Puget Sound Clean Air Agency
Tips & Trivia
  • Using 1 gas mower for 1 hour is equivalent to driving 1 car 140 miles.
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CLEAN AIR NEWSLINE

April 2006 Edition

In this issue:

 

Air-friendly choices for Earth Day and every day

Every day, hundreds of thousands of us make choices that put stress on local environment. Choices we make at home and in our gardens can help or hurt. How we get from “point A” to “point B,” what we buy, or who we buy it from can all affect the health of our local environment.

Check out the “Green Seattle Guide” for 101 actions YOU can take for a healthy environment.  You don’t have to live in Seattle to find the tips it provides useful – actions you can take in your home, in your yard, on the move, when you shop and in your community.  Here are a few actions to consider:

  • Insulate your home and tune up your home heating system
  • When replacing major appliances, buy the most efficient ones you can find
  • Reduce your vehicle use as much as possible
  • Turn your engine off rather than idling
  • When it’s time to replace your car, buy a fuel-efficient, low-polluting vehicle

Personal choices, however small, can influence your family, your neighbor, your book club, your co-workers and your government representatives. These choices can even influence the decisions of large corporations. 

Each of us can choose to be part of the problem – or part of the solution.  Check out the “Green Seattle Guide” for actions that you can adopt today http://seattle.gov/environment/cag/index.html .

 

Join us for Earth Day at Ecofest in Kingston

Just a short walk from the ferry landing, EcoFest is held at the Stillwaters Environmental Education Center in conjunction with opening day of the Kingston Farmers Market.

This family-friendly celebration takes place this Saturday, April 22 from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. with a number of vendors and displays showcasing all kinds of environmental education and eco-friendly products pertinent to everyday "green" living.

Staff from the Clean Air Agency will be on hand to answer your air-quality questions and provide you with air-friendly solutions.

For directions or event information, visit http://www.stillwatersenvironmentalcenter.org/ .

 

Northwest Natural Yard Days is in full "spring" through May 15

Once again, you will be able to buy a manual or electric mulching lawn mower at a discounted price as part of Northwest Natural Yard Days.

The Clean Air Agency partners with local government agencies, cities and local water providers on the month-long program to encourage people to switch from gasoline mowers and to practice natural yard care.   This is done through discounts on gardening products, free classes at nurseries and by providing retail discounts on natural yard care product sales in the spring and fall.

Electrically powered lawn and garden tools produce almost no pollution from exhaust or through fuel evaporation. In addition, the electric mulching mowers make it easy to “grasscycle” because they chop grass clippings into tiny bits that break down quickly and provide nutrients and moisture. 

Discounts will be given on:

*  electric mulch mowers
*  push mowers
*  organic fertilizer
*  bagged compost and bark mulch
*  water wand and soaker hoses
*  insecticidal soap and hand weed pullers
*  less toxic moss and slug controls

The 2006 spring discounts are offered April 15th through May 15. Be sure to check www.yarddays.com to locate a retail sales partner in your neighborhood.

 

City of Tacoma mower recycling event

As part of Northwest Natural Yard Days, the City of Tacoma will accept your gas-powered mower free of charge, so you can make room for an air-friendly cordless electric, or push reel mower.

Tacoma’s mower recycling event will be held April 29-30 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the City of Tacoma Recycling Center, 3510 S. Mullen St.  For details visit
http://www.ci.tacoma.wa.us/solidwaste/Collection/yardwaste/mowerturnin06.htm .

Even if you don’t live in Tacoma, most local waste disposal sites will take mowers as a recyclable if the fluids have been drained. 

 

Clean air tip:

Looking for a healthier alternative to that smoky chiminea or fire bowl in your backyard? Check out the variety of patio heaters and fire-pits that burn natural gas or propane, available from home-improvement stores, mass retailers, and many online marketplaces. With one of these clean, efficient units warming your summer evening, there’ll be no complaints from neighbors and no smoke to taint your own star-gazing. And when it’s time to turn in, just turn it off!

 

Local agencies recognized for clean air excellence

Two local agencies received national recognition this month for their leadership and commitment to protecting air quality.

At an awards ceremony held in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency honored the Port of Seattle and King County Metro with the 2005 Clean Air Excellence Award, a program that annually recognizes organizations that have undertaken the risks of innovation, served as pioneers in their fields, and helped improve air quality.

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency nominated the Port of Seattle for this prestigious award, acknowledging the stalwart support and commitment of the Port to take voluntary, proactive steps to reduce diesel emissions both at the airport and around the harbor.

King County Metro was honored for their hybrid bus program.

This is the sixth year of the awards program and the fourth year that our region has been recognized for its clean air leadership. Previous winners include the Redmond Trip Reduction Incentive Program, the Clean Air Agency’s Diesel Solutions program (www.dieselsolutions.org), and the Voluntary Low Reid Vapor Pressure program.

Read more at http://www.pscleanair.org/news/newsroom/releases/2006/04_07_Clean_Air_Excellence.shtml .

 

 

Why worry about diesel exhaust?  For your health

Diesel exhaust is a significant source of fine particles, as well as more than 40 substances that are listed as hazardous pollutants.  Because of their microscopic size, these fine particles can become trapped in the small airways of the lungs when they are inhaled. 

Sources of diesel emissions include diesel-powered trucks, buses and cars (on-road sources); diesel-powered marine vessels, construction equipment, trains and aircraft support equipment (non-road sources).

