skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Phoenix Ranks Among Smoggiest Cities in U.S.

play audio
Play

Wednesday, April 18, 2018   

PHOENIX - Phoenix again ranks among the top 10 smoggiest cities in America, according to a report released today by the American Lung Association.

Arizona's largest metropolitan area is eighth in the nation for high ozone pollution, or smog. The ALA gives Maricopa County a failing grade for ozone, with more than 90 days of dangerous smog levels recorded from 2014 to 2016. Even so, that's actually a slight improvement over previous years.

Stacey Mortenson, program director for the ALA in Arizona, said the annual "State of the Air" report shows that environmental regulations have made a difference.

"If some of these regulations and limits come off," she said, "then we're kind of opening ourselves back to going where we were, instead of seeing the improvements that our report has been showing."

The ALA said air has gotten continuously cleaner in the United States since the Clean Air Act went into effect in 1970, but the report confirmed there's much room for improvement. It said about four out of 10 Americans still live in areas where air quality often is unhealthy.

The report warned that exposure to ozone pollution can contribute to early death, nervous-system damage or developmental delays. Mortenson said areas with dense smog or high levels of particulates in the air are especially dangerous for young children or people with asthma or cardiovascular diseases.

"You will see on high-pollution days, there will be increased visits to the emergency departments, or there will be increased hospitalizations due to respiratory ailments," she said.

Mortenson said Phoenix's famously hot climate contributes to its poor air quality, since ozone pollution gets worse when gases mix with heat and sunlight.

"We have the heat and sunlight, no doubt about it," she said, "and that's not something that's controllable, so we do have to look at things that we can control."

She said individuals can do their part by avoiding burning wood or trash and driving low-emissions vehicles. Dangerous vapors are more likely to escape into the atmosphere in the sun, she said, so even just waiting until after dark to fill your gas tank can keep the air cleaner.

The ALA report is online at stateoftheair.org.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Iowa families can apply for up to $7,600 a year for private school costs. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An ethics committee in the Republican-led Iowa House has dismissed a complaint filed by a group of community activists against a state lawmaker for hi…


play sound

Each spring, hundreds of thousands of California high school seniors have to figure out if they can afford to go to college in the fall - and two new …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A health care workforce shortage in New Hampshire is leaving Alzheimer's patients and their families with few options for treatment. Patients facing …


South Dakota ranks 49th in the country for its contribution to indigent legal defense costs, according to a 2023 report from the Indigent Legal Services Task Force. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

South Dakota is creating an Office of Indigent Legal Services after House Bill 1057 passed the Legislature with nearly unanimous support this month…

Social Issues

play sound

This year's high school graduates will be eligible for 14,000 new scholarships offered through Opportunity Next Colorado, a $21 million investment …

The new law will apply only to future sales of Indiana farmland. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

A bipartisan law set to take effect this summer prohibits foreign adversaries from buying Hoosier farmland. The signature of Gov. Eric Holcomb was …

Social Issues

play sound

Today, people across Arizona are voting in the Presidential Preference Election, a chance for registered Democrats and Republicans to choose their …

Environment

play sound

Traffic deaths are trending higher in Minnesota this year after a decline the previous year. Groups pushing for safer roads are convinced a small …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021