As someone who works on air pollution issues, I get to hear stories from a lot of people. People have shared stories about kids with asthma, parents who got cancer from exposures at work, neighbors who got nauseous from the unavoidable accident at the plant down the street, employees who participated in illegal dumping, and just questions from average people about whether or not it is safe for them to take a walk in the morning.

Remarks to “Citizens State of the Bay,” GBCPA conference, September 10, 2005

As someone who works on air pollution issues, I get to hear stories from a lot of people. People have shared stories about kids with asthma, parents who got cancer from exposures at work, neighbors who got nauseous from the “unavoidable” accident at the plant down the street, employees who participated in illegal dumping, and just questions from average people about whether or not it is safe for them to take a walk in the morning.

I’m fortunate to be in good health, and to have three children and a wife who are also in good health. We don’t live very close to a chemical plant. Yet I am going to beg your indulgence and begin with my own story.

The Houston Chronicle's In Harm's Way series has justifiably received a lot of attention. Reporter Dina Capiello and photographer Carlos Antonio Rios have described the causes and effects of toxic air pollution in a way that hasn't been seen since Bill Dawson's coverage in the 1990s.

The coverage speaks for itself, but a few comments are in order.

The most impressive aspect of the series is the manner in which the reporting helped educate the volunteers about the presence of air pollution and its potential effect on their health. The data aren't particularly new - they pretty much reflect what we already know about these neighborhoods based on the official air quality monitoring data. But the Chronicle's monitoring clearly changed the minds of the people whose homes were monitored - which was very instructive.