Air is toxic! Nearly half of Americans breathe unsafe levels of polluted air
Nearly 156 million people live in areas with dangerous levels of smog, a new study from the American Lung Association found.
A new report recently found that nearly half of Americans breathe air that is at levels that are harmful to their health, a significant increase from last year and likely to continue to rise, due to the climate crisis and the Trump administration’s sweeping environmental policies.
More than 156 million people live in areas with dangerous levels of smog and smoke, a 16 percent increase from last year, the highest number in a decade, according to the American Lung Association (ALA).
This smog and smoke can cause premature death and increase the risk of diseases such as heart disease, asthma, premature births, brain dysfunction and lung disease. These increases in air pollution are exacerbated by heat waves and wildfires, which are caused by man-made global warming.
PM2.5, or toxic smoke, is mostly generated by wildfires, wood stoves, coal-fired power plants and diesel engines. And many other industrial sources can be deadly.
As global warming worsens, so too will the amount of ozone, a toxic substance in the air that irritates the respiratory system, making outdoor workers sicker and children more likely to have asthma.
Harold Wimmer, president and CEO of the American Lung Association, says the toxic air in many cities is due to “the effort to reduce the number of employees, funding and programs at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), exposing families to increased exposure to harmful air pollution.”
A major reason for the EPA’s staff cuts in the US is the Trump administration’s policies to undermine the EPA, which have resulted in massive layoffs and funding freezes. Environmental justice has been under fire, leading to worsening air quality.
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