Atmosphere Journal Entry
California Cities Top Smog List (May 9, 2003)
A new study says California's cities are the smoggiest in the country. Car exhaust is a major contributor to smog. Courtesy EPA.
Six California cities were named to the nation's smoggiest cities top ten list in a recent air quality survey of the American Lung Association. Los Angeles was at the top of the list. Fresno, Bakersfield, Sacramento, Merced and the Visalia - Tulare - Porterville tri-city region of central California also made the top ten.
Cities from outside of California in the top ten were Houston, Atlanta, Knoxville, and Charlotte.
Cars deserve a large share of the blame. The survey says we're driving way too much. Exhaust from motor vehicles contributes to a type of smog called photochemical smog caused by the action of sunlight on chemicals.
When fossil fuels are burned, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and other chemicals are released into the air. These chemicals react with each other in the presence of sunlight to form other chemicals such as ozone. Ozone irritates breathing passages and harms plants.
The study says more than 33 million people in California are threatened by dirty air. Nationwide, nearly half the population of the United States is breathing unhealthy air. The report comes at a time when the U.S. government is making plans to soften the Clean Air Act and allow for even higher levels of air pollution.
