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Graphic: American Lung Association
The American Lung Association issued their 2019 “State of the Air” Report which found that more than 40% of Americans — 141 million — live in a county with unhealthy air, which represents an increase of 7 million people more than last year. Despite some progress, “in 2015-2017, more cities had high days of ozone and short-term particle pollution compared to 2014-2016 and many cities measured increased levels of year-round particle pollution.” According to the American Lung Association:
The report also demonstrates that climate change is worsening air quality and making it hard to protect human health. The Lung Association points out that the “three years covered in this report ranked as the hottest years on record globally. High ozone days and spikes in particle pollution zoomed, putting millions more people at risk and adding challenges to the work cities are doing across the nation to clean up.”
Why This Matters: The numbers are in and it is clear that the Trump Administration’s clean air rule rollbacks are having a detrimental impact. And climate change is exacerbating the problems caused by increasing pollution. Eight cities experience the highest levels of air pollution since the Lung Association began compiling the report 20 years ago — all of them in the West. These record-breaking “worsts” should be a cause for great concern — the American Lung Association is sounding an alarm that air pollution is rising and putting American health and lives at risk. With the federal government loosening standards, it will be up to state air quality managers to take action.
What You Can Do: Check out how your city ranks by clicking here. To fight for cleaner air, you can join or support the Moms Clean Air Force by clicking here.
by Amy Lupica, ODP Staff Writer On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a plan to implement final standards to protect residents from the adverse impacts of municipal landfills. The Trump administration previously tried to delay these protections and waive restrictions on other sources of methane emissions. The EPA’s new standards are just one in a series […]
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The Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the Limetree Bay refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands to close for at least 60 days because its operation is an “imminent risk to public health,” the agency said in a statement.
Why This Matters: The air pollution and oil that were being emitted at the plant have long caused harm to the people of St. Croix, a majority Black island.
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by Ashira Morris, ODP Staff Writer Air pollution from animal farms leads to nearly 13,000 deaths annually, according to a new study that links food protection and air quality harms. The manure and animal feed from farms produce fine-particle pollution that leads to breathing issues as well as long-term health issues like heart disease and […]
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