The Air We Breathe: An Atlantic Summit

April 20, 2017
Chicago

Smog and air pollution trigger millions of hospital visits and health problems for Americans each year.  And indoors, the air we breathe can be up to five times more polluted due to harmful chemicals and poor ventilation. The quality of our air comes at an economic cost. Breathing polluted air is shown to reduce cognitive function affecting our offices, schools and homes.

At its inaugural summit on air, The Atlantic explored the state of air in America and spotlighted ideas and strategies for making the air we breathe cleaner – and our citizens healthier.

Watch full session videos

To view photos from this event, please visit our Facebook page

Presented by

Atlantic Live

Speakers

Agenda

Note: All times are CT

  • Thursday, April 20
  • 8:30 a.m.WelcomeMargaret Low, President, AtlanticLIVE
  • 8:35 a.m.How Clean is Our Air?William Becker, Executive Director, National Association of Clean Air Agencies
    Harold Wimmer, National President and CEO, American Lung Association
    Tonya Winders, President and CEO, Allergy and Asthma Network
    With Ron Brownstein, Senior Editor, The Atlantic
  • 9:00 a.m.Chicago's StoryJulie Morita, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Public Health
    With Joie Chen, Contributor, AtlanticLIVE
  • 9:15 a.m.Indoor Air: A Design ChallengeJoseph Allen, Director of Healthy Buildings Program and Assistant Professor of Exposure Assessment Science, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health  
    Carol Ross Barney, Founder and President, Ross Barney Architects
    Judy Frydland, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Buildings
    With Joie Chen, AtlanticLIVE
  • 9:50 a.m.The Geography of AsthmaRuchi Gupta, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine
    Kimberly Wasserman-Nieto, Executive Director, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization
    With Ron Brownstein,The Atlantic
  • 10:15 a.m.Weather and the Changing ClimateTom Skilling, Chief Meteorologist, WGN-TV
    Donald Wuebbles, Harry E. Preble Professor, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
    With Greta Johnsen, Weekend Anchor/Reporter, WBEZ 91.5 Chicago
  • 10:40 a.m.The Lung Cancer Connection Chris Draft, Former NFL Linebacker, Founder and President of Chris Draft Family Foundation
    Jill Feldman, Lung Cancer Survivor
    John Howington, Chairman of Thoracic Surgery; Co-Director of the Thoracic Oncology Program, Saint Thomas Health
    With Joie Chen, AtlanticLIVE
  • 11:10 a.m.What Can Data Teach Us?Charlie Catlett, Director, Array of Things Project; Director, Urban Center for Computation and Data; Senior Computer Scientist Argonne National Laboratory, University of Chicago
    Danielle DuMerer, Acting Commissioner and Chief Information Officer, Chicago Department of Innovation and Technology
    With Greta Johnsen, WBEZ
  • 11:30 a.m.Closing ThoughtsMargaret Low, AtlanticLIVE

Underwriters

Presenting Level

Supporting Level

Upcoming Events

  • Education

    Education Summit
    • May 1, 2018
    • Washington, DC

    The fourth annual Education Summit will examine new ideas and deep debates in American education and its role in American society today.

  • Culture

    Our Towns: An Atlantic Exchange with James and Deborah Fallows
    • May 9, 2018
    • Washington, DC

    In this Atlantic Exchange, we’ll sit down with James and Deborah Fallows to discuss their new book, Our Towns.

  • Education

    Rethinking Higher Education
    • May 9, 2018
    • Atlanta

    The Atlantic will convene education experts, policy makers, business leaders and activists to examine whose responsibility it is to educate the next American generation and what the most innovative teaching and training strategies are.

See All Upcoming Events