The Next Stop: METRO's Podcast
Episode 70: Let's Clear the Air and Use Public Transit
04-16-2024


Charlie Gagen:  Really in the last decade progress on ozone has stalled and particle pollution is getting worse, particularly in the Houston Metro area.  

Doug Delony:  On this episode of the Next Stop, we are talking air quality, your health, and public transit. 

[Introduction music plays] 

Doug Delony:  IÕd like to welcome Charlie Gagen, Advocacy Director at the American Lung Association. Thank you so much for joining us, Charlie!  

Charlie Gagen:  Hey, thanks for having me. 

Doug Delony:  And real quick, I think most people have probably heard about the American Lung Association like theyÕve heard about the American Heart Association. But many people have probably not taken the time to actually look into what your organization does. Can you give us a quick breakdown? What is the Lung Association? 

Charlie Gagen:  So, the American Lung Association is kind of the premier organization focused on all things lung health. And so, we have kind of three main areas of focus. One is education. One is research, and one is advocacy.  And we work on really all things lung health, so that includes lung diseases like lung cancer, asthma, even the more recent COVID-19, tobacco use, as well as clean air.  

Doug Delony:  And we are recording this in early April 2024. Earth day around the corner. So, I think weÕre touching on a little bit of that education, a little bit of that advocacy, and clean air. We thought, ÒWhy not talk about air quality and pollution in general?Ó Because if the earth is healthy, I believe, I feel, and maybe you agree, that you know, this will help our lungs to also be healthy.

Charlie Gagen:  Absolutely. You know, the air we breathe in has an incredible impact on not only lung health but your entire bodyÕs health. And so when air quality is good, things are good. But when that air quality is bad, you can have some really negative impacts, particularly for certain population groups. 

Doug Delony:  And making the earth healthy is easier said than done, and this podcast is short. But letÕs jump into it. You talked about some of those specific groups, and we can jump into that in a second. But in general, what are some of the health impacts of air pollution or poor air quality? 

Charlie Gagen:  Well, there are obviously a large number of toxic air pollutants that can cause lung disease. We focus a lot, particularly in our upcoming State of the Air report, on particle pollution and ozone. And both of those can cause premature death and other serious health effects like asthma attacks, cardiovascular damage, developmental and reproductive harm. Particle pollution can even cause lung cancer. So, this is a serious concern for us. 

Doug Delony:  And you mentioned that particle vs ozone. What are the differences between those kinds of pollution? 

Charlie Gagen:  Yeah, so particle pollution comes from many sources:  factory, power plants, diesel and gasoline-powered motor vehicles.  As well as, of course, wildfires, which are a growing concern, particularly in Western U.S. These kind of fine particles from these sources go into the lungs and cause all sorts of damage. Ozone, on the other hand, kind of forms in the lower atmosphere when you get a nice, kind of perfect combination of pollutants, usually nitrous oxides and VOCs, and they simply cook together in the sunlight, and through a series of chemical reactions, lead to ozone. And so that causes a whole different set of damage to the lungs, but it kind of really takes that unique combination of having the chemicals around, whether they are from power plants, motor vehicles, or other things, and getting cooked in that hot sun. And, unfortunately, as you know, we get a lot of hot days here in Texas. 

Doug Delony:  It kind of sounds like all modes of transportation, whether by ground or air or water, they can possiblyÑunless I am misunderstandingÑthis can possibly contribute to both particle and ozone pollutions? 

Charlie Gagen:  Yes, thatÕs correct. And thatÕs why so much of our focus, at least on the advocacy level, is on a transition to not only zero-emission vehicles but zero-emission electricity sources. 

Doug Delony:  Right. Okay. Now, circling back to the health impacts. We mentioned, you know, the specific groups that may be even more vulnerable to poor air quality. This is a threat to everyone at every stage of life. However, are there certain groups of people more vulnerable to that pollution though? 

Charlie Gagen:  There are. And so, they include children under 18 with growing and developing lungs, adults over the age 65, those dealing with existing lung diseases like asthma, COPD, and lung cancer, as well as pregnant people. Additionally, we know that people of color disproportionately live in communities with worse air quality. So, you know, if you live near a highway or if you live near a power plant, you are going to have worse air quality than if you didnÕt. 

Doug Delony:  And itÕs interesting you note that because weÕre all about equitable transit, and we know that some of these same communities also sometimes lack in public service, public transportation, so METRO really has a focus in these types of communities as well. How big of a problem is this as far as air quality and pollution? Just generally speaking across the United States, are we talking about thousands of people living with poor air quality? Are we talking millions? Are we talking a fifth of the country? A third? A fourth? I mean, what are we looking at here? 

