Report: California cities have worst air pollution in U.S.

**Prince** · 05-01-2011, 05:31 PM

Los Angeles was included in the list of cities with the worst air
By Kirby Lee-US PRESSWIRE

Residents of Honolulu and Santa Fe-Espanola, N.M., on the other hand, are in luck: Those two cities had air that is among the country's cleanest — and they were the only two in the nation that had no days in which smog and soot levels reached unhealthy ranges.

In contrast, residents of California, which is famed for its healthful lifestyle, are breathing some of the worst air.

California cities topped the list of U.S. cities with the worst air pollution, according to "State of the Air 2011," the American Lung Association's annual report on air quality, which was released April 27.

And about 48% of U.S. residents live in counties where smog (ozone) is too high, 20% live in areas where there are too many short-term spikes in pollution and 6% live in areas with harmful year-round soot (particle pollution).

About 17 million Americans live in areas afflicted by all three air pollution hazards.

This worries scientists since research suggests air pollution threatens human health — and not just the lungs.

On days in which smog levels spike, there's an increase in hospital admissions for respiratory illnesses, heart attacks and stroke in the two or three days following it, said Michael Jerrett, a professor of environmental health sciences at University of California, Berkeley's School of Public Health.

Besides posing both long-term and short-term risks, pollution can contribute to low birth weights, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, heart attack, stroke and, ultimately, shorter life spans, he warned.

This is due, in part, to insidious changes caused by chronic exposure to pollution. According to Dr. Norman Edelman, chief medical officer of the American Lung Association, small particles of pollution can lodge deep in the lungs, triggering an inflammatory process that, over time, can spread elsewhere in the body and damage blood vessels and the heart.

The report found that the cities with the worst air include: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside; Bakersfield-Delano; Visalia-Porterville; Fresno-Madera; Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Yuba City (Calif.-Nev.); Hanford-Corcoran; San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos; and Merced — all of which are in California with the exception of one county just across the border in Nevada.

Rounding out the top 10 list for smog is Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, Texas and Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury, N.C.-S.C.

Many of those same places show up on the top 10 list for year-round soot. That list includes: Bakersfield-Delano; Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside; Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Ariz.; Visalia-Porterville; Hanford-Corcoran; Fresno-Madera; Pittsburgh-New Castle, Pa.; Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman, Ala.; Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington, Ohio-Ky.-Ind.; and Louisville-Jefferson County-Elizabethtown-Scottsburg, Ky.-Ind.

But there is some good news, said Janice Nolen, director of national policy for the American Lung Association. The majority of cities with polluted air have actually improved. Nolen credited the Clean Air Act, which, since its passage more than 40 years ago, has forced car and diesel truck manufacturers and coal-fired power plants, among others, to reduce emissions.

"The 'State of the Air 2011' finds the Clean Air Act is working. All metro areas on the list of the 25 cities most polluted by ozone showed improvement over the previous report, and 15 of those cities experienced their best year yet," Nolen said. "All but two of the 25 cities most polluted with year-round particle pollution improved over last year's report."

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that the Clean Air Act saved 160,000 lives in 2010 alone.

"We are trying to remind folks that the Clean Air Act has saved hundreds of thousands of lives," Nolen said. "Without the clean up, we would have a lot more pollution and a lot more disease and dying. We are very concerned about efforts to roll it back."

Although some attack the Clean Air Act as unnecessary, experts disagree. Jerrett explained that the research linking pollution to death and disease comes from animal experiments, human volunteers who go into pollution chambers where physiologic response is measured, changes in cell cultures when cells are exposed to pollution "and quite a few epidemiological studies."

"The body of evidence is large enough that if it's not fully evidence of causality, it's certainly strongly suggestive that pollution affects health in many adverse ways," Jerrett added.

Why does California, with its history of tough regulation, have such a pollution problem? It's a combination of factors, according to Jerrett. The state has lots of sources of emissions, including burgeoning car and truck traffic, major ports, oil refineries, wood and agricultural burning, and residential heating and cooling.

