Subscribe Now

Smoke from nearby wildfires can impact your health. Smoke is a mixture of tiny particles and gases – the fine particles can get into your eyes and lungs, where they can cause burning eyes, runny nose and may aggravate some health conditions like lung disease, bronchitis and asthma. Viewer Tip: Protect yourself and your family [...]

The weather is warming up, school is winding down…it’s road trip season! According to the Alliance to Save Energy, the average U.S. household will spend about 3,300 dollars on transportation this year. Whether your trip is five miles long or 500, proper vehicle maintenance and smart driving tips can save gas and money. Plus, a [...]

May is National Bike Month and May 13-17, 2013 is Bike to Work Week. The U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey shows that number of Americans commuting by bike has increased by 47 percent since 2000.  Hitting the road on two wheels has benefits for your health and the environment. Studies have shown that adults [...]

Air Quality Awareness Week takes place from April 29-May 3, 2013. This year, learn more about how air quality affects your health. And, find out what you can do to protect air quality where you live. Air quality is important at every age. Are you at risk for health problems from ozone (sometimes called smog) [...]

Friday, April 26 is National Arbor Day.  Trees not only add beauty and value to our landscape, they also provide many environmental benefits.  In one year, a single healthy tree has the same cooling effect as ten room-sized air conditioners running continually; absorbs 750 gallons of storm water, preventing erosion and protecting water quality; and [...]

National Public Health Week takes place from April 1-7, 2013. This year’s theme is Public Health is ROI: Saves Lives, Saves Money. There are easy steps you can take at home, at school and on the move to protect your health and help save money on health-related costs in your community. At home: In 2012, [...]

Chilly temperatures keep many of us inside during the winter months more than other times of the year.  Just as the air we breathe outside can affect our health, so can the air we breathe inside homes, schools and offices.  Poor ventilation, high temperatures and humidity indoors can increase some indoor pollutant levels. And, people [...]

The distinctive smell of wood smoke is a sign of the heating season. It may smell good, but wood smoke can impact indoor air quality and your health. Smoke is a mixture of tiny particles and gases produced when wood burns – the fine particles can get into your eyes and lungs, where they may [...]

For every two minutes a car idles, it uses about the same amount of fuel it takes to drive one mile. While it may be tempting to idle your car for a few minutes to “warm it up” during winter, 30 seconds is plenty of time to get going. Tailpipe emissions from cars contain pollutants [...]

Did you know that studies have shown that the air inside our homes can be more polluted that the air outside? Indoor air pollutants come from a variety of sources, including building materials and decorating products, as well as activities such as cooking, cleaning, heating, and cooling. Indoor air pollution can trigger health problems for [...]

Being active in nature makes kids healthier. Learn more in this infographic. Did you know that children may be more vulnerable to environmental exposures and hazards than adults? This is because children’s bodies are still developing and growing; they eat, drink and breathe in more in proportion to their body size than adults do; and [...]

This is the time of year when kids head back to school.  About 25 million kids ride the bus to and from school each day and experts estimate that 10 to 14 percent of all personal vehicle trips made during the peak morning commuting hours are taking kids to school.  Increased traffic and idling vehicles [...]

As the weather warms up, many people are hitting the road for summer vacation. The Alliance to Save Energy calculated that the average U.S. household will spend nearly 3,500 dollars fueling up vehicles this year, even with lower gas prices. The good news is that maintaining your vehicle and using smart driving techniques can make [...]

When the temperature goes up outside, so does the demand for energy for cooling. Research shows that for every one degree Fahrenheit increase in outdoor air temperatures, demand for energy increases by 1.5 to two percent! Rising energy use can lead to an increase in air pollutant emissions, which impact human health and contribute to [...]

This is the time of year when lawn activities peak – watering, fertilizing and mowing.  All of these activities can have environmental impacts.  For example, did you know that over 50 million Americans mow their lawns each weekend and contribute as much as five percent of the country’s air pollution? Viewer Tip: You can have [...]

The U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and NOAA’s National Weather Service are encouraging Americans to “Be Air Aware” this week as part of Air Quality Awareness Week.  Concentrations of air pollution tend to increase on the tail end of high pressure systems, after the center of the high passes by.  High pressure systems affect a [...]

The Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) recently released its 2010 Urban Mobility Report, which provides information about traffic congestion in 439 urban areas in the United States. Based on 2009 data, TTI estimates that congestion costs 4.8 billion hours of extra time and 115 billion dollars worth of delay and fuel expenses each year. In the Phoenix [...]

The Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) recently released its 2010 Urban Mobility Report, which provides information about traffic congestion in 439 urban areas in the United States. Based on 2009 data, TTI estimates that congestion costs 4.8 billion hours of extra time and 115 billion dollars worth of delay and fuel expenses each year. In the San [...]

The Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) recently released its 2010 Urban Mobility Report, which provides information about traffic congestion in 439 urban areas in the United States. Based on 2009 data, TTI estimates that congestion costs 4.8 billion hours of extra time and 115 billion dollars worth of delay and fuel expenses each year. In the San [...]

The Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) recently released its 2010 Urban Mobility Report, which provides information about traffic congestion in 439 urban areas in the United States. Based on 2009 data, TTI estimates that congestion costs 4.8 billion hours of extra time and 115 billion dollars worth of delay and fuel expenses each year. In the Sacramento [...]