In a revolutionary step towards cleaner air, the EPA announced that it will begin requiring 345 counties nationwide to improve their air quality.

With smog levels in large portions of Southern California -- particularly around Los Angeles -- and the Atlantic seaboard from Washington to New England far exceeding what the EPA considers healthy, officials hope these new restrictions will begin reducing the rate of heart and asthma attacks and other smog-induced health problems.

While the need for this might not surprise residents of LA, New York and Chicago -- all cities with notoriously bad air quality because of heavy traffic, dense populations and industrial factories -- those in more rural states like Indiana, Alabama and Oklahoma are no doubt in for a rude awakening once they realize the changes they'll need to make in order to meet the new standards.

City and state governments, too, will have to find ways of drumming up the $7.6 - $8.5 billion necessary to improve air quality, but according to the reports, that's nothing compared to the amount they'll save with healthier populations. The EPA said in a statement that the new standard will "yield health benefits valued between $2 billion and $19 billion."