Almost half of U.S. residents are exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to the American Lung Association’s 2025 State of the Air report. That’s some 156 million people living in areas with high levels of ground-level ozone (smog) and PM 2.5 (soot) pollution—25 million more people than last year’s report.
As our National Manager for Health Justice Almeta Cooper tells Inside Climate News, these statistics represent “real people” who have to live with the health consequences of breathing that air.
Wildfire smoke was a significant contributor to air pollution this past year, the report says. In an exchange with Forbes, our Public Health Manager, Elizabeth Bechard, points out that this is all the more reason to take action on the pollution sources we can directly control, like industrial emissions—and to keep fighting the climate crisis that is making wildfires worse.
Tell the Senate: Don’t Allow Toxic Polluters to Turn Off Pollution Controls
In other news
- Michigan Field Organizer Elizabeth Hauptman (pictured) talks to E&E News about fears for her son’s safety as the Trump administration rolls back critical air pollution protections. Her son has a severe case of asthma that has landed him in the intensive care unit twice. This article also ran in Scientific American.
- Dominique Browning, Moms Clean Air Force’s Director and Co-founder, argues in a Newsday op-ed that “Make Emissions Great Again” should be the Trump administration’s new slogan.
- Dominique also published a piece in SheKnows about why now is the time to cut as much plastic from your life as possible.
- In honor of Earth Day, NBC Bay Area and Telemundo featured Isabel González Whitaker and Liz Hurtado in segments spotlighting the work of Moms and EcoMadres.
- Fox 5 DC interviewed Project Manager Sam Schmitz for Earth Day programming about the dangers of plastics.
- Lorna Perez, our Florida Field Organizer, explains the benefits of ditching diesel buses for electric ones in an op-ed published in The Invading Sea.
Honorable mentions
Over the last couple of weeks, Moms earned mentions in La Opinión, The Cool Down, Green Fire Times, Commerce City Sentinel Express, Publiquemoslo (in Spanish and English), Michigan Public Radio, andCentral Michigan University Public Radio.
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Tell the Senate: Don’t Allow Toxic Polluters to Turn Off Pollution Controls