氣候使空氣汙染惡化，近一半美國人暴露在不健康水平

Climate making air pollution worse, almost half of Americans exposed to unhealthy levels: Report

氣候使空氣汙染惡化，近一半美國人暴露在不健康水平:報告

The American Lung Association says the numbers have gone up in recent years.

美國肺臟協會表示，近年來這一數字有所上升。

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By the Numbers: Pollution down as cities stay locked down 數據顯示:隨著城市被封鎖，汙染下降了

From Los Angeles to New Delhi, major cities see signs of reduced pollution due to the coronavirus shutdown. 從洛杉磯到新德里，由於冠狀病毒的關閉，主要城市出現了汙染減少的跡象。

Eric Risberg/AP, FILE 埃裡克•里斯貝里/美聯社文件

Almost half of Americans live in communities with unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to the American Lung Association, as the country continues to grapple with a respiratory virus that has brought more attention to the impact of air pollution on people'shealth.

美國肺臟協會(American Lung Association)的數據顯示，近一半的美國人生活在空氣汙染水平不健康的社區。目前，美國仍在與一種呼吸道病毒作鬥爭，這種病毒讓人們更加關注空氣汙染對人體健康的影響。

The American Lung Association's "State of the Air" report found that 150 million Americans -- 45.8% of the population -- live in counties with unhealthy levels of ozone or tiny particle pollution -- essentially soot or smog. The numbers have increased in the past three reports.

美國肺臟協會(American Lung Association)的《空氣狀況》(State of The Air)報告發現，1.5億美國人(佔總人口的45.8%)生活在臭氧或微粒汙染(主要是煤煙或煙霧)水平不健康的縣。在過去的三份報告中，這個數字有所增加。

"What we're seeing is an actual increase in the number of people breathing unhealthy air in this year's report compared to last year's report. And that is a result, we believe, of climate change. And also lack of enforcement and compliance by the U.S. EPA of the Clean Air Act," said Paul Billings, senior vice president of advocacy for the American Lung Association.

“與去年的報告相比，我們看到今年報告中呼吸不健康空氣的人數確實有所增加。我們相信，這是氣候變化的結果。美國肺臟協會(American Lung Association)倡導事務高級副總裁保羅·比林斯(Paul Billings)說。

MORE: Does air pollution increase risk from COVID-19? Here's what we know 更多:空氣汙染會增加COVID-19的風險嗎?這是我們所知道的

"It shows we can't take clean air for granted and that climate change is making the job of cleaning the air harder and it's putting health burdens on the American people right now," he added.

他補充說:“這表明我們不能把清潔空氣視為理所當然，氣候變化正在使清潔空氣的工作變得更加困難，而且它正在給美國人民的健康帶來負擔。”

A recent study from researchers at Harvard University found a link between high exposures to air pollution and pre-existing conditions that contribute to more severe outcomes from the novel coronavirus, raising more concern about the long-term impacts of pollution on public health.

哈佛大學(Harvard University)的研究人員最近進行的一項研究發現，暴露在高汙染的空氣中與先前存在的疾病之間存在聯繫，而這些疾病會導致新型冠狀病毒產生更嚴重的後果，這讓人們更加擔心汙染對公眾健康的長期影響。

In this Nov. 16, 2018, file photo, air quality reached record lows in the San Francisco Bay Area as smoke from wildfires... 2018年11月16日，舊金山海灣地區的空氣質量創下歷史新低。

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In this Nov. 16, 2018, file photo, air quality reached record lows in the San Francisco Bay Area as smoke from wildfires drifted into the area, in San Francisco.在這張2018年11月16日的資料照片中，舊金山海灣地區的空氣質量達到了歷史最低水平，森林大火的濃煙飄進了舊金山。

Smith Collection/Gado via Getty Images, FILE 史密斯收集/Gado通過蓋蒂圖片社，檔案

The report specifically looked at two types of air pollution regulated by state and federal governments: ozone released by vehicles, power plants, chemical and industrial facilities, and tiny particlesknown as "particulate matter" that can get into the air from construction sites, wildfires and smokestacks.

該報告特別關注了兩種由州政府和聯邦政府監管的空氣汙染:汽車、發電廠、化學和工業設施釋放的臭氧，以及可以從建築工地、野火和煙囪進入空氣的被稱為“顆粒物”的微小顆粒。

Ozone is known to hurt lung function and worsen health conditions like asthma or bronchitis and particulate pollution can cause lung problems, heart attacks and contribute to premature death.

眾所周知，臭氧會損害肺功能，使哮喘或支氣管炎等健康狀況惡化，顆粒物汙染會導致肺部問題、心臟病發作，並導致過早死亡。

The Environmental Protection Agency, the federal entity charged with regulating hazardous air pollutants and protecting human health and the environment, called the Lung Association's report "pessimistic" and the methodology problematic in a statement. The agency said the report's methodology does not take into account the challenges different cities and states face in cleaning up pollution and doesn't recognize progress made over the years.

負責監管有害空氣汙染物、保護人類健康和環境的聯邦機構美國環境保護署(Environmental Protection Agency)在一份聲明中稱，肺臟協會的報告“悲觀”，其方法存在問題。該機構說，報告的方法沒有考慮到不同城市和州在治理汙染方面面臨的挑戰，也沒有承認這些年來取得的進展。

"EPA methods for determining air quality, which are based on the Clean Air Act and the latest science, show continued improvements in measures of U.S. air quality in recent years and into the future," a spokesperson said in a statement.

