The American Lung Association recently released the 2019 State of the Air Report and as a millennial who completed the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program, grew up with the Truth Campaign and has gone 31 years without smoking a cigarette, I am appalled at Suffolk County’s ranking on this list. Suffolk received an “F” for the number of dangerous “High Ozone” days each year. No data was collected for Nassau County.
I make the personal choice to refrain from inhaling the toxic chemicals of cigarettes, but because we continue to burn fossil fuels, I am forced to breathe the worsening pollutants of Suffolk County air every day.
As climate change worsens our individual choices to be healthy are less and less effective. Our individual paths to wellness are embedded within our reliance on one another. Now is the time to resolve this air quality issue! One way to resolve this issue is for the NYS Legislature to pass the Climate and Community Protection Act (CCPA). This bill protects communities at the center of the climate fight, will move NYS to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050 and uplifts our individual right to live healthy and prosperous lives.
Demand clean air! Call your representative and tell them to pass the CCPA!
—Jessica Morgan
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