Day 3 Update - Lungs, Professional Colorists, and Every Little Bit Helps

Wow! I've been so stoked over the last three days to see this project take shape! There has been a great involvement from everyone in random acts of coloring. Thanks to every passerby, the piece is almost completely filled in. You are probably starting to see the design taking shape - and yes - it is a pair of lungs! Those black and gray shapes floating around inside them represent the harmful PM 2.5 particles that are polluting our air in Cache Valley. These particles are dangerous because they are so small and able to move right into our lungs, and stay. This can have all kinds of side effects like coughing and wheezing to developing lung cancer. Read more here. These are exactly the kinds of issues we'll be talking about and looking into with the Art For Air project.

The poor air quality is especially dangerous for young children - a lot of kids don't get to go outside for recess anymore! (Especially considering that last week we had the worst air in the NATION-woof). So to really get things done, on Friday, we brought in the professionals - a second grade glass from Edith Bowen Elementary. Not only are they learning to be environmentally conscious and to do their part- they are professionals when it comes to coloring. The school is located right on campus, and this brave class came over to help- some of them even brought their own crayons. Since the boards were so tall, we tipped them on their sides. 4-6 kids lined each board and they went for it!

Never underestimate the coloring skills of children, its pretty amazing. They got a LOT done!

Every little bit helps in filling in this color by numbers. If I tried to do the whole thing myself, it would take way, way to long. Most people are busy, and in life it's hard to stop- but I have loved watching people walk by, double take, grab a crayon, fill in a number, and keep moving. In the end, every single shape that was colored will have made a difference. I think its like that with air quality. If I tried to solve the problem myself, I wouldn't make much of a difference, but if everybody did one small thing every week, that could make a difference. If all of us tried to carpool one day, or take the bus one day, or consolidated our errand-running...that could equate into one big breath of fresh air.

More links about PM 2.5 particles
EPA
AIRNow