Asthmatics living in Mecklenburg County: 55,350

Estimated number of yearly premature deaths caused by air pollution in North Carolina: 3,050

Number of coal power plants in North Carolina: 14

Number of Ozone Exceedance days in 1998 and 1999 before the Clean Smokestacks Act was passed: 138

Ozone Exceedance days in 2005: 20

Scheduled year that all NC coal plants will be outfitted with scrubbers that will reduce smog by an estimated 60-70 percent: 2012

Percent of Ozone damaging Nitrogen Oxides that come from mobile sources (like cars): 95

Number of states (not including North Carolina) that have passed legislation known as the Pauley Standard, which enforces regulations on new vehicles to lower global warming pollution: 10

Average daily automotive miles traveled in Mecklenburg County: 27,891,355

Number of vehicles registered in Mecklenburg County: 563,153

Number of scooters sold by Vespa Charlotte in 2005: more than 200

Charlotte’s 2004 national ranking among worst US cities for ozone pollution: 12

Sources: Environment North Carolina, Mecklenburg County Land Use and Environmental Services, American Lung Association, Vespa Charlotte