BETTER BOATING
For more information,
visit SpareTheAir.com
or call (916) 874-4848
Spare The Air is a public education program sponsored by the air districts of the Sacramento region.
Reduce Pollution from Boats
Recreational boating causes about 10 percent of the Sacramento region’s summer
smog. On the weekends, it adds as much pollution to our air as 1.5 million additional
cars and trucks. Don’t use your boat on a Spare The Air day.
• Older 2-stroke marine engines emit up to 30 percent of their fuel unburned as exhaust,
which can form smog
• One 2-stroke outboard motor running for seven hours pollutes more than an average car
driven 100,000 miles
Help Spare The Air with these boating tips:
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Limit full-throttle operation and unnecessary idling
Repair gas and oil leaks immediately
Keep the engine properly tuned
Check, clean and flush the engine away from water
Contain all waste, and recycle or dispose properly
Use a spill-proof gas container when fueling
Avoid topping off gas tanks
Buy a 3-star engine, which burns 35-50 percent less gas, uses up to 50 percent less oil,
and reduces emissions by 75 percent
WOOD SMOKE POLLUTION
For more information,
visit SpareTheAir.com
or call (916) 874-4848
Spare The Air is a public education program sponsored by the air districts of the Sacramento region.
Reduce Wood Smoke Pollution
Cozy fires are nice, but wood smoke produces particulate matter (PM) pollution that
affects the health of your family, friends and neighbors. Children, the elderly and people
with respiratory illnesses or heart disease are especially sensitive to the effects of
wood smoke.
When you hear a Spare The Air advisory, don’t light a fire in your fireplace, wood stove
or backyard fire pit.
At other times, you can do several things
to reduce wood smoke pollution:
• Purchase a cleaner burning, low-emission hearth product
• Burn only dry, seasoned hardwood – it is easier to light and burns more efficiently
• Never burn garbage, glossy paper, painted or chemically treated wood –
these products create toxic smoke and fumes
• Build small hot fires rather than large smoldering ones
Health effects from breathing particulate matter
pollution, especially fine particles, include:
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Irritation of the airways, coughing or difficulty breathing
Decreased lung function, even in otherwise healthy children and adults
Aggravated asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis
Aggravated heart disease
Irregular heartbeat
OZONE AT HOME
For more information,
visit SpareTheAir.com
or call (916) 874-4848
Spare The Air is a public education program sponsored by the air districts of the Sacramento region.
Reduce Pollution at Home
Many products we use around the house, like paints, aerosols, paint thinner and
charcoal lighter fluid contain Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), which contribute
to the formation of smog.
Follow these tips to reduce pollution at home
and help Spare The Air this summer:
• Use an electric starter or chimney-style briquette starter instead of charcoal lighter fluid
• Replace your charcoal barbecue grill with a propane gas grill
• Avoid gas-powered yard tools such as mowers, blowers, edgers and trimmers –
switch to electric-powered tools
• Use water-based paints, coatings and adhesives instead of oil-based formulas
• Ride a bike instead of driving a car
Stay informed:
• Sign-up for Air Alert – your free personal air quality notification via e-mail
or cellular phone – visit SpareTheAir.com
• Check the back page of The Sacramento Bee’s Metro section for the daily
air quality forecast, or
• Call (916) 874-4801 for the daily air quality forecast
OZONE AND HEALTH
For more information,
visit SpareTheAir.com
or call (916) 874-4848
Spare The Air is a public education program sponsored by the air districts of the Sacramento region.
Ozone and Your Health
Ground-level ozone is a strong irritant that can narrow your airways, forcing your lungs
to work harder to provide oxygen. Ozone is formed when Volatile Organic Compounds
(VOCs) and Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) interact with the sun’s ultraviolet rays.
Air pollution-related symptoms such as watery eyes, coughing or wheezing can affect
everyone. Risk depends on your health, the pollutant concentration and the length of
exposure. People most susceptible are:
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Individuals with heart or lung disease
Individuals with respiratory problems such as asthma, bronchitis or emphysema
Pregnant women
Children under age 15 whose lungs are still developing
Elderly residents
Athletes
Outdoor workers
Immediate health problems can include:
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Aggravated cardiovascular and respiratory illness
Wheezing, coughing, chest pain, dry throat, headache
Reduced resistance to infection
Damaged cells in the respiratory system
Increased fatigue
KIDS AGAINST POLLUTION
For more information,
visit SpareTheAir.com
or call (916) 874-4848
Spare The Air is a public education program sponsored by the air districts of the Sacramento region.
Air Quality Education for Kids
Save Planet Polluto
Save Planet Polluto is a free, interactive CD-ROM adventure created to teach children about
air pollution and its impact on their lives. Through a variety of challenging games with fun,
memorable characters, children will learn:
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Air quality terms
Air Quality Index (AQI) description
Health effects of air pollution
How to maintain a car’s engine
How to make healthy land use and transportation choices
How ground-level ozone and particulate matter are formed
To order your free CD-ROM, visit PlanetPolluto.com
or call (916) 874-4848.
Smog City
SmogCity.com is an award-winning air pollution simulator. It shows kids how transportation
choices, environmental factors and land use affect air pollution levels. The player controls
weather, traffic conditions, industry growth, use of consumer products and population.
The results show children how pollution increases or decreases and how health is affected
depending on their choices.
AIR ALERT
For more information,
visit SpareTheAir.com
or call (916) 874-4848
Spare The Air is a public education program sponsored by the air districts of the Sacramento region.
Air Alert – Your Air Pollution
Notification System
Air Alert is a FREE service that notifies you via e-mail or text message when air quality
in the Sacramento region is forecasted to be unhealthy. It’s easy to enroll and you can
stop this service at any time.
Sign-up at SpareTheAir.com.
Air Alert gives you Spare The Air advisories for ozone
or particulate matter, plus your choice of:
• Daily air quality forecasts
• Current conditions at monitoring sites in the region
You can use Air Alert to:
• Decide if children should participate in outdoor sporting activities
• Notify family and friends about air quality conditions
• Decide when to carpool, take the bus or postpone errands to help Spare The Air