According to the new annual report from the American Lung Association (ALA), nearly 156 million people in the United States live in areas that have received an “F” (failing grade) for air quality. Smog, particulate matter and ozone threaten the health of 46 percent of the population, a sharp deterioration from the previous year: 25 million more people are exposed to dangerous levels. The report points the finger at extreme weather, wildfires and record heat, but also at the gradual dismantling of environmental regulations during the Trump administration. The most polluted city remains Bakersfield, California, while the cleanest is Casper, Wyoming.
The loosening of EPA (the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) rules puts more than 50 years of progress at risk, according to experts.
“If we cut funding, staff and regulations,” the association warns, “the air we breathe will be dirtier. And more dangerous.”
According to the American Lung Association, since the passage of the Clean Air Act — a U.S. federal law adopted in 1963 and enacted in 1970 with the purpose of regulating pollution and protecting air quality for the benefit of public health and the environment — emissions of the six major air pollutants have decreased by 78 percent.
“Since the law was passed, air pollution has decreased overall,” Laura Kate Bender, associate vice president of the American Lung Association, told CBC News. “The challenge is that in recent years we’re starting to see it increase again, due to climate change that promotes the conditions underlying wildfires. Lack of rainfall and extreme heat are making pollution worse in many areas of the country.”
