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Percent of Americans who live in counties with unhealthful levels of ozone or particle pollution: 40

Rank of Metro Atlanta among cities most polluted by year-round ozone: 12

Rank of Metro Atlanta among cities most polluted by year-round particle pollution: 6

Rank of Plant Bowen, a Georgia Power coal electricity plant in Cartersville, among national producers of smog-causing sulfur dioxide: 1

Days in 2007 when Atlanta’s air quality was rated “Good” based on Environmental Protection Agency standards: 113

Days in 2000 when Atlanta’s air quality was rated “Good” based on EPA standards: 76

People in Atlanta’s five core counties with asthma or chronic bronchitis: 384,547

Population of metro Atlanta in 2007: 4,029,400

Projected population of metro Atlanta area in 2030: 5,261,534

Sources: American Lung Association, Atlanta Regional Commission, Environmental Integrity Project, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Division.

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What you’re looking at above is not a map showing which states had the hottest summers, most incidences of horrendous animal-cruelty cases, or even political leanings. This map, dear reader, is a state-by-state illustration of foreclosure increases in the nation. The redder you are, the more you had. Note Georgia.

According to RealtyTrac.com — where this map came from — Georgia is ranked fourth in the nation for foreclosure filings in August 2007, up 133.47 percent since the previous year. One out of every 271 households filed for foreclosure.

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