Regulations and a natural gas boom have helped reduce America's CO2 emissions to their lowest level since 1994. But CO2, and plenty of other toxic particles, continue to pollute our urban air. Brentin Mock looks at 5 highly polluted urban areas.
"It’s not news that large polluting factories are often concentrated in communities where people of color and of low-income are the primary, if not the exclusive inhabitants. But an EPA report released last week drives this point home. The report, which documents greenhouse gas emissions from large facilities in 2012, is accompanied by interactive maps showing where those facilities are located (at least the ones that actually report to the EPA)."
"Looking at those maps, I located five of the nation’s worst areas where waste processing plants, refineries, and power plants are bundled — much to the detriment of families living close by," writes Mock.
FULL STORY: 5 highly polluted urban areas you don’t want to live if you can help it
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research