Are you one of the 1/3 of Americans who live in a smoggy city? Smog -- a heavy, dark fog primarily composed of ozone -- can trigger asthma symptoms, cause coughing, chest pain, wheezing, or even premature death. The top 10 smoggiest cities are:

• Los Angeles, CA. The air quality is slowing improving in LA, but, on average, it still has 90 days per year with unhealthy ozone levels.
• Bakersfield, CA. Bakersfield has an average of 83 days with unhealthy ozone levels each year, as well as other air quality issues.
• Visalia, CA. Lying near Sequoia National Forest, Visalia has an average of 68 high ozone days per year.
• Houston, TX. Nearly 400,000 Houston residents have asthma -- a condition that can be exacerbated by the city's average of 36 unhealthy ozone days per year.
• Fresno, CA. In 2000, Fresno had 87 unhealthy ozone days. Now, the city is averaging only 34 unhealthy ozone days per year -- still high enough to land it in the top 10, but amazing progress.
• Sacramento, CA. The fifth city from California's Central Valley to make the list, Sacramento has an average of 25 unhealthy ozone days per year.
• Dallas, TX. Dallas has an average of 22 unhealthy ozone days per year.
• New York, NY. With such a constant flow of traffic, it's almost surprising that New York doesn't have more than an average of 12 unhealthy ozone days per year.
• Washington DC/Baltimore. Our capitol region has an average of 11 unhealthy ozone days per year.
• Baton Rouge, LA. Baton Rouge averages 11 unhealthy ozone days per year.
  

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After 18,000 air samples from all around southern California, measurements indicate that the cancer risk due to air pollution is down 15 percent. While that's a considerable decline, the current levels are still dangerously high. The two year study concluded that areas around Los Angeles and Long Beach contained some of the dirtiest air in the nation.

Want to hear a scary number? Estimates say that if SoCal residents live to be 70 years old, then 1,200 out of every one million people will get cancer. This is due to toxic air. But don't panic, estimates need to be taken with a grain of salt. Scientists have to put a number on everything, and while the air is certainly in need of quality control, you shouldn't evacuate.

Authorities say the current levels are unacceptable, but how do you combat this sort of problem? Regulations concerning gas and diesel fuels could be considered. And of course, the "green" movement towards cleaner automobiles is another way to lend a helping hand. This is not an isolated problem, however, and it won't go away until we learn to be better stewards of our environment.

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European life spans are being cut short by about a year due to poor air and water quality, according to a report out of Europe's main environmental agency this week.

Changes attributed to global warming were specifically referenced in the report as well (smog and pollution), and these collective reasons were connected to an overall decrease int he average European's life span -- to the tune of year lost.

The European Environment Agency concluded that quick changes are needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as increasing air and water quality or the more than hundreds of thousands of Europeans prematurely dying each year could increase, according to the 400-page report.

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It's amazing to hear that nearly two billion citizens across the globe could create a rising amount of poor health due to the rise of "dirty energy."

Dirty energy can come in the form of air pollution and exposure to smoke from open fires, among many other things. In other words, the burning of coal to power electric grids is generally not all that healthy to live near (or breathe, of course).

A recent report in the medical journal The Lancet stated that 2.4 billion people worldwide were exposed to pollution from inefficient burning of solid fuels like wood, coal and dried cow dung.

So, in the march to get that energy into the electric grid or for heating, the inefficiency of many methods in several countries could cause escalating problems with the health of nearby citizens.

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While training for something as physically demanding as the Olympic Games is obviously a very healthy endeavor, fans of the events may find that, for spectators, just the opposite is true.

Beyond the fact that Beijing is riddled with pollution, the site within the city where most of the Games are being held suffers an usually high number of lightning strikes.

This year has already seen 499 deaths in China as result of lightning strikes, and, according to meteorologists, Beijing is more likely to be hit than other parts of the country. Add to that the fact that Haidan (home to many of the Olympic venues -- including many that are open air) is "among the high-frequency regions of natural lightning" within Beijing, and it starts to sound like a justified concern.

Officials are trying to combat pollution in Beijing by halving the number of cars on the road, but -- while it has certainly reduced pollution -- the measure has thus far been ineffective at removing the thick cloud of smog that hangs over the city.

