In the United States, people of color are 1. Historically, racist zoning policies and the discriminatory lending practices known as redlining have combined to keep polluting industries and car-choked highways away from white neighborhoods and have turned communities of color—especially poor and working-class communities of color—into sacrifice zones where residents are forced to breathe dirty air and suffer the many health problems associated with it.
In addition to the increased health risks that come from living in such places, members of these communities experience economic harm in the form of missed workdays, higher medical costs, and local underinvestment. Environmental racism isn't limited to cities and industrial areas. Outdoor laborers, including the estimated three million migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the United States, are among the most vulnerable to air pollution—and also among the least equipped, politically, to pressure employers and lawmakers to affirm their right to breathe clean air.
Recently, c umulative impact mapping , which uses data on environmental conditions and demographics, has been able to show how some communities are overburdened with layers of issues, like high levels of poverty, unemployment, and pollution. In the United States, the Clean Air Act has been a crucial tool for reducing air pollution since its passage in , although fossil-fuel interests aided by industry-friendly lawmakers have frequently attempted to weaken its many protections.
Ensuring that this bedrock environmental law remains intact and properly enforced will always be key to maintaining and improving our air quality. But the best, most effective way to control air pollution is to speed up our transition to cleaner fuels and industrial processes.
By switching over to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power , maximizing fuel efficiency in our vehicles, and replacing more and more of our gasoline-powered cars and trucks with electric versions, we'll be limiting air pollution at its source while also curbing the global warming that heightens so many of its worst health impacts. And what about the economic costs of controlling air pollution?
According to a report on the Clean Air Act commissioned by NRDC, the annual benefits of cleaner air are up to 32 times greater than the cost of clean-air regulations.
When you can, walk, ride a bike, or take public transportation. For driving, choose a car that gets better miles per gallon of gas, or choose an electric car. Buying your food locally cuts down on the fossil fuels burned in trucking or flying food in from across the country. This story was originally published on November 1, , and has been updated with new information and links.
The global toll of premature deaths attributed to the burning of coal, gasoline, and diesel is breathtakingly high, with new research doubling previous estimates. For 50 years the Clean Air Act has proved that health and prosperity go hand in hand. The landmark law is now under threat.
The Trump administration failed to monitor air pollution in the toxic aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. The air in southwestern Indiana is bad enough without the emissions from yet another proposed polluter. Ten years after the disaster at a Tennessee power plant, the cleanup crew is seeking justice. Air pollution is a familiar environmental health hazard. Some air pollution is not seen, but its pungent smell alerts you.
When the National Ambient Air Quality Standards were established in , air pollution was regarded primarily as a threat to respiratory health. Over the next decades as air pollution research advanced, public health concern broadened to include cardiovascular disease; diabetes mellitus; obesity; and reproductive, neurological, and immune system disorders. Air pollution exposure is associated with oxidative stress and inflammation in human cells, which may lay a foundation for chronic diseases and cancer.
Vehicle emissions, fuel oils and natural gas to heat homes, by-products of manufacturing and power generation, particularly coal-fueled power plants, and fumes from chemical production are the primary sources of human-made air pollution.
Nature releases hazardous substances into the air, such as smoke from wildfires, which are often caused by people; ash and gases from volcanic eruptions; and gases, like methane, which are emitted from decomposing organic matter in soils. It contains most of the elements of human-made air pollution: ground-level ozone, various forms of carbon, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and fine particulate matter.
Ozone , an atmospheric gas, is often called smog when at ground level. It is created when pollutants emitted by cars, power plants, industrial boilers, refineries, and other sources chemically react in the presence of sunlight. Noxious gases , which include carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides NOx , and sulfur oxides SOx , are components of motor vehicle emissions and byproducts of industrial processes.
Particulate matter PM is composed of chemicals such as sulfates, nitrates, carbon, or mineral dusts. Ozone is also a greenhouse gas that can be both good and bad for our environment. Ozone high up in our atmosphere is a good thing. It helps block harmful energy from the Sun, called radiation.
But, when ozone is closer to the ground, it can be really bad for our health. Ground level ozone is created when sunlight reacts with certain chemicals that come from sources of burning fossil fuels, such as factories or car exhaust. When particles in the air combine with ozone, they create smog. Smog is a type of air pollution that looks like smoky fog and makes it difficult to see. Smog is a type of air pollution in cities that makes it difficult to see outside.
Reducing factors causing air pollution and climate change have strong cobenefits. Although regions with high air pollution have the greatest potential for health benefits, health improvements continue to be associated with pollution decreases even below international standards. The large response to and short time needed for benefits of these interventions emphasize the urgency of improving global air quality and the importance of increasing efforts to reduce pollution at local levels.
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