Charlie Gagen:  I wish it was only thousandsÉ

Doug Delony:  Yeah.  

Charlie Gagen:  Ébut our most recent reports found that one in three people in the U.S. or 120 million live in a county with unhealthy ozone or particle pollution. So, itÕs a serious problem. 

Doug Delony:  Wow. So, some people may think, ÒOh, this doesnÕt impact me. I feel fine. IÕm breathing fine. IÕm healthy.Ó But sometimes these negative impacts can actually kind of build up over time and show up later in life, right? 

Charlie Gagen:  ThatÕs exactly right. You know, if youÕre constantly exposed to these chemicals, they may not have an immediate impact, but over time, you can really get some serious damage, and before you know it, you have a serious lung issue that is going to need more healthcare cost. ItÕs going to impact your quality of life and your ability to live and work in your community.  

Doug Delony:  And even going, I mean, beyond that. I mean, going back to the short-term, it kind of sounds selfish, like, ÒOh, it doesnÕt impact me, but we really donÕt have to think about our neighbors and those that are younger, that are older, that are at greater risk due to this poor air quality when we come to making decisions about how we travel and so on.Ó And I know there are other long-term impacts from pollution. We donÕt have to get into this right now, necessarily, but I was looking over your website, and climate change in general, I was reading on the Lung AssociationÕs website based on studies from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that climate change can even impact the nutritional value of our food, and itÕs not for the better, of course. So, weÕve established the fact that poor air quality is not good for our health. We know thereÕs a problem, so how do we fix it? LetÕs talk about that State of the Air report that you just mentioned. I know this is something that youÕve done for, for more than two decades. What is the State of the Air report from the Lung Association? 

Charlie Gagen:  Yeah, so this is an annual report we release, and this yearÕs report actually comes out at the end of April, so IÕll give you some data based on last yearÕs report, which really looked at, I believe, the years 2019 through 2021. So, it was able to capture some of the pandemic, and unfortunatelyÉ

Doug Delony:  Sure.  

Charlie Gagen:  Éfour Texas cities made the list for the worst ozone pollution in the country, and Houston was on that list. Looking at Texas specifically, the cleanest cities for ozone are Laredo, Victoria, Port Lavaca, and Waco. When we look over to annual particle pollution, Houston is, unfortunately, again on that list. So, Houston really has a lot of work to do to clean up its air quality.  

Doug Delony:  Wow. I know that anytime I see any kind of pollution list or air quality list, IÕm generally gonna see Houston somewhereÑthe Houston region somewhere in the top 10 and top 20 of being, you know, those communities that have the poorest air quality or pollution issues. And, you know, it kind of comes with the territory. We have a lot of people here. And like you mentioned, it gets very hot here. That doesnÕt help as well. And I know you mentioned that new State of the Air report coming out very soon, or it may already be out depending on the time that people actually listen to this podcast episode. Where can people find your latest State of the Air report? 

Charlie Gagen:  Yeah, itÕs right on our website. If you got to lung.org/sota. That stands for State of the Air. YouÕll be able to see either the newest report or the last yearÕs report, depending on when you hear this story.  

Doug Delony:  Okay. Great. And letÕs talk about the solutions. You know, here at METRO, we have a Climate Action Plan that focuses on how we recycle materials, the installation of solar panels at some of our facilities.  We are exploring zero-emission options with our vehicles. Our buses have bike racks on the front or in the cargo area. I know some people that take our shuttles or the Park and Rides from some of the outlying communities. They are unaware that you can actually take a bike into the city on our Park and Ride buses. There is a proper storage area in the cargo hold underneath all the seats, and our trainsÑour METRORail system that allows bikes on board. We have a designated area for cyclists. We also have the STAR Vanpool service thatÕs essentially a carpooling service. So, long story short, would you agree that one way to improve air quality in a communityÑHouston or notÑis encouraging more people to use public transit, to carpool, to walk or bike? In short, get more cars off of the road, right? 

Charlie Gagen:  Absolutely! There is something that everyone can do to improve air pollution, both at the individual level, at the local government level, and of course, at the state and federal government. All have a role to play. Plus corporations and, you know, the power plants and what have you. And I want to commend Houston for their Climate Action PlanÕs commitment to zero-emission buses, to green principles, to energy management Ôcuz you mentioned, you know, thanks to the recent bipartisan infrastructure law, METRO received, I think, $21 million for battery-powered buses. ThatÕs not gonna only clean up the air but give folks more opportunities to reduce their own impact.  

