May 25, 2018 2 min read

It wasn’t that many years ago that Pittsburgh, during the heyday of the steel industry, was covered in soot and grime, its skies dark on the sunniest of days.

We’ve come a long way since then, in part because of the decline of the steel industry in these parts, but also because of efforts to clean up our air and waterways.

A landmark in these efforts was achieved recently, according to a report from Pittsburgh Today, which said, “Falling ozone pollution levels have led Southwestern Pennsylvania to be declared in ‘attainment’ of the current federal health-based standard, a status that has eluded the region for decades.”

The report wasn’t entirely positive – fine particulate pollution levels were actually up – but the ozone findings were certainly encouraging.

Our concern is that the Trump administration seems to be hell-bent on doing away with as many environmental protections as it can, and the gains we have made in this region when it comes to protecting our air and water quality could be eroded.

But if we aren’t going to get any help from the feds, there are steps that can be taken at the local level to improve our environment.

One example of that is the action taken this week by Pittsburgh City Council, which adopted a climate plan aiming to cut energy and water use by 50 percent citywide.

According to a report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Specifically, the city government will attempt to rely on 100 percent renewable energy, switch to a vehicle fleet that’s free of fossil fuel and divest from fossil-fuel companies. … Citywide objectives include a 50 percent reduction in transportation-related emissions.”

We commend the folks in Pittsburgh, in the face of backward thinking at the federal level, for doing what they can to create a better environment for future generations.