On 21 April, the American Lung Association released its annual “State of the Air” report, which revealed that two out of every five Americans are residing in locations with unhealthy air quality.
This means over 135 million Americans are inhaling toxic air regularly.
The data was collected between 2017-2019. Most of the toxic particulates have been generated by transportation vehicles, manufacturing and power plants, and extreme wildfires due to climate change.
The Guardian, reporting on the new study last Wednesday, noted:
“Researchers also added that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the effects of breathing high volumes of air pollution. Since COVID-19 is a respiratory illness, inhaling particulate matter has been linked to worsening outcomes of COVID-19 infections.”
They also highlighted this fact from the report:
“Americans of color are about three times more likely to consistently breathe polluted air than their white counterparts. They were up to 61 percent more likely than white Americans to live in a county with failing air quality grades.”
Los Angeles Tops the Unfortunate List
While Los Angeles leads all U.S. cities in air pollution, many other metropolitan areas in California are among the worst in air quality, including San Bernardino, Riverside, Bakersfield, Kern, Tulare, and Fresno. Western wildfires are the primary reason California cities are so polluted.
According to Market Watch’s article on the American Lung Association report:
“This year’s ‘State of the Air’ finds that climate change continues to make air pollution worse, with many western communities again experiencing record-breaking spikes in particle pollution largely due to smoke from wildfires. Changing climate patterns fuel wildfires, and also drive warmer temperatures that lead to more ground-level ozone pollution. This degraded air quality threatens everyone, especially children, older adults and people living with a lung disease.”
The top ten cities with the most air pollution:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA
- Bakersfield, CA
- Visalia, CA
- Fresno-Madera-Hanford, CA
- Phoenix-Mesa, AZ
- Sacramento-Roseville, CA
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA
- Salt Lake City-Provo-Orem, UT
- Denver-Aurora, CO
- San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA
But east coast metropolitan areas are not exempt. Other cities with very high levels of “year-round particle pollution” include Chicago, Detroit, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Atlanta.
TRENDPOST: We note this article to illustrate that in fighting the COVID War, the tally just keeps building, and there is no reference to yearly deaths.
This is in contrast to air pollution where only yearly totals are reported rather than the ongoing toll. This is also true of the other poisons being pumped into the earth, water, air, and foods that kill millions. Again, unlike the coronavirus, where the tally keeps rising, these deaths are just reported yearly.
In addition, as the “Climate Change” crusade gains momentum, air pollution will be a major factor driving the movement.