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The Maricopa County Air Quality Department wants your feedback on its public education campaigns

A view of a layer of smog pollution from the summit of Piestewa Peak in Phoenix.
Getty Images
A view of a layer of smog pollution from the summit of Piestewa Peak in Phoenix.

The Maricopa County Air Quality Department wants to find out how much you know about high pollution advisories, no burn days and other alerts. The department is looking for public participation on a new Clean Air Awareness Survey.

“We are a regulatory agency, but there’s only so much regulation can do,” said department spokesperson Ari Halpert. “We need our community and ourselves to be cautious of this and participate and do our part for better air quality.”

Halpert said individual actions like idling your car or burning wood in your fireplace are big contributors to the Valley’s ozone and particulate levels. So, she said, the air quality department wants to know how effective its public education campaigns have been.

“It’s feedback for us to provide this education and information to our community,” Halpert said. “We need to get the word out there, especially with all the new residents that are coming to Maricopa County, to understand what’s important to be helpful to the community.”

The short survey also asks what barriers people face that might keep them from adopting habits like carpooling or swapping wood for cleaner fuels.

The online survey runs through Feb. 7.

Katherine Davis-Young is a senior field correspondent reporting on a variety of issues, including public health and climate change.