The State of the Air in 2012 Well, actually, we're talking about an average of the air quality from 2008 to 2010. So you could call it "The State of the Air 16 to 52 months ago," but that's not very catchy, is it? Whatever the title, the American Lung Association's recent report is a useful tool in comparing our air quality to other metropolitan regions in the US, as well as in benchmarking our own progress over the years.
The report monitors ozone and PM2.5, two pollutants our region has high amounts of. A very brief summary for our region: while our air got cleaner in the time period discussed, our rankings were mixed. We improved from 3rd to 6th worst in daily spikes of PM2.5, but we fell further behind the rest of the country in annual levels of PM2.5 (from 7th to 6th worst) and ozone (24th to 20th worst). All sorts of other details, such as which cities ranked cleanest, can be found here.
GASP and other PA environmental groups issued a statement, found here. While we should be happy that the hard work of so many here is leading to cleaner air, we're upset to have made slower progress than most everywhere else. The ozone numbers are ones to watch, as the shale gas industry continues to grow here. Emissions from this industry can form ozone, and Pittsburgh is quickly becoming the new capital of the shale revolution. Stay with GASP to see how we're tackling this threat. Visit our web site to learn more, and to become part of the solution.