Shared Stories
We all have a reason to fight for clean air. Check out some personal stories below that highlight the need for healthy, safe air, and click here to submit your own.
I live in Albany, NY and have allergy induced COPD. I have two inhalers, live on antihistamines, and have chemical sensitivities as well. I am constantly rolling my car windows up and down, even in zero degree weather, just to cope with traffic fumes while driving. Read more...
— Jennifer, NY
Every summer I have a body breakdown from air pollution. My eyes get very swollen; I have horrible fatigue; and I feel sick most of the time. I have finally decided I will have to leave the area in the summers because of this. Read more...
— Madalyn, DC
My daughter is going to school in Utah, and we visit her there frequently. The air pollution in the Utah Valley is palpable. A brown layer of smog covers the valley, and is especially prominent in the colder months. Air pollution is present even in the remote mountainous regions of the state. Read more...
— Deborah , UT
The article below is from "Independent Reporter" News of Lafayette, and I am absolutely livid about it!! Lafayette is only concerned with the almighty dollar and not people’s health! I am suffering with asthma and COPD, and the air quality here has me incapacitated the majority of the time. I need someone to make sure EPA standards are enforced here in Louisiana and especially in Lafayette... Read more...
— Dale, LA
My sister and I grew up in Owensboro, KY—tobacco central. Our dad and his immediate family all died from lung cancer due to smoking and working in tobacco plants. My sister also had asthma as a baby and growing up. For a long time, she had no complications until she moved to the Houston area near its industrial hub. Read more...
— Yvette, TX
I’ve lived with severe asthma my entire life. As a child, I was in and out of the hospital more times than I can count. Growing up with asthma was difficult, because it kept me from being able to keep up with my peers. Simple outdoor activities like a game of tag or kickball required me to take frequent breaks to ensure I didn’t lose my breath and have an asthma attack on the playground. Read more...
— Eric, OH
I have never smoked and have been living with a rare genetic form of asthma for the past 67 years. I take a very expensive biological drug called Xolair every other week at an outpatient procedure clinic here in Tucson, AZ. Even with this treatment, soot in the air can cause me to have a severe allergic reaction that can be fatal. Since my condition is genetic, it also affects many of my family members including my maternal grandfather who died because of her disease at just 34-years-old. Read more...
— Ruth, AZ
Those of us with COD end up in house all day when the weather changes and soot levels spike. Children with asthma also suffer. Please. We all need your help! Read more...
— THERESA, TX
My reason for fighting for air is that my dad is in the final stages of emphysema and there are not many options left for him. He is on oxygen 24/7 and all the medicine for emphysema that is out there. It hurts me to hear him tell me that it's getting harder for him to breathe and that he has his good days and bad, but mostly bad. Read more...
— kathleen, WI
I commute 22 miles to and from work every day on my bicycle along Lake Shore Drive. Not only is it great exercise, but I know it’s good for the environment too. However, lately I’ve become increasingly more worried about the air pollution I encounter along my route. I can often taste and smell the exhaust that surrounds me. I even changed my route in efforts to avoid some of the heavy traffic pollution, but depending on the direction the wind blows, I can still smell the foul air and am deeply concerned for my health.
Read more...
— Travis, IL
