The Clean Air Action Program focusses on ground-level ozone, the main ingredient in smog that can cause damage to your lungs, and is a significant health problem in many Midwest cities during the summer months. The Clean Air Action Program is now expanded to include particulate matter and is now in operation year-round as unhealthy levels of particulate matter can occur at any time during the year. The Clean Air Action Program was formerly known as the Ozone Action Program which only focused on ground-level ozone.
A Clean Air Action Day will be called when weather forecasters have predicted that conditions will be conducive to the formation of ozone or particulate matter.On a Clean Air Action Day, West Michigan residents will be asked to take certain voluntary actions to protect their health and reduce emissions. These voluntary actions may include limiting physical activity, carpooling, taking mass transit, and delaying lawn mowing (summer only).
Improving air quality in West Michigan is important. WMSRDC is a member of the West Michigan Clean Air Coalition (WMCAC). Formed in 1995, the WMCAC is a partnership of businesses, academic institutions, government agencies, industry, and non-profit organizations in Kent, Ottawa, Muskegon, and Kalamazoo counties working together to achieve cleaner air in the region through the education and promotion of voluntary emission reduction activities. The coalition works to educate the public and to promote voluntary emission reduction activities. Individuals and companies can help the coalition by making clean air choices on Clean Air Action Days. The coalition tries to limit the health and environmental damage that excessive ground level ozone can cause, by encouraging organizations and the general public to alter their lawn maintenance activities, refueling habits, and travel methods. West Michigan residents can stay informed about air quality year round by calling the West Michigan Clean Air Action hotline at 1-800-656-0663, signing on to Enviroflash as described above, or by visiting www.deqmiair.org.
WMSRDC is a partner community of the national “It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air” initiative sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It All Adds Up is designed to support local public outreach efforts to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution. The initiative emphasizes simple and convenient actions people can take to improve air quality and reduce traffic congestion, while saving time, money, and stress. The main focus is to remind everyone that all the choices we make affect the livability of our community and the quality of the air we breathe.
WMSRDC also promotes EnviroFlash, a service provided by the EPA, that automatically delivers air quality forecasts directly to the public via email or text message. It provides information so people can adjust their daily activities when poor air conditions are expected.
