Spare the Air Day Rules

The Spare the Air movement is administered by the San Fransisco Bay Area Quality Management Council, and is designed to educate people on ways to reduce air pollution. The council suggests every day we should spare the air, and not just on days that the ozone levels exceed federal standards (see reference 1). This being the case, the council has established guidelines on what you can do to spare the air.

Advisory Issued

• On the day before ozone levels become excessive, an advisory is issued by the Council. Residents of the San Fransisco area are asked to reduce sources of pollution, in an effort to decrease the ozone levels in the atmosphere.

Car Usage

• The council recommends reducing car usage as a way to reduce pollution (see reference 1). On ozone alert days, just this one simple act can significantly reduce pollution, if enough people participate. This involves using a bicycle to go to the neighborhood store, or taking public transit.

Aerosols

• Reducing aerosol usage, such as those found in hair sprays, spray paints and insecticides, is another way to spare the air (see reference 2). Furthermore, only environmentally safe house cleaning products are recommended to use.

Reduce Electricity Usage

• The Council also recommends reducing electricity usage (see reference 3). Some ways to do this include turning up the air conditioning thermostat slightly in the summer months, and using energy efficient light bulbs.