Can You Breathe? Arizona’s Bold New Environmental Policy

If you've never been there, you'd be forgiven for thinking there is no raised ground anywhere near Los Angeles. Every picture from the past 30 years has shown nothing beyond the skyscrapers, but there certainly are mountains literally feet away from the skylines.

Are the mountains camera shy? No, they just can't see through the thick layer of smog covering the metro area.

Arizona's falling into that same trap.

Air Quality in Arizona

Most major cities in the United States cause a record amount of air pollution, but the effects are rarely seen outside of plumes of smoke shooting out of industrial parks. Arizona's a little different. If you've been to the Phoenix or Tucson areas as of late, you've likely noticed a haze covering the city.

This comes from high levels of pollution in the air, with Phoenix and Tucson each having moderate to severe air pollution, enough to cause adverse health effects such as trouble breathing and chronic heart disease.

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Arizona's Air Quality Flag Program

In order to combat the effects this may have on the people living in the area, The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has devised a new plan to ensure the pollution stays out of people's lungs as effectively as possible. The program uses colored flags, each corresponding to the EPA's Air Quality Index.

The flags are meant to be placed outside of schools, businesses, and government agencies, warning those nearby if the air quality has dropped to unhealthy levels. If you're interested in flying these digital or physical flags outside your place of work, visit the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.

[Department of Environmental Quality][California Air Resources Board][AirNow]