The EPA is tasked with regulating pollutants in the United States. As part of this process, the agency collects and records data for many pollutants, but not all of them. The federal EPA is assisted in this endeavour by state EPAs. However, it is impossible to collect air quality data about every locality in the United States, so most data is collected in and around cities.
Go to www.stateoftheair.org. Choose a state and look at the data for any county. Record these data. Then, across the top bar, click on “Key Findings” and read about how the grades were calculated for each county. Finally, click on “Health Risks” and read about the specific health risks associated with both ozone and particulate matter.
Evaluate the website and work with the information to answer the following questions:
Is this a reliable information source? Does the organization have a clear and transparent agenda?
Who runs the website? Do this organization’s credentials make it reliable or unreliable? Explain.
What grade did the area you chose receive for both ozone and particulates?
Based on what you read about how the grade was determined, do you feel the grading system is too lax or too strict?
Based on what you know about the levels of pollution in your own area in Canada and the effects of ozone and particulates on human health, do you believe that the regulations of the Clean Air Act/CEPA should be loosened, tightened, or remain the same? Should more areas be monitored, or is it sufficient to monitor cities? Why?