#land for sale ocala national forest

[alwaysaffordableland]

Your Dream Property: Explore, Invest, and Thrive with Our Prime Land Listings

Embark on your journey to owning a piece of Florida’s charm with our extensive selection of Ocala land for sale and cheap land in Florida. At Always Affordable Land, we understand the significance of owning land — whether it’s for building your dream home, starting a farm, or simply investing in your future. With our commitment to affordability, simplicity, and accessibility, we’re here to guide you every step of the way.

Purchasing Land Made Effortless:

Are you ready to turn your dreams into reality? Here’s how you can get started in just three simple steps:

Fill in our short form: Tell us your preferences and requirements by filling out a short form on our website. Whether you’re looking for a specific location or have questions about our listings, our team is here to assist you.

Pick a payment option: We offer a variety of financing options to suit your needs, including low down payments and affordable financing with little to no interest. Plus, there are no closing costs or agent commissions associated with buying land from us — making it easier and more cost-effective for you.

Complete your purchase: Once you’ve chosen your ideal property and payment option, completing your purchase is as easy as providing your credit or ACH payment information. In no time, you’ll be the proud owner of a piece of Florida’s breathtaking landscape.

What Sets Us Apart:

At Always Affordable Land, we prioritize making land ownership accessible to everyone. Here’s what makes us stand out:

Low down payments: We offer low down payment options, making it easier for individuals from all walks of life to purchase land.

Affordable financing: Our financing options come with competitive rates and, in some cases, no interest — ensuring that land ownership remains within reach.

No closing costs or agent commissions: Say goodbye to unexpected fees and expenses. When you buy land from us, there are no closing costs or real estate agent commissions involved.

No credit checks: Worried about your credit score? Don’t be. We handle all applications in-house without pulling your credit, ensuring a hassle-free experience for our customers.

Exclusive off-market deals: Gain access to exclusive properties that are not available elsewhere by visiting our website.

Flexible payment options: Whether you prefer credit card payments or ACH transfers, we make the payment process simple and convenient for you.

Check Out Our Featured Properties:

Explore our featured properties in Ocala, Florida, and beyond:

SW 40th St Ocala, FL 34481: 0.23 acres available for just $266 per month.

Dogwood Run Ocala, Florida 34472: 0.20 acres of prime land for sale at just $355 per month.

Customer Testimonials:

But don’t just take our word for it — hear what our satisfied customers have to say:

Vena Reynolds: “The customer service at this company is excellent. Michael Hopkins was accommodating and responsive to all of my questions.”

Joneisy Diaz: “Affordable land makes it so easy for people to afford a piece of land. Really smooth transaction… I highly recommend!”

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And many more!

About Us:

Always Affordable Land is dedicated to making land ownership a reality for everyone. Founded by Michael Hopkins, a seasoned professional in the land and new construction industry, our company aims to break down barriers to land ownership by offering affordable financing options and exceptional customer service.

Start Your Journey Today:

Ready to unlock your dream property in Ocala or elsewhere in Florida? Get started by browsing our listings or contacting us directly for personalized assistance. Your dream of owning land is within reach — let us help you make it a reality. Contact us today to check the list of cheap land in florida.

[usjobsfinder]

Information Receptionist - Silver Spring, USA

Duties

Summary

This position is located on the Ocala National Forest; Lake George Ranger District. This position is located on a Forest Service unit to provide information receptionist services. For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact Leigh Ostin 352-625-2520 X2504 or by email at leigh.ostin@usda.gov.

Responsibilities

Greets visitors and responds to phone and written inquiries, which often requires an explanation in general terms of functions of the Agency.

Explains rules relating to the use of recreational areas and their facilities.

Explains methods of preventing forest fires. Answers questions regarding fuelwood inquiries.

Prepares Bills for Collection and transmits cash to Unit Collection Officer.

Transmits, receives, and acknowledges electronic mail and messages and make distribution.

Serves as Collection Officer to sell such items as National Forest maps, Christmas tree permits, 2400-4's (Forest Product Sale Permits), and Golden Age Passports in accordance with manual and handbook requirements.

Is responsible for correct spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation, and for applying routing and clearance procedures.

Composes letters and mails appropriate material in answer to inquiries from the public on recreation opportunities, or Forest Service history.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - Occasionally with overnight lodging will be required for meetings, trainings, workshops, and field/site visits and reviews.

Supervisory status

No

Promotion Potential

None

Job family (Series)

0304 Information Receptionist

Requirements

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.

Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.

Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.

Successful completion of one year probationary period, unless previously served.

Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.

Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards. Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary. Specialized Experience Requirement: For the GS-04: You must have one year of general experience. General experience is defined as some of the following:progressively responsible clerical, office, or other work that indicates ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position to be filled OR successfully completed two (2) years of education above high school. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) or Reemployment Priority List (RPL): To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/ICTAP/RPL candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100. Veterans who are preference eligible or who have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after three years or more of continuous active service are eligible for consideration under the Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA). Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) provides current or former temporary and term employees the opportunity to compete for permanent competitive service positions. Individuals must have more than 24 months of service without a break between appointments of two or more years and the last temporary or term appointment must have been with the Forest Service. Service must be in the competitive service and have been at a successful level of performance or better. Part-time and intermittent service will be credited only for time actually worked. Non-pay status (such as LWOP) is credited for up to six months in a calendar year; anything beyond six months is not credited. Applicants are responsible for providing sufficient information/documentation to determine if the 24 month criteria is met. This is a bargaining unit position represented by the National Federation of Federal Employees, IAMAW.

source https://usjobsfinder.com/en/information-receptionist/1196

[realestate63141]

We Come Clean About the Least Polluted U.S. Cities (and the Dirtiest)

jmsilva/iStock; Zview/iStock

Life in a big city can often seem downright hazardous to your health. There are overly aggressive drivers, reckless bicyclists, ill-tempered hot dog vendors, and pedestrians more engrossed in their Tinder accounts than the oncoming traffic—and that’s just when you’re trying to cross the street. Try fighting over the only-available taxi, the best bar stools during the NBA finals, or the last pair of Louboutins on sale in your size.

But most perilous of all might just be the environment itself.

That air you’re sucking in? It’s thick with exhaust fumes, secondhand smoke, and whatever’s being cooked up in that sketchy warehouse around the corner. Want to ease your scratchy throat with a cool drink of water from the nearby fountain? Watch out, it might contain lead!

Pollution has long been as integral to American urban life as slow-walking tourists, besuited executives, and trendy restaurants. But here’s the good news: There are metropolitan areas where you can enjoy the benefits of city life and breathe freely (and safely) while you do it.

Our data team crunched some numbers to find just where those urban Edens might be, and then donned biohazard gear to determine their most soiled siblings. A pattern soon emerged: The cleanest cities are typically set amid agricultural communities, with a national forest or natural reserve nearby. Meanwhile, the most polluted cities are former industrial hubs in the Rust Belt and along the Gulf of Mexico.

Overall, though, pollution in the U.S. has declined quite a bit in recent years. The nation’s industrial facilities released 25% less toxic chemicals in 2015 than in 2005, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency. Give the credit to green chemistry, improved waste management, and fewer industrial facilities, says EPA spokesman Robert Daguillard.

“Air quality has gotten much better because of preventions that were put into place under the 1970 Clean Air Act,” says Janice Nolen, assistant vice president of the American Lung Association. The federal law was designed to limit air pollution.

And the impact is being felt. Los Angeles, once the American poster child for smog, still has some of the nation’s worst air quality, but it’s been steadily improving for decades. There were only six clear L.A. days (where air pollution poses little risk) in 1980, according to the EPA. Last year there were 65.

Despite the improvements, about half of Americans still live with unhealthy levels of air pollution, Nolen notes.

Los Angeles in 1956 (left) and 2017

Left: American Stock/Getty Images; right: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

To find the big cities where the air is pristine and the water safe to drink—and the ones where they aren’t—we ranked the 150 largest metros by the following criteria:

Toxic chemicals released from factories*

Greenhouse gas emissions per square mile

Number of Superfund sites per square mile

Air quality, measured by the number of clear days in a year

Water quality, measured by contaminants like lead, copper, arsenic, nitrate, and more

Ready? Take a deep breath: Here’s what we learned about the nation’s least and most polluted cities.

Florida leads the way Vibrant (and clean) community in Naples, FL

Anne Rippy/Getty Images

The Sunshine State might be best known for its oranges, brilliantly clothed retirees, and propensity for swing votes, but it also leads the country in air quality. With sea winds sweeping over the mostly flat terrain from both its east and west coasts, noxious emissions tend to be blown away. And there aren’t that many to start with: Florida has never been a heavy industrial state. The mainstays of the state’s economy—tourism, agriculture, and international trade—are all relatively light in pollution.

The cleanest city in our analysis, Naples, in southwest Florida, is famous as an ecotourism destination. Surrounded by natural reserves like the Everglades, Ten Thousand Islands, and Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, it also has one of the few remaining undisturbed mangrove estuaries in North America.

“Collier County [which includes Naples] has more acres of protected lands than any other county in Florida,” says Renee Wilson, spokeswoman for Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. “This is mostly due to the wetland characteristic of the Everglades … 110,000 acres of protected sanctuary.”