In areas such as Los Angeles, prevailing wind patterns and mountain ranges trap polluted air that's then baked in the sunshine, leading to the formation of smog.

The "State of the Air 2011" report uses state and local data reported to the EPA in 2007 to 2009. Measurements include ozone, year-round particle pollution and short-term pollution spikes.

**otis332** · 05-06-2011, 07:33 AM

Somehow not a surprise. L.A. is really bad the last time I was in the area.

**Dale Mabry** · 05-06-2011, 09:42 AM

The only way to fight this is to remove all environmental regulations, kill the EPA, and let the market sort it out. People will refuse to buy much cheaper products from companies that pollute and eventually all of those companies will go out of business. This is how free markets work.

**GearsMcGilf** · 05-06-2011, 11:07 AM

Originally Posted by Dale Mabry

The only way to fight this is to remove all environmental regulations, kill the EPA, and let the market sort it out. People will refuse to buy much cheaper products from companies that pollute and eventually all of those companies will go out of business. This is how free markets work.

No no no! We need cap'n trade to save the planet. Remember, we're all going to be dead in 6 years according to big Al and cap'n trade is the only thing that's going to save us. Your electricity costs will "necessarily skyrocket," according to your dear leader, and you'll see major inflation in just about everything you purchase, but at least all pollution will disappear and we'll all get to live a few more years.

Kim Jong Il should have received the Nobel Peace Prize rather than Al. He's done more to fight climate change than Al ever thought about doing.

**phosphor** · 05-06-2011, 01:19 PM

You mean that extra tax on electronics didn't solve the problem? The capital of the world for green peace-hippies didn't solve their own issue? Say it ain't so.

**bandaidwoman** · 05-06-2011, 07:42 PM

this is much better argument to get our addiction off carbon fuel technologies than global warming. noone can argue with the data.

**GearsMcGilf** · 05-06-2011, 09:03 PM

Perhaps actually having a viable alternative would be the best argument, something to compare it with rather than half hazardly looking for ways to manipulate the energy market through government and special interest lobbyists. Until an alternative fuel exists, the only existing alternative is to shut down the economy through more EPA regulation.

**Nightowl** · 05-06-2011, 09:12 PM

You'll have to excuse the air pollution...we've so much in the means of imports, that even the exports have to take a back seat.

**LAM** · 05-06-2011, 10:13 PM

Originally Posted by GearsMcGilf

No no no! We need cap'n trade to save the planet.

emissions trading, aka Cap & Trade was originally designed in the 80's by free market conservatives and environmentalists because of the acid rain problem in Canada caused by US manufacturing plants.

**LAM** · 05-06-2011, 11:39 PM

Originally Posted by Dale Mabry

The only way to fight this is to remove all environmental regulations, kill the EPA, and let the market sort it out. People will refuse to buy much cheaper products from companies that pollute and eventually all of those companies will go out of business. This is how free markets work.

one main problem with that, we would have to get rid of the FRB and that isn't happening. the formation of the FRB and SEC, etc. since the early 1930's was the 1st step on the road for the US changing from a free market economy to a managed/mixed market economy.

given this I highly doubt if the US could compete today with the state command economy of China or the managed economy of Japan as those countries are not divided by race and/or politics or fueled by greed. globalization has destroyed the middle class in the US and the UK. China and Japan would never forsake the long term economic health of their country's for short term economic growth and prosperity for some, it is illogical.

**KelJu** · 05-07-2011, 02:04 AM

Originally Posted by Dale Mabry

The only way to fight this is to remove all environmental regulations, kill the EPA, and let the market sort it out. People will refuse to buy much cheaper products from companies that pollute and eventually all of those companies will go out of business. This is how free markets work.

Is this a joke? I couldn't detect the sarcasm if there was any.

**Dale Mabry** · 05-07-2011, 04:03 AM

Originally Posted by KelJu

Is this a joke? I couldn't detect the sarcasm if there was any.

It is veiled, but it is in there.

