What's really causing the brown cloud?

Growing up outside of Denver we were always aware of the smog levels in Denver and driving down from the mountains you could often times see a brown cloud hovering over the city. We were always taught that the smog was mainly caused by car emissions. So when I recently read a study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) I was surprise to learn that when they studied the smog in LA, when examining the tiny, lung-damaging particles, the emissions that create them in the atmosphere come from chemical products over vehicles by a factor of two to one. In the research published in February 2018 they state: "This study confirmed that contributions from household chemicals are now equal to that of transportation and oil and gas emissions. Even though we use almost 15 times more fuel than household products, chemicals in lotions and other everyday items are contributing just as much to air quality problems, indicating a clear need for further assessment and advancement in manufacturing."

Given that these chemicals are making such a difference in the ozone, one can only imagine what they are doing to our indoor air quality. So what can we do about it? For me the first step is awareness and then action. I started "cleaning" up my life about three years ago when I joined Beautycounter and this whole blog is dedicated to sharing small ways to reduce these VOCs from our lives. So please jump around the pages for some ideas and if nothing else, download the Healthy Living App to check your food and products! We can't control all things, but it's nice to know that small things (like indoor plants and using healthier products does have a big impact on the air we surround ourselves with).

You can learn more here. Listen to the NPR story here. Or straight from NOAA and more scientific information here.