Latest news with #LungAssociation
Newsweek
26-06-2025
- Health
- Newsweek
American Lung Association President: Electric School Buses Protect Kids' Health. Congress Should Continue To Support Them
For those of us who took the school bus as children, the smell of diesel exhaust is almost a core memory; I remember how it would linger in my nose and lungs as I rode to school, and the sight of the afternoon line of school buses shrouded in smoke from the exhaust. For me, the diesel smell seemed like an inconvenience, but I didn't know it was negatively impacting my health. For kids with asthma, the impacts were more apparent. This is still the experience of too many children today, as most of the half million school buses on the road are diesel-powered. While stronger pollution standards have made these vehicles cleaner than they used to be, they still spew exhaust that impacts student health and even learning outcomes. The toxic exhaust from diesel-burning buses is unsafe for students, drivers, and residents of the communities they drive through and park in. An electric school bus is pictured. An electric school bus is pictured. Getty Images There is a solution that reduces pollution exposure while improving kids' health: electric school buses, the only type of school bus with no tailpipe emissions. Over a quarter of a million students already ride these clean buses to school each day. To ensure more children have the opportunity to ride on clean, electric school buses, I strongly urge federal lawmakers to preserve two critical tax incentives, the Qualified Commercial Clean Vehicle Credit (45W), a tax credit that provides up to $40,000 for each delivered electric school bus, and the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit (30C), which allows entities to claim a credit for up to 30 percent of the cost of qualified property, such as electric school bus charging infrastructure. I have worked at the American Lung Association for more than 40 years and now serve as the president and CEO. For more than 50 years, we have known about the health impacts of vehicle emissions and the particularly harmful emissions of diesel engines. It is time—and our responsibility—to ensure that all children have a healthy ride to school. According to the Lung Association's most recent State of the Air report, 46 percent of Americans—156.1 million people—are living in places that get failing grades for unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution. Diesel exhaust, in particular, is dangerous for everyone to breathe, even healthy adults, but children are especially sensitive to the variety of pollutants known to cause lung cancer and respiratory harm and impact cognitive development. The health impacts of air pollution are not felt equally. The State of the Air report also found that a person of color is more than twice as likely to live in a community with a failing grade for all three measures of pollution covered in the report. Communities that have been historically disadvantaged are more likely to be exposed to vehicle-based air pollution due to lending, transit, housing, and zoning policies that concentrated Black and brown communities closer to highways and other pollution sources. The good news is we already know one thing that can help: a widespread transition to zero-emission vehicles and electricity, including buses, would dramatically improve the health of children. According to another Lung Association report, the transition would prevent 2.79 million pediatric asthma attacks and millions of other respiratory symptoms and save over 500 infant lives by 2050. More communities than ever have the opportunity to transition to clean, tailpipe-emissions-free electric school buses, thanks in large part to federal incentives like tax credits and grant programs. Since 2021, the number of electric school buses on the road or on their way to school districts has increased almost tenfold, and 1,500 school districts have said yes to electric school buses across the nation. There's clear demand for electric school buses, but it's only just getting started and needs continued policy support to drive the transition. It is imperative that lawmakers protect incentives like the 45W and 30C tax credits, which are popular and utilized across the country to help keep the wheels turning. Our kids deserve to live in a country where no student is forced to inhale toxic exhaust from their own bus just to get to and from school each day. With continued support from our elected officials, we can make it happen. Harold Wimmer is president and CEO of the American Lung Association. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Axios
05-05-2025
- Health
- Axios
Indianapolis air pollution among worst in U.S., report finds
