Governor Proclaims Air Quality Awareness Week 2024

AIR QUALITY AWARENESS WEEK

2024

BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

A PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS, North Carolinians are breathing the cleanest air in decades, due to the collective efforts of state leaders, regulatory agencies, electric utilities, industry, and the public in addressing air quality concerns; and

WHEREAS, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) actively monitors ozone, particulate matter, and other measures of air quality and works with businesses, local governments, and residents to ensure the air is clean; and

WHEREAS, DEQ’s Division of Air Quality provides daily county-level air quality forecasts in the online Air Quality Portal and through local media to help residents make informed choices about their outdoor activities, particularly children and older adults who are at higher risk of experiencing health-related problems from breathing air pollution; and

WHEREAS, combined emissions of hazardous air pollutants and toxic air pollutants combined have declined by more than 100 million pounds from 1993 to 2020; and

WHEREAS, outdoor visibility, which is important to the environment and tourism economy in North Carolina, has improved since 2000, with visibility on our haziest days improving by 30 – 37 miles; and

WHEREAS, the state continues to make progress toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions and addressing climate change as directed in Executive Order 80, Executive Order 246, and Executive Order 271; and

WHEREAS, State efforts, including the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Clean Transportation Plan and actions outlined in Executive Order 271, will lead to further emission reductions from motor vehicles, which are the state’s leading sources of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions; and

WHEREAS, DEQ and the United States Environmental Protection Agency are supporting education and outreach efforts to encourage all residents to access and understand the Air Quality Index as a tool to protect their health and take positive actions in their daily lives to help improve air quality in their community; and

WHEREAS, the State of North Carolina is committed to continued efforts to protect our air and improve air quality for North Carolinians, and to help them understand why clean air is important to the quality of life in our state;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ROY COOPER, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim May 6 – 10, 2024, as “AIR QUALITY AWARENESS WEEK” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.

________________________________________

Roy Cooper

Governor

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this third day of May in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-four and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.