About 167.3 million Americans encounter unhealthy levels of ozone, the most widespread outdoor pollutant, says the American Lung Association’s State of the Air 2010 report. Inhaling ozone can cause wheezing, coughing, chest pain, throat irritation, congestion, and can make people more susceptible to respiratory illnesses such as bronchitis and pneumonia, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Ozone is the byproduct of pollutants released by cars, chemical plants, industrial boilers, refineries, and other sources. Ozone pollution is more common during warmer months because more sun is present, which helps create ground-level ozone.
The American Lung Association’s State of the Air 2010 lists these 10 cities as the country’s most polluted by ozone:
1. Los Angeles, Calif., metropolitan area (including Long Beach and Riverside)
2. Bakersfield, Calif.
3. Visalia and Porterville, Calif.
4. Fresno and Madera, Calif.
5. Sacramento, Calif., metropolitan area (including Arden-Arcade and Yuba City)
6. Hanford and Corcoran, Calif.
7. Houston, Texas, metropolitan area (including Baytown and Huntsville)
8. San Diego, Calif., metropolitan area (including Carlsbad and San Marcos)
9. San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles, Calif.
10. Charlotte, N.C., metropolitan area (including Gastonia and Salisbury)
Just too darned many cars.
I wonder if sending rockets to the moon and throwing the earth off its axcess would have any thing to do with this to say nothing of what corporations are releasing into the atmosphere would have anything to do with this????????? I do not believe it is just the people.
The list with all the cities in Calif. doesn’t surprise me because of the large amount of population and the great dependency on automobiles, but Charlotte, NC did. It’s population pollution! Too many people (over 4 billion now) on this planet consuming too much resources which results in all the other pollutions. I believe that this planet has a limited capacity to sustain a certain amount of people after that it will be more and more of a challenge. I am afraid the result of this population expansion will be a purging either by nature or by man itself, or by both and that will be frightening.