Indianapolis' air quality is among the worst in the nation for year-round particle pollution, according to a new report. Why it matters: Air pollution is associated with an array of health conditions, from wheezing and coughing to asthma and premature death. The findings come as the White House is reconsidering EPA rules and regulations meant to curb pollution and promote cleaner air. Driving the news: Nearly half of Americans are now exposed to potentially dangerous levels of ozone or particle pollution, per the American Lung Association's 2025 State of the Air report. That's almost 25 million more compared with last year's report, and the highest number in the past decade of the report's history. How it works: The report used local air quality data to grade and rank locations based on ozone pollution, daily particle pollution and annual particle pollution. This latest report includes data from 2021-2023, "the most recent three years of quality-assured nationwide air pollution data publicly available." Ozone is a gas that, at ground level, is a harmful irritant. Particle pollution involves tiny airborne particles from wildfires, fossil fuel burning and more. Zoom in: The Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie area ranked No. 11 nationally for worst annual particle pollution out of 208 U.S. metros. It ranked No. 21 worst for 24-hour particle pollution and No. 54 worst for ozone pollution. Marion County received an "F" grade for both ozone and daily particle pollution and failed for annual particle pollution. Hamilton County got a "C" for ozone, a "D" for daily particle pollution and failed annual particle pollution. Threat level: Climate-related factors— including extreme heat, wildfires and drought — are also degrading air quality nationwide, the Lung Association says. Yes, but: Year-over-year EPA data shows that Indy's air quality is getting slightly better over time, with fine particle pollution dropping nearly 3% in the last decade. The average percentage of fine particle pollution in the Indianapolis metro area decreased from 10.44 micrograms per cubic meter in 2014-16 to 10.1 micrograms in 2021-23, per the EPA. Zoom out: Los Angeles, Visalia and Bakersfield — all in California — lead the rankings of U.S. metros most affected by ozone pollution. Bakersfield; Fairbanks, Alaska, and Eugene, Oregon, topped the list of those most affected by daily particle pollution. Bakersfield; Visalia and Fresno, California, were the most affected by annual particle pollution. Only one continental U.S. metro — Bangor, Maine — showed up on all three of the group's lists of cleanest cities.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Detroit has worst soot pollution in Midwest, American Lung Association report finds
The city of Detroit is the sixth-worst location in the country for year-round particle pollution — soot, the nonprofit American Lung Association's 2025 "State of the Air" report finds. Detroit also received failing grades for its number of unhealthy days per year of ground-level ozone, or smog, in the Lung Association study, which looked at air quality monitoring data collected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other state, local and tribal groups. Both ozone and particle pollution can cause premature death and other serious health effects such as asthma attacks, heart attacks, strokes, preterm babies, impaired cognitive function later in life, and lung cancer, said Kezia Ofosu Atta, advocacy director for the Lung Association of Michigan. "Unfortunately, too many people in Detroit are living with unhealthy levels of ozone and particle pollution," she said. "This air pollution is causing kids to have asthma attacks, making people who work outdoors sick and unable to work, and leading to low birth weight in babies. We urge Michigan policymakers to take action to improve our air." More: Trump budget document points to ending federal role in Great Lakes science by next year More: 'We were not prepared': Canada fought nightmarish wildfires as smoke became US problem The 2025 "State of the Air" report reviewed quality-assured data from between 2021-2023. Many areas of the eastern United States saw a rise in particle pollution issues with Canada's record-shattering wildfire season in 2023, the smoke hanging over Michigan, New York and other states for days and weeks at a time. By the Lung Association's analysis of EPA and other air quality data, Detroit experienced 6.2 days per year of unhealthy levels of ground-level ozone pollution, or smog. That's up from 5.7 days per year in the 2024 report. The number of unhealthy days per year for particle pollution in the Detroit metro area was 8.5 days, soaring above the 4.8 days in the 2024 report, with Canadian wildfires smoke a major contributor. Nationwide, the report found that 156 million people in the United States, some 46%, live in an area that received a failing grade for at least one measure of air pollution. Some 42.5 million people, including metro Detroiters, live in areas with failing grades for all three of the study's measures. The report also found that a person of color in the United States is more than twice as likely as a white individual to live in a community with a failing grade on all three pollution measures. Hispanic individuals are nearly three times as likely than white individuals to live in a community with three failing grades. The top five metro areas for year-round particulate pollution, in order, are Bakersfield, Visalia and Fresno, California; Eugene, Oregon; and Los Angeles-Long Beach. The report notes that dramatic improvements to air quality occurred after the enactment of the federal Clean Air Act in 1970, even as the U.S. economy grew. "Over the last decade, however, the findings of the report have added to the extensive evidence that a changing climate is making it harder to protect this hard-fought progress on air