Author: , Reuters 4/27/2011
The American Lung Association recently released a report on the amount of air pollution present in US cities. Thankfully, the study discovered some good news; pollution in the 25 previously "smoggiest" cities has decreased. Honolulu, Hawaii and Santa Fe, New Mexico were found to be the cities with the cleanest air. The report wasn't without its bad news, however. Over 150 million Americans, half the population, are still forced to contend with unhealthy levels of airborne pollutants like ozone and soot. Among the most ozone-polluted cities were Los Angeles and Bakersfield, California while one of the most soot-polluted, Pittsburgh, is right here in Pennsylvania.
It's a good idea to look at statistics/studies every now and then because they can either be indicators of progress or even more problems. In this case, the ALA found mixed results, which is better than the "all bad" news that is so often used just to attract viewers. Anyway, I think it is promising that city governments are taking action about the gray hazes that form over their heads so frequently. This is one of those issues that demands a response, even if it's not strictly for the sake of the environment, because of the bad reputation that smog gives cities. In fact, I think that giving out ratings on the "dirtiest" and "cleanest" air is a great idea because of the motivation it provides to city goverments. As long as a city has a bad rating, politicians will, under pressure of losing votes, take action to make things right.
However, I did find it shocking that "half of the population" lives in areas with unsafe levels of air pollution. It is depressing to discover the many ways in which humanity is paying the price for its embrace of the "money now, thinking later" ideology. I just finished watching the video about Donora that Mrs. D posted on the website, and it has helped me realize that this is exactly the type of thinking that is responsible for the deaths of 20 citizens. People thought only about the money when they installed the zinc refinery in Donora while they failed to consider any impact on people or the environment. The only "smell of progress" in the air was the noxious cloud that blanketed the town and choked all its occupants. This same thing is happening all across the country, and while this reality does bother me, I can't help looking at the flip side. Now that disasters have happened and people are ready to pay attention, real work is being done to undo the mess created by the uninformed previous generation.
How does it make you feel that, according to the ALA, you have a coin toss' chance of living with unhealthy air pollution?
I happen to have really bad allergies, so I know what it feels like to breathe "bad air". Have you felt any physical effects of air pollution?
What would go though your head if you had to choose between public health and economic prosperity like the people of Donora and lawmakers of today?
This is a eye opening article. I never knew that half the population lives with polluted air. This number is way too big. Most of us do not realize that the air we are breathing in could possibly be polluted. I agree with you Connor. The U.S. should continue to release results of the dirtiest and cleanest cities. This can force citzens of a city to fight for clean air acts. While there was some good news in this study I still feel like there could be more. All cities need to be clean or we could face serious problems.
ReplyDeleteThis article made me think of Donora also, especially the picture. The picture above reminds of the pictures we saw of Donora. The smog lingering over the city makes it an eerie scene. This article also made me think of when I visited Pittsburgh. I thought it was a great city and alot of fun, but I never knew it was one of the dirtiest cities. Its shocking because Pittsburg is so close to us.
Having a coin toss chance of living with unhealthy air pollution really upsets and fustrates me. A 50-50 chance is not good and it makes me sad because we have done it to ourselves. The factories we built have created this. It also fustrates me because we are not doing major things to change this. We are just sitting around watching it happen. I hope that the government invests in needed resources to correct this problem.
This problem for us is like secondhand smoking. There is not much that our generation can do about it now. A great reason for this is the money aspect of the issue. People need to start realizing that money won't mean anything if there is no one left to have it. Safety comes before money. The ALA should release these things as much as they can. I believe that it will really get cities motivated to be cleaner. Tossing a coin is absurd. There should be no coin. In my opinion, there should be a law. People have the right to breathe clean air. This article also reminded my of Donora. It is sad to be able to see a dark cloud of pollution hanging over a city where people are forced to put it in their system. Actino needs to be taken so that we do not end up with another Donora. It is unfair to live in someone else's mess.
ReplyDeleteWow. Half the population was a huge eye opener for me because that is a lot of people. Releasing this information and giving ratings is a good system because that can help keep a competitive atmosphere going, except we're competing for good things and changes.
ReplyDeleteA few years back I visited Pitt with my family and thought it was a really cool school. Knowing now that Pittsburg is a very polluted city could change my mind. This is the kind of imformation we need to be aware when making these decisions. This could be the deciding factor for some people when taking a job, or pick a school.
Tossing that coin is rediculous. It makes me feel like I don't have a choice. There needs to be a law, like Ryan said. This can not go on for any longer, we are already seeing the consequences. Recently I just saw a severe weather report for Horsham saying that we are now in the orange pollution zone. Which side of the coin are we on?