Every week, five hundred acres of green space, forest or farmland are plowed under to build parking lots, shopping malls and housing subdivisions. Between 1982 and 1992, the amount of open space lost to development in the Atlanta metropolitan area increased by 38 percent. The rate of land developed nearly doubled in outer suburban counties such as Gwinnett, Henry and Paulding. The Chattahoochee River was named one of the nation's most endangered rivers in 1998 by the environmental group, American Rivers, which identified rampant growth in the suburbs as the most significant threat to the river. The Chattahoochee is seriously degraded from overflowing sewage systems, city street runoff and other pollutants.
Air quality is also alarmingly poor.
The 13-county region is in violation of clean air standards and has lost the right to spend federal money on new road projects. Children with asthma go to the hospital every summer because of high levels of ozone pollution. Cars and trucks are the largest source of air pollution in the nonattainment area. Yet, state, regional and local agencies cannot agree on a plan to clean up the region's air. Close this window .