Kansas City/Overland Park Air Quality MIXED, Finds American Lung Association’s 2015 ‘State of the Air’ Report Strong Improvements for Many Cities, Others Suffer Worst Air Quality Episodes

Editor’s Note:  Trend charts and rankings for metropolitan areas and county grades are available at www.StateOfTheAir.org.
OVERLAND PARK, KS, Embargoed Until: 12:01 a.m. (local time), April 29, 2015— The American Lung Association’s “State of the Air 2015” report released today shows that Kansas City ranked as 24th most polluted for ozone. Compared to the 2014 report, it’s seen an improvement in year round and short term particle pollution (soot) levels.  This is in keeping with a trend seen across the nation of lower particle pollution levels.

Nationwide, more than 4 in 10 Americans – nearly 138.5 million people – live in counties where ozone or particle pollution levels make the air unhealthy to breathe, according to “State of the Air 2015.” The 16th annual national report card, which looks at air pollution data collected from 2011-2013, shows that improvement in the nation’s air quality was mixed, with many cities experiencing strong improvements, while others suffered increased episodes of unhealthy air, and a few even marked their worst number of unhealthy days.

“We can certainly be proud of the progress we’ve made in cleaning up our air since the first ‘State of the Air’ report 16 years ago. However, there’s still a lot of work to be done to make our air healthy for all Kansans to breathe,” said Susannah Fuchs, Director of Clean Air, American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest.

“We can thank cleaner diesel fleets and cleaner power plants for the continued reduction of year-round particle pollution.  At the same time, reducing pollution will only become more challenging because warmer temperatures increase the risk for ozone and particle pollution, and make cleaning up the air harder in the future. We need stronger air quality standards to limit pollution and continued cleanup of the current sources of pollution our area to protect the health of our citizens.”

The 2015 report shows that our area reduced its year-round particle pollution, and meets the standard. Particle pollution levels can spike dangerously for hours to weeks on end (short-term) or remain at unhealthy levels on average every day (year-round). Particle pollution can penetrate deep into the lungs and even into the bloodstream, leading to premature deaths, asthma attacks and heart attacks, as well as lung cancer.

“State of the Air 2015” also finds that our ranking for ozone levels worsened, though our levels improved. Ozone is the most widespread air pollutant, created by the reaction of sunlight on emissions from vehicles and other sources. When ozone is inhaled, it irritates the lungs, like a bad sunburn. It can cause immediate health problems and continue days later. Ozone can cause wheezing, coughing, asthma attacks and premature death.

“We know that the Clean Air Act works because we’ve seen Kansas air quality improve over the past 16 years and seen the health benefits that have come with cleaning up the air,” said Fuchs. “EPA must move forward to fully implement the Clean Air Act for all pollutants that threaten public health, including finalizing a strong Clean Power Plan to limit carbon pollution from power plants and stronger ozone air quality standards. Congress must also ensure that the provisions under the Clean Air Act are protected, implemented and enforced. The EPA and every state must have adequate funding to monitor and protect our citizens from air pollution and new threats caused by increased temperatures.”

More Safeguards Needed to Protect Health
The American Lung Association calls for several steps to safeguard the air everyone breathes:

·         Strengthen the outdated ozone standards. The EPA must adopt an up-to-date ozone limit that follows the current health science and the law to protect human health. Strong standards will drive much needed cleanup of ozone pollution across the nation.

·         Adopt a strong final Clean Power Plan. The EPA needs to issue tough final requirements to reduce carbon pollution from power plants.

·         Protect the Clean Air Act. Congress needs to ensure that the protections under the Clean Air Act remain effective and enforced. States should not be allowed to “opt out” of Clean Air Act protections.
·         Fund the work to provide healthy air. Congress needs to adequately fund the work of the EPA and the states to monitor and protect the nation from air pollution.

To see how your community ranks in “State of the Air 2015,” to learn how to protect yourself and your family from air pollution, and to join the fight for healthy air, visit: www.StateOfTheAir.org.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Reopens the Public Comment Period for the Stakeholder Workshop on Coexistence

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has reopened the public comment period to receive feedback on the Stakeholder Workshop on Coexistence until May 11, 2015.

USDA’s Stakeholder Workshop on Coexistence was held on March 12 and 13, 2015, on the campus of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. The objective of the workshop was to advance an understanding of agricultural coexistence and discuss proposals for making coexistence more achievable for all stakeholders. Agricultural coexistence is the concurrent cultivation of conventional, organic, identity preserved, and genetically engineered crops consistent with farmer choices and consumer preferences. USDA supports the successful coexistence of these different forms of agricultural production and recognizes that each contributes to the overall health of farming and rural communities throughout the United States.

In addition to the feedback obtained at the workshop from invited participants—representing industry, farmers, government, and academia—the workshop was webcast to allow the public to follow along and offer a broader opportunity for USDA to solicit and obtain public comments on the meeting and on any coexistence proposals discussed. Originally, the public comment period was set to close on March 27, but was extended by two weeks to April 10. USDA continued to accept comments after April 10, and now that the public comment period is officially reopened to May 11, those comments will be included into the record for consideration. To ensure members of the public still have access to the key workshop information, recordings of the webcast—as well as copies of workshop presentations and summaries of USDA activities that are either newly proposed or already underway to support of coexistence—are available for public viewing on the USDA Stakeholder Workshop on Coexistence Web page: http://1.usa.gov/1CCWEXU

This Web page can also be accessed from the following USDA Stakeholder Information Web page: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wps/portal/aphis/newsroom/stakeholder-info

Additionally, USDA invites you to submit any comments you have, whether they be feedback, ideas, or concerns, on any of the topics discussed during the workshop using the following methods:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS_FRDOC_0001-1773. Access is best gained by copying the link and pasting it onto your browser's address bar.

Farm Bureau to FAA: Farmers and Ranchers Will Soar with Agricultural Drones

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 28, 2015 – Farmers and ranchers are eager to use airborne drones to improve their businesses, but they need flexibility to use these tools to their full potential, the American Farm Bureau Federation told the Federal Aviation Administration in comments focusing on performance-based standards, in its rule on the “Operation and Certification of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems.”

Farmers and ranchers have increased their yields while reducing their environmental footprint, thanks to advances in precision agriculture.

“Drones are the next evolution in American agriculture,” said Dale Moore, AFBF executive director of public policy. “Used properly they let us grow more food on available land using less water and fewer pesticides. High-tech cameras and other airborne sensors give us important tools with which to reduce erosion and keep agricultural runoff to the absolute minimum. This is important not just for farmers but for anyone else who cares deeply about the environment. These tools won’t do anyone any good if they’re grounded by restrictions that make them too cumbersome to use.”

Farmers need performance-based standards for drone use that promote innovation while keeping safety a top priority, the Farm Bureau wrote.

For all the good they do, new technologies are not without risk, Farm Bureau told regulators. Farmers and ranchers need to be able to manage these tools safely and should be assured that their farm data is secure and cannot be used unfairly against them. Added Moore: “Farmers and ranchers are ready to unlock the potential of new technologies in agriculture, and we’re hopeful that the FAA’s final rule gives them a key to do that safely and quickly.”