Thread by @bopinion

One of the worst air pollutants is fine particulate matter.

📉Under Obama, average levels of these particulates plummeted by 24.2% between 2009 to 2016

📈Under Trump, average levels jumped by 5.5% between 2016 to 2018 bloom.bg/348KO9d

The air got a lot cleaner during Obama's presidency, preventing tens of thousands of premature deaths.

Since Trump was elected, 14,600 Americans have died prematurely from exposure to fine particulate matter bloom.bg/348KO9d

Fine particulate matter comes from many sources, including:

🚗Motor vehicles
🏭Coal-fired power plants
🔥Forest fires bloom.bg/348KO9d

Instead of scoring political points or assigning blame, let’s try to understand what is happening:

Since 2000, there have been large decreases in fine particulate matter, and the progress occurred under Bush as well as Obama – a 39% decline nationally bloom.bg/348KO9d

If you look at other pollutants and longer time frames, you can find even more impressive achievements.

🌬️Ambient concentrations of nitrogen oxide have fallen by 61% since 1980
🌬️Ambient concentrations of lead have declined by 99% since that time bloom.bg/348KO9d

President Richard Nixon's Clean Air Act, passed in 1970, has almost certainly prevented tens of thousands of deaths -- and perhaps as many as 230,000 bloom.bg/348KO9d

What happened in 2017 and 2018? There are three possibilities:

1⃣ An increase in wildfires
2⃣ An increase in economic activity
3⃣ A decrease in enforcement activity by the EPA bloom.bg/348KO9d

As of Jan. 21, 2017, did some polluters think they wouldn’t need to worry so much about the EPA – and might be able to get away with violating regulatory standards?

Maybe bloom.bg/348KO9d

With respect to public health, the most important question is simple: What can be done to reverse the recent trend?

The EPA should target the dirtiest areas with the largest populations bloom.bg/348KO9d

Whatever the source of the recent spike in fine particulate matter, it happened on the Trump administration’s watch.

It’s the government’s job to respond, and sooner rather than later bloom.bg/348KO9d