We are looking for highly visible public locations in both the Fields Corner and the Ashmont areas of Dorchester for our air quality awareness program. DEHC has several sets of nylon banners designed to hang outdoors. Each banner is 3′ x 6′ and shows by its color – green, yellow or red – whether the day’s air quality is Good, Moderate or Unhealthy according to the EPA’s daily email EnviroFlash notification system. EPA Air Quality alerts are issued in the late afternoon when ground-level ozone and/or fine particle concentrations are predicted to be elevated, or approaching unhealthy levels on the following day in our area.
Currently, DEHC has two air quality flag locations - in front of the Codman Square Health Center and at Bowdoin Street Health Center. DEHC needs two more prominent outdoor locations to hang the flags and an interested individual to be in charge of the flags at that location. A stipend is available to each volunteer – this is light duty! Between May 1st and September 30th you would subscribe to receive a daily EnviroFlash email. You only need to change from green to a different color flag whenever the air quality changes. You would also store the other two banners until needed. Please get in touch if you are interested by calling 617-474-1478 or by email, thank you!
Posts Tagged ‘air quality’
Air Quality Flags
March 8th, 2010EPA Strengthens Air Quality Standard for Nitrogen Dioxide
January 25th, 2010FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 25, 2010
EPA Strengthens Air Quality Standard for Nitrogen Dioxide
First new NO2 standard in 35 years will improve air quality for millions
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced a new national air quality standard for nitrogen dioxide (NO2). This new one-hour standard will protect millions of Americans from peak short-term exposures, which primarily occur near major roads. Short-term exposures to NO2 have been linked to impaired lung function and increased respiratory infections, especially in people with asthma.
“This new one-hour standard is designed to protect the air we breathe and reduce health threats for millions of Americans. For the first time ever, we are working to prevent short-term exposures in high risk NO2 zones like urban communities and areas near roadways,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Improving air quality is a top priority for this EPA. We’re moving into the clean, sustainable economy of the 21st century, defined by expanded innovation, stronger pollution standards and healthier communities.” » Read more: EPA Strengthens Air Quality Standard for Nitrogen Dioxide
Tide Turning in Bike Cage Push
December 22nd, 2009December is bike cage month in DotBike land, as DEHC’s Pete Stidman and DotBike’s Vivian Girard have been gathering support for a bike cage at the JFK/UMass station near Columbia Point. The MBTA is building six to 10 bike cages within their transit and commuter rail system as part of a $4.8 million chunk of stimulus money specifically targeted to improving bike parking.
DEHC used the Freedom of Information Act to acquire a list of all the stations the T is considering for the new cages, as well as 50 bike shelters they intend to build. What we discovered is a strange bias toward suburban stations, and the likelihood that there would not be a bike cage in Dorchester, where bike theft is the number one deterrent to cycling!
As it turned out, the proximity of other stations worked against Dorchester and other urban neighborhoods in the T’s assessment of need for bike cages. They didn’t prioritize the positive effect on bike-ability neighborhood density has, nor the fact that cyclists might avoid other nearby stations due to theft risk. And most surprising-they didn’t compare or even look at rates of bike theft for any station! » Read more: Tide Turning in Bike Cage Push
Support a new process on Blue Hill Avenue
November 30th, 2009It is now certain, the $140 million proposal to install a faster bus line on Blue Hill Avenue is dead, and that TIGER grant will not be obtained from the federal government. The good news though is that there is now much wider support for bike lanes on the street.
State legislators along the corridor have proposed a longer, more community-based process, to take advantage of the hundreds of thousands the state has already invested in the project. There is a roll plan of the street now, complete with bus boardings, turning movements, and tons of other data. And after the lengthy 28x controversy, we feel it’s time to really determine what the neighborhood would like to see on Blue Hill. But this longer process is not ensured. It would require funding for the process itself.
It is also unclear which government agency would carry on this process. If there is no large transit element, it would not be a state, but rather a city project. And of course money is tight everywhere.
If you’re interested in seeing the process continue, contact Mayor Thomas Menino’s office, contact your City Councillors about it, and also let your state legislators, Governor Patrick and Secretary of Transportation Jeffrey Mullan know that you support a continued public process on Blue Hill Avenue.
And, while you’re at it, suggest expanding the Public Advisory Group to include representation for cyclists!
Mega-study targets SE Expressway pollution (CAFEH)
November 30th, 2009It’s difficult to imagine, but it is only in the last decade or so that the academic community has really begun to dial in on how air pollutants affect health of people living next door to major highways. But stacks of new research papers have been published in recent years, in part inspiring a new $2.5 million study that promises to be one of the most convincing to date. It’s based at Tufts University in Chinatown and may even send investigators out to Dorchester’s Columbia neighborhood.
» Read more: Mega-study targets SE Expressway pollution (CAFEH)
