Buttheysaylooserrestrictionsandlax
enforcementwouldalmostcertainlyreverse
thegainsthathavebeenmadeinrecent
decades,potentiallyturningwhathassofar
beena modest,two-yearbackslideintoa
dangeroustrend.
“Todayit feelslikethefutureofourkidsandour
countryis atstake,”saidformerObamaEPAchief
GinaMcCarthy,nowdirectoroftheCenterfor
Climate,HealthandtheGlobalEnvironmentat
theHarvardSchoolofPublicHealth.“Wedonot
havethecleanestairandwehavenotcrossed
thefinishlinewhenit comestopollution.”
TheEPAquietlypostednewairqualitydata
onlinelastmonththatshowsa recentuptickin
polluteddays.
Fivehundredandthirty-twoAmericanmetro
areasreporteda totalof4,134daysin 2018
whentheofficialairqualityindexpassed100,
whichmeansit is unhealthyforpeoplewith
heartandlungdisease,theelderlyandthevery
young.That’sabout15%morebadairdaysper
citythantheaveragefor 2013 to2016,America’s
cleanairheyday.
Theworstofthebadairdaysjumpedevenmore.
Onaverage,in 2017 and 2018 therewerenearly
140 timeswhena city’sairpollutionreachedthe
Image: Suzanne Kreiter