At the edge of the parking lot at Blue Hill Overlook, a wayside exhibit features a panel angled atop a stone pedestal. The overlook offers a panoramic view of the nearby islands, rounded mountains, and waterways around Cadillac Mountain.
The exhibit's title - "Picture Perfect?" ¬- appears over a clear view of rolling hills under a cloudless blue sky and the ocean in the distance.
Text reads: "Sometimes air pollution obscures views like this from Cadillac Mountain and poses a threat to human health, Acadia's water quality, and vegetation. A large percentage of the pollution comes from out of state. ... Most of this ground-level ozone and particle pollution comes from the burning of fossil fuels by industry, power plants, and motor vehicles. ... Park resource specialists monitor Acadia's air for pollutants and their effect on plants, water, wildlife, and humans."
An inset map of the United States shows arrows sweeping toward the Maine coast. "Prevailing southwesterly winds carry pollutants here from industrialized areas in the South and Midwest."
Beneath the clear view, another photograph captures the scene in a hazy view, blurring the hills and obscuring the ocean.
A quote: "Smokestack exhaust becomes acidic rains; air pollution becomes water pollution." - Catherine Schmitt, "Tracking Acid Rain Across New England," Northern Sky News, November 2003
A final note appears at the bottom: "Your actions at home can affect Acadia's air quality. Can you reduce your carbon footprint?"
Nearby, stone steps lead down a gentle slope to a trail through a rocky landscape bordered by evergreen trees. A sign on a low log structure asks visitors to leave cairns - manmade rock arrangements - as they find them. "They guide hikers and protect the park's fragile mountain landscape."