quality and human health," the report states. "Increases in high ozone days and spikes in particle pollution related to extreme heat, drought and wildfires are putting millions of people at risk and adding challenges to the work that states and cities are doing across the nation to clean up air pollution." EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin in March announced plans for "the biggest deregulation in U.S. history," scaling back or eliminating numerous air pollution standards for oil and gas development and industry. "Under the Clean Air Act, the U .S . Environmental Protection Agency has driven decades of progress in cleaning up the transportation, electricity, buildings and industrial sectors," the Lung Association's report states. "At the same time, EPA has tracked, analyzed and expanded the nation's understanding of air pollution at the community level. Now, however, all of that progress is at risk. Sweeping staff cuts and reduction of federal funding are stymieing the agency's ability to ensure that people have clean air to breathe. This year's 'State of the Air' focuses onan overarching clarion call to people nationwide: support and defend EPA." The "Fight for Air Climb" in Detroit, a fundraiser for the Lung Association and its mission, is scheduled for May 4. Participants will scale the stairs at Comerica Park. Learn more at Contact Keith Matheny: kmatheny@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: American Lung Association report gives failing grades to Detroit's air
Axios
25-04-2025
- Health
- Axios
Twin Cities metro fails air pollution report card
The Twin Cities metro deserves an "F" grade on key air quality metrics, per a new pollution "report card." Why it matters: Air pollution threatens everyone's health — especially children, seniors and people with asthma or heart and lung conditions. The big picture: Nearly half of Americans are now exposed to potentially dangerous levels of air pollution, the American Lung Association's 2025 State of the Air report found. State of play: The report, which looked at 200-plus large cities, dinged the Twin Cities as one of the 40 worst metro areas in the nation for 24-hour particle pollution. The area ranked 48th for the number of high-ozone days. Zoom in: Hennepin, Ramsey and Dakota counties got an F for particle pollution. The report also gave Anoka and Scott counties failing grades for ozone levels. Context: Ozone is a gas that, at ground level, is a harmful irritant. Particle pollution involves tiny airborne particles from wildfires, fossil fuel burning and more. Threat level: Extreme heat, wildfires and drought are degrading air quality nationwide, the Lung Association says. All have been linked to climate change. Air pollution is associated with an array of health conditions, from wheezing and coughing to asthma and premature death. Between the lines: This latest report includes data from 2021-23, "the most recent three years of quality-assured nationwide air pollution data publicly available." 2023 was a particularly bad year for Minnesota air quality, due to wildfire smoke from Canada. The silver lining: The Duluth metro area earned kudos from the report, ranking 15th on the report's list of top 25 cleanest cities for particle pollution. What we're watching: The findings, which predate the current Trump administration, come as the White House is reconsidering EPA rules and regulations meant to curb pollution and promote cleaner air.
Axios
25-04-2025
- Health
- Axios
Detroit area ranks sixth worst in pollution report
The Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor region is the sixth worst in the country for year-round particle pollution, per a new report. Why it matters: The findings, which predate the current Trump administration, come as the White House is reconsidering EPA rules and regulations meant to curb pollution and promote cleaner air. Driving the news: Nearly half of Americans are now exposed to potentially dangerous levels of ozone or particle pollution, per the American Lung Association's 2025 State of the Air report. Detroit remains high on the list of regions where annual pollution levels exceed air quality standards. Zoom in: Our region's average annual concentration of particle pollution has been slowly rising, from 10.9 micrograms per cubic meter in 2018-20 to 13 in 2021-23. That's compared with values for the cleanest cities, between 4-6 micrograms per cubic meter. Between the lines: Extreme heat, wildfires and drought are degrading air quality nationwide, the Lung Association says, though pollution from industry and trucking remains a factor. Air pollution is associated with an array of health conditions, from wheezing and coughing to asthma and premature death. How it works: The report uses local air quality data to grade and rank locations based on ozone pollution, daily particle pollution and annual particle pollution. This latest report includes data from 2021-2023, "the most recent three years of quality-assured nationwide air pollution data publicly available." What they're saying:"Clearly, we need to do more to control the pollutants that are impacting our changing climate … instead of thinking about how to roll them back," says Katherine Pruitt, senior director of nationwide clean air policy at the American Lung Association and report author.