Tucked in Central Florida’s horse country, Ocala (No. 3) is home to a national forest with the world’s largest sand pine tree habitat—a glorious 673 square miles of vegetation, absorbing carbon dioxide in the air and pumping out fresh oxygen. Not enough for you? Check out the crystal-clear water of Silver Springs, best known for its star turn in the (many) underwater fight scenes of the classic Sean Connery–era James Bond movie “Thunderball.”

Oregon, the green state Solar panel array outside a Willamette Valley winery, near Salem, OR.

George Rose/Getty Images

Just outside Salem in northwest Oregon, Illahe Vineyard is committed to making wine without electricity or fossil fuels. The grapes are hand-picked and hauled to the winery by a team of horses instead of machines. Winemakers then take turns pedaling a bike to pump grapes into wine barrels.

That’s eco-conscious Salem (No. 2) for you—and Oregon as a whole. Last year, the state became the first in the nation to pass a law to phase out coal completely, requiring its largest utilities to supply at least half of their electricity from renewable resources, like wind and solar, by 2040.

Salem residents are crazy about their bikes, pushing the percentage of commuters who bike or walk to work 40% higher than the national average. With fewer cars hitting the roads, Salem didn’t have a single day with bad air last year, according to the EPA’s air quality index.

Oregon is famed for its craft beer, and anyone who enjoys a refreshing pint or three of pale ale should give credit where credit is due: the state’s clean (and tasty) water. Eugene’s (No. 7) water supplies come from the McKenzie River, which originates deep in the Willamette National Forest.

“We here in Eugene are lucky enough that the McKenzie River is pretty much ideal for making beer,” boasts Dan Russo from Oakshire Brewing.

Two Californias: Agricultural vs. industrial The city of Santa Rosa doesn’t produce a ton of toxic chemicals (literally).

George Rose/Getty Images

While Southern California has a lousy rep when it comes to pollution, two agricultural communities in Northern California are exactly the opposite.

Salinas (No. 10), which bills itself as the “Salad Bowl of the World” (you can’t make this up, folks), grows roughly 70% of the nation’s lettuce. Nobel Prize–winning author John Steinbeck grew up here, and wrote lyrically about the region’s golden beauty in his 1952 novel, “East of Eden.”

More than a half-century later, Salinas Valley is still agricultural. Low industrial and traffic emissions, and openness to the sea, keep its air among the cleanest in the nation. It’s one of a handful of cities that have a low concentration of all major categories of harmful air pollutants.

Drive 50 miles north of San Francisco, and you enter a different world: Wine country, redwood forests, farms, and rivers are all part of the landscape of Santa Rosa (No. 5). Pollutants there are virtually nonexistent—the whole metro produced 121.2 pounds of toxic chemicals in 2015. To put it into perspective, the New York metro produced 630,000 times more.

OK, let’s go to the dirty side:

Rust Belt pollution renaissance Scenic Philadelphia, PA

Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images

The Rust Belt has retired numerous coal-fired plants and made major efforts to clean up its air in the past three decades, but new environmental challenges have emerged: Pennsylvania has become the new hot spot for natural gas and oil production, along with all the toxic output that comes from it. The worst polluter in the country is Philadelphia, where a whopping 13.4 million pounds of poisonous chemicals were released in 2015 by oil refineries, shipyards, and auto manufacturers, the EPA reported.

The situation is most dire in Southwest Philly, where crude-oil trains chug through like clockwork. They’re sometimes called “bomb trains,” because the oil has an unwelcome tendency to occasionally catch fire and explode. Plumes of white smoke from oil refineries can be seen and sniffed from most residents’ backyards. The smoke isn’t always white, either—it was pink when a boiler exploded at the Veolia steam energy plant last year and black when fire broke out at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery the year before.

Almost half of Philadelphia children living in poverty have asthma, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania.

“There are little lungs that are still developing that are taking in lots of toxic air. [They] are particularly susceptible to these pollutants,” says Philly resident Christine Dolle with Moms Clean Air Force, a national community of parents working to combat air pollution. “As a parent, I wouldn’t want my kids swinging on the swing 20 feet from [crude-oil train]. Would you?”

The Gulf of Mexico’s ‘Dead Zone’ A refinery in Houston, TX

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The Gulf of Mexico has accumulated waste from oil drilling and farmland pollution brought down the Mississippi River. Agricultural and sewage-plant runoff has also triggered algae blooms that block oxygen in the air from reaching the water, smothering marine life. A low-oxygen area known as the Dead Zone has grown to the size of Connecticut.

Even though chemical releases in the area are down 15% in the past decade, oil boomtowns like Houston (No. 3) and New Orleans (No. 6) are still suffering irreversible damage from toxic oil refining processes. In East Houston’s adjacent neighborhoods of Harrisburg and Manchester, low-income residents are struggling just to breathe.

