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Picnic at Wheeler Farm & Call to join Utah’s Clear the Air Challenge!

May 29th, 2009

Rally Call to join Utah’s Clear the Air Challenge!

• WHAT: Utah Moms quarterly meeting and social to promote the Clear the Air Challenge issued by Gov. Jon Huntsman, Mayor Ralph Becker and Mayor Peter Corroon.

• WHEN: 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., June 13, 2009

• WHERE: Wheeler Historic Farm, 6351 S. 900 E., Salt Lake City (Don’t forget to carpool, walk, ride your bike or hop on your pogo stick!)

• WHY: Salt Lake Valley air is dirty and you can make a difference.

Food, Fun: Our mission is to clean Utah’s dirty air, but that doesn’t mean we won’t get dirty at Wheeler Farm. We have lots of outdoor INDOOR games planned, including an egg relay and Hula Hooping. We’ll have some yummy grub, but feel free to potluck or picnic.

Challenge: Utah Moms for Clean Air is promoting this summer’s Clear the Air Challenge, which is a six week competition from June 1 to July 10 that encourages everyone traveling along the Wasatch Front to reduce vehicle emissions by DRIVING LESS and DRIVING SMARTER.

Learn more and join the Utah Moms for Clean Air team at: www.cleartheairchallenge.orgfighting cocks
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Air pollution can damage DNA in three day: YIKES!

May 18th, 2009

SAN DIEGO, May 18 (UPI) — Inhalation of some particulates can cause some genes to become reprogrammed, affecting the development and outcome of cancers, Italian researchers said. Dr. Andrea Baccarelli of the University of Milan enrolled 63 healthy subjects who worked in a foundry near Milan. Blood DNA samples were collected on the morning of the first day of the work week, and again after three days of work. Comparing these samples revealed that significant changes had occurred in four genes associated with tumor suppression.

“The changes were detectable after only three days of exposure to particulate matter, indicating that environmental factors need little time to cause gene reprogramming which is potentially associated with disease outcomes,” Baccarelli said said in a statement.

“As several of the effects of particulate matter in foundries are similar to those found after exposure to ambient air pollution, our results open new hypotheses about how air pollutants modify human health. The changes in DNA methylation we observed are reversible and some of them are currently being used as targets of cancer drugs.”

The findings were presented at the 105th International Conference of the American Thoracic Society in San Diego.

© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Want Clean Air? Clear the Air!

May 12th, 2009

Salt Lake Solutions Air Quality Partners, a community-based partnership including Utah Moms for Clean Air, presents


CLEAR THE AIR CHALLENGE | DRIVE DOWN YOUR MILES

TAKE THE CHALLENGE AND BECOME PART OF THE SOLUTION TO CLEAR THE AIR
If you haven’t already noticed, air pollution in Utah is becoming an unwelcome reality. Poor air quality means increased illness, and other health complications along with environmental problems and diminished quality of life in our communities. The good news is that this summer you can compete in the Clear the Air Challenge. Enter as a individual and build a team - there are tons of great prizes, but with clearer air, we’re all winners.
The Clear the Air Challenge, issued by Governor Huntsman, Mayor Becker and Mayor Corroon, is all about improving air quality, reducing traffic congestion and conserving energy in Utah by eliminating unnecessary vehicle trips. By simply eliminating a few vehicle trips throughout your week, you can make a big difference in your community while competing for weekly prizes, grand prizes and statewide recognition.
Register at ClearTheAirChallenge.org to take the challenge and start making a difference.

CHALLENGE GOALS
The challenge is open to all travelers excited about smarter alternatives to driving alone. Whether you’re completely new to TravelWise strategies, or a seasoned veteran, we encourage you to participate.
The goal of the Challenge is to:
– Eliminate 300,000 vehicle trip
– Save 1 million miles
– Reduce 1.8 million lbs. of emissions
Register here.

Many of us already avoid or minimize driving, and many more of us just feel guilty about driving. Either way or anywhere in between, the Challenge website can help each of us find the means and motivation to dig deeper and drive less. With the ozone season almost on us, it’s time for widespread action. Please join the Utah Moms for Clean Air team!

Press Clippings - March 1, 2009 - March 31, 2009

May 8th, 2009

‘RadioActive! March 2 Utah Moms for Clean Air’: Robert Nelson, SALT LAKE CITY, UT (2009-03-03).

‘Moms and kids at Capitol to meet lawmakers, plead for cleaner air’: By David Servatius, Deseret News, Tuesday, March 3, 2009.

‘School buses going green’: By Stephanie Nate - 4 Mar 2009, BYU NewsNet, News From The Y.

‘Signs may help curb idling’ Park Record (Park City, UT), March 13, 2009, Greg Marshall, Of the Record staff.

‘Utah is going green (and why it matters)’: By Judy Fahys, The Salt Lake Tribune, 04/21/2009.

‘Report: Utah cities among the nation’s worst for air quality Environment’ » SLC is 6th dirtiest and Logan clocks in at 8th worst: By Judy Fahys, The Salt Lake Tribune, 04/29/2009.

‘Clean air advocates push for traffic light synchronization’: March 31st, 2009 @ 10:15pm, By John Daley, KSL Channel 5

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Lawn Mowing: Get Reel, Go Gas-free!

May 7th, 2009

March 13, 2009
www.carteretnewstimes.com

Warm weather arrives with the melodic chipping of songbirds preparing their nests. What? Can’t hear them? The steady rumble of lawn mowers not only drowns out nature’s melodies, it disturbs wildlife and sleeping neighbors, and is an unhealthy source of summertime air pollution.

Gasoline-powered lawnmowers will soon have to be dramatically cleaner under new rules issued by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The long-awaited regulation requires a 35 percent reduction in emissions from new lawn and garden equipment beginning in 2011. The reductions will be the equivalent of removing one out of every five cars and trucks on the road, according to the National Association of Clean Air Agencies.

The EPA said the new rules will save about 190 million gallons of gasoline each year.

Environmental awareness of gasoline engine pollution has sparked a renewed interest in reel mowers. This, coupled with the growing trend of smaller lots and lawns, greatly reduces the need for large, heavy, gas-guzzling mowers.

The new reel mowers in the marketplace today are not your granddaddy’s heavy, hard-to-push, blunt-edged mowers of time past. They’re state-of-the-art, lightweight and give your grass a gorgeous grooming.

Reel Mowers Are:

Environmentally Effective: Reel mowers don’t add any pollution, noise or emission levels into the atmosphere. And, thankfully, there are no gasoline fumes or smell.

Small Size and Right Weight: Reel mowers don’t have many working parts, so they’re smaller and lighter than electric or gas mowers. They’re actually relatively easy to lift, store and push.

Energy-boosting Exercise: They’re a great form of exercise while you accomplish a much-needed outdoor task. You can burn about 400 calories an hour mowing the lawn with a reel mower.

Economically Attractive: Reel mowers are considerably less expensive than gas, electric or battery-powered mowers. And, again, because you’re not using gasoline, they continue to be budget friendly.

Quality of Cut: Reel mowers tend to deliver a superior cut. The sharp blades make clean cuts much like scissors. Traditional rotary mowers actually tear the tips of your grass off, leaving jagged edges that often turn yellow.

Quell the Noise: Because reel mowers don’t have an engine, they make virtually no noise at all. You can mow the lawn whenever you want to without disturbing your family or neighbors.

If you’re ready to “get reel,” a good mower choice is the German-made modern classic Brill Mower 38-reel-mower. The mower offers several benefits:

* It features five blades, the optimal number for superior cutting and ease of pushing.

* Weighs only 17 pounds, light enough to hang on the garage wall or pick up with one hand.

* Eight-inch diameter wheels make it easy to push over tough terrain.

* The manufacturer offers a two-year warranty.

Keep in mind that manual reel mowers don’t cut tall weeds well, but they do great on grass. Because of the design, the reel will roll over tall weeds without cutting much. So they aren’t a good choice to mow a vacant lot, or overgrown areas of the landscape.

You can also go gas free but add a little power to your push, opting for cordless electric reel mowers. Like the manual reel mower, no gasoline is required, which makes for a much quieter mowing experience without the pollution of the gas mowers.

Brill also makes the Brill Razorcut Accu 38, the newest addition to the Razorcut line of reel mowers. It has a 24 Volt cordless electric motor, can cut up to 2,500 square feet of grass when fully charged, and weighs just 29 pounds.

Reel or electric, your lawn will love it. A good sharp reel mower will leave your lawn in beautiful shape. You can also get bag attachments for many of the models.

For more information on reel and electric mowers as well as environmentally friendly lawn and garden supplies visit www.cleanairgardening.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Clean Cities, Dirty Cities

May 2nd, 2009

ScienceDaily (Apr. 30, 2009) — The 10th annual American Lung Association State of the Air report released April 29 finds that six out of ten Americans–186.1 million people — live in areas where air pollution levels endanger lives.

State of the Air 2009 acknowledges substantial progress against air pollution in many areas of the country, but finds nearly every major city still burdened by air pollution. Despite America’s growing “green” movement, the air in many cities became dirtier. The State of the Air report includes a national air quality “report card” that assigns A-F grades to communities across the country. The report also ranks cities and counties most affected by the three most widespread types of pollution (ozone—or smog, annual particle pollution, and 24-hour particle pollution levels) and details trends for 900 counties over the past decade.

