Arizona Needs To Clean Up Its Act, Literally
Locked within a sprawling desert, Arizona has built itself into a fully functioning state of the union, packed with large cities, small suburbs, and quaint small towns.
While much of the state holds some of the most naturally beautiful places on earth, larger congregations of humans seem to ruin that, and there's no better example than Phoenix.
One of America's Dirtiest Cities
Recently, experts on pollution and earth science released their list of the "dirtiest" cities in America, and Phoenix unfortunately ranked near the top. Coming in at 6th dirtiest in the nation, the study showed a litany of problems the Valley of the Sun needs to fix.
The main issue with Phoenix is infrastructure, coming in as the worst in the nation. Outside of that, the city holds pretty favorably, ranking 150th in living conditions and 54th in resident dissatisfaction. This shouldn't be surprising, despite the extreme heat and infrastructure issues, people tend to like living in the Phoenix area.
How Can We Fix It?
Now, when I say "dirtiest", I don't mean that trash is flooding the streets. The real issue is air/water quality and greenhouse gas emissions. That leaves us with a bit of a harder response than "pick up trash", but there is still a path forward.
The best thing you can do is encourage urban forests! By planting more trees and other foliage across the metro-area, we can offset the carbon emissions tenfold. Taking public transit is another option, or even just biking short distances (ON COOLER DAYS!!!!!!!). Lastly, make sure your trash is making it to the right receptacle: trash in trash and recycling in recycling.
Together, we can clean up Phoenix!
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