Juan Parras, an advocate for environmental justice, notes that chemical plants are just one fence away from residential homes in the community. Manchester has more than 10 plants, including two oil refineries, and a synthetic rubber plant.

Like many residents of Manchester, Yudith Nieto, a 28-year-old teacher, grew up with asthma. Whenever she got a cold, it would last months because the air was so bad. Since she’s moved away from the neighborhood, her health has improved, she says.

Due to long-term exposure to chemicals, Manchester residents have a 24% to 30% higher cancer risk when compared with upscale west Houston communities, according to a new study by the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit science charity.

“Those people who want to leave feel stuck,” Nieto says. “Nobody wants to buy their homes.”

Not-so-squeaky-clean Salt Lake City Blue skies and blue pools at a copper refinery in Utah.

JodiJacobson/Getty Images

Salt Lake City (No. 8) may appear to be a center of clean living (thanks, Mormons!) and pristine wilderness (thanks, snow-capped mountains!), but as it turns out, those picturesque peaks are actually bad for air quality. Cold air gets stuck between the mountains, trapping the toxic emissions from cars and industry. In the winter, Salt Lake City can be shrouded in smog for weeks in a row. Last year, the city barely saw clear air for half the year, according to the EPA.

West of Salt Lake City, Kennecott Utah Copper has the largest open copper mine in the world. Its power plant, smelter, and refinery released more than 200 million pounds of toxic chemicals into the air, water, and soil in 2015, according to EPA data.

But everyday human activity is responsible for much of the air’s contamination.

“The problem is automobiles, trucks, transportation that account for 50% of air pollution. … We are all part of it, we all pollute,” says Ted Wilson, a former mayor of Salt Lake City and director of Utah Clean Air Partnership.

* Toxic chemicals from factories were measured by total released amount per square mile and a calculated score that indicates the exposure and toxicity of those chemicals. The score used the EPA’s Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators, which take into account the amount of toxic chemicals released, each chemical’s relative toxicity, and potential human exposure.

Data source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Program, Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, Toxics Release Inventory Program, Air Quality Index, National Water Quality Monitoring Council

The post We Come Clean About the Least Polluted U.S. Cities (and the Dirtiest) appeared first on Real Estate News & Advice | realtor.com®.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2l30pRC

[gillespialfredoe01806ld]

We Come Clean About the Least Polluted U.S. Cities (and the Dirtiest)

jmsilva/iStock; Zview/iStock

Life in a big city can often seem downright hazardous to your health. There are overly aggressive drivers, reckless bicyclists, ill-tempered hot dog vendors, and pedestrians more engrossed in their Tinder accounts than the oncoming traffic—and that’s just when you’re trying to cross the street. Try fighting over the only-available taxi, the best bar stools during the NBA finals, or the last pair of Louboutins on sale in your size.

But most perilous of all might just be the environment itself.

That air you’re sucking in? It’s thick with exhaust fumes, secondhand smoke, and whatever’s being cooked up in that sketchy warehouse around the corner. Want to ease your scratchy throat with a cool drink of water from the nearby fountain? Watch out, it might contain lead!

Pollution has long been as integral to American urban life as slow-walking tourists, besuited executives, and trendy restaurants. But here’s the good news: There are metropolitan areas where you can enjoy the benefits of city life and breathe freely (and safely) while you do it.

Our data team crunched some numbers to find just where those urban Edens might be, and then donned biohazard gear to determine their most soiled siblings. A pattern soon emerged: The cleanest cities are typically set amid agricultural communities, with a national forest or natural reserve nearby. Meanwhile, the most polluted cities are former industrial hubs in the Rust Belt and along the Gulf of Mexico.

Overall, though, pollution in the U.S. has declined quite a bit in recent years. The nation’s industrial facilities released 25% less toxic chemicals in 2015 than in 2005, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency. Give the credit to green chemistry, improved waste management, and fewer industrial facilities, says EPA spokesman Robert Daguillard.

“Air quality has gotten much better because of preventions that were put into place under the 1970 Clean Air Act,” says Janice Nolen, assistant vice president of the American Lung Association. The federal law was designed to limit air pollution.

And the impact is being felt. Los Angeles, once the American poster child for smog, still has some of the nation’s worst air quality, but it’s been steadily improving for decades. There were only six clear L.A. days (where air pollution poses little risk) in 1980, according to the EPA. Last year there were 65.

Despite the improvements, about half of Americans still live with unhealthy levels of air pollution, Nolen notes.

Los Angeles in 1956 (left) and 2017

Left: American Stock/Getty Images; right: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

To find the big cities where the air is pristine and the water safe to drink—and the ones where they aren’t—we ranked the 150 largest metros by the following criteria:

Toxic chemicals released from factories*

Greenhouse gas emissions per square mile

Number of Superfund sites per square mile

Air quality, measured by the number of clear days in a year

Water quality, measured by contaminants like lead, copper, arsenic, nitrate, and more

Ready? Take a deep breath: Here’s what we learned about the nation’s least and most polluted cities.

