Metro Air Quality
We are curbing emissions that make the air unhealthy to breathe for nearly 20 million Southerners. The chief culprits are our dirty coal-burning power plants and asphalt-centered transportation policies that increase driving distances and auto exhaust. In many of our metro areas, these factors combine to produce dangerous levels of ozone (smog) and airborne particulates (soot) known to trigger asthma attacks, increase heart and lung disease, and shorten life spans. In 2007, SELC won a U.S. Supreme Court victory that sets the stage for retiring old power plants that lack modern pollution controls. We are also helping our region adopt transportation and land use policies that reduce driving and tailpipe emissions.
