Daniel Salzler No. 1097 EnviroInsight.org Four Items April 9, 2021
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Enhance your viewing by downloading the pdf file to view photos, etc. The attached is all about improving life in the watershed. If you want to be removed from the distribution list, please let me know. Please note that all meetings listed are open.
Enhance your viewing by downloading the attached pdf file to view photos, etc.
The attached is all about improving life in the watershed.
1. How Hot Can A Car Get Parked In The Phoenix Sun? What About Parking In The Shade? PHOENIX Parked in the sun for an hour, car seats reach an average of 123 degrees in the summer, according to a study by ASU and UC San Diego.
The steering wheel averaged 127 degrees.
In one of the cars studied, the dashboard reached 192 degrees, according to state climatologist Nancy Selover.
The average dashboard reached 157 degrees.
These temperatures inside cars parked in the heat can burn tender skin.
“On a child’s tender skin, if their child seat was exposed to the sun, that would be extremely hot,” Selover said.
Don’t Leave Me Behind: Remember kids, pets in cars this summer
The study went a step further, examining different types of cars in the shade, as well.
Though the inside of the car was significantly cooler, the dashboard averaged 118 degrees, seats averaged 105 degrees, and the temperature of a hypothetical two-year-old child in the backseat would break 100 degrees within 60 minutes.
“Most studies don’t look at that,” Selover said. “There’s sort of an assumption that, well, if the car’s parked in the shade, it’s not going to be a problem. We found that it certainly can be.”
Children can catch life-threatening hyperthermia when they reach a temperature of 104 degrees.
The study found that it would take a little more than an hour before a child catches hyperthermia while the car is parked in the sun. In the shade, it would take a little more than two hours.
Though that’s a long period of time, parents often don’t realize the child is in the car for that long. When routine is disrupted, they may forget the child is there.
Sometimes, it’s like all day,” Selover said. “Sometimes it’s many hours before they realize that they can’t figure out where their child is.”
Six children already died in the United States this year from being left in the car, according to ASU Now. Annually, 37 children die from it. KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Griselda Zetino contributed to this report.
REMEMBER: During these hot days, DO NOT LEAVE CHILDREN, PETS OR CELL PHONES in a locked car WHEN THE TEMPERATURES REACH THE 90’S.
2. Stay Safe During a Wildfire.
Stay safe during a fire. Pay attention to local weather forecasts, especially those that may affect fire conditions, and always follow instructions given by local emergency management officials.
Protect yourself from smoke.
When wildfires create smoky conditions it’s important for everyone to take action. Wildfire smoke irritates your eyes, nose, throat, and lungs. It can make it hard to breathe and make you cough or wheeze.
Children, pregnant women, and people with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease, need to be especially careful about breathing wildfire smoke.
Keep smoke outside. Choose a room you can close off from outside air. Set up a portable air cleaner or a filterexternal icon to keep the air in this room clean even when it’s smoky in the rest of the building and outdoors. If you use a do-it-yourself box fan filtration unit, never leave it unattended.
Reduce your smoke exposure by wearing a respirator
A respirator is a mask that fits tightly to your face to filter out smoke before you breathe it in.
You must wear the right respirator and wear it correctly. Respirators are not made to fit children.
If you have heart or lung disease ask your doctor if it is safe for you to wear a respirator.
Avoid using candles, gas, propane, wood-burning stoves, fireplaces, or aerosol sprays and don’t fry or broil meat, smoke tobacco products, or vacuum.
If you have a central air conditioning system, use high efficiency filters to capture fine particles from smoke. If your system has a fresh air intake, set the system to recirculate mode or close the outdoor intake damper.
Pets and other animals can be affected by wildfire smoke too.
Learn how to protect pets and livestock
Some evacuation centers do not accept animals. Check Petfinder’s Shelter Centerexternal icon orRedRoverexternal icon for information on local animal shelters and rescue groups.
Keep track of fires near you so you can be ready. AirNow’s “Fires: Current Conditions” page external iconhas a map of fires throughout North America.
NOAA’s “Fire weather outlookexternal icon” page maps fire watches and warnings.
Listen to the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio for emergency alerts.
Pay attention to any health symptoms if you have asthma, COPD, heart disease, or are pregnant. Get medical help if you need it.
Learn more about protecting yourself from wildfire smoke.
Evacuate safely.
