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April 27, 2006
What’s the State of Your Air?
As we announce the results of this year’s American Lung Association State of the Air report, I thought it would be a good opportunity to talk about the report, and things you can do to help protect our nation’s lungs.
The State of the Air report assigns grades to counties throughout the United States with respect to two of the most pervasive air pollutants, ozone (smog) and particles (soot). Take a couple of moments to see how your community fares, by clicking here and typing in your zip code.
How’d you do? If your county scored an F, unfortunately you’re not alone. According to this year’s report, more than 150 million Americans still live in counties where they are exposed to unhealthful levels of soot and/or smog air pollution. The good news is that, believe it or not, we are seeing real improvements in the air quality in much of the nation, but we’re still a long way from winning the battle against dirty air.
This year we are focusing our attention on the millions of people who live in U.S. port and industrial cities because two big contributors to dirty air are marine and locomotive sources. The EPA has promised to issue guidelines for limiting air pollution from these sources, but has not yet acted. You can help right away by sending an online letter to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson urging him to issue tough regulations that will clean up dirty diesel locomotives and boats.
Does clean air really make a difference to our health? The answer is yes. Mounting scientific evidence shows that cleaning up the source of air pollution results in cleaner air and less illness and death. A recent study out of Harvard’s School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston showed that when particle air pollution declines in a city, the death rate also declines in the city. While air pollution affects everyone, in particular, people with conditions such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, cardiovascular disease and diabetes are affected. As if that’s not enough, the nearly 40 million children under 18 and the 17 million adults who are 65 and over are also at risk in areas with unhealthful levels of ozone or particle pollution. I can’t stress enough the fact that cleaner air saves lives.
How can you help? The following are steps you can take to help in our continued quest for cleaner air:
- Drive less, not only will you be saving money due to the soaring gas prices, but you’ll be helping the environment. Vehicle emissions are a major source of air pollution. Combine trips, carpool, use mass transit whenever possible and walk more.
- Care for your car. Regular maintenance and tune-ups, changing the oil and checking tire inflation can improve gas mileage, extend your car's life and increase its resale value. It can also reduce traffic congestion due to preventable breakdowns and it could reduce your car's emissions by more than half.
- Get fuel when it's cool. Refueling during cooler periods of the day or in the evening can prevent gas fumes from heating up and creating ozone. And that can help reduce ozone alert days.
- Don't top off the tank. It releases gas fumes into the air and cancels the benefits of the pump's anti-pollution devices. So stopping short of a full tank is safer and reduces pollution.
- Don’t burn wood or trash. These practices are among the largest sources of air-borne particles in many parts of the country. Convert woodstoves to natural gas, which emits far fewer pollutants. Compost and recycle as much as possible and dispose of other waste properly; don’t burn it. Support local efforts to ban outdoor burning of construction and yard wastes.
- Participate in community reviews of local air pollution plans and support state and local efforts to clean up air pollution.
- Use less electricity. Turn out lights and use energy-efficient appliances.
Also remember to take measures to protect yourself. During the summer months, ozone levels are at their highest, but particle pollution can be a threat year round.
If you exercise outdoors, here are some tips to keep in mind:
- Exercise early in the day or in the evening, avoid midday or afternoon training.
- Avoid strenuous outdoor work,if possible, when ozone smog or other pollution levels are high.
- Avoid congested streets and rush hour traffic; pollution levels can be high up to 50 feet from the roadway.
- Make sure teachers, coaches and recreation officials know about air pollution and act accordingly.
Be aware of the Air Quality Index (AQI) levels on a daily basis and act accordingly. The AQI is the standard system that state and local air pollution control programs use to notify the public about levels of air pollution. The AQI levels are generally reported in the local newspapers, television and radio news reports and online at www.epa.gov/airnow. For more information on AQI, click here.
Posted by lungblogposter at April 27, 2006 10:00 AM
Comments
For those of us not familiar with BLOGiquette, is it possible to read others' postings first, then decide if we want to comment? Perhaps I am dense, but it was not obvious to me how I could see and read previous postings. Thanks. :)
Posted by: Kevin at April 28, 2006 11:34 AM
I live in a highly industrialized area. From the 1970's to now, the air quality (visibility, odor, etc.) has improved. The most persistent source of pollution that affects me now is mobile sources. I ride my bicycle around town and the exhaust from cars and trucks is much worse than anything coming from the chemical plants and refineries.
Posted by: Steve at May 5, 2006 11:41 AM
I live in one of the counties that scored an F, but it was no surprise to me, because the population here has exploded. Over the past several years in this county, more children than ever before have been born with asthma, but that hasn't prompted their parents to change their behaviors. Our governor is amazingly healthy and has not suffered any adverse affects of the poor air quality (as are even "healthy" people now), and has expressed no concern.
I have always had allergies, but I was not diagnosed with adult-onset asthma until three years ago -- after living here 23 years -- when the air quality started becoming much worse. In addition, my poor dog has emphysema!
I'm currently investigating other states in which to live, because I don't want to have to spend the rest of my life indoors because the air outdoors is so poor. I also don't want to forego walking a dog again because of the poor outdoor air.
Air quality does make a difference. I had no problems with breathing until I was 40 years old, and I have friends who have lived here for more than 20 years and now have breathing problems and other adverse symptoms associated with poor air quality.
Posted by: Kathy at May 5, 2006 04:37 PM
We all know that our pollution control laws are not working or we would be seeing significant decreases in the numbers of diseases that are directly linked to exposures to pollutants. But how many people are actually contributing to the problems by using a lot of chemicals in their homes. Let me share my experience -
The older I got, the more allergies I developed. Nobody told me, not even my doctors, that I needed to reduce my exposure to chemicals if I was ever going to feel better. I had to find out on my own. If you want to make sure that you are doing all that you can possibly do to limit your exposure to polluting chemicals, please email me. I'll tell you about my journey through the haze of pollution and how I was able to finally start feeling better and taking control of my life back!
Posted by: Virginia at June 14, 2006 02:29 PM
Sorry, forgot to give my email address: mrslabel@yahoo.com
Posted by: Virginia at June 14, 2006 02:32 PM
