Too Many Counties Have Dangerously High Air Pollution Levels
The State of the Air: 2006 report shows that an estimated 42.5 million Americans – nearly 15% of the U.S. population – live in 34 counties with unhealthful levels of both ozone and particle pollution. Cities ranking among the worst in the nation for both pollutants include (in the west):
Los Angeles, CA; Bakersfield, CA; Fresno, CA; Hanford, CA; Visalia, CA
MOST POLLUTED BY SHORT-TERM PARTICLE POLLUTION (24-HOUR PM2.5)
Fresno-Madera ranks 3rd.
MOST POLLUTED BY YEAR-ROUND PARTICLE POLLUTION (ANNUAL PM2.5)
Fresno-Madera ranks 5th.
25 MOST OZONE-POLLUTED CITIES
Fresno-Madera ranks 4th.
25 COUNTIES MOST POLLUTED BY SHORT-TERM PARTICLE POLLUTION (24-HOUR PM 2.5)
Fresno ranks 3rd.
25 COUNTIES MOST POLLUTED BY LONG-TERM PARTICLE POLLUTION (ANNUAL PM 2.5)
Fresno ranks 7th.
At CBS News Video, type Valley of Pollution in the Search Videos box to go to the video.
Outside of Los Angeles, this stretch of farm land and small cities has the worst air pollution in the United States.
One child in six has asthma--more than 3 times the national average. Air quality flags go up each morning at schools telling kids how safe it is to breathe.
Efforts to clean up the air are underway, but they'll take years--not soon enough to let this generation breathe easy.
On days like this, the air is so dirty here you can almost see the thick air you're breathing. The hot gases are trapped in the Valley and baked in the sun, creating a dangerous mixture. Sprawling suburbs, busy roads and intense agriculture all foul the air.
San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. Includes information about air issues in the District, and links to press releases and recent news. The District provides webcasts of Governing Board meetings and Citizens Advisory Committee Meetings on the days these meetings are held. To view a webcast, click on the webcast link for that meeting.
Under the category of Programs, information for students is provided, including "Welcome to Blue Sky, Brown Sky...," the San Joaquin Valley's first air quality curriculum designed to inform educators and teach student about air pollution and the effects it has on Valley residents. The curriculum is free. Teachers can also request a speaker to come to their classes.
Valley Clean Air Now. San Joaquin Valley Fact Sheet, Ozone Fact Sheet, Particulate Matter Fact Sheet, Air Pollution Q&A, Valley Air Quality Forecast, Grants, Applications, Grant Recipients, News & Photos, Photo Gallery, Business Recognition Program, Recognized Businesses, Tune In & Tune Up, Energy & Clean Air Business Expo.
Earth Justice. Court Orders Clean Air Backstop Measures for San Joaquin Valley
EPA ordered to end delays on San Joaquin Valley air pollution contingency measures
OAKLAND, California - July 6, 2006 - Earthjustice and clients Medical Advocates for Healthy Air, Sierra Club, and Latino Issues Forum earned a victory for clean air protection Wednesday afternoon when a US District Court judge ordered EPA to promulgate long-overdue pollution control measures.
These measures, called contingency measures, are required under the federal Clean Air Act as a backstop to protect public health should the Valley fail to meet major milestones in cleaning up air pollution.
"This was an open and shut case. We went in with EPA admitting it had failed to do its job. But EPA wanted the Court to say it was okay to keep dragging its feet on the development of these measures. The Court rejected EPA's arguments out of hand," says Paul Cort, attorney for Earthjustice who argued the case last week. More.
Fresno, CA: Where Breathing is Like Smoking Without Filters (Sierra Club).EPA Gives Polluters More Time to Clean Up, While Asthma Victims Continue to Suffer. Being Hispanic and living in the San Joaquin Valley in California can be dangerous to your health.
In fact, simply breathing in this area, one of the country's richest agricultural regions, is as bad as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day and for Hispanics, who live in the midst of some of the worst pollution, those cigarettes have no filters.
Jetstream, the National Weather Service Online Weather School in conjunction with NOAA, introduces students to meteorology in easily understood terms.
Project A.I.R.E. offers K-12 resource materials, grants, and teacher air quality training opportunities.
For Kids Ages 7-10
What should you do when the Air Quality Index is orange? Let the chameleons K.C., Koko, and Kool, show you how EPA measures pollution in the air.
What is the AQI? Air Pollution and Health. Clean and Dirty Air. Games. What Can I Do?
For Kindergarten and First Grade
When is the best day to go outside and play? Buster Butterfly shows you when the air is clean and it's good to play outside and when you should stay inside to play.
Smog City is an interactive air pollution simulator that shows how your choices, environmental factors, and land use contribute to air pollution. In Smog City you're in control so your visit can be a healthy or unhealthy experience depending on the decisions you make. You'll see how ground-level ozone, the biggest part of summertime smog, increases or decreases when you spend a day in Smog City. And since ozone can irritate respiratory systems, cause breathing difficulty, coughing, and chest pain, knowing how and why ozone forms and what you can do about it is important to the residents of Smog City and everyone else on the planet.
Planet Polluto suffers from the ravages of air pollution. The Pollutonians do not realize the decisions they make every day have an effect on their environment. They drive polluting cars everywhere, build huge cities with no public transportation or bike lanes, and use emission-forming consumer products like hairspray and spray paint in huge amounts. All these things contribute to the horrible air pollution problem engulfing the planet.
This Web site will allow you to meet some of the residents of Planet Polluto. You can also take a few of the classes offered at the Air Academy, learn about the Air Quality Index (AQI) and explore the planet.
