BALTIMORE — What do wildfires, extreme heat and smog all have in common? According to the American Lung Association, they all contribute to air pollution.
Air is life, and nearly half of the people in the U.S. are living with — and breathing — dangerous levels of air pollution, according to this year's "Air Quality Report" by the American Lung Association.
"46%, 156 million people are living in a place with one failing grade," said Aleks Casper, the Director of Advocacy for the American Lung Association.
Unfortunately, that includes three Maryland counties: Baltimore County, Prince George's and Harford County. Each received F’s on the report, with Baltimore City doing only slightly better with a D grade.
But what does the American Lung Association look for when compiling these reports?
"They're looking at really 3 metrics: ozone pollution, which is your smog," Casper said. "Particle pollution, which is essentially soot. And they’re looking at that in two categories: year-round particle pollution and short-term spikes."
These factors significantly impact people with pre-existing health conditions, people with lung disease, asthma or COPD.
"Poor air quality can exacerbate those chronic conditions, cause things like heart attacks and strokes, and things of that nature," Casper said.
Shashawnda Campbell is well aware of these issues. Having watched them impact her community her entire life.
"There are decisions being made at the top that are affecting people at the bottom in communities of color and low-income," Campbell said. "Over 80% of incinerators are in communities of color."
Campbell co-founded “Free Your Voice,” leading a five-year fight against the largest incinerator proposal in U.S. history. The incinerator would have been built less than a mile from Ben Franklin High
School in South Baltimore, where Campbell went to school. Now, a key player in the South Baltimore Community Land Trust, she champions community-led development, affordable housing and zero waste initiatives.
"We've seen a lot of health problems growing up, people sharing asthma pumps," Campbell said. "It was just a normal thing."
"Free Your Voice," started as a conversation about various issues faced by students and eventually evolved into a movement focused on environmental justice.
"Health was deeply, deeply connected to the environment, which we later found out, and it was also just about having safe spaces in these communities," Campbell said. "You don't see that. You don’t see green spaces. Like, that’s not a thing, right? All communities deserve that."
In light of the troubling air quality grades, WMAR-2 News reached out to the Maryland Department of the Environment for their thoughts. A spokesperson responded, saying, "Maryland is now meeting all national air quality standards across the entire state except for days when smoke from faraway wildfires reaches us, but there is still room for improvement. We are making progress reducing pollution, confronting climate change, and protecting the health of our communities."
It’s crucial to note that wildfires did factor into this year’s air quality report.
