Americans emit 70% less air pollution today than they did in 1970, when the Clean Air Act was passed. But global warming makes it easier for smog to form, and creates more and bigger wildfires. The number of Americans breathing unhealthy air is rising.
Wildfires caused high levels of air pollution in San Francisco in November 2018. Climate change is making wildfires and heat waves more likely, and driving more days of unhealthy air in many U.S. cities.Wildfires caused high levels of air pollution in San Francisco in November 2018. Climate change is making wildfires and heat waves more likely, and driving more days of unhealthy air in many U.S. cities.
The latest data on the nation's air comes from the American Lung Association, a public health group. The group's 21st annual State of the Air report warns that climate change is undercutting decades of regulatory progress that has reduced pollution from factories, cars, power plants and other major air pollution sources, because more frequent and intense heat waves and wildfires are leading to more days with dangerously high levels of ozone and particulate matter.
Hot weather helps create ozone, or smog."Emissions of hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxide cook in the presence of sunlight to create ozone or smog," explains Paul Billings, the senior vice president for public policy at the American Lung Association. "What we've seen is that hot weather is making it more difficult to achieve health-based [air quality] standards," Billings explains. Even though overall emissions are down,"climate change makes the conditions for formation of smog or ozone easier, so we need to do more to reduce the underlying emissions."the Environmental Protection Agency bears that out. Americans emit about 70% less air pollution today than they did in 1970, when the Clean Air Act was passed.
Yet the number of people breathing air that is bad for their health is rising — the American Lung Association estimates that about 137 million people lived in places with unhealthy levels of ozone between 2016 and 2018. Breathing polluted air is associated with shorter average life expectancies, and is a risk factor for heart and respiratory disease.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Could an Innovative Reforestation Program Help Stem Climate-Change-Fueled Wildfires Worldwide?A strategy derived from the practices of indigenous populations in the Amazon River Basin is giving experts hope.
Read more »
SAP BrandVoice: What Midsize Companies Should Know About The Customer Experience In Times Of Intense Changewe are bound by lifestyles dictated by social distancing, supply chain bottlenecks, and operational setbacks. For midsize businesses, this is the perfect time to reconsider the effectiveness of their services and redesign them around customer needs – no matter how they change.
Read more »
Lizzo Belts 'A Change Is Gonna Come' for 'One World: Together at Home' SpecialGlobal Citizen raised $127 million for COVID-19 relief during the star-studded, eight-hour concert
Read more »
AB 5 forced arts groups to evolve. For some, COVID-19 made the change 'catastrophic'Ticket sales were supposed to help theater and opera companies pay the costs of turning freelancers into staff members under AB 5. What now?
Read more »
Climate making air pollution worse, almost half of Americans exposed to unhealthy levels: ReportAlmost half of Americans live in communities with unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to the American Lung Association, as climate change creates more pollution.
Read more »