Walk, or use a Pedicab, when you can

This report on CNN is something to think about. The story is about kids with asthma and pollution.

Children are more vulnerable to the effects of air pollution because their lungs don't fully form until they are adolescents, the American Academy of Pediatrics noted ...

Outdoor irritants range from pollen to cold air (?) to air pollution. (My question mark.)

Michael Chang, an atmospheric research scientist at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, estimated that 50 percent of air pollutants are created by cars and trucks.

He explained many parts of the U.S. are now transitioning to higher temperatures and more humid summers.

"We don't have the winds that blow things out of the air," Chang said. "The stuff we put into the atmosphere lingers longer."

He compared the air quality in many big cities to a chemical soup of thousands of compounds, including ground-level ozone and fine particulate matter. The Environmental Protection Agency describes ground-level ozone as the primary component of smog. It includes motor vehicle exhaust, industrial emissions, gasoline vapors and chemical solvents.

We, of course, do not live in a big city, but we've got that wonderful landfill and its hydrogen sulfide emissions that go who knows where.

When I belonged to Tufts Healthcare a few years ago, I received a newsletter that basically said if you jog during rush hour, you inhale toxins equal to smoking a whole pack of cigarettes - or more, depending on the traffic.

"Jogging late in the afternoon during the summer is not the best time," Chang said. "Ground-level ozone is at its worst at that time of day."

(Georgia pediatrician Avril) Beckford goes one step further, warning parents to not choose a house, school or playground that is close to a busy road or a highway.