Infotrak

Air pollution in the U.S. has decreased since about 1990. Jason West, PhD, Professor of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health led a study that found that this improvement resulted in a 47% decrease in deaths related to air pollution exposure. He noted that, despite clear improvements, air pollution remains an important public health issue in the U.S., with an estimated 71,000 deaths in 2010. He discussed the effectiveness of tree planting programs and other steps ordinary people can take to help.