Posted on 05/09/2013 9:07:20 AM PDT by OrangeHoof
Despite the improvements, 4 in 10 Americans live where pollution levels are often dangerous to breathe. Since the ALA began studying particle pollution, almost all of the most polluted cities have consistently remained among the worst. Pittsburgh has been one of the 10 most polluted cities since 2004. The cities of Bakersfield and Merced, in California, are the most polluted cities in the U.S. this year and have been among the 25 most polluted since at least 2004. They are among many California cities, including Los Angeles, that have struggled with pollution for some time.
The ALAs 2013 State of the Air report measures cities based on low-lying ozone pollution, as well as both short- and long-term particle pollution. These particles, just 1/30th the diameter of a human hair, are capable of getting past our bodily defenses and cause physical harm, particularly to those who already suffer from pulmonary diseases, the very young and the elderly. The report measures both the total accumulated particle pollution over the course of a year, as well as the number of days that the air pollution hit unhealthily high levels.
Several of the most polluted cities are in California's San Joaquin Valley. Extremely heavy traffic worsens the valley's air quality, accounting for as much as 89% of pollution there.
(Excerpt) Read more at homes.yahoo.com ...
BTW, in Texas it’s mostly flat scrub land with just few low lying hills etc...It’s why in many parts of Texas the wind blows relentlessly...It’s just mostly flat. They have no massive mountain ranges which act as wind blocks which contribute to holding in dust/pollutants.
IN fairness, California is full of enviroweenies in part because California’s environment is very sensitive. (And “if we’re going to pay more for fuel, G-ddammit, so is everyone else.”)
Wind blows West to East. But directly East of California’s cities are mountain ranges. So pollution generated in California’s cities becomes trapped. Contrarily, New York’s pollution goes harmlessly over the Atlantic Ocean.
How have they defined pollution? After all, there are those who consider CO2 a pollutant. And we should all be looking out for that dihydrogen monoxide!
Correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t Los Angeles the Spanish word for “New Mexico City to the North”?
I wonder what the percentage of illegals living in these cities is?...Opps!!!!...not P.C.!
Pittsburgh #8? Really??
Speaking from experience, the air here is WAAAAYYYY cleaner than it was when I was a kid. And 30 years before that it was dark here at noontime due to all the coal smoke. The air likely has not been this clean here since the Whiskey Rebellion.
Some people are never satisfied I guess.
That said, any pollutants from Texas would have to settle somewhere, right? Where did it all go? The envirowhackos would have you believe Texas is a filthy, disgusting place because of a lack of regulations. They’re wrong.
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