By Theresa Ficazzola
May is clean air month.
Air quality in the U.S. has improved over the years, especially since the 1970’s when a push was made to improve the air we breathe. Back then, breathing the air in the U.S. was like smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. The U.S. is now ranked 10th for clean air out of over 200 countries monitored.
However, according to Carnegie Mellon University, several factors contributed to worsening pollution in 2017 and 2018, including rising natural gas use, more vehicles on the road, and an increase in wildfires, especially on the west coast.
Despite this, pollution fell significantly during the Covid pandemic lockdown in 2020. According to a report from Switzerland-based air quality technology company IQAir, air quality improved in 84% of all the countries that were monitored. This reinforces the fact that car, truck and manufacturing emissions are significant factors in creating air pollution and reduced usage can actually improve the air we breathe.
Best and Worst Air
According to the American Lung Association’s 2020 report, almost half of all Americans (45.8% or 150 million people) live in counties with unhealthy air quality. The five worst cities for air pollution are all on the west coast and most are in California. On the other hand, the five best cities for clean air are all on the east coast, with the exception of Honolulu, Hawaii.
Sadly, there are other countries that are worse off than the U.S. Breathing the air in Beijing, China has the same health risks as smoking 21 cigarettes a day. And breathing the air in Mumbai, India for one day is the equivalent of smoking 100 cigarettes.
Cleaner Air is Possible
As technology advances, industries become better at maximizing their production and minimizing their waste, which contributes to overall healthier conditions, including air quality. Recent findings reported by the Institute for Energy Research bears this out. They explain that the Environmental Kuznets Curve and the Environmental Transition Hypothesis shows:
- between 1970 and 2018, U.S. gross domestic product increased 275%
- vehicle miles traveled increased 191%
- energy consumption increased 49%
- U.S. population increased 60%…
- however, total emissions of the six principal air pollutants dropped by 74%
Even though there are more cars in the U.S. (140 million) than anywhere else, in 2020 Americans saved $18 billion on energy bills and reduced greenhouse gas emissions equal to those of 33 million vehicles.
Contributing to these savings are more fuel efficient vehicles (modern vehicles are now 99% cleaner than they were in the 1970’s), electric vehicles, better manufacturing standards, clean air regulations, less dependence on fossil fuels, and more reliance on alternative energy sources, such as nuclear, wind, and solar.
You Can Help
There are several things you can do to help contribute to healthier air:
- install rooftop solar panels on your home in New York or New Jersey with an experienced clean air specialist like SI Solar
- buy an electric car
- car pool
- don’t idle your car
- combine all your errands in one fuel efficient trip
- when driving, avoid sharp breaking or acceleration, which can increase your fuel efficiency by 30% and reduce carbon emissions
- bike or walk to the store or school
- plant trees – about 100 acres of rain forests are lost every minute; every tree you plant absorbs 1 ton of carbon dioxide
You can make a difference and contribute to cleaner air, not just during clean air month in May, but every day.
