From Judith in Nebraska: I Have Seen Misery

I am a retired RN who has seen the agonizing last days of those who have breathed unclear air for much of their lives. This is a most miserable way to die, unable to fill one's lungs with life-giving air because of the damage that has taken place over many years. There is no way to ease their suffering.  One can only watch them gasp and try in vain to take a cleansing breath.

From Erin in Texas: A Story of 3 Asthmatic Kids

I am a mom of 3 asthmatic kids. I am also a PhD student, a student who happens to be teaming up with the American Lung Association to do research on childhood asthma and parental education about asthma at Texas Woman's University. I am interested in clean air standards for my children as well as all the other children out there with chronic lung disease. My children have all been affected by asthma since they were about 15 months old. Landon is now almost 8 and takes 3 daily medications to keep his asthma under control. Braeden, now 6 also takes 3 daily medications to control his asthma. Reagan, now 5, luckily only needs allergy and asthma medications when ill. We have had to stop playing outdoor sports because of the air pollution in North Texas, because we spent more time on the sidelines due to frequent asthma attacks than we did on the soccer or baseball field. Some days we are unable to play in our backyard due to the pollution days. All 3 children have missed countless days from school due to asthma related illness, as well as myself missing days from the University because of my sick children. I have never even bothered to get a “real” job because what employer in their right mind would hire a person who may have to miss 15 or 20 days from work a year?! I would love to see stricter air quality standards in place so that hopefully my kids and others could have less asthma related illness.

From Helen in California: Unhealthy Air in the Bay Area?

My son goes to a public school, one of those saved from the School District Chopping Block in the last few years, on a nice hill in the foggy East Bay in the San Francisco Bay Area.  From the recess area, there is a nice view of the Bay, the City, and the Golden Gate Bridge - not to mention the coastal range.  Amongst this view, not too far off to the northwest, lies the Chevron Refinery in the beautiful hills around Point Richmond.  The Wind blows from the West, from the direction of the Refinery, straight at the East BAy Hills, and, thus, his elementary school.  There's NO WAY to contain bad air that could be blowing straight at the children from the Refinery.  I have to trust that the government is monitoring their pollution levels and will keep the health of the community SAFE, as THEIR PRIORITY, in case of 'mishaps', over-pollution, etc. caused by their refining processes.  By law, I have to send my son to school.  By law, I am assigned this particular school as our resident public school.  I am complying - I am hoping my son will not pay for it later.

From Mike in Ohio:

I used to sell an asthma medicine and some of my physician customers practice in the inner city at a metropolitan hospital. There are numerous coal-fired plants in the vicinity. It was so sad to see the young kids waiting to see the pulmonologists, hacking and wheezing in the waiting room.  They probably would not be in there if they didn't have to breathe that sick air in the surrounding area.

From Sarah in Virginia: Learning To Appreciate What Isn't In Our Air

As someone who is relatively young, I never appreciated how important our nation's clean air and environmental protections are until last summer. I spent six weeks volunteering in Guatemala and, while it is a beautiful country, all its beauty was tinged with soot and grime from the smoggy air. Children there are more likely to suffer from respiratory conditions, and otherwise beautiful landscapes are marred by chimneys puffing harmful chemicals into the air.  After experiencing the alternative, I came home more grateful than ever for the remarkable strides that the US has made in protecting our environment.  I find it frightening to think that we might start sliding backward to a state where our land and our people are threatened by ugly and dangerous pollutants.

From Ann in Georgia: Too Polluted to Play?

Now that I have a child, I understand the need for children to spend plenty of energy by playing outside. Unfortunately, we live in the Atlanta metro area, and most days in summer are labeled 'code orange' or 'code red' air quality alert days. Young children and the elderly should not go outside on these days. Huh??? I grew up in the South, and I remember spending whole days outside playing with my friends during the summer months. Why can't my child have those same memories?

From David Arizona: Asthma & Project XL

I was one of the lead citizens on one of the first Project XL*** projects.  It was in Chandler, AZ, for an Intel site.  I got involved because I was informed of a Motorola plan in sight of my new home that would become a chip-manufacturing plan. This required the use of dozens of highly toxic substances, with emission of these into the air. As an asthmatic and father, I was dumbstruck. I had checked with the city about the plant and was told that it was going to be an office tower. We raised the awareness of the community and stopped the $750 million dollar plant for almost five years. Since then I have been deeply involved in air issues. We cannot continue to use our air as a dumping ground, as we “kind of need the air to live!”  I have worked with the EPA, Arizona DEQ, County Air Quality department, and have worked with others around the country. We must protect our air. The idea that we must loosen restrictions to allow for jobs is a complete falsehood! This is NOT the balance that needs to be done. Instead, we must hold up our restrictions even more, as there are millions of people without healthcare who require our air to at least be as healthy as possible.

*** An EPA pilot program to help business, state and local governments, and federal facilities develop and test innovative approaches to achieve better and more cost-effective environmental and public health protection. http://www.epa.gov/projctxl/