10 Most Polluted Cities in the US

[Centurion40]

Interesting.  Of the 10 most polluted cities in the US, five are in California!

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2012/real_estate/1204/gallery.polluted-cities/index.html

[bayonetbrant]

and 4 of those five are in the Central Valley, where it's all a mix of cattle, oil, and big agriculture...  anyone who's ever spent time in Fresno or Bakersfield knows that those towns are far closer in kinship to Abilene or Odessa than to San Diego or Santa Barbara.

[son_of_montfort]

Interesting.  Of the 10 most polluted cities in the US, five are in California!

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2012/real_estate/1204/gallery.polluted-cities/index.html

40Cent, did you have any experience in Louisville? It can be fairly rough and has a terrible allergen index (due to the Ozone pollution). They used to have Ozone action days, I think they still do, but the amount of traffic that just passes through is fairly insane. Cincinnati is also the same way, lots of cars passing through in addition to the traffic from inhabitants. Neither city *feels* or looks polluted when you are there, but long term exposure will kill one's lungs.

I'm surprised NYC didn't get on the list. I lost significant lung capacity while living there.

[eyebiter]

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[Windigo]

Ozone is one of the nastiest.... plays havok on younger people as they are deeper breathers and typically more active outdoors.

[airboy]

If you travel, all of this is nothing compared to Mexico City, Cairo or any large city in China.

I coughed up black spit for days after leaving Cairo.  The whole city had a brown, murky haze.

[DoctorQuest]

I remember visiting Reno once and was amazed at the "fog" in the valley there. Again, it's one of those cities that is placed in a bowl that seems to collect pollutants. Otherwise it's beautiful country out there.

[Barthheart]

I flew into LAX in 1990 for a visit. The air over the city was orange when we landed..... not the sky, the air. :o
The day we left it rained and you could actually see the city from the plane on the way home.....

[Staggerwing]

I remember visiting Reno once and was amazed at the "fog" in the valley there. Again, it's one of those cities that is placed in a bowl that seems to collect pollutants. Otherwise it's beautiful country out there.

My dad, the retired commercial pilot, told me that when he used to fly into Denver he could see the smog bowl over the city quite a long way out. He'd be flying over the Rockies and everything was blue and white and natural when all of a sudden this haze would appear way off in the distance along the horizon line. He said it looked quite depressing.

Here's a photo someone took from the mountains outside Denver:

[Arctic Blast]

In Southern Ontario, Hamilton and Burlington are connected by a long bridge. Either side of the bridge is fine. The time spent driving across is like driving through Hell. The sky darkens with clouds coming from all of the factories on the river banks, the water below looks black and oily, and you find yourself wondering if you should really be inhaling the air.

[Centurion40]

Interesting.  Of the 10 most polluted cities in the US, five are in California!

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2012/real_estate/1204/gallery.polluted-cities/index.html

40Cent, did you have any experience in Louisville? It can be fairly rough and has a terrible allergen index (due to the Ozone pollution). They used to have Ozone action days, I think they still do, but the amount of traffic that just passes through is fairly insane. Cincinnati is also the same way, lots of cars passing through in addition to the traffic from inhabitants. Neither city *feels* or looks polluted when you are there, but long term exposure will kill one's lungs.

I'm surprised NYC didn't get on the list. I lost significant lung capacity while living there.

Yeah man, I noted that Louisville made the list.  Sure there was some visible "dinge" but otherwise I never noticed anything about the air.

I'm surprised that NYC didn't make the list too!

[Centurion40]

If you travel, all of this is nothing compared to Mexico City, Cairo or any large city in China.

I coughed up black spit for days after leaving Cairo.  The whole city had a brown, murky haze.

Reminds me of when we had a slew of Kosovar refugees billeted in barracks on some bases.  One base actually razed a block of barracks after the Kosovars left.  I was chatting about it with a couple of NCOs and one asked the other (who had been onsite) just how bad the barracks block was. 

The guy replied with one word "Egypt".  The NCO who asked the guestion replied "Eeww!"  Never having been to Egypt I had to ask for clarification.  It was basically summed up to me as "Worst filth and smell imaginable."  Yep, that's how they defined Egypt.

[Airborne Rifles]

If you travel, all of this is nothing compared to Mexico City, Cairo or any large city in China.

I coughed up black spit for days after leaving Cairo.  The whole city had a brown, murky haze.

Reminds me of when we had a slew of Kosovar refugees billeted in barracks on some bases.  One base actually razed a block of barracks after the Kosovars left.  I was chatting about it with a couple of NCOs and one asked the other (who had been onsite) just how bad the barracks block was. 

The guy replied with one word "Egypt".  The NCO who asked the guestion replied "Eeww!"  Never having been to Egypt I had to ask for clarification.  It was basically summed up to me as "Worst filth and smell imaginable."  Yep, that's how they defined Egypt.

There is definitely a "third-world smell" to certain large cities.  The two that come to mind to me are Baghdad and Port-au-Prince.  Step outside and you're immediately assaulted by the smell burning trash and open sewers.  When I left Baghdad I thought I'd left it behind and then I got off the plane in Port-au-Prince, took a lungfull of air, and it brought be right back.  You get used to it after a couple days, but your gear keeps the smell for a while after you come back.

The article gives an interesting perspective though.  I've always scoffed at California's reportedly draconian environmental regulations, but I suppose if things are as bad as this article suggests then there could be at least local justification for the regulations.  Still wouldn't live there myself, though.