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Janis B. Petzel, MD
In this article, we will focus on outdoor air pollution, the health effects of breathing in bad air, and the ongoing legal battle to regulate human-caused air pollutants. The pending Supreme Court decision on Ohio versus EPA could drastically set back the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to stop air pollution at the source.
Air pollution is in large part the result of directly burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, gasoline, or diesel) —in vehicles; in industrial uses such as the production of steel; or to produce electricity from coal-powered plants. Pollutants also enter the air we all breathe during the production of petrochemicals and plastics, a more indirect way that fossil fuels pollute the world.
Air quality is also affected by climate-related events like massive forest fires, dust storms, and increased levels of pollen in the air due to warmer temperatures, which create acute misery and respiratory distress.
Once in a great while, a natural phenomenon like a volcanic eruption will spew toxins into the air, but for the most part, human industrial processes are the source of air pollution.
The primary culprits for risk to health are tiny particulates called PM2.5, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides (NOX) which contribute to acid rain; ozone, carbon dioxide and monoxide; various volatile organic compounds such as benzene, formaldehyde, or toluene; and toxins like lead and mercury. Particulate pollution from tires also adds to air pollution at the street level.
It is a well-recognized environmental justice issue that people who cannot afford to move away from industrial areas or high-traffic roads are exposed to more dangerous chemicals in the air they breathe and the water they drink than people with more resources, with all the concomitant health risks you might expect.
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In fact, according to the World Health Association, scientific research, and the non-profit IQAir, between seven and nine million people in the world, including over two million children, die prematurely from pollution-related illnesses, especially related to PM2.5 particulates. These particles are small enough to infiltrate blood vessels and carry soot and toxins into tissues and organs. Heart disease, stroke, premature births, respiratory diseases, and inflammation, among other health problems, result.
(Issues on air pollution and health can also be found at “It’s not just about Global Warming—Air Pollution and Health,” G.E.T. April 2022 and “Let’s Get to the Heart of the Matter,” G.E.T. April 2024.)
You can run, but you can’t hide from industrial air pollution. In the U.S., it moves west from industrial centers to the east with prevailing winds, which is why Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine sometimes has such poor air quality, with summer ozone levels exceeding Federal air quality limits. Here in New England, we have been called the tailpipe of the U.S.–an unsavory moniker–and we may again if the Supreme Court rules the wrong way in Ohio versus EPA (the opinion is pending after arguments in February 2024).
In brief, in 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency established the Cross State Pollution Act under the Clean Air Act to regulate ozone and particulates, which would also reduce ground-level ozone and seasonal NOX production. The EPA’s Good Neighbor plan, part of the Cross State Pollution Act, was not finalized until 2023 under President Biden’s administration.
Then Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, and various groups including fossil fuel producers and mining interests, electric power companies, and a steel producer, petitioned the Supreme Court via the so-called shadow docket to block the EPA’s ability to make such rules. In February 2024, arguments were heard in front of the Justices, who have yet to announce their ruling.
For good summaries of this complex issue, please see https://bit.ly/SupremeCourt-GoodNeighborPlan; and today.usc.edu “Supreme Court to consider ‘good neighbor’ rules” by Nina Raffio, April 23, 2024, and https://bit.ly/OhioVSEpa.
So, once again, industrial interests are working to avoid taking responsibility for the damage their products cause. They will continue to use the earth’s atmosphere as a dumping ground if they win.
In my opinion, any of us who care about the health of Earth and her people, need to take action. First of all, trusting the Supreme Court to do the right thing is a risky proposition these days. Until fossil fuel giants are brought to justice (which may never happen), the rest of us have to do the best we can to avoid buying their products. Oil and gasoline are like blood diamonds as far as I am concerned.
We also have to choose public leaders, from local governments to Congress, who care about the environment and environmental justice, and who take climate change seriously. Corruption, fascism, and climate change go hand in hand. Let’s hope we haven’t waited too long to protect ourselves from them.
Janis Petzel, MD is a physician, grandmother and climate activist whose writing focuses on resilience, climate, and health. She lives in Islesboro, Maine where she advocates and acts for a fossil-fuel free future. She serves on the Islesboro Energy Team and is a Climate Ambassador for Physicians for Social Responsibility.
In 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency established the Cross State Pollution Act under the Clean Air Act to regulate ozone and particulates, which would also reduce ground-level ozone and seasonal NOX production. The EPA’s Good Neighbor plan, part of the Cross State Pollution Act, was not finalized until 2023 under President Biden’s administration. For good summaries of this complex issue, please see https://bit.ly/SupremeCourt-GoodNeighborPlan; and today.usc.edu “Supreme Court to consider ‘good
neighbor’ rules” by Nina Raffio, April 23, 2024, and https://bit.ly/OhioVSEpa.
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