We All Breathe the Same Air

How air quality, environmental protection, and community come together

As the Great Lakes State, it’s understandable that clean water often comes to the forefront in environmental conversations. But there is one invisible element that is just as essential to personal, communal, and environmental health—the air we breathe.

Northern Michigan largely benefits from good air quality, but a warming climate has increased the prevalence of negative factors such as wildfire smoke, causing hazy summer days and an uptick in air quality warnings. Seeking to clear the air on the aspects of clean air, Northern Express sat down with Elizabeth (Lisa) Del Buono, MD and founder of Michigan Clinicians for Climate Action, to discuss threats to air quality, changes to the environment, and steps for the future that can help all of Michigan breathe easy.

Air Quality Declines

Protecting and promoting clean air requires extensive engagement and coordination, which is the objective of the Michigan Clinicians for Climate Change (MiCCA). According to their website, the organization is “a coalition of 400+ Michigan health professionals focused on mitigating and preventing the adverse health effects of climate change.”

And while centered in Michigan, the organization has broader national reach, tying into the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, whose medical societies boast membership of over one million health professionals. Engaged in numerous aspects regarding climate health and its relation to public health, one of the main focuses for MiCCA and Del Buono is air quality and the equity of those effects on populations.

“Air quality in Michigan varies depending on geography, really tremendously,” says Del Buono. “There are certain areas that really have had and still do have very poor air quality.”

Del Buono explains that the more populated areas of the state such as southeast and lower west of Michigan often experience more adverse air quality. This is tied to industry, traffic density, and consistently warmer temperatures, which can have negative impacts on air quality. And then, of course, there’s the potential for the haze of wildfires drifting across the country.

“The wildfire smoke that we’re experiencing every summer is another big hit on air quality,” says Del Buono. “The fact that we’re seeing it over and over and over again is primarily related to the fact that as temperatures warm and we have drier conditions, we have more intense and more frequent wildfires because of climate change,” she says.

This increased consistency of warmer conditions points to the idea that wildfire smoke in the summer is “going to become our new normal throughout Michigan,” she says.

Health Impacts

The effects of poor air quality on health are often twofold. Del Buono categorizes them in regards to short-term or acute incidents, and long-term effects.

She notes that air quality can vary day-to-day based on environmental conditions and that a poor Air Quality Index (AQI) can trigger more immediate events for individuals with respiratory issues. This can be incidents such as asthma attacks or difficulty breathing for people with chronic conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Del Buono explains that the more long-term issues are usually linked to extended exposure to poor air quality and fine particulate matter (a type of air pollution.)

“There’s clear correlations between the quality of air that people breathe over time and the likelihood of developing cognitive difficulties in the elderly, like dementia, and cognitive difficulties in children,” she says.

Another susceptible group is women who are pregnant with an increased incidence of preterm deliveries and stillbirths. Extended exposure to poor quality air can also have adverse effects on cardiovascular development in children. Del Buono refers to a publication titled “The Air They Breathe” by Dr. Debra Hendrickson which expounds on how chronic exposure to air pollution stunts the growth of lung and airway tissue, reducing lung capacity.

Paying the Price

Beyond negative health effects, Del Buono reminds that air quality is a universal issue and can have indirect impacts as well.

“Here in Traverse City air quality is mostly good, so you may think, ‘Well, this doesn’t really impact me.’” she says. “But what we’re all noticing is that access to healthcare is becoming more and more difficult.”

The increase of health issues related to air quality increases, among other things, hospital visits, medical care, and physician availability.

“When people get sick, even if it’s way down in Detroit or anywhere in the state, what that does is we all pay for it,” says Del Buono. “We all pay for it in terms of higher insurance comp costs, higher premiums, higher deductibles, and slower access to healthcare.”

EPA Rulings & Data Centers

Much as air quality is a universal issue that affects all Michiganders, the solutions and actions for the future also require communal effort. For Del Buono and MiCCA, that often results in paying attention to the changing EPA regulations, and advocacy and engagement at the legislative level.

“What happens in the EPA makes a lot of difference to us,” she says. “It’s critically important that our leaders believe in evidence-based data, and recognize that science.”

But Del Buono says current EPA leadership is making her work an uphill battle, citing the Feb. 12, 2026, decision by the EPA to reverse the 2009 Endangerment Finding, which allowed for regulation on greenhouse gas emissions.

“They have decided to no longer consider the cost of health impacts into their rule-making, which is really the antithesis of their mandate, which is to protect the health and environment over profit,” says Del Buono.

Looking forward, Del Buono also touches on another hot topic: AI data centers and the need for proper regulation.

“From my opinion, AI is here,” she says, “I don’t think we can completely eliminate data centers, but I think when they’re being sited, they have to first listen to the community in which they’re sited.”

Some considerations she points to are “very strict guardrails” regarding water usage and environmental impact, along with a push for these centers to be powered by non-carbon forms of energy, with an emphasis on holding tech companies accountable.

“I think those guardrails have to be very, very firm and we have to proceed very, very cautiously,” she says, hoping that cooperation could yield new innovation in clean energy solutions if centers are held to high standards and these innovations are funded by the tech companies coming in.

Safer Solutions

Creating positive change, advocating for air quality, and enhancing public health is going to require engagement and involvement.

MiCCA is already heavily involved in communicating with the Michigan legislature, showing up in June to advocate for environmentally conscious regulation.

“We were in Lansing and we brought nurses and public health professionals to Lansing to talk to our legislators in support of the 2023 Michigan Clean Energy laws, encouraging them to consider supporting an independent third-party community solar,” Del Buono says.

To get involved, Del Buono encourages individuals to register to vote, show up, and above all, have an informed opinion.

“Really read through what’s on the ballot and make your decisions before you get in there in a really thoughtful way,” she says, “Know what the different options are, make sure that they’re credible people that you’re voting for that believe in evidence-based science and will protect human health through protecting the environment.”

In closing Del Buono, drives home that it’s important to remember as well that we are all breathing the same air.

“I think this is an opportunity for us to learn to work together as a community,” she says. “It is a human health problem.”

Del Buono notes that despite the serious challenges and divides in our nation, we exist in a world capable of change, innovation, and connection.

“It’s all connected, and it’s dependent on the health of the planet. You cannot separate it,” she says. “The health of the environment is completely related to our ability to maintain our own health and the health of people we love.”

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