Spring and Autumn Seasonal Tips: Avoid burning leaves. Leaf smoke is a major health threat for many Iowans. The dense smoke is made of fine soot particles, carbon monoxide and toxins that causes asthma attacks in Iowa. Composting or mulching turns potential air pollution into Mother Nature's goodness for your lawn, garden or flowers. Solid waste disposal is another alternative.

Summertime Seasonal Tips:

Warm weather and strong sunlight can cause airborne gases, exhaust and fumes to "cook" or react to form yet another pollutant: ground-level ozone. Ozone is the main ingredient in photochemical smog. Regions of east-central and southeastern Iowa from Cedar Rapids to Clinton, Quad Cites and Van Buren County had unhealthy levels of ozone over several days in 1999. Ozone is found in cities and also moves over rural areas away from these urban areas as well, affecting farmsteads and small towns. To reduce smog formation, on warm and calm sunny days choose to do the following if convenient:

Delay painting. - Paint vapors can cook and react in the air to form ozone, the main ingredient in smog. Paint on a cooler day or late in the day. Try using non-photochemical reactive VOCs as marked on the paint can. Better yet, use water-based paints, stains and sealant. Tightly seal lids on containers when finished. Avoid using aerosol spray cans.

Postpone Refueling - Gasoline fumes contribute to ozone or smog formation. Fill-up late in the day, after sundown or wait for a cooler day. Do not "top-off" the tank, which releases extra vapors. Stop refueling when the nozzle "clicks-off." Avoid spilling gasoline when refueling your vehicle or lawn equipment.

Don't Sweat! - Choose to use gasoline powered lawn equipment on cool days or early evening when sunlight has less time to react with the exhaust. Most Iowans don't realize how much pollution is released from gasoline-powered mowers, leaf blowers and trimmers. Using a gas mower for one hour emits the same as driving a car 340 miles! Consider purchasing electric or battery-powered lawnmowers or non-motorized reel mowers. Opt for rake and hand tool usage for smaller jobs instead of gas-operated.

Park in the shade - Cars can pollute even when not in use. Cars parked in the sun heat up enough to cause gasoline evaporation from the tank, fuel lines and engine. Parking in the shade reduces evaporative fuel losses and reduces the need for expensive air conditioning.

Winter Seasonal Tips:

Fireplace Sense - Learning to burn more efficiently means less smoke and more heat from less wood. Only burn properly cured, dry, well split and clean wood. Never burn plastics or garbage. Don't damper down the flue to create a smoky, smoldering fire. Consider upgrading to new woodstoves or clean gas fireplaces. New woodstoves use a secondary combustion chamber to combust gases otherwise wasted up the chimney.