As part of our Early Action Compact, the Bureau agreed to participate in a number of voluntary measures to clean the air. One of these was an education/outreach program—the Pollution Solution—that notifies the public on high-pollution days and asks them to change their behavior to reduce the pollution they produce.

This program, which began in 2004, runs during the ozone season, from May to September and possibly, in the future, run on a year-round basis to include the winter season when fine particulates are highest.

EPA requires all agencies who participate in these outreach programs to quantify their results. The basis for quantifying these programs is a survey, conducted by an objective, professional research consultant, and these surveys are conducted each year.

A baseline survey is performed to determine the level of public knowledge and then followed up each year at the conclusion of the program. The results of the survey are then converted into a formula, which shows how much air pollution was decreased as a result.

The Bureau has partnered with UTC's Center for Applied Social Research to perform the baseline survey, and to follow up with the same survey to the same group of participants on an annual basis. You can see the survey by clicking here.