Editorial | Curbing Pollution

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, August, 2007

It was a report card that any savvy third grader would feed to his dog, rather than suffer the consequences of presenting it to his parents.

In this case, the American Lung Association awarded the five-county Philadelphia region an F for ozone pollution in the group's 2007 "State of the Air" report. "Needs Improvement" doesn't even begin to cover it.

That's why it is all the more significant that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is due in Philadelphia today to hold one of only five hearings scheduled across the country on reducing the ozone levels that produce smog pollution.

The environmental agency couldn't have made it any easier for this region to deliver a clear and simple message on smog to Washington regulators.

That message must be:...