Tucson Air Quality

Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF): Tucson air quality is comparatively ‘good’ to other places but could improve.

I am no air quality expert but I do know that one of the most pervasive threats to our health is the quality of the air- both from a ‘what kind’ of pollutant and a ‘how much’ of it perspective.

Trust me, we don’t want what many other places have…

I’ve been to some places that when you step off the airplane, my eyes would sting from the sheer amount of pollutants- felt like sweat dripped into my eyes.

Sitting in Shanghai Pudong International Airport looking out of the immense wall of windows running the length of the building being able to look directly at the sun because the pollution was so thick…

Look here to see what I mean…

https://www.voanews.com/a/reu-flights-delayed-air-pollution-record-shanghai/1804921.html

There are many ways of looking at pollutants. Some apologists might suggest that there are ‘tolerable levels’ and as long as we maintain below the limits- all is good.

On the opposite side are the absolutists who view the pollutants as a poison that is to be avoided regardless of concentration.

I say no matter which side someone might be leaning, it is probably prudent to look to minimize the pollution in our air.

As for Tucson-

We can watch in live webcam what our air quality looks like:

https://airinfonow.pima.gov/html/pics-deq123.html

We actually enjoy a fairly good air quality index through the year. It seems to spike up in the winter months, possibly because extra gas is being burned for heat.

Our main sources of pollution are from the gas burned for power and then from the cars. (So says the IQAir on theinternet):

https://www.iqair.com/us/usa/arizona/tucson

That said, what can we do here in Tucson to help keep our air the best quality we can?

1. Shift to Electric Vehicles (or plug in hybrids that have sufficient range to cover the bulk of your commuting)

2. Get rooftop solar and charge the car with it.

Two very real and more importantly- reachable items for many homeowners here in Tucson…

If, collectively, Tucson were to shift the bulk of our energy consumption from fossil fuels to solar- we would be able to have a real impact here in our favorite home town…

Not sure where everyone might stand on the idea- but when we strip away the political narratives, this seems like a compelling discussion we should have.

If you are looking to get solar for your rooftop, don’t talk to the Solar Sales folks until you see what I have been building for you- Tucson Solar Insider Desk Guide for Buying Solar- click here to get notified when it is released.

Be Good!

Curtis