By Brigitte Pellerin, Ottawa Citizen, August 22, 2019
Breathing, most would argue, is a crucial part of survival — so why isn’t the City of Ottawa doing more to measure how much air pollution we’re inhaling?
Since most people consider breathing to be an important part of their daily health regimen, air quality matters. But it can be difficult to find reliable information about what exactly is in the stuff we inhale where we live, work and play. Air quality in Ottawa is relatively good; we haven’t had a smog advisory since 2013. But that doesn’t mean we’re in the clear. (...)We know we need to do this. The city is updating its Air Quality and Climate Change Management Plan, and is supposed to release a new report by year’s end. This is our guide to reducing greenhouse gas emissions alongside goals we set for ourselves in 2005 and which so far we’re nowhere near hitting.https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/pellerin-we-need-clean-air-to-be-healthy