Florida leads the way Vibrant (and clean) community in Naples, FL

Anne Rippy/Getty Images

The Sunshine State might be best known for its oranges, brilliantly clothed retirees, and propensity for swing votes, but it also leads the country in air quality. With sea winds sweeping over the mostly flat terrain from both its east and west coasts, noxious emissions tend to be blown away. And there aren’t that many to start with: Florida has never been a heavy industrial state. The mainstays of the state’s economy—tourism, agriculture, and international trade—are all relatively light in pollution.

The cleanest city in our analysis, Naples, in southwest Florida, is famous as an ecotourism destination. Surrounded by natural reserves like the Everglades, Ten Thousand Islands, and Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, it also has one of the few remaining undisturbed mangrove estuaries in North America.

“Collier County [which includes Naples] has more acres of protected lands than any other county in Florida,” says Renee Wilson, spokeswoman for Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. “This is mostly due to the wetland characteristic of the Everglades … 110,000 acres of protected sanctuary.”

Tucked in Central Florida’s horse country, Ocala (No. 3) is home to a national forest with the world’s largest sand pine tree habitat—a glorious 673 square miles of vegetation, absorbing carbon dioxide in the air and pumping out fresh oxygen. Not enough for you? Check out the crystal-clear water of Silver Springs, best known for its star turn in the (many) underwater fight scenes of the classic Sean Connery–era James Bond movie “Thunderball.”

Oregon, the green state Solar panel array outside a Willamette Valley winery, near Salem, OR.

George Rose/Getty Images

Just outside Salem in northwest Oregon, Illahe Vineyard is committed to making wine without electricity or fossil fuels. The grapes are hand-picked and hauled to the winery by a team of horses instead of machines. Winemakers then take turns pedaling a bike to pump grapes into wine barrels.

That’s eco-conscious Salem (No. 2) for you—and Oregon as a whole. Last year, the state became the first in the nation to pass a law to phase out coal completely, requiring its largest utilities to supply at least half of their electricity from renewable resources, like wind and solar, by 2040.

Salem residents are crazy about their bikes, pushing the percentage of commuters who bike or walk to work 40% higher than the national average. With fewer cars hitting the roads, Salem didn’t have a single day with bad air last year, according to the EPA’s air quality index.

Oregon is famed for its craft beer, and anyone who enjoys a refreshing pint or three of pale ale should give credit where credit is due: the state’s clean (and tasty) water. Eugene’s (No. 7) water supplies come from the McKenzie River, which originates deep in the Willamette National Forest.

“We here in Eugene are lucky enough that the McKenzie River is pretty much ideal for making beer,” boasts Dan Russo from Oakshire Brewing.

Two Californias: Agricultural vs. industrial The city of Santa Rosa doesn’t produce a ton of toxic chemicals (literally).

George Rose/Getty Images

While Southern California has a lousy rep when it comes to pollution, two agricultural communities in Northern California are exactly the opposite.

Salinas (No. 10), which bills itself as the “Salad Bowl of the World” (you can’t make this up, folks), grows roughly 70% of the nation’s lettuce. Nobel Prize–winning author John Steinbeck grew up here, and wrote lyrically about the region’s golden beauty in his 1952 novel, “East of Eden.”

More than a half-century later, Salinas Valley is still agricultural. Low industrial and traffic emissions, and openness to the sea, keep its air among the cleanest in the nation. It’s one of a handful of cities that have a low concentration of all major categories of harmful air pollutants.

Drive 50 miles north of San Francisco, and you enter a different world: Wine country, redwood forests, farms, and rivers are all part of the landscape of Santa Rosa (No. 5). Pollutants there are virtually nonexistent—the whole metro produced 121.2 pounds of toxic chemicals in 2015. To put it into perspective, the New York metro produced 630,000 times more.

OK, let’s go to the dirty side:

Rust Belt pollution renaissance Scenic Philadelphia, PA

Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images

The Rust Belt has retired numerous coal-fired plants and made major efforts to clean up its air in the past three decades, but new environmental challenges have emerged: Pennsylvania has become the new hot spot for natural gas and oil production, along with all the toxic output that comes from it. The worst polluter in the country is Philadelphia, where a whopping 13.4 million pounds of poisonous chemicals were released in 2015 by oil refineries, shipyards, and auto manufacturers, the EPA reported.

The situation is most dire in Southwest Philly, where crude-oil trains chug through like clockwork. They’re sometimes called “bomb trains,” because the oil has an unwelcome tendency to occasionally catch fire and explode. Plumes of white smoke from oil refineries can be seen and sniffed from most residents’ backyards. The smoke isn’t always white, either—it was pink when a boiler exploded at the Veolia steam energy plant last year and black when fire broke out at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery the year before.