Doug Delony:  And a side benefit too, you know, as you go, we talk about last mile solutions, which are always looking for ways to get people that last mile connection when they get off the bus, they get off the train, and get them to their place of work, get them to their home, to their school, their church. ThereÕs additional benefits with that last mile, though. Nobody likes to walk a mile, but sometimes I choose to walk that mile because walking or biking, it actually gets your heart rate up and it comes with some of its own health benefits.  

Charlie Gagen:  ThatÕs right. Not only is exercising good for you, but youÕre not using some of those more traditional high-emission, you know, whether itÕs an older bus or a car or what have you. So, using public transit, particularly low-emission or zero-emission public transit can really help protect your health and protect otherÕs health.  

Doug Delony:  And thatÕs why weÕre so excited at METRO about some of the new technologies that we continue to adopt and improve upon as far as that zero-emissions vehicles. You mentioned briefly about, you know, the government levels and whatnot. LetÕs start off from a personÕs own ability to make improvements to the air quality. What are some of the actions a person can do? We talked about public transit. Is there anything else that a person can do, a household can do to help reduce pollution in the environment? 

Charlie Gagen:  Yeah. Well, I think, you know, first and foremost, individuals should check the air pollution forecast daily and potentially modify their plans accordingly. So, if it is a high ozone day, maybe consider biking to work or working from home if you have that opportunity. Similarly, there are new tax incentives to reduce emissions from your vehicles and from home appliances. And all of that can kind of start to move the needle and reduce the impacts that individuals are making. 

Doug Delony:  And I noticed on the Lung AssociationÕs website as well, you have recommendations for local governments, as well as all the way up to the federal level. I mean, I know, itÕs a lot to try and address, you know, in a 10- to 20-minute podcast, but can you touch briefly on what governments can do? 

Charlie Gagen:  Yeah, so local governments can do what Houston has done and adopt a Climate Action Plan to reduce emissions. They can transition to zero-emission fleet vehicles. They can set goals for renewable, non-combustion electricity. Additionally, school districts, many have taken advantage of new federal funds for electric school buses. So, itÕs not necessarily just the city, but all of those local entities have an opportunity to improve their air quality. And as we move up to the state and federal government, weÕve really needed to see more investments in zero-emission standards, cleaning up power plants, and investing in air quality monitoring. So, just to give you an example, Houston Metro area only Harris County and Galveston actually have monitors for particle pollution, while Brazoria and Montgomery County also have monitors for ozone pollution. But there are no air quality monitors in Fort Bend or Chambers or Waller County, and so that really makes it difficult for folks to understand what the air quality is, where itÕs bad, and whatÕs causing it. 

Doug Delony:  Very interesting. I was not aware of that. I guess, though, the good news is this sounds pretty familiar to us as far as, you know, taking action to help the climate. Here at METRO, weÕre doing what we can to become greener, if you will, and also encourage others to do the same. And one way I like to encourage people to make a difference is just to try using public transit a day or two out of the week. At least to start. Or commit to a single day where you donÕt use a personal gas-powered vehicle. Start somewhere and then you can work your way up. You donÕt have to sell your car or rely on, you know, public transit 100 percentÑespecially right awayÑbut if we all do something a little different in our weekly or daily routine thatÕs a starting point and then we can work our way up from there, right Charlie? 

Charlie Gagen:  Absolutely. And, you know, we certainly donÕt want to put all the onus on individuals, but there are things we can do.  

Doug Delony:  Yes. Charlie, is there anything else you want to add to this conversation? Anything that we missed? Anything else youÕd like to say?  

Charlie Gagen:  Yeah, well, I wanted to note that, you know, we are making progress. You know, since the late 1990s, air quality has improved significantly, but really in the last decade progress on ozone has stalled and particle pollution is getting worse, particularly in the Houston Metro area. And so thatÕs concerning and thatÕs why weÕre so excited about these new funding opportunities for local governments, for the state, for individuals to kind of better address that.  

Doug Delony:  Thank you. And, yes, METRO, weÕre excited as well. Remind us again real quick, where can we find the American Lung AssociationÕs 2024 State of the Air report when it comes out? 

Charlie Gagen:  The report will come out on Wednesday, April 24th. You can find it at lung.org/sota. 

Doug Delony:  Charlie Gagen, American Lung Association, thank you again for joining us here on the Next Stop.  

Charlie Gagen:  Hey, I really appreciate it, and thanks for yÕallÕs work and helping better educate folks about air quality. 

Doug Delony:  That wraps it up for this edition. Thank you to you as well, the listener, and all of our METRO riders out there. IÕm Doug Delony. If youÕd like to check out more episodes and subscribe, you can find all the links you need on ridemetro.org. As always, drive less and do more with Houston METRO.  

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