Story Idea Sent to Democracy Now

Aug 30, 2013

Democracy Now,

Serious Air Pollution in America is Killing Americans and Trees That Signals a Threat to Our Health and Safety

This is the second or third note I have sent you on this on this critical subject.

Widespread and chronic damage to trees, plants and ecosystems by toxic air pollution, and what it portends for us all, have been documented by Gail Zawacki, a knowledgeable blogger in New Jersey. The evidence presented is pervasive and persuasive. New evidence has come with each post.

See: vagabonding

Her latest post of August 30 details dying and dead trees and plants on both coasts of the US.

I have documented the same sort of destruction in Santa Barbara, California.

See: oaks figs of ficus plums in Santa Barbara or windspiritkeeper

I alerted, and furnished photos to all levels of government: city, county, state, and federal. (I can furnish names of the officials, and approximate dates.)

I appealed to you to cover this story a couple of years ago. The situation is far worse now, and foreboding.

A recently released MIT study regarding 200,000 American deaths from air pollution has data that lists the most lethal and vulnerable areas are the same places with the obvious dying plant life: coastal California and the eastern US, centered at Baltimore, Maryland.

I hope Pacifica and Democracy Now has the resources and courage to tackle this.

Sooner or later, either some responsive new organization will cover this, or the only story to cover is a post disaster obituary.

Thank you,

David Lange