TOP NEWS
More than 100 Schools Join Our Clean Air School Challenge
Our Clean Air School Challenge empowers K-12 schools nationwide to create healthier learning environments and improve child health. And we recently reached an important milestone: the registration of 100 participating schools! Our five-year, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-funded program has also approved 54 mini grants for schools to assess, plan and address indoor air quality. To help schools evaluate air quality — a first step in creating healthy school environments — we developed the Energy Efficient Indoor Air Quality School Assessment Tool. In addition, we recently released our report: “A Win-Win for Lung Health: How Policies on Indoor Air Quality Make Schools Healthier and More Energy Efficient,” providing clear research-based recommendations to help guide educational conversations with partners who work in schools, public health, environmental health and state government.
Learn more about the Clean Air Schools Challenge at Lung.org/CASC.
New “Something in the Air” Report Looks at Local Communities and How they Track the Air They Breathe
We recently released our new report, “Something in the Air: How Communities are Tracking the Air They Breathe.” The report examines communities impacted by three major sources of pollution—heavy-duty traffic, wildfire smoke, and major industrial facilities and power plants—to show how residents are using local air quality monitors to reveal hidden pollution, guide local decisions, and strengthen partnerships for cleaner air. The report explores the benefits of community air monitoring through case studies for each pollution source.
Take action: Learn more about our advocacy efforts to clean up pollution nationwide and how you can raise your voice for healthy air.
Events
30 Cities. Thousands of Climbers. One Mission: Healthier Lungs.
Our 2026 Fight For Air Climb season is well underway, with successful events, to date, in Cleveland; Indianapolis; Jacksonville, Florida; Kansas City, Missouri; Miami; Minneapolis; Oklahoma City; Orlando; Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois; Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Fight For Air Climb is the Lung Association’s premier stair-climbing event, raising money to end lung cancer, champion clean air, reduce the burden of lung disease on individuals and their families, and create a tobacco-free future. Events are scheduled across the country through May. Find Your Climb.
Research
Our Funded Research: Shedding Light on How the Lung Repairs After Severe Infection
A new study offers insights into how the lung repairs itself after severe respiratory infection–related injury. The research shows that surviving alveolar epithelial cells can repair the lung’s injured air-blood barrier through a Notch-dependent, non-regenerative repair pathway. By identifying this novel molecular process in lung alveoli, the work highlights potential therapeutic targets to promote non-regenerative repair of surviving lung tissue after viral or bacterial injury. These findings add to growing evidence that cellular responses within the lung itself play a major role in determining outcomes after respiratory infections. This work is supported in part by the Lung Association through our COVID-19 and Emerging Respiratory Viruses Research Award to investigator Jaime Hook, MD of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Your Health
Fueling Your Lungs: How Nutrition Supports Chronic Lung Disease Management
When you’re living with a chronic lung condition like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or interstitial lung disease (ILD), just breathing can feel like hard work. What many people don’t realize is that the fuel your body runs on—the food you eat—can play a vital role in how you feel and function every day. Nutrition is more than just calories, carbohydrates and protein; it can be a powerful tool in managing lung disease and improving your quality of life. March is Nutrition Awareness Month, and in our new blog, Sarah, a clinical registered dietitian, explains the importance of nutrition in your overall lung care plan. Read more.
Is Your Humidifier Putting Your Health at Risk?
During the winter months, many people combat dry indoor air with the help of a humidifier. Though there are many different kinds, ultrasonic humidifiers are one of the most popular devices, as they add moisture to the air by using tiny sound vibrations to convert water into a cool mist. In dry weather, ultrasonic humidifiers can help with dry skin, dry noses and coughs. However, it’s important that you use clean, distilled water to ensure the humidifier mist is not spreading unhealthy air. Read more.
Advocacy
EPA Rollback of Power Plan Pollution Limits Puts Kids at Risk
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently rolled back limits on mercury and air toxics from power plants, putting nearby children and communities at risk of harmful exposure. “Rolling back these protections is a grave mistake and will expose people to toxic pollution proven to harm brain development, trigger asthma attacks and cause cancer and premature death,” said Lung Association President & CEO Harold Wimmer in a statement. “Standards to reduce mercury and other air toxics from power plants work,” and have already led to a 90% reduction in mercury while also limiting dangerous particle pollution. The action followed the EPA’s repeal of the Endangerment Finding, the agency’s longstanding, science-based ruling that greenhouse gases endanger human health and welfare, removing an important tool for regulating the pollution that drives climate change.
Read more: How EPA’s Rollbacks Could Fuel Toxic Pollution Nationwide
Each Breath Blog
Protecting Phoenix Children and Families From Unhealthy Air
Alejandro “Alex” Vazquez knows what it’s like to live with childhood asthma. “I was such a sick kid. I remember all the missed days of school and feeling helpless when I couldn’t breathe, especially when I ended up in the hospital.“ Today, Vazquez serves as an ambulatory clinical pharmacist at Phoenix Children’s Hospital’s Severe Asthma Clinic. There, with support from the Lung Association and the CVS Foundation, he helps children and families better understand the risks of unhealthy air, recognize when the air is dangerous, and take appropriate steps to prevent severe asthma attacks. Read more.
Blog last updated: March 16, 2026
