A Cup of Green

In The Spotlight: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

January
Mapping Mortality, a series that examines air pollution

Kudos to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for their December series, Mapping mortality, that examines air pollution in Western Pennsylvania.

The series is based on a yearlong Pittsburgh Post-Gazette investigation which spotlights that air pollution problems in western Pennsylvania remain far from being solved. For eight days, the series features a specific topic regarding pollution and how its affecting the area and people.

DAY ONE: THERE’S A LOT OF DEATH OUT THERE – The region at risk
DAY TWO: ‘CLUSTERS’ OF DEATH – Neighbors see patterns of illness, death
DAY THREE: NO FEAR OF PENALTIES – The difficulties of enforcement
DAY FOUR: WE ALL LIVE DOWNWIND -Wind, terrain play a role in pollution
DAY FIVE: ASHES TO ASHES – Disposing of the coal-burning byproduct
DAY SIX: PICKING PARTICLES – Industry looks for specific health threat
DAY SEVEN: UTILITY WORKERS – ‘A union president’s worst nightmare’
DAY EIGHT: WEIGHING THE BENEFITS – Health and coal energy’s benefits, risks

Go to the link below to read the articles for each day and get more information.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/03001/1108747-209.stm

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette site also provides videos and slideshows telling the
human side of the effects of air pollution in western Pennsylvania.
http://multimedia.post-gazette.com/MappingMortality/PartI/default.asp

Finally, a special spotlight on the group of people involved in this yearlong expose that brings the pollution problems to the surface. Click on the link below to see who worked on the project.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10346/1109904-114.stm