Except that is not what I found. My guess is pollution isn't trying hard enough to find jobs. No good lazy pollution.
The facts are the top 25 cleanest cities for year round particulate pollution have an average unemployment rate of 7.4%
The top 25 dirtiest cities for year round particulate pollution have an average unemployment rate of 9.7%
The national average is 8.8%.
If you look at the Top 10 Cities in each category then you find that the cleanest cities have a median unemployment rate of 6.3% and the dirties Top 10 have a median unemployment rate of 12.5%.
So I can literally claim that pollution doubles unemployment.
This myth is busted.
Stephen Colbert explains it further:
The Colbert Report
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Sources:
-American Lung Association State of the Air 2011 City Rankings: http://www.stateoftheair.org/2011/city-rankings/
(I chose year long particulate pollution as the best proxy for overall environmental health factors)
-Bureau of Labor Statistics Unemployment Rates for Metropolitan Areas: http://bls.gov/web/metro/laummtrk.htm
The data from my spreadsheet:
Dirtiest (yr round particulate) Unemployment rate
#1: Bakersfield-Delano, CA 13.7
#2: Visalia-Porterville, CA 15
#2: Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ 8.1
#2: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA 11.3
#5: Hanford-Corcoran, CA 14
#6: Fresno-Madera, CA 14.9
#7: Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA 6.8
#8: Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman, AL 8.9
#9: Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington, OH-KY-IN 8.7
#10: Modesto, CA 15.1
#10: Louisville-Jefferson County-Elizabethtown-Scottsburg, KY-IN
9.6
#12: Charleston, WV 7.5
#12: Steubenville-Weirton, OH-WV 10.4
#12: Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, OH 7.6
#15: Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH 8.5
#15: Indianapolis-Anderson-Columbus, IN 8.1
#17: St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL 8.7
#17: Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI 11.7
#17: Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX 8.6
#20: Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV 8.9
#21: New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA 8.3
#22: Lancaster, PA 6.4
#22: Dayton-Springfield-Greenville, OH 9.2
#24: Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette, TN 7.9
#24: Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD 8.4
#24: York-Hanover-Gettysburg, PA 7.4
#24: Parkersburg-Marietta, WV-OH 8.2
Cleanest (yr round particulate) Unemployment rate
#1: Cheyenne, WY 6
#2: Santa Fe-Espanola, NM 5.4
#3: Tucson, AZ 8
#4: Great Falls, MT 6.4
#4: Honolulu, HI 5.7
#6: Anchorage, AK 6.2
#7: Albuquerque, NM 6.9
#7: Amarillo, TX 6
#9: Redding, CA 13.5
#10: Salinas, CA 10.1
#11: Bismarck, ND 2.5
#12: Boise City-Nampa, ID 8.5
#13: Billings, MT 5.4
#14: Flagstaff, AZ 7.3
#14: Sarasota-Bradenton-Punta Gorda, FL 11
#14: Fort Collins-Loveland, CO 6
#14: Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 11.2
#14: Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 11.6
#19: Claremont-Lebanon, NH-VT N/A
#20: Rapid City, SD 4.2
#20: Port St. Lucie-Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL 13.7
#22: Duluth, MN-WI 6.5
#23: Fargo-Wahpeton, ND-MN 3.3
#24: Burlington-South Burlington, VT 4.2
#24: Bangor, ME 6.4
#24: Orlando-Deltona-Daytona Beach, FL 10.2
#12: Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, OH 7.6
#15: Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH 8.5
#15: Indianapolis-Anderson-Columbus, IN 8.1
#17: St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL 8.7
#17: Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI 11.7
#17: Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX 8.6
#20: Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV 8.9
#21: New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA 8.3
#22: Lancaster, PA 6.4
#22: Dayton-Springfield-Greenville, OH 9.2
#24: Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette, TN 7.9
#24: Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD 8.4
#24: York-Hanover-Gettysburg, PA 7.4
#24: Parkersburg-Marietta, WV-OH 8.2
