Actually, I guess that should say, “is less likely to kill you.”

A study released by a Swiss pollution monitoring company, IQAir, states that zero cities met the World Health Organization’s guidelines for good air quality. And of the world’s approximated 10,000 cities, only 222 of them have an “average” air quality.

Seven million people die each year due to air pollution. And pollution leads to climate change and climate change leads to all sorts of atrocities—not just for our health and that of our planet, but we’ll see more mass migration, land loss, and wars over resources. We can’t all sit cozy and ignorant in our cul-de-sacs forever. The “smoking section” analogy works well here. It may seem like the worst air pollution only hovers over certain cities. And on a very small scale, yes, that is correct. But air moves. Pollutants waft. The temperature rises. The results of climate change are planet-wide and happen to all of us.

So, if you want to temporarily move somewhere that’s a little better for your lungs (for now) consider these cities in the United States and Canada that had the cleanest air in 2021 (from best to worst):

1. Labrador City, Newfoundland
2. Sahuarity, Arizona
3. Fortuna Foothills, Arizona
4. Florence, Oregon
5. Kitimat, British Columbia
6. Delta, British Columbia
7. Terrace, British Columbia
8. New River, Arizona
9. Longview, Washington
10. Oak Harbor, Washington

And if you live in these cities, your lungs are in for a rough ride (starting from the worst):

1. Three Rivers, California
2. Pollock Pines, California
3. Indian Hills, Nevada
4. Terrell, Texas
5. Altamont, Oregon
6. South Lake Tahoe, California
7. Susanville, California
8. Johnson Lake, Nevada
9. Exeter, California
10. Klamath Falls, Oregon

I find it interesting that Oregon made both the best and the worst list. And while California dominates the “worst” list, let’s remember that while it’s massively populated, it’s also had massive forest fires contributing to the poor air quality, and again, we are all responsible for that—not just Californians. (I think it’s safe to say that both Oregon and Nevada might have been similarly affected, as neighbor states.)

What are three things we can do to help our air quality situation?

>> Think of ways we can use our cars less often.

>> Purchase more of our clothes second-hand.

>> Line-dry our laundry.

Simple and easy. And though they may be tiny changes, each little change adds up.