Summer Ozone and Pollution

Wondering what you can do to help reduce ozone and improve our summer air? The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Regional Air Quality Council have launched a new campaign that can help Coloradans take simple steps toward better summer air. In fact, that’s the name of the campaign and its new website – SimpleStepsBetterAir.org. Check out the website for tips on what you can do. For instance, while “take fewer car trips” might be fairly obvious, there are probably some things that you’re doing that you’re not even aware are affecting our summer ozone. For example, do you know which household products contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs)? Which man-made activities produce the highest levels of nitrogen oxide (NOx)? And what ground-level ozone can do to your health? In addition to learning all about summer ozone, you can also use the website to download interactive tools such as the OzoMeter for logging car trips, and sign up for real-time ozone and air pollution updates.

Want to learn even more about ozone and summer air quality? You can find many helpful resources in our library, including

• Analysis of the Use of Ozone Depleting Compounds in the State of Colorado
• Colorado State Implementation Plan for Ozone, Technical Support Document
• Denver Metropolitan Area and North Front Range 8-Hour Ozone State Implementation Plan and revisions
• The Early Action Compact for Ozone, Denver Metropolitan Area
• Ozone and Ethylene Effects on Some Ornamental Plant Species
• Ozone Redesignation Request and Maintenance Plan for the Denver Metropolitan Area with summary fact sheet
• Ozone Transport in the West: An Exploratory Study
• Put a Cap on Ozone!
• Reducing Ozone in the Denver Region: Recommendations for Future Action
• Report (Regional Air Quality Council’s Ozone Outreach and Education Program)
• A Simple Guide to Calculating and Reporting Air Emissions for VOCs and HAPs
• Technical Support Document for Recommended 8-Hour Ozone Designations 
• Volatile Organic Compounds Health Effects Fact Sheet

Items listed above without URLs can be checked out in print from our library or on Prospector. For lots more titles on ozone and air quality, search our library’s online catalog.