For the first time ever, a city outside of California, (Pittsburg, PA) tops one of the most polluted lists in the American Lung Association’s State of the Air: 2008 report. Los Angeles saw improvements in air quality, dropping its year-round particle pollution levels by nearly one-third in the last decade.

These improvements certainly don’t mean the region’s air quality problems are solved – the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside area still ranks high on the list of cities polluted by short-term particle pollution, or soot, and tops the list as the most polluted metropolitan region for both ozone smog and particle pollution, which carry serious health effects including early death.

But ALA board chair Gwendolyn W. Young told reporters that while Los Angeles still has a long way to go, comprehensive policy models will make a huge difference.

“The adoption of the landmark Clean Trucks Program is a good example of how fighting global warming is a local issue – by reducing local sources of pollution that harm our health, we also reduce pollutants that contribute to global warming.”

You can listen to ALAC’s Colleen Callahan discussing the report and the pollution-reduction promise of the LA Clean Trucks Program developed under the leadership of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa here [download the KPFK evening news from Thursday, May 1].

At the ALA press conference, the green-growth mayor responded that LA is keeping its sleeves rolled up, because "in a city known for smog and sprawl, we've made some significant progress, but we still have work to do so in the coming years Los Angeles is completely off the list."

Mayor Villaraigosa added: "Our future is ultimately tied to a sustainable, clean, and healthy environment."