Air impurities from smog to pollen can take a toll on your lungs, particularly during summer. Here are a few things you can do to reduce exposure to allergens and lung irritants:
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- Check your local weather reports for air quality, including smog and pollen counts, before spending time out doors. If outdoor air is polluted, keep windows closed. Exercise in early morning, before smog and pollen rise with the day's heat.
- Use a doormat to reduce tracking-in of dirt and particles. Leave shoes by the door.
- Take up and wash carpets, where pollutants collect.
- Use HEPA filters—which remove microscopic pollen particles—in vacuum cleaners, air-purifying machines, and air conditioners.
- Take refuge in air-conditioned bookstores, museums, cafés, or movie theaters when the air is bad.
- Wash curtains and bedding every two weeks in hot water. This also kills dust mites, which produce allergenic droppings.
To reduce global-warming gases:
- Choose energy-efficient electrical appliances and consider home renovation. According to studies completed in 2000 by scientists at five national laboratories, energy efficiency could cut projected electricity demand by 20 to 47 percent nationwide.
- Support alternative energy. The U.S. Department of Energy and the Union of Concerned Scientists say the U.S. can handle all its power requirements with wind or solar energy alone, Matt Bivens reported in The Nation.
- Drive less. Walk, bike, skate, or take public transportation. You'll also burn more calories.
- Conserve water.
- Ask Congress and the White House to preserve and enforce the Clean Air Act and join the 50-plus countries that have ratified the Kyoto Accord to reduce global warming emissions.
- Help protect natural habitats. Forests and wetlands absorb carbon dioxide and store nitrogen, reducing levels of global-warming gases, and help prevent runoff and filter contaminants before they reach our water supplies. Researchers led by the University of Minnesota have found that more diverse plant ecosystems more effectively absorb greenhouse gases.