This should be a wake-up call. We know that air pollution is a major threat to human health,” said Stephen J. Nolan, American Lung Association National Board Chair. “When 60 percent of Americans are left breathing air dirty enough to send people to the emergency room, to shape how kids’ lungs develop, and to kill, air pollution remains a serious problem.”

“We need to renew our commitment to providing healthy air for all our citizens—a commitment the United States made almost 40 years ago when Congress passed the Clean Air Act,” Connor said. “After four decades, we still have much work to do. America needs to cut emissions from big polluters like coal-fired power plants and ocean-going vessels. We need to fix old dirty diesel engines to make them cleaner and strengthen the ozone standards to better protect our health. We also need to improve the decaying infrastructure of air monitors. America must now enforce the laws that help us improve our nation’s air quality.”

As America faces the challenges of air pollution, global warming and energy, the American Lung Association urges Congress, the EPA and individuals to choose solutions that help solve all three challenges together. Some steps that sound like good solutions for one problem can make air pollution worse.

Americans can make personal changes to improve air quality immediately and ultimately impact climate change as well: drive less; don’t burn wood or trash; use less electricity; and make sure local school systems require clean school buses.

Cleanest Cities In USA

Cleanest U.S. Cities for Short-term Particle Pollution (24 Hour PM2.5)
*Cities below had equal scores.
Alexandria, La.
Amarillo, Texas
Austin-Round Rock, Texas
Bismarck, N.D.
Brownsville-Harlingen-Raymondville, Texas
Cheyenne, Wyo.
Colorado Springs, Colo.
Corpus Christi-Kingsville, Texas
Fargo-Wahpeton, N.D.-Minn.
Farmington, N.M.
Fort Collins-Loveland, Colo.
Grand Junction, Colo.
Longview-Marshall, Texas
Midland-Odessa, Texas
Oklahoma City-Shawnee, Okla.
Portland-Lewiston-South Portland, Maine
Pueblo, Colo.
Redding, Calif.
Salinas, Calif.
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif.
Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, Calif.
Santa Fe-Espanola, N.M.
Sioux Falls, S.D.
Tucson, Ariz.

10 Cleanest U.S. Cities for Long-term Particle Pollution (Annual PM2.5)
*Cities listed in rank order. Duplicate position numbers indicate ties.
1. Cheyenne, Wyo.
2. Santa Fe-Espanola, N.M.
3. Honolulu, Hawaii
4. Great Falls, Mont.
5. Flagstaff, Ariz.
6. Farmington, N.M.
7. Anchorage, Alaska
8. Tucson, Ariz.
9. Bismarck, N.D.
9. Salinas, Calif.

Cleanest U.S. Cities for Ozone Air Pollution
*Cities below had equal scores.
Billings, Mont.
Carson City, Nev.
Coeur D’Alene, Idaho
Fargo-Wahpeton, N.D.-Minn.
Honolulu, Hawaii
Laredo, Texas
Lincoln, Neb.
Port St. Lucie-Sebastian-Vero Beach, Fla.
Sioux Falls, S.D.

Most Polluted Cities in USA

10 U.S. Cities Most Polluted by Short-term Particle Pollution (24 Hour PM2.5)
*Cities listed in rank order. Duplicate position numbers indicate ties.
1. Pittsburgh-New Castle, Pa.
2. Fresno-Madera, Calif.
3. Bakersfield, Calif.
4. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, Calif.
5. Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman, Ala.
6. Salt Lake City-Ogden-Clearfield, Utah
7. Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Yuba City, Calif.-Nev.
8. Logan, Utah
9. Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City, Ill.-Ind.-Wis.
9. Detroit-Warren-Flint, Mich.

U.S. Cities Most Polluted by Year-Round Particle Pollution (Annual PM2.5)
*Cities listed in rank order.
1. Bakersfield, Calif.
2. Pittsburgh-New Castle, Pa.
3. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, Calif.
4. Visalia-Porterville, Calif.
5. Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman, Ala.
6. Hanford-Corcoran, Calif.
7. Fresno-Madera, Calif.
8. Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington, Ohio-Ky.-Ind.
9. Detroit-Warren-Flint, Mich.
10. Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, Ohio

U.S. Cities Most Polluted by Ozone
*Cities listed in rank order.
1. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, Calif.
2. Bakersfield, Calif.
3. Visalia-Porterville, Calif.
4. Fresno-Madera, Calif.
5. Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, Texas
6. Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Yuba City, Calif.-Nev.
7. Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
8. Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury, N.C.-S.C.
9. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.
10. El Centro, Calif.

