The bad news: If we don't clean up our act, we could lose out on federal funding for roads. And, unless you're in a cave, you know Charlotte's roads could use some attention.
So, what are we going to do about it?
What can be done? The American Lung Association recommends these actions:
- Clean up coal-fired power plants.
- Clean up dirty diesel engines currently on and off the road.
- Clean up dirty ocean-going vessels.
- Tighten ozone and particulate exposure standards to reflect current science.
- Require all counties with high air pollution levels to crack down on sources.
- Drive less by combining trips, walking, biking, carpooling and using public transportation to limit your contribution to air pollution -- especially on hot, sunny days.
- Don't burn wood or trash, to avoid releasing particulates in smoke into your neighborhood's air.
- Encourage your school district to retrofit old school buses with modern pollution controls, and to stop idling in school parking lots.
- Conserve energy, because every bit of electricity saved means less pollution from the power plant supplying your electricity.
Read more from The San Francisco Chronicle.
Here's an animation short from 1947 warning about air pollution: