Do you or someone you know have a medical condition that already makes it harder to breathe? Do you use an inhaler? The American Lung Association reports that nearly half the people in this country are exposed to dangerous levels of air pollution, up by 25 million people at-risk per last year’s report. The report notes that climate change is making it harder to clean up the air we breathe, with wildfires, drought and extreme heat contributing to air pollution even though human-created emissions have gone down over time.
East Tennessee communities receive a mix of grades on clean air from the ALA. The report gives Knox County an A for high ozone days, yet a C for particle pollution. Blount County received a C for high ozone (smoggy) days and particle pollution. Jefferson and Sevier counties both received a B for ozone. The Tri-Cities of Johnson City, Kingsport and Bristol maintained a spot on the cleanest cities list per ozone air pollution. Just over the state border, the Asheville-Waynesville-Brevard, North Carolina, area made the list for cleanest cities per its particle pollution.
The ALA says people most at risk from air pollution are children, the elderly and people with chronic medical conditions. It also points out that people of color are more likely to be exposed to air pollution than whites.
The ALA calls for defending decades of progress toward cleaner air by supporting the Environmental Protection Agency. It also calls on local action:
“States and cities still have many tools … to reduce emissions that harm people’s health, like cleaning up vehicles … investing in charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and requiring more electricity to come from truly clean sources like wind, solar, geothermal and tidal. They can also adopt policies to reduce emissions from buildings, manufacturing facilities and freight activities.”
Anne Brock is marketing coordinator for Solar Alliance, which designs solar projects for manufacturers and other businesses. She’s at abrock@solaralliance.com or 865-221-8349.
