Healthy Air

Over 20 million people across the South live in areas where the air fails to meet federal health standards. On too many summer days, officials warn parents to keep their children, and themselves, indoors because the air outside is unhealthy to breathe. While children and the elderly are the most vulnerable, even healthy adults are at risk of the reduced lung capacity and asthma attacks that air pollution causes. Air pollution is also linked to more serious health impacts, including heart disease, increased risk of death from lung cancer, and early deaths from heart and lung problems.

The environmental costs of air pollution are also high. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Shenandoah National Park continue to be ranked as the two most polluted parks in the country due to air pollution, leading to decreased visibility from the Park's ridges. The result is a heavy financial burden -- as much as $320 million annually in lost sales and tax benefits, and over 4,000 jobs -- for the mountain communities depending on tourism revenue from these parks.

We do not have to live this way. We can and should do better.

We know where air pollution comes from in the South and we know what to do to fix the problem. SELC is working at the local, state, and federal levels, including work with Congress and state legislatures, administrative agencies, and the courts, in a comprehensive approach blending policy work with legal advocacy. In the last year, we have doubled the size of our clean air team to reduce emissions from power plants and cars, protect the federal Clean Air Act, and promote aggressive and innovative clean air policies, among other activities.

• Uranium Mining in Virginia
• Tackling Urban Air Problems
• Cleaning Up Our Dirtiest Power Plants
• Addressing Mercury Pollution
• Fighting Dirty Coal at New Power Plants
• Global Warming in the South

• The Inside Story Series: SELC's Fight for Clean Air
• Smokestacks and Tailpipes: Tackling the South's Air Pollution Culprits