Diesel sources account for over 70 percent of the potential air toxics cancer risk in our region.  Additionally, diesel particulate matter is linked with health effects including heart problems, aggravated asthma, chronic bronchitis and premature death.

Through the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency’s Diesel Solutions program (www.dieselsolutions.org), launched in 2001, partners work to reduce diesel particulate matter emissions by retrofitting vehicles with pollution control equipment, using cleaner fuels and promoting reduced idling. These efforts include the Washington School Bus Program, enacted and funded by the Washington State Legislature in 2003.  This state funding provides retrofitting for thousands of school buses, reducing diesel particulate exposures to children, an especially vulnerable population.

Find out what Diesel Solutions projects are happening your community by viewing http://www.pscleanair.org/programs/dieselsolutions/ds_project_status.pdf .

 

May = Clean Air Month/National Bike Month

Need a breather from your car? Next month has the distinction of being both Clean Air Month and National Bike Month, presenting double incentive for pursuing two-wheeled, people-powered alternatives to driving.

Taking a bike instead of the car reduces vehicle pollution, provides numerous health benefits and is a lot of fun! Transit agencies are continually investing in improvements to make commuting by bicycle ever easier (see related article “Bicycle commuters can get there…”).  Plan now to join riders from throughout Puget Sound in various events promoting bicycle commuting. Here's just a sampling of the ways you can get involved:

*  May 1-31:  Group Health Commute Challenge http://www.cbcef.org/img/GHCClogo_sm.jpg
*  May 20 - June 18:  Community Transit's Bike Commute Challenge
http://www.everettwa.org/cityhall/default.asp?sectionid=3&parentid=7&subid=13&subid2=0
*  National Bike Month Web site http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bikemonth/
*  Cascade Bicycle Club http://www.cascade.org/Home/

 

Bicycle commuters can get there by bike via bus (or train or ferry)

Cycling has become a primary means of transportation for many Puget Sound residents. A network of regional trails, easily accessed bicycle facilities and permitting bikes on transit helps more and more bicycle commutes get around in our region. 

Our assorted transit systems provide ways for you to extend the distance you can travel with your bike by linking up with a bus, vanpool, train or ferry.  Most buses have bike racks.  The Sounder Train, Tacoma Link’s light rail and Washington State Ferries also allow bikes. You can also cycle to a nearby park-and-ride and store your bike in a locker while using transit the rest of the way to your destination.  Click to your transit link below for “how to” bike/transit tips, policies and resources.

*  Sound Transit (including bike locker information)  http://soundtransit.org/x117.xml
*  Metro Transit  http://transit.metrokc.gov/tops/bike/bike.html
*  Community Transit  http://www.commtrans.org/?mc=Ridingthebus&subcat=11
*  Pierce Transit  http://www.piercetransit.org/rideshare/bikewalk.htm
*  Kitsap Transit  http://www.kitsaptransit.org/BicycleServices.html
*  Washington State Ferries  http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/bpp/
*  Bikestation Seattle (secure indoor bicycle parking 24/7)  http://www.bikestation.org/seattle/index.asp

 

We’re walking to fight asthma on April 30 – and you can, too!

On April 30, our “Clean Air” team will join thousands of other supporters of the American Lung Association of Washington’s annual Asthma Walk in Seattle. 

There are over 500,000 adults and children in Washington who suffer from asthma.  Studies have shown that polluted air can trigger asthma attacks.  We want to raise awareness that the quality of the air we breathe is especially important to asthmatics and others with respiratory ailments.

You can help us “Blow the whistle on asthma” by walking, too.  The 5K (3.2 miles) walk begins and ends at Husky Stadium on the University of Washington campus on Sunday morning, April 30.  The Lung Association is also holding an Asthma Walk in Tacoma on May 6.   You can register as an individual, as a member of an existing team or as the captain of a new team.  Feel free to join the friendly folks on “Team Clean Air.”  Just click to http://www.mrsnv.com/evt/home.jsp?id=961 , select “Register here” then “Join a Team,” scroll down and select “Team Clean Air.”  For more information on the walks in Seattle and Tacoma, visit http://www.alaw.org/support_alaw/asthma_walk/ .

 

Burn-ban season wrap-up

Other than a couple of stagnant weather periods, we had relatively good atmospheric mixing during much of this past heating season.   This was reflected in our air quality and burn ban incidence.

Our agency called only one burn ban last winter, requiring the curtailment of burning in uncertified wood stoves and fireplaces from December 9 to the 18.

From November 16 through the 23, we had another period of stagnant air, but pollution levels did not rise to the burn ban trigger.  As result, the agency suggested, through our email notification system and via local media, that people voluntarily curtail using their uncertified wood stoves and fireplaces. 

If you would like to receive burn ban and voluntary curtailment notifications, please sign up at http://www.pscleanair.org/news/agencynews.aspx .  (If you are an e-mail subscriber to this newsletter, you automatically receive these notifications.)

 

Monthly air quality data summary: February*

After six weeks of seemingly endless rain, we began to dry out in February*.  Rainfall for the month was 40 percent below average, compared to our near record rainfall for January.   Along with the dryer conditions, our air quality deteriorated.  We had only seven days of good air quality in February compared to 26 days in January.

For data summaries of air quality monitored throughout our four-county region, click to http://www.pscleanair.org/airq/aqsumm/06-02.shtml .

* Because of the time it takes to review data for quality assurance and process data for reports, our summary discussions in each “Newsline” edition will be two month previous. Thus, our report for this edition is for February 2006.

 

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.