[Aredubjay]

I just came across this article on Web MD. Some of our members live in cities with the worst air in the country. Here's the "abbreviated" article:

The grading system is based on the number of days an area has ozone levels that are unhealthy for sensitive people, unhealthy for all people, or very unhealthy for all people. A score of 3.3 is a failing grade -- but places on the 10-worst list are far worse:


1. Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, Calif.

2. Bakersfield, Calif.

3. Fresno, Calif.

4. Visalia-Tulare-Porterville, Calif.

5. Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, Texas

6. Atlanta, Ga.

7. Washington, D.C.-Baltimore, Md.

8. Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, N.C.-S.C.

9. Knoxville, Tenn.

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, Pa.-Del.-N.J. -- tied with Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.

For people who like better air, there were 12 metropolitan areas without any bad-air days at all: Bellingham, Wash.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Des Moines, Iowa; and Duluth, Minn. got perfect scores two years in a row.

The rest of the cities making the good-breathing list were:

Fargo-Moorhead, N.D.-Minn.
Flagstaff, Ariz.-Utah
Honolulu, Hawaii
Laredo, Texas
Lincoln, Neb.
McAllen Edinburg-Mission, Texas
Salinas, Calif.
Spokane, Wash.


But a small town is no guarantee of safe air. Small cities like Lancaster, Pa. and Redding, Calif. also have smog-filled air.