**LAM** · 05-07-2011, 04:18 AM

Russian tried to not have any environmental policy in the 80s as a means to help boost growth. Eventually they saw negative ecological effects in 40% of the territory.

a lack of environmental policy to fuel short term economic growth at the expense of the future is pretty much the exact opposite of big picture thinking.

**Dale Mabry** · 05-07-2011, 04:50 AM

Finland had this happen recently, and it was very bad for the environment over there as well.

**phosphor** · 05-07-2011, 05:33 AM

Originally Posted by LAM

emissions trading, aka Cap & Trade was originally designed in the 80's by free market conservatives and environmentalists because of the acid rain problem in Canada caused by US manufacturing plants.

Correct.

The Political History of Cap and Trade
The Political History of Cap and Trade | Science & Nature | Smithsonian Magazine

While it is now being morphed into a 'carbon credit' structure, the implications could result in a widespread rise in American prices where our country will be penalized by default for creating a large portion of carbon. So, instead of a bilateral agreement between two countries, this turns into a money funneling system where huge portions of American dollars goto other countries. While people may disagree with this cap and trade depending on their stance, nobody really disagrees of the state that our country is in financially - introducing a system like this would further snowball our economy into disaster imo. If new, clean technologies were introduced to combat carbon emissions at a competitive price, this would go far into combating the issue without placing a financial (and binding) back-breaking measure that carbon emission cap and trade would do.

Regardless of the origins of C&T and what it has morphed into, I must lack a fundamental understanding as to why some people are fully behind these measures other than to think that this is a fully partisan issue where the person just follows lock-step along with all the other mantras.

**maniclion** · 05-07-2011, 02:51 PM

Honolulu has the cleanest air and we have the highest per capita installations of solar electricity on homes in the nation...

**Hated** · 05-07-2011, 03:13 PM

LA traffic can be worse than LA smog. Probably why many Cali residents become Frisco Fags.

**LAM** · 05-07-2011, 03:33 PM

UNLV was developing a pretty good solar program out here, unfortunately they are broke now.

**bandaidwoman** · 05-08-2011, 01:31 PM

60% of our water in china is undrinkable, 1/4 of that is so toxic it isn't even fit for industrial use, 16 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in china, until this will affect the government's power over the people they won't enforce any regulations like they do here. This is what happens when there is absolutely no goverment regulation.

**bigmoe65** · 05-08-2011, 03:00 PM

What a lot of people dont know and is not mentioned intentionally is that the word "pollution" has been redefined. Did you know that Co2 is considered pollution now? A majority of emissions created today is just Co2, what we exhale. Dont be fooled.

**bandaidwoman** · 05-08-2011, 03:16 PM

no, in china it is the small particle pollutants, the worst kind, and china still owns that top tier for the most amount of small particle pollutantsthe studies were done by canada, cdc etc.

this report came from the american lung association, they tend to define pollution mostly as "particle pollution" and ozone pollution. I don't see what was referenced though, have to look at the primary data which you can probably find on the american lung association website. It was one the basic things they hammered into us when learning pulmonary physiology, that the "pollution" was not general, but related to two specific types, ozone and particle pollution ( both large and small)

**bigmoe65** · 05-08-2011, 04:51 PM

Originally Posted by bandaidwoman

no, in china it is the small particle pollutants, the worst kind, and china still owns that top tier for the most amount of small particle pollutantsthe studies were done by canada, cdc etc.

this report came from the american lung association, they tend to define pollution mostly as "particle pollution" and ozone pollution. I don't see what was referenced though, have to look at the primary data which you can probably find on the american lung association website. It was one the basic things they hammered into us when learning pulmonary physiology, that the "pollution" was not general, but related to two specific types, ozone and particle pollution ( both large and small)

Maybe I should rephrase what I meant. Global warming zealots consider C02 the devil, where they involved in the ALA report? I cant answer that.

**LAM** · 05-08-2011, 07:48 PM

Originally Posted by bigmoe65

Global warming zealots consider C02 the devil, where they involved in the ALA report?

"excess C02" is harmful, pretty much the same concept as excess fat soluble vitamins in the body. the laws of diminishing returns can be applied to many different things.

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