the Environmental Defense, an online database that records pollution by geographic area, NOx includes various compound, such as nitrogen dioxide and nitric oxide.
The compounds form NOx when fuels are burned at high temperatures, which occurs mainly in power plants and automobiles.
Particulate matter, the other main agent that produces smog, is a mixture of particles such as soot, dust and smoke. Particulate matter, or PM, is most dangerous in its smallest forms, according to the Environmental Defense.
So just what do these scientific terms mean?
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Mather said the NOx and PM that comprise smog -- or bad ozone -- not only cause far-reaching health hazards but also could affect North Carolina tourism. "No one wants to go visit the mountains for their beauty and not see anything," he said.
Mather said the state risks losing its natural beauty in all three of its main geographic regions -- the coast, the piedmont and the mountains. Tourism accounted for $11.9 billion in total expenditures in 1999 by domestic and international travelers.
But he said the state also runs the risk of hurting its most prized possessions -- its inhabitants.
The EPA cites several health hazards and precautionary methods for dealing with high smog levels.
According to EPA reports, active children are the highest risk group to suffer from health problems because they spend the largest amount of time outdoors during the summer. The EPA also stated that younger children are more apt to suffer from asthma.
The N.C. Public Interest Research Group has reported that in 1998, ozone triggered about 240,000 asthma attacks in North Carolina.
Active adults of any age, people with asthma or other respiratory diseases, and those with sensitivity to ozone -- a phenomenon that scientists have yet to figure out -- are other high-risk groups.
But the EPA warns all people to be wary of the effects of high levels of exposure to smog.
The EPA reports that smog causes irritation of the respiratory system, which results in coughing or throat irritation. Smog can also cause a reduction in lung function, making normal breathing difficult.
Aggravation of asthma, inflammation and damage to cells in the respiratory system, and aggravation of chronic lung disease are also reported health problems caused by smog.
The aftereffects of long-term exposure to high-smog conditions might even cause permanent lung damage, hindering the development of lungs in children. It can also accelerate the natural decline in lung function that is a normal part of the human aging process.
Gibson said he has traveled to the state's urban emergency rooms on purple-coded days, when the smog levels are the highest, and seen the pollutant's effects firsthand. "It only takes one (child) to see how serious it is," he said.
Gibson and other members of the General Assembly are taking steps to protect North Carolina's people and natural resources from smog.
"We're on top of it," said Gibson, chairman of the N.C. House of Representatives Environment and Natural Resources Committee. "North Carolina has the most aggressive and progressive air rules in the nation."
Last year, Gov. Jim Hunt passed a bill calling for a 68 percent reduction in the emissions from power plants, 20 percent less than the EPA standards set last year during their crackdown campaign.
But several groups, including N.C. Public Interest Research Group, want to increase the regulations with an 81 percent reduction in the next seven years.
"(A 68 percent reduction) sounds good, but only goes into effect if the EPA standards are upheld," said Elizabeth Outz, an advocate for the research group.
Outz said the 68 percent reduction would not make an overall improvement in North Carolina's smog levels.
But Gibson said the state's smog problem is largely caused by geographic location -- not just local emissions.
Several variables, such as the jet stream and the Earth's rotation, cause North Carolina to receive pollutants from the Ohio and Tennessee valleys -- the nation's two highest coal-producing areas.
But Gibson said North Carolina must do its own part to clean up the air.
During this legislative session, Rep. Joe Hackney, D-Orange, and Gibson will propose the Inspection and Maintenance Bill, which will address tailpipe emissions, Gibson said.
He said this bill will place tighter regulations on automobiles, as well as require that all gasoline sold in the state is sulfur-free.
Hackney said steps were already taken in 1999 to reduce tailpipe emissions by regulating gasoline and its sulfur additives, which are harmful to the air. Premium gasoline now is the only type that is sulfur-free.
Hackney also said phasing out older models of cars will help to decrease the amount of tailpipe emissions.
Representatives from the state's two major power companies, Duke Power and Carolina Power & Light Co., said they work hard to follow "strict" EPA and state regulations.
"We comply with those stiff regulations," said Becky McSwain, spokeswoman for Duke Power. "Duke Power reduced the amount of NOx 75 percent since 1995."
Keith Poston, spokesman for Progress Energy, CP&L's parent company, said the two energy providers' past track records prove they acknowledge their responsibility for clean air.
"We've spent $80 million since 1995 reducing our NOx emissions by 45 percent," Poston said. "We plan to spend $118 million by 2004."
McSwain said reducing smog in North Carolina would require the help of average citizens and not just power companies. "We all, as North Carolinians, want to minimize the consequences of smog," McSwain said. "It's going to take some major lifestyle changes."
Increased use of mass transportation in urban areas, as well as energy efficient cars were two changes McSwain suggested.
Poston echoed McSwain's sentiments about trade-offs in controlling the smog problem. "We want to be good stewards of the environment and reasonable about power prices," Poston said. "We still want you to be able to turn the switch and a light come on.
"We just have to invest to do it better and cleaner."
The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.
