Last year, an important study at the University of Southern California looked at the relationship between air pollution and bronchitis in children. As pollution levels decreased there were significant decreases in the numbers of children with symptoms of bronchitis, both among those with and among those without asthma. Last month, a larger study was published by Harvard with data on 60 million Medicare beneficiaries comparing air pollution and death rates at the ZIP code level.

The results are stark: as pollution levels go up, people die. Yet Scott Pruitt, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, is more concerned about the well-being of “stakeholders” like the coal and electric power industries. Please let Mr. Pruitt know that no stakeholders are more important than America’s citizens.

Henry W. Rosenberg, M.D.

Northampton

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