Puget Sound Clean Air Agency
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CLEAN AIR NEWSLINE

September 2007 Edition

In this issue:

 

This fall, choose people- and planet-friendly methods to dispose of yard waste

Fall yard care usually requires a bit more work than during the lazy days of summer.  Leaves from a 50 year-old maple tree can cover your entire yard in just a couple days.  Maybe you’ll decide to prune it. 

As you are contemplating when to rake and prune this fall, or which neighbor kid to pay for the tasks, also contemplate people- and planet-friendly disposal options because burning yard waste is unhealthy, a nuisance AND may be illegal where you live.

Compost It.  Fallen leaves and grass clippings easily convert into healthy food for your landscape.  Composting is a convenient and affordable way to manage yard waste, creating nutrient-rich mulch that will improve your soil and health of your plants. 

Chip It.  Branches that are chipped make great mulch for your yard or additions to your compost pile.  Rent a chipper and maybe even coordinate with your neighbors to have a chipping weekend; you can share the rental cost and the work!  Or hire a professional chipping service to come do the work.  (Consult your local yellow pages for listings.)

Curb It.  Another way to have someone else do your recycling work for you is to sign up for curbside yard waste recycling service.  If the service has yet to reach your area, consider taking your debris to a nearby wood-waste recycling facility. 

Don’t Burn It.  The smoke from burning yard waste is unhealthy and such practices are illegal in many parts of the state.  If you live in an urbanized area (incorporated cities, suburbs and adjacent areas), burning yard waste and land-clearing debris is not allowed at any time.  Smoke from these fires contains pollution that harms your health and our air quality.  Specifically, smoke contains high levels of toxic carcinogens and fine particulate matter that are so tiny they bypass the body’s immune system and proceed deep into your lungs.  There they cause respiratory and cardiovascular problems, which is especially harmful for children, people over 50 and anyone with asthma.  With that said, you can see how smoke negatively impacts our air quality and why burning yard waste is a bad idea.

As you’re raking and pruning this fall, choose healthy and legal disposal alternatives —compost it, chip it, curb it, but don’t burn it.   

For more information on people- and planet-friendly disposal options, visit www.pscleanair.org/actions/outdoorfires/alternatives.aspx .  To learn more about the law, visit www.pscleanair.org/actions/outdoorfires/law.aspx .

 

Be a star. Be an ENERGY STAR!
Change a light, change the world (and save money, too!)

Northwest ENERGY STAR, with support from the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance and regional utility partners, are offering special reduced pricing ($0.97 to $1.00 per bulb) on energy-saving light bulbs at participating retailers, now through November.

ENERGY STAR qualified light bulbs:

* Last up to 10 times longer
* Use up to 75% less energy
* Protect the environment
* Save time and money

If every U.S. household took the pledge today to switch their five most used light bulbs to ENERGY STAR qualified light bulbs, each home would save up to $60 a year in energy costs and collectively prevent greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to removing eight million cars from American roads.

To find a retailer near you, click to www.northwestenergystar.com/cal and pledge to do your part to save energy and help reduce the risk from global climate change.

For more air- and climate-friendly energy efficiency ideas, visit www.pscleanair.org/actions/energy/default.aspx .

 

Monthly air quality data summary: July*

Air quality in July was in the “Good” category for 28 days, in the “Moderate” category for two days, and in the “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” category for only one day. 

And we paid for our good air quality with cloudy, wet weather – July 2007 was one of the 10 wettest July’s on record with nearly an inch-and-a-half of rain recorded at SeaTac Airport – almost twice the normal amount of precipitation for the month.  Temperatures at SeaTac averaged 2.5 degrees above normal for the month.

The two days in the “Moderate” level were for fine particulates (soot and smoke); the one day in the “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” level was for elevated levels of ozone, which happened on July 11 during a span of hot weather.  To learn more about these levels of health concern, visit www.pscleanair.org/airq/basics/aqi.aspx .  To learn more about the specific pollutants, visit www.pscleanair.org/airq/basics/criteria/default.aspx .

For data summaries of air quality monitored throughout our four-county region, click to
www.pscleanair.org/airq/aqsumm/07-07.aspx .

* Because of the time it takes to review data for quality assurance and process data for reports, our air quality discussions in each “Newsline” edition will be two months previous.  Thus our report for this edition is for July 2007.

 

Announcements

King County hosts national clean vehicles conference

Clean vehicles, the technologies behind them and the fuels that make them go will take center stage next week on Wednesday, Sept. 19 at the first ever, national clean vehicles conference at Qwest Field in Seattle.

Clean Vehicles Now!, hosted by King County and non-profit WestStart, is aimed at shaping policies and building support for real actions that will help protect our climate and reduce fossil fuel dependence.

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is one of the event’s sponsors and will be on hand to share information about how an organization can “green” its fleet, as well as reduce diesel emissions and reduce vehicle idling.

In addition to the full-day conference program, attendees can view the technology fueling the climate-friendly revolution in transportation.  The day will also feature one of the largest clean vehicle ride-and-drives in the nation, as well as a major stationary exhibit of clean vehicles.

For agenda and registration information, click to www.metrokc.gov/exec/cleanvehiclesnow/ .

 

Election Debate: Roads and Transit Ballot Measure

In 2006, the State Legislature required Sound Transit and the Regional Transportation Investment District to jointly submit a transportation financing plan to voters in the 2007 general election. The resulting roads and transit package is the largest single proposed investment in transportation the region has ever considered – over $16B today and more over the life of the project. What’s in the package? What are the costs and benefits to taxpayers and the region? If this measure doesn’t pass, what then? Come hear from some of the leaders in this debate as you decide how to cast your vote in the November election.

When: Thursday, September 20, 2007, 12:00 - 1:30 p.m.
Where: Westin Hotel, 1900 Fifth Avenue, Seattle
Cost:  $35/CityClub Members, $40/Guests and members of co-presenting organizations and $45/General public
Speakers:

  • Jessyn Farrell, Executive Director, Transportation Choices
  • Kemper Freeman, Developer, Kemper Development Company
  • Mike O’Brien, Cascade Chapter Chair, Sierra Club
  • Moderator: Robert Mak, Host and Reporter, KING 5 TV

For registration information, go to www.seattlecityclub.org/#TRANSIT or call 206.682.7395.

To learn more about the connections between transportation planning and air quality, visit www.pscleanair.org/actions/landuse .

 

Public Hearings

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency’s Board of Directors will conduct three public hearings on Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007 at 9:15 a.m. to consider changes to:

1)  Regulation I, Article 3  (Meetings of the Board of Directors, Civil Penalties, and Federal Regulation Reference Date)
2)  Regulation I, Article 6  (Components of New Source Review Program) 
3)  Regulation II, Article 2  (Gasoline Dispensing Facilities).

For details, click to www.pscleanair.org/announce/hearings/PDFs/proposed_changes.pdf .

 

About the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency serves the people of King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties.  We work together to clean the air we breathe and protect our climate through education, incentives and enforcement.  To learn more about our work, and how you can be a part of it, too, 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 this newsletter was forwarded to you and you would like to subscribe, you can do so at www.pscleanair.org/news/agencynews.aspx . Be sure to select Clean Air Newsline to be added to the e-mailing list.