The smog level in Mexico City is one of the worst in the world, due to its location at 7,300 ft. above sea level, and the fact that it is ringed by Mountains that prevent ventilation.
General background information from: Dr. W. Hoffmann, �Air Pollution in Mexico City: Project-Study paper, University of Salzburg, 2000� http://www.sbg.ac.at/ipk/avstudio/pierofun/mexico/air.htm
Previous control strategies for emissions include:
� Reduce the use of private vehicles
� Stopping days (use public transport or adopt car pooling)
� Control of vehicle condition
� Change of fuels
� Reduction of lead and sulfur in fuels
Recent ideas to combat the smog in Mexico city have included giant fans, mountain tunnels, and massive chimneys.
The latest and most up-to-date technology has produced the idea of using polarized antennas. These antennas lower levels of ozone and other pollutants by creating wind currents. The charged antenna acts as catalyst to alter the heat content of the atmosphere by changing the rate at which water vapor condenses, thereby releasing heat, which in turn creates wind and precipitation.
The hope is that the wind will sweep away the smog hovering over the city and that the rain will wash away the airborne pollutants.
So far, the antenna idea seems to be a plausible reality. An antenna in the Xochimilco Ecological Park southeast of the city's center helped lower the level of ozone locally. "We had 15 days in a row of favorable conditions," Bisiacchi said. "you could actually see all the way to the volcanoes," a distance of about 45 miles. (Bisiacchi is a physicist from the National Autonomous University of Mexico).* It is not a guaranteed science as of yet, but it is a step forward.