A recent report from the American Lung Association (ALA) has found that air pollution has dropped to its lowest concentration since 2000. This improvement is greatly attributed to the Clean Air Act, which has set environmental regulations for the cleanup of major air pollution sources. More than half of the country’s most smog-polluted cities have reported their lowest air pollution levels in 13 years. 22 out of the 25 cities with the highest levels of year-round particle pollution improved since the 2011 report. In 2010, the EPA estimated that the improvements since 2000 had collectively saved 160,000 lives. However, despite improvements, ALA reports that 40% of Americans (about 127 million people) still live in areas with unhealthy and potentially dangerous levels of air pollution. While this indicates that there is still much room for improvement, it is clear that we are on the right track.
Gary Monitz