Almost half of Philadelphia children living in poverty have asthma, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania.

“There are little lungs that are still developing that are taking in lots of toxic air. [They] are particularly susceptible to these pollutants,” says Philly resident Christine Dolle with Moms Clean Air Force, a national community of parents working to combat air pollution. “As a parent, I wouldn’t want my kids swinging on the swing 20 feet from [crude-oil train]. Would you?”

The Gulf of Mexico’s ‘Dead Zone’ A refinery in Houston, TX

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The Gulf of Mexico has accumulated waste from oil drilling and farmland pollution brought down the Mississippi River. Agricultural and sewage-plant runoff has also triggered algae blooms that block oxygen in the air from reaching the water, smothering marine life. A low-oxygen area known as the Dead Zone has grown to the size of Connecticut.

Even though chemical releases in the area are down 15% in the past decade, oil boomtowns like Houston (No. 3) and New Orleans (No. 6) are still suffering irreversible damage from toxic oil refining processes. In East Houston’s adjacent neighborhoods of Harrisburg and Manchester, low-income residents are struggling just to breathe.

Juan Parras, an advocate for environmental justice, notes that chemical plants are just one fence away from residential homes in the community. Manchester has more than 10 plants, including two oil refineries, and a synthetic rubber plant.

Like many residents of Manchester, Yudith Nieto, a 28-year-old teacher, grew up with asthma. Whenever she got a cold, it would last months because the air was so bad. Since she’s moved away from the neighborhood, her health has improved, she says.

Due to long-term exposure to chemicals, Manchester residents have a 24% to 30% higher cancer risk when compared with upscale west Houston communities, according to a new study by the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit science charity.

“Those people who want to leave feel stuck,” Nieto says. “Nobody wants to buy their homes.”

Not-so-squeaky-clean Salt Lake City Blue skies and blue pools at a copper refinery in Utah.

JodiJacobson/Getty Images

Salt Lake City (No. 8) may appear to be a center of clean living (thanks, Mormons!) and pristine wilderness (thanks, snow-capped mountains!), but as it turns out, those picturesque peaks are actually bad for air quality. Cold air gets stuck between the mountains, trapping the toxic emissions from cars and industry. In the winter, Salt Lake City can be shrouded in smog for weeks in a row. Last year, the city barely saw clear air for half the year, according to the EPA.

West of Salt Lake City, Kennecott Utah Copper has the largest open copper mine in the world. Its power plant, smelter, and refinery released more than 200 million pounds of toxic chemicals into the air, water, and soil in 2015, according to EPA data.

But everyday human activity is responsible for much of the air’s contamination.

“The problem is automobiles, trucks, transportation that account for 50% of air pollution. … We are all part of it, we all pollute,” says Ted Wilson, a former mayor of Salt Lake City and director of Utah Clean Air Partnership.

* Toxic chemicals from factories were measured by total released amount per square mile and a calculated score that indicates the exposure and toxicity of those chemicals. The score used the EPA’s Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators, which take into account the amount of toxic chemicals released, each chemical’s relative toxicity, and potential human exposure.

Data source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Program, Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, Toxics Release Inventory Program, Air Quality Index, National Water Quality Monitoring Council

The post We Come Clean About the Least Polluted U.S. Cities (and the Dirtiest) appeared first on Real Estate News & Advice | realtor.com®.

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We Come Clean About the Least Polluted U.S. Cities (and the Dirtiest)

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Life in a big city can often seem downright hazardous to your health. There are overly aggressive drivers, reckless bicyclists, ill-tempered hot dog vendors, and pedestrians more engrossed in their Tinder accounts than the oncoming traffic—and that’s just when you’re trying to cross the street. Try fighting over the only-available taxi, the best bar stools during the NBA finals, or the last pair of Louboutins on sale in your size.

But most perilous of all might just be the environment itself.

That air you’re sucking in? It’s thick with exhaust fumes, secondhand smoke, and whatever’s being cooked up in that sketchy warehouse around the corner. Want to ease your scratchy throat with a cool drink of water from the nearby fountain? Watch out, it might contain lead!

Pollution has long been as integral to American urban life as slow-walking tourists, besuited executives, and trendy restaurants. But here’s the good news: There are metropolitan areas where you can enjoy the benefits of city life and breathe freely (and safely) while you do it.

Our data team crunched some numbers to find just where those urban Edens might be, and then donned biohazard gear to determine their most soiled siblings. A pattern soon emerged: The cleanest cities are typically set amid agricultural communities, with a national forest or natural reserve nearby. Meanwhile, the most polluted cities are former industrial hubs in the Rust Belt and along the Gulf of Mexico.