You may be asked by public authorities to evacuate or you may decide to evacuate. Read about how to evacuate safely and how to develop a family disaster plan, including:
Finding out what could happen to you
Making a disaster plan
Completing the checklist
Practicing your plan
Stay healthy during power outages.
Large fires can cause long-term power outages. Read about what to do if your power goes out, including:
Preventing carbon monoxide poisoning
Food safety
Safe drinking water
Protecting Children From Wildfire Smoke
Take extra care to protect children against wildfire smoke. Children with asthma, allergies, or chronic health issues may have more trouble breathing when smoke or ash is present.
- Before wildfire season:
- Stock up on medicine. Store a 7 to 10-day supply of prescription medicines in a waterproof, childproof container to take with you if you evacuate.
- Stock up on medicine. Store a 7 to 10-day supply of prescription medicines in a waterproof, childproof container to take with you if you evacuate.
Buy groceries you won’t need to cook. Frying or grilling especially can make indoor air pollution worse.
Talk to your child’s healthcare provider. If your child has asthma, allergies, or chronic health issues plan how they can stay indoors more often during a smoke event.
During a wildfire smoke event:
Pay attention to air quality reports. Follow instructions about exercise and going outside for “sensitive individuals.”
Check for school closings.
Remember that dust masks, surgical masks, bandanas and breathing through a wet cloth will not protect your child from smoke and that N95 respirator masks are not made to fit children and may not protect them.
Think about evacuating if your child has trouble breathing or other symptoms that do not get better.
If your child has severe trouble breathing, is very sleepy, or will not eat or drink, reduce their exposure to smoke and get medical help right away.
After a wildfire:
Do not return home until you are told it is safe to do so.
Smoke can remain in both indoor and outdoor air days after wildfires have ended so continue to check local air quality.
Children should not do any cleanup work
Keep children away from ash. Make sure ash and debris have been removed before you bring your child back home or to school. Avoid direct contact with ash and wash it off your child’s skin and mouth and rise it from his or her eyes as soon as you can.
Look out for any symptoms. Contact your healthcare provider if your child has trouble breathing, shortness of breath, a cough that won’t stop, or other symptoms that do not go away. Call 9-1-1 or go right away to an emergency department for medical emergencies. Source: CDC.gov/disaster
3. Green Building Webinar – Earth Month Spring Gardening Webinar
Date: Thursday, April 15
Time: 4 – 5 p.m.
Webinar Registration
Master gardeners Joan Baron and Morgan Winburn return to share tips and planting ideas for your gardens. If you are eager to have a beautiful robust garden this is not the time to procrastinate – the warmer temperatures are heading our way!! Can you just taste your armenian cucumbers, cantaloupe and watermelons? View more details about the event.
Admission: The education series is sponsored by the Scottsdale Green Building Program. The lectures are free.
Contact: Anthony Floyd, green building program manager, city of Scottsdale, afloyd@ScottsdaleAZ.gov, 480-312-4202.
1. No Movement On Groundwater Protection Bills. This year’s efforts to bring more regulation to Arizona’s groundwater use have failed in the state legislature. Arizona’s 1980 Groundwater Management Act established pumping regulations in the state’s most populous areas but set no such limits on rural parts of the state. In recent years, some rural areas have come under increased pressure from agricultural pumping that has dropped groundwater levels dramatically.
“We have current wells going dry, we have rivers and streams under threat from groundwater pumping, habitat at risk,” said Haley Paul, policy director with Audubon Southwest. Paul said rural parts of the state, in particular, are being depleted.”Whoever the biggest well is, is no policy at all. And that’s currently what our policy is–the deepest, biggest well wins. And that’s not a way for our rural communities to be able to plan and protect their water supplies,” she said.
Lawmakers introduced several bills in the current legislative session to regulate or provide more options for managing the state’s groundwater. One would have banned most new wells in the Upper San Pedro and Verde Valley river basins. Another would have set spacing limits for new wells in areas that are overdrawn. Another, introduced by Rep. Regina Cobb of Kingman, would have given county supervisors the power to establish groundwater limits or regulations in their area. But those bills and others didn’t make it very far—some didn’t even get a hearing. Paul said it’s frustrating that lawmakers won’t take action on the issue.
“We think it’s urgent, we think the crisis is here now, and action should be taken, but it’s certainly hard when we get to the legislature and the conversation won’t be entertained,” she said.
Paul said Arizona needs new policies to protect its groundwater in rural areas and update the 40-year old Groundwater Management Act, especially in light of climate change and ongoing drought.
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