Summertime air pollution can kill you if you live in the city, according to this study published in the current Journal of the American Medical Association:
"In one of the largest ozone pollution studies ever conducted, researchers at Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and Johns Hopkins report that more people died in urban areas when ground-level ozone was higher during the previous week. The report is published in the November 17, 2004, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)."
http://www.yale.edu/opa/newsr/04-11-16-02.all.html
It's interesting to reflect on this in several ways. First, I know of a former Michigan environmental agency director who vetoed an ozone health warning in the 90s for the Detroit area, saying it was based on and would cause hysteria. Second, at least in Michigan, the warnings that go out typically urge people not to take care with the health of the kids or elderly -- but instead, not to mow their lawns or fill their gas tanks during the afternoon and early evening. Seems like both messages are important (and cracking down on industrial sources, too).
Posted by Dave at November 17, 2004 04:12 PM