[DEQ] DEQ celebrates Air Quality Awareness Week

Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy sent this bulletin at 04/28/2015 02:25 PM EDT

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DEQ celebrates Air Quality Awareness Week

April 28, 2015

Every day, each of us contributes to air pollution, but we don’t always realize it. This week, celebrated as Air Quality Awareness Week, seeks to change that.

Each day is dedicated to a different air quality topic and steps you can take to minimize your impact.

  • Monday: Do Your Part – Reduce Your Contribution to Air Pollution
  • Tuesday: Air Quality – Important at Every Age
  • Wednesday: Air Quality and Your Health
  • Thursday: Get Outside with the Air Quality Index (Plus, check out real-time Michigan air quality information at www.deqmiair.org.)
  • Friday: Traveler’s Health

The U.S. EPA put together a great website focused on these topics. Check it out at www.epa.gov/airnow/airaware.

This week is the second major air quality awareness event for the month. On April 22, the DEQ and its partner agencies celebrated Earth Day by welcoming more than 1,500 elementary school students and teachers to visit 55 interactive displays about air quality, recycling, plants and animals, habitats, water and energy conservation, agriculture and more.

During the Earth Day festivities, the DEQ’s Air Quality Division staff talked with students and teachers about steps they could take to keep Michigan’s air clean. The students became Clean Air Action Heroes (complete with superhero masks!) who strived to:

  • Drive less and combine errands
  • Bike, carpool or ride the bus
  • Turn off the lights when leaving a room
  • Unplug electronics not using them
  • Let the grass grow taller
Picture of kids at Earth Day event
Laura DeGuire has served as the Air Quality Division’s Earth Day coordinator for more than a decade. Laura is retiring this summer, and we want to thank her for the countless hours she spent over the years teaching Michigan’s students and teachers about steps they can take to keep Michigan’s air clean.
Picture of Laura DeGuire