Today I learned that Mesa County residents have much higher rates of respiratory illness, including lung cancer, than anywhere in the state. Paula Anderson with Primary Care Partners wrote an article in this morning's newspaper titled: Save the planet by improving life in the valley.

While we live in a small new community with homes on central air and we do not burn wood, I've noticed many homes in the surrounding area burning wood and the smoke has been getting into our home! Several nights I awoke to smelling smoke and coughing. A room sized air filter helped to clean the polluted air once inside but did not stop the problem. This week we cut the outside intake pipe to the HVAC system and now suck air in from the garage. We also added some air filters at the intake and in all the vents. Obviously, we must be careful not allowing car fumes to enter the home. Our next option is to purchase an expensive electrostatic filter system.

We also notice the air pollution from wood smoke getting into our car as we drive and must make sure we are recirculating inside air.