Overall, though, pollution in the U.S. has declined quite a bit in recent years. The nation’s industrial facilities released 25% less toxic chemicals in 2015 than in 2005, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency. Give the credit to green chemistry, improved waste management, and fewer industrial facilities, says EPA spokesman Robert Daguillard.

“Air quality has gotten much better because of preventions that were put into place under the 1970 Clean Air Act,” says Janice Nolen, assistant vice president of the American Lung Association. The federal law was designed to limit air pollution.

And the impact is being felt. Los Angeles, once the American poster child for smog, still has some of the nation’s worst air quality, but it’s been steadily improving for decades. There were only six clear L.A. days (where air pollution poses little risk) in 1980, according to the EPA. Last year there were 65.

Despite the improvements, about half of Americans still live with unhealthy levels of air pollution, Nolen notes.

Los Angeles in 1956 (left) and 2017

Left: American Stock/Getty Images; right: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

To find the big cities where the air is pristine and the water safe to drink—and the ones where they aren’t—we ranked the 150 largest metros by the following criteria:

Toxic chemicals released from factories*

Greenhouse gas emissions per square mile

Number of Superfund sites per square mile

Air quality, measured by the number of clear days in a year

Water quality, measured by contaminants like lead, copper, arsenic, nitrate, and more

Ready? Take a deep breath: Here’s what we learned about the nation’s least and most polluted cities.

Florida leads the way Vibrant (and clean) community in Naples, FL

Anne Rippy/Getty Images

The Sunshine State might be best known for its oranges, brilliantly clothed retirees, and propensity for swing votes, but it also leads the country in air quality. With sea winds sweeping over the mostly flat terrain from both its east and west coasts, noxious emissions tend to be blown away. And there aren’t that many to start with: Florida has never been a heavy industrial state. The mainstays of the state’s economy—tourism, agriculture, and international trade—are all relatively light in pollution.

The cleanest city in our analysis, Naples, in southwest Florida, is famous as an ecotourism destination. Surrounded by natural reserves like the Everglades, Ten Thousand Islands, and Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, it also has one of the few remaining undisturbed mangrove estuaries in North America.

“Collier County [which includes Naples] has more acres of protected lands than any other county in Florida,” says Renee Wilson, spokeswoman for Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. “This is mostly due to the wetland characteristic of the Everglades … 110,000 acres of protected sanctuary.”

Tucked in Central Florida’s horse country, Ocala (No. 3) is home to a national forest with the world’s largest sand pine tree habitat—a glorious 673 square miles of vegetation, absorbing carbon dioxide in the air and pumping out fresh oxygen. Not enough for you? Check out the crystal-clear water of Silver Springs, best known for its star turn in the (many) underwater fight scenes of the classic Sean Connery–era James Bond movie “Thunderball.”

Oregon, the green state Solar panel array outside a Willamette Valley winery, near Salem, OR.

George Rose/Getty Images

Just outside Salem in northwest Oregon, Illahe Vineyard is committed to making wine without electricity or fossil fuels. The grapes are hand-picked and hauled to the winery by a team of horses instead of machines. Winemakers then take turns pedaling a bike to pump grapes into wine barrels.

That’s eco-conscious Salem (No. 2) for you—and Oregon as a whole. Last year, the state became the first in the nation to pass a law to phase out coal completely, requiring its largest utilities to supply at least half of their electricity from renewable resources, like wind and solar, by 2040.

Salem residents are crazy about their bikes, pushing the percentage of commuters who bike or walk to work 40% higher than the national average. With fewer cars hitting the roads, Salem didn’t have a single day with bad air last year, according to the EPA’s air quality index.

Oregon is famed for its craft beer, and anyone who enjoys a refreshing pint or three of pale ale should give credit where credit is due: the state’s clean (and tasty) water. Eugene’s (No. 7) water supplies come from the McKenzie River, which originates deep in the Willamette National Forest.

“We here in Eugene are lucky enough that the McKenzie River is pretty much ideal for making beer,” boasts Dan Russo from Oakshire Brewing.

Two Californias: Agricultural vs. industrial The city of Santa Rosa doesn’t produce a ton of toxic chemicals (literally).

George Rose/Getty Images

While Southern California has a lousy rep when it comes to pollution, two agricultural communities in Northern California are exactly the opposite.

Salinas (No. 10), which bills itself as the “Salad Bowl of the World” (you can’t make this up, folks), grows roughly 70% of the nation’s lettuce. Nobel Prize–winning author John Steinbeck grew up here, and wrote lyrically about the region’s golden beauty in his 1952 novel, “East of Eden.”

