CLEAN AIR NEWSLINE

September 2005 Edition

In this issue:

We’re helping you breathe a little easier…
Survey finds residents concerned about air quality but not sure what to do
Many projects across the region are cleaning up diesel exhaust
Upcoming conference to focus on preparing for climate change impacts
2004 Air Quality Data Summary reports progress and challenges

We’re helping you breathe a little easier…

Welcome to the premiere edition of the Clean Air Newsline, a new service to provide air quality information to the residents of King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties.

You are receiving a print version of this new e-mail news service because you are on the mailing list for our quarterly print newsletter, Clean Air Matters. We are considering discontinuing regular publication of the print newsletter, offering instead our e-mail news service, which will be more timely.

We hope you will sign up for Clean Air Newsline by visiting www.pscleanair.org and clicking on “Sign Up for E-mail News.” If you know others who might like to subscribe, please direct them to the same sign-up page.

We plan to use our Clean Air Newsline to e-mail the latest on air quality news, trends and projects that affect our local communities and the air we breathe. We will also use it as needed to send timely and important messages about Burn Bans, Smog Watches and early calls to action when air quality deteriorates.

We would be happy to answer any questions you might have, and we welcome your feedback.

Sincerely,

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency Communications Department
Alice Collingwood, Kimberley Cline, Consuelo Flores,
Mike Schultz, Amy Warren and Richard Wisti

Survey finds residents concerned about air quality but not sure what to do

Many Puget Sound residents are concerned about air quality and are willing to change their behavior to help protect it — if they only knew what to do.

That’s according to the results of a recent public awareness survey commissioned by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. And that’s why we want to find new and better ways to get more information to residents of our communities. Sharing air quality information with you through our Clean Air Newsline is one of the ways we’re trying to enhance our outreach.

Among the survey highlights:

71 percent of respondents said their family’s health was their primary motivation for wanting to protect air quality.
91 percent indicated they would change their behavior if they knew what to do, and they are willing to pay anywhere from $1 to $10 per year to have cleaner air.
45 percent of respondents think air quality is a serious or very serious problem. Concern about global warming is increasing, with 75 percent citing global warming as a somewhat serious or very serious problem.
89 percent recognize emissions from motor vehicles as a major source of air pollution. Roughly 11 percent identified wood stoves and fireplaces.

You can find a summary of the survey results at http://www.pscleanair.org/news/newsroom/releases/2005/08_16_Survey_Report.aspx. You’ll also find information about what people can do to protect air quality and links to the full survey and other resources.

Many projects across the region are cleaning up diesel exhaust

The agency’s Diesel Solutions Program, launched in 2001, has more than 20 projects under way with partners all across our four-county region to clean up diesel exhaust from sources as diverse as garbage trucks, ferries and airport ground equipment. In addition, more than 50 area school districts are currently participating in the Washington State Clean School Bus Program, with more to come. The program was funded by the Washington Legislature in 2003 to clean up diesel school buses to protect the health of children who ride the buses and residents of the communities they serve. It will continue through 2008 to retrofit more than 7,500 school buses across the state.

Find out what Diesel Solutions projects are happening in communities around the Puget Sound.

More information about the Diesel Solutions Program, including the Washington Clean School Bus Program, is at http://www.pscleanair.org/programs/dieselsolutions/default.aspx.

Upcoming conference to focus on preparing for climate change impacts

“The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be: Planning for Climate Disruption” is the title of an Oct. 27 conference sponsored by King County to stimulate dialogue about preparing for the impacts of climate change. Former EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman will be the luncheon speaker for the conference, and local experts will lead breakout sessions on the potential impact of climate change on natural and water resources, agriculture, coastal areas, fishing, forestry, hydropower, water supply (municipal and industrial) and flooding/storm water. Register by September 15 for an early discount at the conference Web site.

2004 Air Quality Data Summary reports progress and challenges

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency’s 2004 Air Quality Data Summary indicates that while the area enjoys improving air quality in many ways, our air shed faces new challenges. Most of these are related to economic growth in our region, particularly more vehicles on roadways and growth in shipping of goods.

As in previous years, the 2004 Data Summary includes an overview of the Puget Sound monitoring network, allocates emissions sources, describes 2004 impaired air quality events (burn bans and smog watches) and graphically presents criteria air pollutant and visibility trends in the Puget Sound area. This year’s report also includes Seattle air toxics monitoring data.

Pollution levels for EPA’s criteria pollutants have decreased over the last decade to well within the federal standards, but two remain a concern in our area. Daily concentrations of fine particulate matter PM2.5, while not violating or exceeding federal standards, do not meet the local health goal recommended by a stakeholder group and adopted by the agency’s Board of Directors several years ago. And ozone levels, while not violating federal standard, still push close to the standard and occasionally peak above it during the summer months.

Air toxics are another concern, because they are present in our air shed at levels that pose adverse health effects, including increased cancer risk and respiratory, cardiovascular, and neurological effects. Many of the same sources that produce criteria and toxic air pollutants also generate greenhouse gases.

The full 2004 Air Quality Data Summary can be found at http://www.pscleanair.org/news/library/reports/2004AQDSFinal.pdf.

To learn what actions we are pursuing with many partners to address our air quality challenges, please visit this site regularly.

About the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency

The mission of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is to ensure that people in King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties have clean, healthy air to breathe. Our job is to provide air quality management services on behalf of cities and counties for their citizens. We do this by adopting and enforcing air quality regulations, sponsoring voluntary initiatives to improve air quality, and educating people and businesses about clean-air choices. To learn more about our work, visit us at www.pscleanair.org.

About the Clean Air Newsline

Clean Air Newsline is a monthly electronic newsletter to provide air quality information to the residents of King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties. Subscribers receive the latest on air quality news, trends and projects that affect our local communities and the air we breathe. Feel free to pass the information along to others.

We also use the Newsline as needed to send timely and important messages about burn bans, Smog Watches and early calls to action when air quality deteriorates.

If you would like to subscribe, you can do so at www.pscleanair.org/news/email_list.shtml. Be sure to select Clean Air Newsline to be added to the e-mailing list.