Will any of this matter to a die-hard fan who's set on attending the Games? Probably not. But for those who are planning on traveling to Beijing, it's worth learning more about the effects of smog, and what you can do to minimize your risk.

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Living with the fear of bad air? If you're in a heavily-industrialized city in the U.S. or anywhere, you probably have the term "smog" stamped on your forehead. It's pretty well-known that too much smog inhalation is, umm, not really good for health.

Even if you are a young, healthy adult, bad air quality can trigger adverse health complications, according to a new respiratory study of of Taiwan (of all places). If you've ever seen Taipei, you'll know smog all too well.

The issue here is that these adverse conditions involve possible cardiovascular problems -- even in these young adults. We're not talking about the elderly or toddlers with overexposed or underdeveloped respiratory systems, but completely healthy people. If one were to do a chemical analysis of smog in many cities, I'd be afraid to look at the results. You?

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Besides the thought of corn fields taking over our nation to feed our need for fuel, the health and safety of ethanol-based fuels have been a concern of mine since they started gaining popularity. Turns out, my worries haven't been unfounded; a new study has found that ethanol may not be a healthy alternative after all.

Though using the plant-based fuel, derived from crops like corn, sugar beets, and switchgrass, does eliminate two carcinogens that gasoline based fuels spew into the atmosphere, it replaces them with two other cancer-causing emissions: formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. Not only that, but based on computer projection models, ethanol-based fuels will actually add to the smog and ozone problems, increasing ozone-related deaths by 4-9%, depending on the area of the country. The added pollution will also increase asthma-related ER visits.

It's clear we need a green alternative to gasoline. It's also clear that the answer is not a simple one. Experts point to battery-electric cars and electric/hydrogen cell combos as a way to keep our cars and reduce toxic emissions. My hope is that we don't rush into a solution that's going to make things worse in the long run, and that we come up with a way to keep the Earth and ourselves healthy.

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Air pollution not a small problem, and it's not going anywhere anytime soon. There are literally countless studies coming out on the issue on an almost daily basis, none of which seem to have good news (duh!). But with things like traffic causing breathing problems, certain parts of the city increasing risk for stroke, and even livestock pollution from our hamburger habit contributing to global warming, we've all got to pay attention and find ways to get a grip.

Here are a few ideas to to get you (us!) started:

• Take the bus, walk, or bike whenever possible.
• Use an electric or manual lawnmower, instead of a gas one
• Fill your tank up with gas in the evening -- when it's cooler less of the fumes will be released.
• Don't let your car idle for extended periods of time, instead shut it off and restart when you're ready to go.
  

There are so many ideas out there it's really amazing. We all just need to get on board and start using them!

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Obviously, air pollution is bad for everyone's health. That's the very definition of pollution. But a recent, very large, study of over 65,000 people shows that air pollution is much, much more dangerous than previously believed. This study, which is bigger and more detailed than previous research, looked primarily at women's health and found the risk of pulmonary and heart related problems to be almost directly proportionate to the pollution levels in different neighborhoods. Armed with this latest information, experts are pushing the Environmental Protection Agency to lower it's annual standard for the "fine particulates" that are used to measure air pollution levels.

Maybe I'm just really ignorant about pollution, but I've always thought it was made up of mostly microscopic particles. This article says that it would take only 30 of these particulates to equal the thickness of a human hair...that is scary big!

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With air quality being the rage in many urban areas, smog from vehicle use is a growing concern for all of us. It's invisible and tasteless for the most part, but you definitely do not want to breathe what the air contains in some areas. That is, unless you have a liking for choking or something.

With that said, the small-engine market that creates a huge amount of air pollution -- like lawnmowers and gas-powered weed whackers -- may be regulated nationwide by the federal government soon on the level of California's strict pollution laws. In other words, California's smog laws may possibly be the template for the rest of the country.

While this will hurt small-engine manufacturers -- the usual argument which accompanies change -- this will drastically cut down on smog and greenhouse gases that continue to chip away at the atmosphere 24 hours a day. There is sure to be animosity from the makers of all these millions of small gas-powered engines, but the health of the planet is at stake here. Better now than living inside Logan's Run soon, eh?

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