Tackling Oregon's sources of air pollution

I always enjoyed spending time with my grandfather when I was a kid. Having grown up in Iowa during the Great Depression and having served our country during World War II, he was a frugal man. The ultimate recycler, he would go “dumpster diving,” and he commuted by bicycle to his job as a geologist in downtown Denver. (He and I would ride the Cherry Creek bike path when I visited.) My grandfather took good care of himself, getting regular exercise, eating relatively well, and drinking one beer a day for the purposes of reducing stress (and to feed his hobby of collecting beer cans).

Sadly Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Robert Sedgley passed away at the age of 72 of a heart attack, which is perhaps not all that young for someone of his generation, but I’ve often wondered if air pollution played any role in triggering that fateful event. When my grandfather lived in Denver, it was notorious for a brown cloud of smog, violating federal air quality standards more than 200 days a year. Not until 1999, 10 years after my grandfather’s death, did the Mile High City begin to meet air quality standards.

Studies from across the world have consistently shown that air pollution harms heart health. Common air pollutants, including ozone (smog), particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and lead, are associated with increased hospitalization and mortality due to cardiovascular disease, especially in people with congestive heart failure, frequent arrhythmias, or both.

We have no choice but to breathe; thus it’s incumbent upon us to make sure our air is clean. Oregon also turned the tide on the bad air of the 1970s and 1980s, but in many parts of the state, it’s still not as clean as it should be. To protect our heart and our lungs, we must tackle sources of air pollution, especially traffic exhaust. 

This legislative session, Oregon lawmakers hope to pass major transportation legislation. Key to ensuring less air pollution from our transportation system is a bigger investment in mass transit, as well as a stronger emphasis on community-level transportation and land use planning so that people find it easier to walk and bicycle to the places they need to go. 

You can help ensure that transportation legislation passed this session protects human health by contacting your state senator and state representative today. Click here to take action.