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The Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday that it will only be tightening smog standards by a small amount, despite advice from its scientific advisory panel to set more ambitious goals.According to the New York Times, the announcement has environmentalists and health officials scratching their heads as the Bush administration falls short of taking strong action on climate change.
In New York, 85.2 percent of residents live in counties that fail to meet federal standards for ozone pollution, the major component of smog.
By the EPA’s own admission, failing to reduce the standard by just five parts-per-billion could result in hundreds more deaths, thousands of additional trips to the emergency rooms and hundreds of thousands of lost school days.
An upcoming discussion in Congress on the issue will focus on why the agency ignored its own advisory council — a move that suggests science was not the primary basis for the decision. The EPA claims that setting a stricter standard would inflict economic hardship on counties that have not been able to even meet the standard set a decade ago.
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Plus: Counties or parishes by state that currently do not meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s new health standard for smog, as provided by the EPA.
Alabama: Baldwin, Jefferson, Madison, Mobile, Morgan, Shelby.
Alaska: None.
Arizona: Gila, Maricopa, Pima, Pinal.
Arkansas: Crittenden, Pulaski.
California: Alameda, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Fresno, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Joaquin, Santa Clara, Shasta, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Tulare, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo.
Colorado: Arapahoe, Douglas, Jefferson, Weld.
Connecticut: Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven, New London, Tolland.
Delaware: Kent, New Castle, Sussex.
Florida: Bay, Duval, Escambia, Hillsborough, Lake, Manatee, Orange, Sarasota, Seminole.
Georgia: Bibb, Clarke, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Murray, Paulding, Richmond, Rockdale.
Hawaii: None.
Idaho: Ada.
Illinois: Jersey, Lake, Madison, Saint Clair.
Indiana: Allen, Boone, Clark, Elkart, Greene, Hamilton, Johnson, Lake, LaPorte, Marion, Perry, Porter, St. Joseph, Warrick.
Iowa: None.
Kansas: None.
Kentucky: Boyd, Christian, Greenup, Jefferson, Kenton, Oldham.
Louisiana: Ascension, Bossier, Caddo, Calcasieu, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Ouachita, Pointe Coupee, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, West Baton Rouge.
Maine: Hancock.
Maryland: Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Cecil, Charles, Frederick, Harford, Kent, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Washington.
Massachusetts: Barnstable, Berkshire, Bristol, Dukes, Essex, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Worcester.
Michigan: Allegan, Benzie, Berrien, Cass, Genesee, Kent, Lenawee, Macomb, Mason, Muskegon, Ottawa, Schoolcraft, St. Clair, Washtenaw.
Minnesota: None.
Mississippi: DeSoto, Harrison, Jackson.
Missouri: Clay, Clinton, Jefferson, Saint Charles, Saint Louis, Sainte Genevieve, St. Louis City.
Montana: None.
Nebraska: None.
Nevada: Clark.
New Hampshire: Hillsborough.
New Jersey: Atlantic, Bergen, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic.
New Mexico: None.
New York: Chautauqua, Erie, Essex, Niagara, Orange, Oswego, Putnam, Queens, Rensselaer, Richmond, Saratoga, Suffolk, Ulster, Westchester.
North Carolina: Cumberland, Davie, Forsyth, Franklin, Graham, Granville, Haywood, Johnston, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Person, Rowan, Union, Wake.
North Dakota: None.
Ohio: Allen, Ashtabula, Butler, Clark, Clermont, Clinton, Cuyahoga, Delaware, Franklin, Geauga, Greene, Hamilton, Jefferson, Knox, Lake, Licking, Lucas, Madison, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, Warren, Washington, Wood.
Oklahoma: Canadian, Cherokee, Comanche, Creek, Kay, Mayes, Oklahoma, Ottawa, Tulsa.
Oregon: None.
Pennsylvania: Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Bucks, Centre, Chester, Clearfield, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, Greene, Lancaster, Lehigh, Lycoming, Mercer, Montgomery, Northampton, Perry, Philadelphia, Tioga, Washington, Westmoreland, York.
Rhode Island: Kent, Providence, Washington.
South Carolina: Abbeville, Aiken, Darlington, Pickens, Richland, Spartanburg, York.
South Dakota: None.
Tennessee: Anderson, Blount, Davidson, Hamilton, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Meigs, Sevier, Shelby, Sullivan, Sumner, Wilson.
Texas: Bexar, Brazoria, Collin, Dallas, Denton, El Paso, Ellis, Galveston, Gregg, Harris, Harrison, Hood, Hunt, Jefferson, Johnson, Montgomery, Orange, Parker, Rockwall, Smith, Tarrant, Travis.
Utah: Davis, Salt Lake, Utah, Washington, Weber.
Vermont: None.
Virginia: Alexandria City, Arlington, Caroline, Charles City, Chesterfield, Fairfax, Hampton City, Hanover, Henrico, Loudoun, Madison, Prince William, Stafford, Suffolk City.
Washington: None.
Washington, D.C.: Washington, D.C.
West Virginia: Cabell, Ohio, Wood.
Wisconsin: Door, Kenosha, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Sheboygan.
Wyoming: None.
Filed under: Ecology, Global Warming, health, Long Island Politics, New York State Politics, US Politics
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