A Winter Spare the Air Alert has been issued for Tuesday, November 13, through Friday, November 16, throughout the Bay Area.
EBMUD is a member of the BAAQMD Spare the Air Employer Program
BAAQMD is forecasting tomorrow’s Air Quality Index to be unhealthy. It is illegal for Bay Area residents to burn wood or other solid fuels in fireplaces, wood stoves and inserts, pellet stoves, outdoor fire-pits, or other wood-burning devices. This wood-burning ban will be in effect for Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, southern Sonoma and southwestern Solano Counties.
Help reduce the amount of air pollution and protect you and your family’s health every day, both at work and at home, by doing the following:
· Take transit: Take advantage of the District’s Transit Subsidy and save gas, money, and stress. Worried about needing to get home in an emergency? The District offers guaranteed rides home.
· Walk or ride: Walking or riding a bike to commute or run errands saves gas and money AND improves your health too!
· Link your trips: Is this a day that you have to be in the field or attend off-site meetings? Carpool to the site and group your site visits. When possible reschedule trips for a non-Spare the Air day.
· Avoid engine idling: Make an effort to reduce engine idling. Idling wastes fuel, money and affects your health.
· Stay steady: Minimize pedal and brake changes with a steady speedometer and you can improve gas mileage by 33 percent on the highway.
· Select safer products: Use non-toxic, non-aerosol cleaning and beauty products to improve indoor air quality and protect your health.
· Power down: Reducing electricity use whether you are at work or home saves you money and protects the environment.
· No Wood Burning: In the winter months additional health impacts are related to smoke generated from wood burning. During Winter Spare the Air events be advised that all wood burning is banned both indoors and outdoors for the duration of the alert.
Looking for more information? Please visit http://www.epa.gov/pm/ and http://sparetheair.org/
