Air Quality Awareness Week Ends Today — Check Your Thermostat and Turn Off Lights

It's been all about the air we breathe for the past four days. 

Air Quality Awareness Week, observed Monday, April 29, through today, May 3, places an emphasis on clean air and what each of us can do to help improve air quality. It's a yearly reminder that there are simple, voluntary actions you can take to make immediate and positive impacts — and Barrow Patch is giving you yet another way to lessen your impact on air pollution. 

According to an Air Quality Awareness blog on The Huffington Post, the sequester has cut millions of dollars from EPA funding, and the effect is being felt, so anything individuals can do to help improve air quality is important. This suggestion is quite simple AND it can save you money — Just set your thermostat a little higher during the summer months and remember to turn off lights when you're not using them. 

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, power plants produce pollutants that form both ozone and particle pollution — the less power residents use, the less those plants have to work. 

Remember, if you are at increased risk for health problems related to air quality — click here to find out whether you are — you can use the Air Quality Index to adjust your outdoor activities. Click here to view today's air quality forecast for the metro Atlanta area and check back with Patch regularly by using the "Search" box in the upper right corner — simply type in "today's air quality forecast," click the magnifying glass icon and, in the search results, click the article with that title.