Pick up the phone to tell your officials to support clean energy for cleaner air.

Look familiar? Six out of ten Americans breathe dangerously polluted air, according to a new study.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Six out of every 10 people in this country are breathing air so contaminated it endangers their lives, according to the American Lung Association’s State of the Air 2009 report. “This should be a wake-up call. We know that air pollution is a major threat to human health,” says Stephen J. Nolan, chair of the American Lung Association National Board. “When 60 percent of Americans are left breathing air dirty enough to send people to the emergency room, to shape how kids’ lungs develop, and to kill, [then] air pollution remains a serious problem.”

THE DETAILS: For the tenth annual report, researchers examined air quality reports from U.S. counties that monitor pollution, looking at ozone and particle pollution. They found that more than 186 million people live in counties where outdoor air pollution levels receive an “F” grade. About 40.5 million people live in U.S. counties where outdoor air failed all three tests. Particle pollution—a toxic mix of microscopic soot, diesel exhaust, chemicals, metals, and aerosols—is considered the most dangerous air pollutant. It increases people’s chances of early death, heart attacks, strokes, and emergency room visits for asthma and cardiovascular disease. Areas surrounding Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Birmingham, AL, Cincinnati, Salt Lake City, Detroit, and Cleveland were among those with the highest levels of particle pollution, while Alexandria, LA, and Amarillo, TX, were the cleanest.

Lung-irritating ozone pollution, or smog, forms when sunlight mixes with hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxide, chemicals produced by vehicles, factories, power generating plants, and anything else that burns fossil fuels. This year’s study found that more than 175 million Americans live in areas with unhealthy smog levels, more than double the 80 million reported last year. Los Angeles and other parts of California ranked among the areas with the highest ozone pollution. Fargo, ND, was the only city to rank among the cleanest in all three air pollution categories.

WHAT IT MEANS: We have to clear the air. Recent studies show that pollution levels are more severe, and more of a threat to human health, than previously recognized. From what you choose to do in your home and community to influencing policy decisions made by your elected officials, you have many options to help improve air quality.

Here’s how to help clean up air pollution: