What Do You Know?

Test Your Air Quality Knowledge

1. Which causes the most pollution?
   • A. Starting up the car
   • B. Pulling out of the driveway
   • C. Driving to work
2. What percentage of air pollution is caused by cars and trucks?
3. How does pollution affect my health?
4. What should I do when pollution levels are high?
5. What does taking care of my vehicle have to do with air pollution?
6. True or false - Conserving electricity may help improve air quality.
7. How can one person make a difference?

Answers

The answer is A and B. Simply starting your car and pulling out of your driveway causes nearly as much air pollution as commuting many miles to work. That's because your vehicle emits a lot of pollution during the first few minutes of operation, before emission controls have warmed up and reached peak efficiency. To help reduce air pollution, make fewer trips or consider car pooling to work or social and recreational activities. Carpooling or other types of trip reduction are important on days when pollution levels are high. However, even when it's not a Voluntary No Drive Day, getting into the trip reduction habit will help improve air quality.

Emissions from cars and trucks cause over 50% of the air pollution along the Wasatch Front. Here are a few simple ideas of things you can do to help improve air quality: Share a ride with a friend;

• Combine your trips;
• Convert your car to a cleaner burning fuel such as natural gas or propane;
• Drive at a steady speed - stop and go traffic increases pollution;
• Don't let your engine idle unnecessarily;
• Keep your car properly tuned and your tires properly inflated;
• Don't overfill or top off your gas tank - releasing gas fumes increases pollution;
• Drive fuel-efficient vehicles

Air pollution hurts the body by directly inflaming lung tissue and by weakening the lung's defense against infections. Almost everyone experiences eyes, nose and throat irritation as air pollution increases; children, the elderly and those suffering from chronic lung disease are most susceptible. Symptoms from asthma, bronchitis and emphysema are made worse during periods of increased air pollution. Scientists and health professionals are beginning to discover that pollution can be a problem even at relatively low levels. Federal air quality standards are currently being reviewed to determine if they provide an adequate level of public health protection. If you have any questions, contact your health care provider.

To protect yourself and your family, there are a few steps you can take. On days when State Air Quality officials announce that air pollution levels are high, you may need to adjust your daily activities so you and your children can breathe easier. You may need to: Exercise in the morning or later in the evening, when pollution levels are usually lower.

• Spend less time participating in vigorous outdoor activities.
• Take it at little easier when you're outside. Don't overexert yourself.
• Limit children's prolonged, strenuous outdoor activity.
• Ask coaches to rotate players out more frequently.
• Pay attention to respiratory symptoms, such as coughing, wheezing and discomfort when you take a deep breath.

If you have any questions, contact your health care provider.

Keeping your vehicle properly maintained helps cut down on air pollution.

Here are a few suggestions:

• Get regular engine tune-ups and car maintenance checks. Tune-ups improve your gas mileage and car performance. The spark plugs are especially important because a worn spark plug will cause poor starting, rough idling, and poor gas mileage.
• Make sure your tires are properly inflated and your wheels aligned. This can prevent excessive drag and improve fuel economy up to one mile per gallon.
• Keep car filters and catalytic converters clean. Dirty air filters increase fuel consumption; and your car's pollution control devices need to be in good working order to be effective.
• Follow the car manufacturer's guidelines.
• Use your car air conditioner wisely. Air conditioning is a drag on your car's engine, reducing gas mileage by as much as 20 percent. On not-so-hot days or while in stop-and-go traffic, roll down your window instead. Have leaks in your air conditioner fixed by a certified technical using required CFC recycling equipment.

True. Conserving electricity can help improve air quality since electricity generation can be a major pollution source. At home or work, you can save electricity by using energy-efficient lighting whenever possible. Replacing a common incandescent light bulb with an energy efficient compact fluorescent bulb saves 45 watts and 157 kilowatt hours. Make sure that lights and appliances are turned off when not in use. In addition, you should raise the temperature level on your air conditioner a few degrees in the summer and turn down your heat a few degrees in winter. Purchasing energy efficient appliances will also help.

Think one person can't make a difference? Think again! Many of the major steps to curb air pollution have already been taken. If we want to improve Utah's Air Quality, it will take changing the behaviors of individual consumers - people like you. If 190,000 car owners started to get regular tune-ups, they will keep some 90 million pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

If each commuter car carries one more passenger, 600,000 gallons of gasoline will be saved and 12 million pounds of carbon dioxide will be kept out of the air.

If consumers set their air conditioners six degrees higher, it will save 190,000 barrels of oil a day - and eliminate all those pollutants that come from burning the oil to produce the electricity involved.