Letter to the Editor:

Thank you for the excellent New York Sun editorial on environmental progress, which cites our research on air pollution ["Happy Earth Day," Editorial, April 20, 2005]. One point your editorial didn't mention, however, is that New York City just won a kind of atmospheric Oscar by making the "Most Improved List" in a recent air-quality report by the Environmental Protection Agency.

New York's air has been becoming increasingly clean for some time now. In fact, from 1992-2003, there were only 165 days total in which NYC exceeded the EPA's standard for air pollution. That's down from 336 days in the previous decade. New York State was also a top-10 winner for reducing its fumes from power plants. Between 1990 and 2002, New York reduced its sulfur dioxide emissions - which contribute to ozone pollution and acid rain - by a dramatic 46 %.

Who would have thought that New York City - home of the Lincoln Tunnel - would be leading a national trend toward cleaner air?

SALLY C. PIPES
President and CEO Pacific Research Institute
Co-publisher of the annual Index Of Leading Environmental Indicators
San Francisco