Guess I can breathe a bit easier knowing that Pittsburgh's air has fallen from the worst in the nation to the third worst, according to a new report from the American Lung Association. It seems we have daily soot pollution that is topped by only two other metropolitan areas.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported the news today. I was struck by the irony that the Allegheny County Health Department -- a weak and ineffective agency in my opinion that fails to enforce the smoking laws or serious restaurant health violations -- seemed defensive in its comments on the issue and took exception to the ALA's use of specific soot readings.
Frankly, saying that our region's air quality is improving is like saying that the Pittsburgh Pirates are playing good baseball.
For a city that has claimed (much to my astonishment) the title of America's Most Liveable City in the past, the fine particle pollution is a dark cloud on the region's reputation that poses a real health threat to thousands of men, women and children.
We live in a valley where the environmental legacy of shuttered steel mills. coal-fired plants and coke ovens still hangs heavy in the air and in the groundwater. The fact that Pittsburgh has no train or subway system (the T to the South Hills is a blip on the radar screen of mass transportation) and a lousy, financially strapped bus system only fuels the problem of air pollution because almost everyone here drives to work, usually one person to a car. To become a truly liveable city, Pittsburgh needs high-speed trains, water taxis, more car pooling and a much better bus system to alleviate traffic and reduce ozone smog as well.
It's clear that the politicans and health/environmental agencies are failing to combat this breathtaking problem. They are only producing more hot air. The end result is that Pittsburghers will continue to suck this soot into their lungs on a daily basis.
How many lives will be harmed or cut short in the future because of Pittsburgh's pollution passivity?
