Why do we face a greater risk of smog and bad air in the summer?

Smog is a particularly unhealthy form of air pollution, and it gets worse in the summertime. Smog is formed when exhaust from motor vehicles, emissions from coal-fired power plants, oil refineries, and heavy machinery combine in the air. These emissions react chemically in the presence of heat and sunlight—it forms what is known in the scientific community as ground-level ozone, commonly referred to as smog.

Now summertime is usually a season when many Americans like to get outdoors, and many schoolchildren are out of the classroom and running around outside.

Unfortunately, hot summer days also provide the perfect conditions for smog levels to reach critical levels—resulting in "code red" days, meaning that outdoor activities should be severely restricted. This is especially true for young children, the elderly, and anyone with pre-existing respiratory problems such as asthma, which affects 30 million people in the country.

What are the costs?

Bad air is unhealthy and expensive. Every day in this country, 40,000 people miss school or work due to respiratory illnesses like asthma. Every day, 5,000 people have to visit the emergency room due to these diseases that are made worse by poor air quality. This severely impacts worker productivity, it is inefficient for our economy, and that means that we all have to spend money treating illnesses that could have been prevented.

At least 203 municipalities have enacted local ordinances prohibiting such discrimination. Furthermore, America's largest businesses have adopted policies that protect LGBT workers from discrimination in employment. Currently, 89 percent of Fortune 500 companies have sexual orientation policies, and 43 percent have gender identity policies. Many of these businesses are on the record stating that such policies are good for their bottom lines, because they help recruit the best talent, reduce employee turnover, and create stable work environments for all workers, gay or straight, transgender or not.

Now the cost of treating asthma exacerbated by dirty air is $53 billion every year. $22 billion of that cost is picked up by us taxpayers in the form of Medicare and Medicaid.

Meanwhile, the benefit of cleaning our air far outweighs the cost. Federal studies have found that the total benefits of cleaning our air amount to 40 times the cost of regulation. Put another way, for every $1 we spend on clean air regulation, this country gets back $40 in economic benefits. That means less hospitalizations, less emergency room visits, less missed days of work and school, and less costly treatment needed.

One way or another, we end up paying the bill. Why not invest now in cleaner air and avoid the harm and expense later?

What can we do to reduce smog and clean up our air?

For the past 40 years, the quality of the air we breathe has been significantly improved, thanks in large part to the work of the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA.

The EPA is responsible, among other things, for monitoring and setting federal standards for clean air. This work is done by scientists and experts in the field and backed by extensive research and peer-reviewed studies.

Efforts are currently underway from the Center for American Progress Action Fund and numerous other environmental, public health, and civil rights organizations to encourage all Americans to submit public comments to the EPA. Let them know that you want stronger protection against mercury, arsenic, ozone, and other pollutants that make us sick. You can find a link to the campaign and more information on this page.

All of us will benefit from cleaner air, and we need you to take action.

This summer, the heat is on, and we all need to protect the air we breathe.