*This was an abridged version of the article posted on ScienceDaily for the full article see: sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/

The full State of the Air report can be found at www.stateoftheair.org.

Satellite Observations of Air Pollution: Local Impacts Seen from a Global Perspective

April 16th, 2009

Contact: Chris Rink of NASA, +1-757-864-6786, +1-757-344-7711, christopher.p.rink@nasa.gov
HAMPTON, Va., April 16
PRNewswire-USNewswire

Air pollution in the United States impacts human health, costs American farmers billions of dollars annually in crop loss and reduced productivity, and decreases the vitality of U.S. forests especially in the east.

Dr. Jack Fishman, a senior research scientist at NASA’s Langley Research Center, will speak at Thomas Nelson Community College on April 21, 2009, as part of NASA’s weeklong celebration of Earth Day. Entitled “Satellite Observations of Air Pollution: Local Impacts Seen from a Global Perspective,” the talk will focus on how NASA scientists have used satellite measurements to observe and understand the complex interaction between local sources of pollution and how the Earth’s atmosphere has been modified on a global scale.

Since the 1970s, scientists and engineers at NASA Langley have been in the forefront of measuring air pollution from space. They are developing the next generation of instruments to better understand the mechanisms that lead to widespread air pollution episodes and to better forecast the impact of such events. Fishman has been a research scientist for 35 years studying the composition of the troposphere and developing computer models that provide insight into the processes controlling atmospheric chemistry. For the past two decades, he has been a pioneer in the use of existing satellites to study global pollution.

At NASA Langley, researchers are working to find answers to questions that affect the health of the planet and the people on it. For more information:

http://science.larc.nasa.gov/
www.nasa.gov/earthday

Air pollution ’shortens life’

April 12th, 2009

By Humphrey Hawksley
BBC News correspondent
April 12, 09
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7946838.stm

It has taken a quarter of a century, but US researchers say their work has finally enabled them to determine to what extent city air pollution impacts on average life expectancy. The project tracked the change of air quality in 51 American cities since the 1980s. During that time general life expectancy increased by more than two and half years, much due to improved lifestyles, diet and healthcare. But the researchers calculated more than 15% of that extra time was due to cleaner air. “We think about five months of that is due to the improvement of air quality,” said Dr Douglas Dockery, head of the Environmental Health Department at Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, which undertook the research. He added that, due to the relatively clean air in the US, the impact was far larger than anticipated.

Dr Dockery said there were many factors which had an impact on life expectancy. But he added: “Clean or dirty air is something that is being imposed on you. “You do have a choice on whether you smoke, drink, exercise or what type of food you eat. But you do not have a choice on what air you breathe.” Dr Dockery believes that if his research was transposed onto the heavily polluted cities of the developing world, such as Beijing or Mexico City, the life expectancy impact would be far greater. “We would be talking about several years,” he said. “We looked at fine particles that penetrate deep in the lungs, those that are not caught in the nose and the mouth, and directly damage the blood vessels. Most of those come from combustion, from automobiles, diesel trucks and buses and power plants.”

Dr Dockery hopes his findings will encourage governments to work towards making air even cleaner over the next 25 years. Even in Boston, which has comparatively clean city air, pollution levels change suddenly from being safe to highly dangerous. Bruce Hill, a scientist with the Clean Air Task Force, measured two sets of pollution levels. One was on a bridge over a highway with only cars and the other over a highway with diesel-powered trucks. “Just now that truck passed and the levels spiked up to five times higher than they were in the rest of the city,” said Hill. “Now, see, it’s gone 25 times higher.” From there he went down onto the underground platform of a commuter train station. “This is bad,” he said. “The monitors can’t go any higher, meaning the level here could be a hundred time higher than the cleaner air outside. “Some people commute for five per cent of the day, which is the amount of time they’re being exposed to these particles.”

Hill describes the damage caused by regularly breathing such air as like living with someone who smokes. In the long term, he argued, it can cause cancer and cardio-vascular problems. In the short term, it can create asthma attacks and allergies. Cait Maas, who already has a respiratory problem, lives in an apartment that looks out on a shipping terminal, an oil depot and a multi-lane highway. A main road near her home is a key route for diesel trucks. “On a bad day, I can taste the particles. I feel them constricting my airways and I have to cover my mouth so that I can breathe.”

Over the next generation, however, it’s expected that pollution, especially that created by dangerous diesel particles, will be cut dramatically. Standard filters are now being fitted to buses. Bio-fuels and cleaner energy in general, brought about by climate change pressures, will make the air safer.

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