How You Can Get Rid Of The Brown Cloud Over The Southwest

Help clean up the air in the Southwest

Winters in the Southwest are hallmarks for their mild and scenic winters. It is estimated that about 42 million leisure travelers spent time in the southwest, resulting in billions of dollars in revenue. While tourism is good for the state, it also brings pollution from cars, planes, buses and other gasoline powered outlets.

During the winter, the Department s of Air Quality may issue High Pollution Advisories based upon the U.S EPA Air Quality Index. This index categorizes pollution levels with respect to their potential health impacts, and health concerns associated with each classification.

A High Pollution Advisory (HPA) is issued when the highest concentrations of ozone or PM levels may exceed the federal health standard. At this point, pollution levels are reaching unhealthy levels for everyone, not just people with respiratory problems.


The Brown Cloud 

For the most part, the ‘Brown Cloud’ that you see hovering over the valley consists of tiny particles of carbon and nitrogen dioxide gas. These substances are deposited into the air mostly from burning fossil fuels. Cars, construction-related dust, power plants, gas powered lawn mowers, leaf blowers, and more contribute to the cloud daily.

At night, an inversion layer forms over the Valley. As with any desert, the air closer to the ground cools faster than the air above. What happens to this cool air? It then moves in on top of the warm air westward from the surrounding mountains. As a result, the air trapped closer to the ground in the Valley, the air containing the majority of the pollutants in the area then spreads. “As the desert floor heats up during the day, the particulates rise forming a visible haze that expands as the day progresses. Throughout the day, air shifts in the Valley cause variances in the Brown Cloud. From mid-day on, the cloud is pushed to the east. With every sunset, the cycle starts all over again”. 
What can You do?
One of the most effective, cost savings and practical way you can reduce this ‘Brown Cloud’ over the valley is to fight it with nature …………plant a tree from Moon Valley Nursery.

Trees are responsible for:
• Absorbing CO2 and other dangerous gasses and, in turn, replenish the atmosphere with oxygen.
• Absorbing enough CO2 on each acre, so that over a year's time this would equal the amount you would produce when you drive your car 26,000 miles.
Trees remove gaseous pollutants by absorbing them through the pores in the leaf surface. Particulates are trapped and filtered by leaves, stems and twigs, and washed to the ground by rainfall.

The reduction of CO2 by planting a tree or two on your property is significant. As the population in the southwest continues to grow, we are all challenged to do our part to reduce air pollution. Moon Valley Nurseries makes it easy to be a partner in fighting the ‘Brown Cloud’, and sustaining our planet earth. Call any of our locations today, and start cleaning up the air, while making your yard beautiful!

For more information on the clean air initiative visit:
www.epa.gov/visibility