Save The Air in Nevada County (STAinNC.org) was formed in 2006 by residents concerned about high levels of airborne ozone and its deleterious effects, particularly on our children.

For several years now, both the federal EPA and the American Lung Association have ranked Nevada County among the dozen most ozone-polluted counties in the United States.

Ozone is toxic to humans. It irritates the eyes, air passages and lungs. It causes and exacerbates bronchitis and asthma. By 2004, more than one-sixth of Nevada County’s children from infancy to seventeen years suffered from asthma, an incidence significantly higher than the state’s average.

According to public air quality agencies, only a small fraction of our ozone is generated locally. Most of it is transported here through prevailing air currents from the Sacramento Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area.

STAinNC’s mission is to protect our children and ourselves by collecting reliable ozone data, educating the public, and advocating for air pollution control measures. Toward those ends, we obtained non-profit tax status and coverage from the local media, convinced the city councils of Grass Valley and Nevada City to pass supportive resolutions, and convened a regional air pollution summit. We monitor ozone levels in several sites and maintain productive communication with local, state and federal agencies.