Clean air is important for many reasons. It keeps us healthy. It provides panoramic views of mountains, sea and sky. And it helps make Puget Sound remarkably appealing for residents and businesses alike.

It’s up to all of us to help protect this precious resource with the choices we make every day. Business and industry have spent the last 30 years doing their share to clean the air with new technologies and operating procedures. Now each of us must step up to the plate.

View current air quality conditions and forecasts. (external links)

If we don’t do our part, our region could lose its Environmental Protection Agency designation as a clean air region and become listed as a nonattainment area. That would be bad both for our lungs and our economy, since it could bring restrictions on certain businesses and possible loss of federal transportation funds. Dirty air also would make our region less desirable as a tourist destination and a place to do business.

Following are some clean air choices you can make:

• Since cars and trucks are major sources of air pollution, (.pdf file, external link) try to reduce your driving. Take the bus, ride your bike, walk, carpool, keep your vehicle tuned and your tired properly inflated, and combine quick errand trips.
• Stop or reduce wood burning. If you must burn, choose a manufactured log over cordwood. Pay attention to burn bans (external link).
• Choose a clean natural gas or propane stove or fireplace. Next best is a pellet stove, followed by an EPA-certified wood stove (external link).
• Use electric or manual yard maintenance equipment or human-powered recreational equipment. Two-stroke gasoline engines and diesel equipment (external link) are significant polluters.
• If you plan to buy a new car, consider one of the new, very clean alternative-fuel vehicles (external link) that are now on the market.

We share the air. Let’s keep it clean. Learn more at www.pscleanair.org (external link).

Metro bus retrofits, new fuel help bring cleaner air

Link of interest: "NASA Study shows common plants help reduce indoor air pollution," Zone10.com web site (external link)