Air is incredible! But too often we can take it for granted. Here are some fascinating facts about air:

Greenhouse gases
That between 1990 and 2005, West Australians increased the volume of greenhouse gases they created by more than 17%.

Air Conditioning
In 1994, 33% of Australian households had air conditioners, in 2005, 60% of Australian homes had air conditioners.

Travel and cars
Every day Perth drivers travel the equivalent of 500 times around the world (more than 20 million km) in their cars.

Motor Vehicles
“The car is the technology which involves the biggest number of employees, the highest advertising budget, the largest accidental death rate and the biggest contribution to global warming.” - Peter Newman

Health
Each of us takes 20,000 breaths a day.
In the mid-1980s: Two-thirds of primary school students walked, cycled or used public transport to get to school. In 2007: only one-third of primary school students travel to school this way.

Haze
It takes at least a year to season firewood properly. Well-seasoned or dry firewood can give up to 40% more heat and reduces the amount of wood smoke emitted when burnt.

Wood Heaters
During winter, wood heaters can produce up to three times more particulate pollution than cars.

Weather
Average temperatures across WA have increased 0.8 C over the past 100 years.

Rainfall
Average winter rainfall in the South West has dropped 15% from 1977 to 2007.

Photochemical Smog
Compared to other industrialised cities, Perth enjoys a high standard of air quality most of the time. However, photochemical smog is often experienced over Perth city in summer.

Parts per billion
Air pollution is often described in terms of parts per billion. One part per billion can be represented by 1 drop in 1 lane of an Olympic swimming pool or 1 second in 32 years!