State of the Air 2011

The Huffington Post's Joanna Zelman posted a very informative article today about air quality in the most polluted United States cities. Unsurprisingly, Houston was listed among the likes of Los Angeles, Philadelphia and New York - blame in part to the huge amounts of particulate matter produced from coal-fired power plants.

Notably, Zelman reports that those at greatest risk from the effects of air pollution include those with asthma, diabetes, and heart disease. It's no secret that Houston has historically frequented the top of the list of Fattest Cities in America. This year, Houston has dropped to #9. We could blame this on Texas food options in general (Texas hosts 5 of the top 10 most overweight cities), but Austin - only a couple hundred miles away, is one of the bottom 10 at #96.

See this image close-up here.