We live in a beautiful region. No one else can wake up to see America’s Mountain and enjoy the “spacious skies” that Katherine Lee Bates so elegantly crafted on top of Pikes Peak 130 years ago.
And during this year’s Air Quality Awareness Week from May 5-9, it’s important that we do our part to maintain the beauty that our region is globally known for.
The Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments serves as the regional air quality planning agency, bringing together local elected leaders, community organizations and individuals to find workable solutions that maintain the clean air that is critical to our physical and economic health. We are working across the region to fully address air quality issues, whether locally produced, blown in from other areas or a byproduct of our altitude and environment, to ensure that our community maintains the quality of life we enjoy.
Air Quality Awareness Week is an opportunity to think about how simple, daily, individual actions of our community can contribute to improving the air quality components that we can control. Trying a new form of transportation, like cycling, walking, carpooling or transit, can be a great first step. Several local bicycle shops participate in a program that takes $450 off a qualifying purchase. Or maybe you’ve thought about new lawn equipment. You could save 30 percent on that new electric lawnmower or leaf blower. Each day’s theme for Air Quality Awareness Week allows our community to think how they impact air quality that effects asthma and health conditions, and our plants and animals.
These individual actions can compound the work that industry and government are already doing. Colorado Springs Utilities is moving to cleaner methods of power generation. PikeRide is making it easier to commute in the downtown area. Mountain Metropolitan Transit has expanded service to better meet the needs for commuting, recreating and visiting.
Our new resource at www.pikespeakair.com provides information on programs and monitoring that can put you in charge of the air quality steps that make sense for you. This website was only possible through the work of our government and private partners, and we look forward to it becoming the regional hub for activities and education.
We believe that communities working together can enrich the quality of life for the citizens in our region, and we invite everyone to join us in these efforts. A clean and healthy environment benefits all members of our communities, from the elite-level Olympians to the weekend warriors, children and those with medical conditions that are dependent on good air quality, and those who visit from far and wide to view the “purple mountain majesties.”
Andrew Gunning is the executive director of the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments.