Urban dwellers breathe in a fug of hundreds of pollutants every day, including 'big name' pollutants in terms of respiratory health, like ozone, particulates, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides. What can you do to reduce the emission you cause?
Take action:
Drive less – whenever you can, combine multiple trips into one, start a carpool, use public transport, walk or ride a bicycle; don't drive at high speeds and avoid long periods of idling; keep your car well-maintained; choose a newer model car with good fuel economy and low emission features; refuel after dark and after rush-hour in the warmer months, to help prevent pollutants reacting with sunlight and becoming ground-level ozone; postpone gardening chores that use petrol-fuelled equipment (like lawn-mowers) until later in the evening; reduce, re-use, recycle – lower consumption of products, whether fuel, electricity or any other consumerable, reduces air pollution.