Air Pollution in Houston, Texas

371682 01: According to the group Texas PEER, air quality in Texas has worsened significantly under Gov. George W. Bush’s administration. The Houston-Galveston area has had eight of the top ten ozone (smog) peaks in the nation, far surpassing Los Angeles. PEER accuses Bush of choosing to bypass clean air regulations rather than enforce them. When research showed that 1,000 unregulated “grandfathered” industrial plants accounted for a huge proportion of Texas air pollution, Bush opposed legislation that would force the companies to clean up, instead choosing to offer a “voluntary” program. The heads of these companies include some of Bush’s largest campaign contributors, says the Texas PEER group. ()