"A GASP For Clean Air" Greater Birmingham Alliance to Stop Pollution

The Greater Birmingham Alliance to Stop Pollution, or GASP, is dedicated to improving air quality in the Birmingham area, ranked the fifth most polluted city in America in short-term particle pollution and 20th in ozone pollution. GASP educates citizens on health risks associated with polluted air and promotes clean air and clean energy production through public policy.

Birmingham's air is notorious for pollution. Asthma rates are sky high and a link has been discovered between particulate pollution and deadly cardiac events, the latter also being a huge problem in Jefferson County, Alabama and the state in general. The warnings are clear and there is enough scientific and medical evidence to back up the assertion that pollution and health are firmly linked together.

But ADEM doesn't listen, city and county officials don't listen, the Alabama legislature is perpetually tone deaf and does nothing to strengthen the laws on what ADEM should do, and the big business machine dismisses any concerns as the ravings of NIMBYS, no-growthers and environmentalist wackos.

Our governors drink from the trough of the Big Mules and kick back at any attempts to have the EPA involved in stricter regulations claiming "state's rights trump federal law." We're a backwards state in this arena that is "corporate friendly" to extremes. Much to the detriment of our citizens.

Governor-elect Bentley said the new ozone standards, which would greatly expand the number of Alabama counties required to take measures to reduce ozone pollution, amount to an intrusion on states' rights.
 "I believe states should have more of a say-so in what's going on within their borders than they do at the present time," Bentley said. "This gets into a state sovereignty issue."

Citizens rights to live and function in clean environments should be a no-brainer, but thanks to the perpetually absent rational thinking on the importance of the environment, Alabamians continue to suffer. If you even mention the word "environment" in any discussion with state agencies and politicians they recoil like Dracula from holy water and  claim there's "no reason to panic," which is, in essence, saying "let's do more studies but let the polluters keep on doing what they're doing while we're studying."

"State and local agencies are basing regulations on EPA rules that don't require the protection of public health," said David Ludder, an environmental lawyer who prepared the report for Conservation Alabama. "If the public is to be protected, the regulatory system has to change. These air monitors are showing that people living around these monitoring stations are breathing toxic air."

If state (and federal) government is not willing to shut down polluters it could stop protecting industry by conducting endless risk assessments and studies. 

GASP and groups like them have been attacked as "the reason manufacturing has left the state" and the only thing that will please these organizations is the "removal of all carbon producing industries from the city of Birmingham and dispersal of all the population in the city."

It's utter nonsense of course, but this is the knee jerk reaction to any group that tries to bring attention to the pervasive corruption that aids the big polluters. That's the number one problem. It's also one of the main reasons there will be no foreseeable positive change in Alabama. Big business likes the relaxed regulatory oversight, it's great for their bottom line and they show their appreciation with sizable campaign contributions. Our own outgoing, but never too far away from influencing policy making, Governor Riley, recently bragged to the NY media circuit about our "business friendly climate and relaxed regulatory agencies."

Talk like that from the highest ranking politician in the state leaves us wondering what kind of deals are really made behind closed doors when recruiting businesses to the area. 

If we were privy to the discussions, we're certain we'd let out a collective gasp of another nature entirely.

Additional resource--USA Today Special Report "Smokestack Effect Toxic Schools"
Alabama's schoolchildren are exposed to some of the dirtiest air and most noxious toxic pollutants in the country.

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