The annual report on dirty air from the American Lung Association ranks Birmingham 20th in the U-S...with the #1 (i.e. dirtiest) city being Los Angeles. But as anyone who lived in Birmingham in the 20th Century knows, it used to be a lot worse. The photo on left was taken from the WERC traffic copter about 1978. I suspect that's West, near Fairfield and the U.S. Steel plant. But the view wasn't any better looking East or South or any direction. The late Tommy Charles used to joke that those were jobs in the air, not pollution. What's troubling about the Lung Association report is the trend. Look at this graph:
The number of unhealthy air days is heading back upward after a decline that started in 2000.
For folks with breathing disorders, this is seriously bad news. The heck with swine flu. Every day is a battle. There are places online where you can see daily air quality reports and forecasts.
[This is a somewhat ironic posting, considering he beautiful blue-sky photo in Birmingham at top right now!]
Hi Tim,
ReplyDeleteFirst off I enjoyed your work on APT and thought you did a really important job in terms of bringing Alabama politics to the people. I always found something informative in your broadcasts, and it was good to know somebody was asking the tough questions in Montgomery.
In respect to air pollution I could not agree more with the findings as presented. I live in Birmingham and have been outraged almost from the start of my residency here 9 years ago. Starting with the failure to pass mandatory emissions testing in Montgomery all those years ago and continuing with my many complaints to Jefferson County over air pollution in our neighborhood.
We live in close proximity to CMC Steel (formerly SMI Steel). For years I have complained about air & noise pollution impacting our property, only to be met with a variety of tepid responses and absurd lies from all concerned. I know a lot of people have it worse than us, so I can only imagine the frustration level that others must feel in the face of rampant air pollution in our area.
That said there seems to be a defeatist attitude among the population around here. Very little public outrage is actually noted in the news, or during elections. The idea being... I suppose is that there is nothing to be done. Well there is a lot that can be done, it is just a matter of taking the power away from industry and having strong regulations that are actually enforced.