Birmingham area receives poor grades on air quality report
An annual report card on air quality found that Jefferson County has some of the worst air pollution in the southeast.
The American Lung Association’s 2023 State of the Air report used research from the Environmental Protection Agency to measure air quality by year-round particle pollution, short-term particle pollution and ozone quality.
Together, Birmingham, Hoover, and Talladega nationally ranked as the 18th worst area for year-round particle pollution and the 35th worst area for high ozone days.
Jefferson County received an F rating for its high ozone days. Even though the county has had fewer high ozone days since the 2000s, it still doesn’t have a passing grade from the ALA.
From 2005-2007, Jefferson County saw an annual weighted average number of 44.7 high ozone days, but saw 4.3 days in 2019-2021.
According to Ashley Lyerly, Senior Director of Advocacy at ALA, Jefferson County has seen steady improvement over the years.
“Having hotter temperatures is making it harder for us to clean up our ozone. And so I think having fewer unhealthy days is great, but still we’re falling behind the nation as it relates to our ozone,” Lyerly said.
Jefferson County received a B rating for 24 hour particle pollution, and a passing grade for annual particle pollution.
“So we’re not getting worse. But I still think we can do a lot as a county, as a state, as a city, as a nation,” Lyerly said.
Lyerly credited the nation’s air quality improvement to the Clean Air Act.
She said continued use of coal power plants and diesel engines are the main causes of local air pollution.
ALA is pushing the EPA to extend their emission standards to reduce pollution that results from the oil and gas industry.
She said individuals can reduce air pollution by moving away from the use of diesel and gasoline vehicles, conserving power and avoiding burning leaves, trash and wood.
Despite stiff opposition, Bessemer changes its laws to accommodate data centers
Residents in and around Bessemer expressed continued disapproval of a plan to build a 14.5 million square foot data center in their back yards. Now, the city is one step closer to final approval.
This #MeToo melodrama isn’t great, but Julia Roberts’ performance is
Roberts plays a Yale professor whose life unravels after one of her colleagues is accused of sexually assaulting a student. After the Hunt is an academic potboiler that muddles its central issue.
What to know about the Nobel Peace Prize
Anticipation is growing and bookies around the world are taking bets on who'll be awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize. Here is what to know ahead of the award announcement this week.
The 10th and final escapee from a New Orleans jailbreak is captured after five months
Ten men escaped the Orleans Parish Justice Center through a hole in the wall behind a toilet on May 16. Most were captured within days, but Derrick Groves managed to elude authorities until Wednesday.
Why being in credit card debt doesn’t mean you’re bad with money
Financial educators bust three common myths about credit card debt — and explain why these negative assumptions can hold us back from making smart money decisions.
Pope Leo says faith and love for migrants are connected
In his first major document as leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo urges nations and believers to care for the poorest in society.
