Except for the area roughly circumscribing Olympia and Tacoma in the US State of Washington - depicted as small orange blob in the US Pacific Northwest (top left of the graphic) - air quality in the USA looks pretty good this week. AIRNow, source of this graphic information, also offers free access to graphic air quality reports by region, state, or locality (see Olympia/Tacoma detailed example below).

If I was looking for a healthier place to live, especially if I had asthma or other respiratory problems, this would be my starting information point. AIRNow is far more useful for that purpose than those top "greenest cities" stories that come out in a handful of magazines each spring. Also good for lobbying for better pollution controls or learning where green designs are most needed.

Not a bad place from which to copy/paste a map to send to your Senator or Representative on Capital Hill. "Dear Senator/Representative, just wanting to let you know how much I appreciate your vote in support of/or against upgraded CAFE/diesel emission standards. Have a look how our air quality is back home today!"

Via::AirNow, AIRNow is a government-backed program. Through AIRNow, EPA, NOAA, NPS, news media, tribal, state, and local agencies work together to report conditions for ozone and particle pollution.

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