一名發言人在一份聲明中說:“環保署基於《清潔空氣法》和最新科學的空氣質量測定方法顯示，美國空氣質量的測量方法近年來和未來都在不斷改善。”

The EPA estimates, using its own methodology, that despite significant improvements in levels of most regulated pollutants, approximately 137 million people lived in areas with pollution above the legal levels in 2018, according to the agency's website.

根據EPA網站的數據，該機構使用自己的方法估計，儘管大多數受管制汙染物的水平有了顯著改善，但2018年仍有約1.37億人生活在汙染水平超過法定水平的地區。

Catherine Flowers, a field activist in Houston with the advocacy group Moms Clean Air Force, says the concern about air pollution adds another level of anxiety as she watches friends and colleagues impacted by the COVID-19 virus in her home city of New Orleans.

凱瑟琳·弗勞爾斯(Catherine Flowers)是休斯敦環保組織“母親清潔空氣力量”(Moms Clean Air Force)的一名野外活動人士。她說，當她看到朋友和同事在家鄉新奧爾良受到covid19病毒的影響時，對空氣汙染的擔憂又增加了一層焦慮。

Flowers said she wants to see more accountability and awareness of the health problems associated with air pollution, especially among people with low incomes and in communities of color that are impacted the most.

弗勞爾斯說，她希望看到人們對與空氣汙染有關的健康問題有更多的責任感和意識，特別是在低收入人群和受影響最嚴重的有色人種社區。

"Climate and air is an environmental justice issue and it's -- it's literally tied to every social ill. I don't think we've had the words before because, again, we've always focused on, you know, the most immediate issues. But the truth is, it's a thread that's woven throughout the cloth of every kind of -- every kind of social service work we do," she said.

“氣候和空氣是一個環境正義問題，它與每一種社會弊病都息息相關。我不認為我們以前有過這樣的說法，因為，再一次，我們總是關注，你知道，最直接的問題。但事實是，這是一根線，編織在我們做的每一種社會服務工作的布里，”她說。

In this March 23, 2020, file photo, homes are seen with The Valero Houston Refinery in the background in Houston. 在這張2020年3月23日的資料照片中，可以看到休斯頓的瓦萊羅休斯頓煉油廠。

In this March 23, 2020, file photo, homes are seen with The Valero Houston Refinery in the background in Houston.在這張2020年3月23日的資料照片中，可以看到休斯頓的瓦萊羅休斯頓煉油廠。

David J. Phillip/AP, FILE 大衛·菲利普/美聯社，檔案

She said it can sometimes be difficult to get communities and officials to focus on issues like air pollution while in the midst of another crisis, but that she hopes the concerns about the disproportionate impact of both air pollution and COVID-19 on certain groups galvanize some action on the issue.

她說有時很難得到社區和官員關注空氣汙染等問題而在另一場危機中,但她希望的不成比例的擔憂影響空氣汙染和COVID-19某些群體激勵一些行動。

"I remember after Hurricane Katrina and even after Harvey, you know, the news and just community leaders recognize that the storm pulled the veil off of what the issues were," she told ABC News.

她告訴美國廣播公司新聞網說:“我記得在卡特里娜颶風之後，甚至在哈維颶風之後，你知道，新聞和公正的社區領導人都認識到，風暴揭開了問題的面紗。”

"And so COVID once again demonstrates that we have real issues that need to be addressed. We can't keep ignoring the problem."

因此，科維德再次證明，我們有一些真正的問題需要解決。我們不能一直忽視這個問題。”

MORE: Despite coronavirus concerns, EPA declines to pursue stricter limits on air pollution 此外:儘管有冠狀病毒的擔憂，環保署拒絕對空氣汙染採取更嚴格的限制

Three of the worst cities are all in California, according to the report, largely because of wildfire smoke and rising temperatures due to climate change that exacerbate pollution. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expects 2020 to be one of the 10 warmest years on record, if not one of the five warmest years.

根據這份報告，三個最糟糕的城市都在加州，主要原因是野火煙霧和加劇汙染的氣候變化導致的氣溫上升。美國國家海洋和大氣管理局(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration，簡稱noaa)預計，2020年將成為有記錄以來最熱的10年之一，如果不是最熱的5年之一的話。

MORE: Why climate change is also a public health problem 更多:為什麼氣候變化也是一個公共衛生問題

Billings said the upward trend shows that we are already seeing the public health impacts of climate change.

比林斯說，這一上升趨勢表明，我們已經看到氣候變化對公眾健康的影響。

In this Nov. 19, 2018, file photo, the San Francisco skyline is obscured due to smoke and haze from wildfires.在這張2018年11月19日的資料照片中，舊金山的天際線因為野火帶來的煙霧而變得模糊。

In this Nov. 19, 2018, file photo, the San Francisco skyline is obscured due to smoke and haze from wildfires.在這張2018年11月19日的資料照片中，舊金山的天際線因為野火帶來的煙霧而變得模糊。

Eric Risberg/AP, FILE 埃裡克•里斯貝里/美聯社文件

"Climate change creates the conditions to form both ozone and particle pollution, makes the job of cleaning up that pollution that much harder and we're seeing clear evidence in our report of the impact of climate change, with more Americans exposed to more pollution on more days as a result of the immediate impacts we're seeing of a warming planet," Billings said.

“氣候變化形成粒子和臭氧汙染創造了條件,使清理汙染,更加努力的工作,我們看到在我們的報告中明確證據的氣候變化的影響,更多的美國人暴露於汙染對天的結果直接影響我們看到全球變暖,”比林斯說。

To learn more about U.S. air quality, the EPA website AirNow.gov contains air pollution forecasts on the local level and historical air pollution data.

為了更多地瞭解美國的空氣質量，美國環境保護署的網站AirNow.gov包含地方級別的空氣汙染預測和歷史空氣汙染數據。