State of the Air 2003, May 2003
Nearly half the American population—more than 137 million Americans—continues to breathe unhealthy amounts of the toxic air pollutant ozone (smog), according to the American Lung Association’s “State of the Air: 2003″ report released today.
The annual report cites that moderate improvements in smog levels are due to a break from summer heat, not air pollution cleanup activities, further illustrating the urgency for Americans to fight for cleaner air in the face of potentially devastating changes in the nation’s environmental policies. The Lung Association anticipates increasing numbers in its 2004 report, which will include data from the hot 2002 summer.
The report was released in the shadow of the Administration’s rollback of key Clean Air Act provisions and additional proposals that would weaken public health protections of that law, thereby denying tens of millions of Americans healthy air for the foreseeable future.
The American Lung Association® [www.lungusa.org] offers the report online.
