21.11 Evaluating New Information

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: