PIMA COUNTY, Ariz. — The Pima County Department of Environmental Quality’s Clean Air Program has launched the #ThisIsCleanAir photo challenge Monday to inspire the community to share ways to improve air quality.
Those who want to enter the challenge are asked to use the hashtag #ThisIsCleanAir and send it to Facebook or Twitter with the tag @PimaDEQ, or to Instagram with the tag @Pima_County. Individuals not on social media can send in the photos by emailing their photo to HealthyAir@pima.gov. Participants submit one photo per day.
The deadline to submit family-friendly photos is September 30.
The community may take part in voting the week of October 5 when top photos will be added online to the PDEQ's website. The winner will be announced Oct. 19, and will receive a $50 gift card to help support a local downtown business.
PDEQ is asking Pima County residents who are 16 years or older send in photos illustrating at least one clean air activity related to transportation, along with a short caption providing the number of miles not driven.
“Chances are, you breathe in about 3,000 gallons of air every day, whether or not the air is clean,” Karen Wilhelmsen, PDEQ Program Manager said in a statement. “There are lots of ways that air gets polluted and just as many actions we can take to help keep it healthy. Some sources of air pollution, such as the wildfires that caused multiple bad air days this summer, are difficult to control. However, we have the power to make choices every day to lower pollution levels for healthier air to breathe."
The goal of this first challenge is how members of the community can travel from one place to another all while improving air quality, according to PDEQ. Other future challenges will center on other actions that can be accomplished to improve air quality.
For more information about local air quality or the photo challenge, click here.
