Valentine’s Day is a perfect day to start a healthy habit that is good for your lungs and your heart. According to the American Lung Association, the number of cases of pediatric and adult asthma, COPD, and cardiovascular disease in Pima County amounts to over 200,000 of us. Chances are you know someone who has one of these ailments. By skipping a commute trip in your motor vehicle each week and sharing rides, taking transit or riding a bike instead, you can reduce air pollution by more than 1,000 pounds a year and help keep the air healthy for those you love on Valentine’s Day and beyond.
What is in that air pollution that we create by driving our motor
vehicles to and from work each day? Many harmful pollutants including carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and carbon dioxide taint the air each time we start up our engines. To be exact, there are about 21.12 pounds of contaminants put in the air every time we burn a gallon of gasoline – thanks to reactions that occur during the incomplete combustion of fuel. If we pick one day a week for a “no-drive day,” each one of us can save about a half ton of pollution every year. That savings keeps the air cleaner and helps our neighbors, friends, and loved ones stay much healthier.
PDEQ offers the “Healthy Air Is In Our Hands” contest to encourage everyone to take the Drive Less Pledge for a chance to win a $100 gift card. For more information about ways to help reduce air pollution, visit the Pima County Department of Environmental Quality’s Clean Air Program website. Watch the “Love the Air” video for ideas on how to skip trips.