We know that the Southwest side and the Northeast side are the City of Detroit's worst areas. The question is should we:

1. Ask some of the Industrial Businesses to help with the Tree Planting and greening of some of the dirt fields in the City along with working with health agencies and non-profits to help health screenings in the City. Generally, establishing good corporate/community relations.

or

2. Let the politicians denounce the businesses in the area, invite us to some meetings, so that we can kick and scream and get those politicians some air time and get re-elected while accomplishing nothing. Then wait for the next study and repeat the same thing.











Study: Detroit's air among worst in U.S.

Jim Lynch / The Detroit News

Detroit -- For the second day in a row, the Detroit region has been cited in a scientific study for having some of the worst air in the United States.
An American Lung Association's 2009 State of the Air Report released today ranks the Detroit/Warren/Flint area in the top 10 worst cities for two categories of air pollution. The region ranks ninth for worst regions for pollution incidents over 24-hour periods as well as ninth for year-round particle pollution.
In the organization's 2008 report, the Detroit/Warren/Flint region had the ninth-highest level of short-term particle pollution. In year-round particle pollution statistics, the region ranked 10th.




Michigan as a whole did poorly in this year's study. No city in the state was ranked among the cleanest cities in short-term particle pollution, long-term particle pollution or ozone pollution.
Overall, this year's study found that 60 percent of Americans live in areas that are threatened by high levels of air pollution.
"This should be a wakeup call," said Stephen J. Nolan, chairman of the American Lung Association's national board, in a press release. "We know that air pollution is a major threat to human health. When 60 percent of Americans are left breathing air dirty enough to send people to the emergency room, to shape how kids' lungs develop, and to kill, air pollution remains a serious problem."
On Tuesday, researchers with the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and the University of Southern California released another study showing Detroit ranks 10th for its disproportionate impact of bad air on low-income residents.
jlynch@detnews.com [[313) 222-2034