Which California cities have the cleanest, healthiest air?

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Request for Question Clarification by googlenut-ga on 28 Jun 2003 11:34 PDT

Hello jane01-ga,

I can provide you with a source that gives detailed air quality data
for most regions and cities in California (hundreds of locations). 
You can search for particular locations, or get information about
particular locations and regions using clickable maps or scrolling
through an alphabetical list.

With this data, you can determine for yourself which areas of
California have the healthiest air.

Would this be an acceptable answer?

Googlenut

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Clarification of Question by jane01-ga on 01 Jul 2003 11:57 PDT

Yes this would be acceptable.

Thank you,

Jane

Hello Jane,

Monitoring and regulation of air quality in California is the
responsibility of the California Air Resources Board (ARB).
http://www.arb.ca.gov/

ARB "Site Information" provides the following data:
http://www.arb.ca.gov/aaqm/qmosqual/qmosqual.htm
(scroll down to the middle of the page)

"Information regarding each air monitoring station that is audited by
the ARB. Included are maps to each site, GPS coordinates, site photos,
pollutants monitored, and site surveys.  The site surveys list
in-depth monitoring information such as traffic descriptions,
calibration dates, distances to trees and obstacles, and residence
times. Also included are the most recent data from certain sites
operated by ARB.  Station information is browsable through either the
California Air Basin Map or Sitelist, which is an aphabetical listing
of air monitoring stations.  More sophisticated queries can be made
from our search page."


Click on "California Air Basin Map" to get information by Basin,
County, or District.
http://www.arb.ca.gov/qaweb/
Once you select a basin, county or district, you can select a specific
air-monitoring site to obtain detailed data.  The pollutants monitored
are listed and site survey reports are available.

You can also find data using the alphabetical site list or searching
the database.


For more of a simpler to understand overview of the data, the ARB also
has a colorful interactive map.

From the ARB homepage ( http://www.arb.ca.gov ), click on "Find Your
Community" in the menu on the right side of the page, near the bottom.

Click on "Air Basins of California".

Click on "Find Your Air Basin!" or on the picture of California (Flash
5.0 or newer is required).

From there you can find information about the 15 California "Air
Basins".  Use the "Question Corner" on the right side of the page for
information such as "Where does air pollution reach unhealthy levels".
 From there you can click on "Click Here to See Unhealthy Air
Pollution Areas".  Click on "Ozone" or "PM10" or "CO" to see the
status of those pollutants in that basin.



Another interesting set of data provided by the ARB can be found at:
http://www.arb.ca.gov/desig/adm/adm.htm

This page allows you to see the status (Unclassified, Attainment,
Nonattainment, Nonattainment/Transitional) for each pollutant (Ozone,
Carbon Monoxide, PM10, Sulfates Map, Hydrogen Sulfide) on a map of
California.

For definitions see
http://www.arb.ca.gov/desig/adm/Define.htm


I hope you have found this information helpful.  If you have any
questions, please request clarification prior to rating the answer.

Googlenut


Search Strategy:

I live in Southern California, so I am familiar with the South Coast
Air Quality Management District (AQMD).  I searched Google for AQMD to
find their website.
http://www.aqmd.gov/

From the AQMD website, I found the ARB website.
http://www.aqmd.gov/otherlnk.html