Featured Citizen Action

Dear Chairwoman Greyson and Quality of Life Committee Members,

 On Sept 24th you have an opportunity to propel Dallas air quality monitoring into the 21st Century.

A local consortium of universities, citizens groups, and representatives from local governments have worked for a over a year to prepare the founding documents for a new high-tech, low-cost air quality monitoring network. On Monday, you'll hear a presentation describing the network and the significant public health benefits it can bring. 

Plano and Dallas County have already signaled their enthusiasm for this new network. Other metropolitan areas have begun to build their own versions. As a City in annual violation of the Clean Air Act for almost 30 years, Dallas could certainly use a new approach to tracking and reducing air pollution.

Currently, the EPA and state operate only a handful of monitors in selected locations. This local network would supplement those existing monitors with hundreds of new ones, all calibrated to EPA standards. Instead of waiting up to two hours to learn what the air was like across town by way of four or five complicated website links, residents would get real time information about the air right outside their house in real time via an app on their phone or tablet. This is a "smart city" idea that makes a lot of sense and could help save lives.

I urge you to vote for the City of Dallas to join with Plano and Dallas County in creating the North Texas Clean Air Network.

Thank you for your consideration.