Center to Help Clean Up the Air

Ozone pollution is bad for our citizens’ health, and it’s bad for our economy. The Center for the Environment at Catawba College is committed to helping people understand the wide-ranging implications of unhealthy air and figure out ways to combat it.

The Center’s Campaign for Clean Air is educating citizens in Rowan and Cabarrus counties and empowering them to take action to address this critical challenge. The campaign focuses on health issues related to poor air quality, alternative fuels and modes of transportation, bike paths, sidewalks, preservation of green space and energy conservation.

The Center’s efforts come at a critical time for our region. In spite of recent reports that summer ozone levels for the state of North Carolina in 2009 were the lowest in years, there is still much work to do -- particularly in our region of the state.

The reported improvement was based on a significant reduction in the number of Code Orange ozone days statewide. The ozone alert days that did occur, however, were in the greater Charlotte region, which includes Rowan and Cabarrus Counties. In addition, the EPA’s panel of science advisors has recommended more stringent ozone standards, and our region does not meet current standards.

While the Center is focusing its efforts in Rowan and Cabarrus, its intent is to develop a program that can be replicated by other organizations that seek guidance in educating their citizens and encouraging action to mitigate the problem.