After a morning of weeding and pruning I brought my lunch outside to enjoy the autumn sun. With a bowl of pesto pasta topped with my home grown tomatoes, I was in heaven. Meanwhile, just across the property line, my neighbor, who had also been working in the yard, decided to torch the leaves and branches they’d piled high behind the house. The smoke engulfed my yard and blocked out the sun. As I dashed inside, I caught a whiff of what smelled like burning plastic. I thought, “Breathing that stuff can’t be healthy.”
When I checked into it I learned that outdoor burning is the number one complaint that comes to the Northwest Clean Air Agency. We all know that smoking cigarettes has been linked to a number of health problems. Outdoor smoke can be just as harmful, especially for children whose lungs are still developing, but also for people with heart disease, asthma, emphysema or other respiratory ailments.
The State Clean Air Act became law in 1967. Burning garbage has been illegal in Island County since 1969. There’s a permanent outdoor burn ban in Oak Harbor, Coupeville, Freeland and Langley and seasonal burn bans in unincorporated Island County (with some exceptions). Call your local fire department for details.
We remodeled our garage last year making it into a studio and decided to heat it with a wood stove. That’s when we learned about EPA’s certification and Washington’s stricter standards for wood stoves. If a wood stove is sold in Washington it must meet air quality standards or the seller could face a $10,000 fine. But wood stoves and outdoor burning are only a fraction of the pollution problems. Motor vehicles add 57 percent more.
As winter closes in I notice vehicles idling in the driveway while the owner is nowhere to be seen. Newer vehicles need only 30 seconds to warm up. Idling longer only uses more fuel, costs more money and creates a cloud of carbon monoxide. The same is true if you’re waiting at the drive through for coffee or a bank transaction. If you think you’ll be there for more than 30 seconds, shut her down!
The city of Oak Harbor and many schools in the region have adopted a No Idle Policy. At the start and end of a school day there can be dozens of parents vying for position in the parking lot. At Broadview Elementary, Principal Joyce Swanson has tried to get parents to park a block away and let their children walk. At Oak Harbor Elementary School the PE teacher is instigating a walking school bus when an adult walks with a number of neighborhood kids to school. The city No Idle Policy states that if a city vehicle is going to be idling for more than 2 minutes the engine should be turned off.
Winter is the worst time for air quality. Stagnant air can trap pollutants close the ground. The Northwest Clean Air Agency tracks the air quality each day and issues alerts if pollutants reach levels that are hazardous to human health. But they’re not just out there to regulate and issue fines. They also give grants that allow regional school districts to retrofit buses significantly cutting their emissions.
On Tuesday, Oct. 20, Laura Curley of the Northwest Clean Air Agency will make a presentation at Oak Harbor City Hall from 7 to 8 p.m. Come with your air quality questions and find out about their exciting work with climate change.
Maribeth Crandell is Oak Harbor’s environmental coordinator.
