We Like Green (Air Quality Code) Days

Everyday about 3:30 p.m., I get an email with the air quality code for the day and the air quality forecast for the next two days. These free daily air alerts come from Clean Air Partners, and you can sign up here to receive them, too.

I track air quality for obvious personal reasons and also for business purposes. If the air for the next day falls in the unhealthy (orange) range or worse, then we’ll limit our mowing to early hours of the day and/or mow only within a very limited driving range. Or, not mow at all.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) shown here is familiar to all of us by now. What you may not know is that it’s based on five major air pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act: ground-level ozone, particle pollution (also known as particulate matter), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. It is the first two of these — ground-level ozone and particle pollution — that pose the greatest threat to human health, and monitors throughout our region measure these. (For a map showing monitor locations in our area, click here.)

You can help clear the air in multiple ways: Replace your charcoal grill with a propane gas grill, use water-based instead of oil-based paint, drive less, and of course, if you haven’t already, sign up with Solar Mowing. Free estimates for emission-free mowing, trimming, and blowing!

AQIchart