Air Quality Bad for 40 Percent of Americans
March 12th, 2010Via: Courthouse News:
Despite drastic cuts in air pollution, more than 40 percent of Americans still live in areas with unacceptable air quality, according to an Environmental Protection Agency report released on Wednesday.
Over the last three decades, the levels of core pollutants in the U.S. have been cut in half despite a 34 percent growth in population size, a 90 percent increase in miles driven, and a 30 percent boost in energy use.
But the improvements — credited to nation-wide regulations on cars and other industries — still leave 127 million Americans in areas that fall short of federal standards for levels of lead, sulfur dioxide, particle pollution and ground-level ozone, according to the EPA’s report entitled “Our Nation’s Air Status and Trends Through 2008.”
Research Credit: ltcolonelnemo
