Add that to the Phoenix Metro Area and Maricopa County's decades-old drought and consistent violation of federal Clean Air Standards, more than 100 days of temperatures in excess of 100 degrees, and some of the fastest unsustainable growth in the entire nation.
Yes Arizona - Expect More!
A toxic contaminated man-made triple-whammy: threat, hazard and risk to public health and well-being
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Wildfire smoke now makes up almost half of people’s exposure to PM2.5 in Western states, up from less than 20% a decade ago . . .
The federal government currently exempts some states from including smoke from wildfires in their tallies of PM2.5 pollution. Whether that should change constitutes a “key policy question” lawmakers have yet to face.
As wildfires become more frequent due to climate change, the researchers found, the increasing amounts of smoke may harm Americans nearly as much as rising temperatures. “That’s crazy, right?” Burke says.
“We hadn’t even though of that as a key part of the climate impact in this country.”
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READ MORE:
Energy & Science
Wildfires Are Taking an Unexpectedly Huge Toll on America’s Lungs
A new approach to tracking harmful smoke shows it may cause as much damage as rising temperatures.
By Eric Roston
