The Washington Times, April 21, 2006

The fact that not a single Code Red day for poor air quality was declared in the nation's capital during the long hot summer of 2005 is proof that the march of environmental progress continues.

So states the 2006 Index of Leading Environmental Indicators, just released by the Pacific Research Institute and Washington-based American Enterprise Institute. Indeed, ozone levels are falling in 19 eastern states where smog has been a recurring problem in the summer.

Even in Los Angeles, the number of exceedances of the ozone standard during the last 30 years has dropped significantly, from 201 in 1975 to 75 in 2005. There are large scale areas of the Los Angeles air basin that have had no exceedances of the ozone standard for the last several years, the report states.