Lance Boucher of the American Lung Association addressed State House legislators on June 1 to discuss why the ALA endorses the Clean Power Plan.
Boucher discussed the ALA “2016 State of the Air Report,” which measured the two most widespread air pollutants – ozone and particle pollutants – both dangerous to public health. There are still 52 percent of Americans who live in counties with unhealthy levels of ozone and particle pollution.
Ozone is a powerful respiratory irritant that poses serious health threats, especially for those with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Orange ozone days mean that the air quality is unhealthy for young children with developing lungs, older citizens, those with respiratory or cardiovascular disorders and even healthy adults who work or exercise outdoors.
Hillsborough and Rockingham counties had the greatest number of high ozone orange days. Breathing particles can trigger asthma attacks, cause lung cancer, increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes, damage lung tissue and airways, and even cause death.
The U.S. Global Change Research Program published “The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the U.S.: A Scientific Assessment,” evidence that climate change endangers public health.
What can we do? Reduce the health impacts of climate change by urging our Legislature to vote for the Clean Power Plan, preventing premature deaths, asthma attacks, and missed school and work. It is our moral responsibility to protect the public from disease and death from air pollution.
SUSAN TURNER MOORE
Bow