Government officials, community groups and tribal members are all gathered on the Texas-Mexico border.  Their goal:  to reduce pollution in the region.

In the Colonia 68 neighborhood of Juarez, families build their futures.  Brick by brick, Lorenzo Ramirez has been a brick maker since he was five.  He’s seen some changes in the past 50 years.  

“Now we have to ask permission to bake our bricks,” Ramirez said.

As part of a pollution control plan, only four ovens a day can fire up in this part of Juarez.  The smoke billowing out of kilns all along the border contributes to air pollution on both sides.  It’s why both countries are working on solutions.

One of the strategies is to help more brick makers convert to a rounded roof style oven, a new model which has an enclosed area, which means a lot of the smoke and soot is trapped inside.

“There’s less contamination,” said another brick maker.

The Environmental Protection Agency says the environmentally friendly ovens produce 80-percent less pollution, while carbon monoxide is cut by 95-percent.

The kilns are not the main source of air pollution on the border, it’s cars.  But in a region that struggles to meet clean air quality standards, the brick makers efforts are like a breath of fresh air.