More than a half-century later, Salinas Valley is still agricultural. Low industrial and traffic emissions, and openness to the sea, keep its air among the cleanest in the nation. It’s one of a handful of cities that have a low concentration of all major categories of harmful air pollutants.

Drive 50 miles north of San Francisco, and you enter a different world: Wine country, redwood forests, farms, and rivers are all part of the landscape of Santa Rosa (No. 5). Pollutants there are virtually nonexistent—the whole metro produced 121.2 pounds of toxic chemicals in 2015. To put it into perspective, the New York metro produced 630,000 times more.

OK, let’s go to the dirty side:

Rust Belt pollution renaissance Scenic Philadelphia, PA

Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images

The Rust Belt has retired numerous coal-fired plants and made major efforts to clean up its air in the past three decades, but new environmental challenges have emerged: Pennsylvania has become the new hot spot for natural gas and oil production, along with all the toxic output that comes from it. The worst polluter in the country is Philadelphia, where a whopping 13.4 million pounds of poisonous chemicals were released in 2015 by oil refineries, shipyards, and auto manufacturers, the EPA reported.

The situation is most dire in Southwest Philly, where crude-oil trains chug through like clockwork. They’re sometimes called “bomb trains,” because the oil has an unwelcome tendency to occasionally catch fire and explode. Plumes of white smoke from oil refineries can be seen and sniffed from most residents’ backyards. The smoke isn’t always white, either—it was pink when a boiler exploded at the Veolia steam energy plant last year and black when fire broke out at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery the year before.

Almost half of Philadelphia children living in poverty have asthma, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania.

“There are little lungs that are still developing that are taking in lots of toxic air. [They] are particularly susceptible to these pollutants,” says Philly resident Christine Dolle with Moms Clean Air Force, a national community of parents working to combat air pollution. “As a parent, I wouldn’t want my kids swinging on the swing 20 feet from [crude-oil train]. Would you?”

The Gulf of Mexico’s ‘Dead Zone’ A refinery in Houston, TX

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The Gulf of Mexico has accumulated waste from oil drilling and farmland pollution brought down the Mississippi River. Agricultural and sewage-plant runoff has also triggered algae blooms that block oxygen in the air from reaching the water, smothering marine life. A low-oxygen area known as the Dead Zone has grown to the size of Connecticut.

Even though chemical releases in the area are down 15% in the past decade, oil boomtowns like Houston (No. 3) and New Orleans (No. 6) are still suffering irreversible damage from toxic oil refining processes. In East Houston’s adjacent neighborhoods of Harrisburg and Manchester, low-income residents are struggling just to breathe.

Juan Parras, an advocate for environmental justice, notes that chemical plants are just one fence away from residential homes in the community. Manchester has more than 10 plants, including two oil refineries, and a synthetic rubber plant.

Like many residents of Manchester, Yudith Nieto, a 28-year-old teacher, grew up with asthma. Whenever she got a cold, it would last months because the air was so bad. Since she’s moved away from the neighborhood, her health has improved, she says.

Due to long-term exposure to chemicals, Manchester residents have a 24% to 30% higher cancer risk when compared with upscale west Houston communities, according to a new study by the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit science charity.

“Those people who want to leave feel stuck,” Nieto says. “Nobody wants to buy their homes.”

Not-so-squeaky-clean Salt Lake City Blue skies and blue pools at a copper refinery in Utah.

JodiJacobson/Getty Images

Salt Lake City (No. 8) may appear to be a center of clean living (thanks, Mormons!) and pristine wilderness (thanks, snow-capped mountains!), but as it turns out, those picturesque peaks are actually bad for air quality. Cold air gets stuck between the mountains, trapping the toxic emissions from cars and industry. In the winter, Salt Lake City can be shrouded in smog for weeks in a row. Last year, the city barely saw clear air for half the year, according to the EPA.

West of Salt Lake City, Kennecott Utah Copper has the largest open copper mine in the world. Its power plant, smelter, and refinery released more than 200 million pounds of toxic chemicals into the air, water, and soil in 2015, according to EPA data.

But everyday human activity is responsible for much of the air’s contamination.

“The problem is automobiles, trucks, transportation that account for 50% of air pollution. … We are all part of it, we all pollute,” says Ted Wilson, a former mayor of Salt Lake City and director of Utah Clean Air Partnership.

* Toxic chemicals from factories were measured by total released amount per square mile and a calculated score that indicates the exposure and toxicity of those chemicals. The score used the EPA’s Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators, which take into account the amount of toxic chemicals released, each chemical’s relative toxicity, and potential human exposure.

Data source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Program, Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, Toxics Release Inventory Program, Air Quality Index, National Water Quality Monitoring Council

The post We Come Clean About the Least Polluted U.S. Cities (and the Dirtiest) appeared first on Real Estate News & Advice | realtor.com®.

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