Dusty the Dusthole was a Clark County Department of Air Quality & Environmental Management mascot created 2003 in Las Vegas, Nevada. [1] The character and his trademark slogan "Don't Be a Dusthole" were seen by millions of residents and tourists in the state of Nevada via a massive media push consisting of billboards, radio ads, public appearances, TV spots, and print coverage. [2]
In 2003, and in response to the threat of federal funding loss due to unacceptable levels of dust pollution in the Las Vegas Valley (which then were in violation of US Environmental Protection Agency policy), the "Dusty" character and its associated campaigns were created by Nevada-based agency Thomas Puckett [3] in conjunction with the Clark County, Nevada Department of Air Quality & Environmental Management.
Within three years the campaign succeeded [4] in raising awareness of dust and its serious contribution to the Las Vegas Valley air pollution issue. $1.2-million in dust violation and other pollutant-related fines were channeled to the local school district during the period. [5]
Within a decade, the EPA declared the Las Vegas Valley "clean," meeting US federal standards for airborne dust particles. The "Don't Be a Dusthole" campaign---by then retired---was cited as a positive contributing factor. [6]
The "Dusty" character was so pervasive in the state of Nevada that off-roading groups defended themselves against the new awareness and scrutiny, having lost some of their longstanding travel privileges as result of Dusty's ubiquitous presence. [7]
We need to provide a visible counterpoint to the image of "Dusty the Dusthole" which many people in the general public equate with off-roaders thanks to some very aggressive PR and billboard campaigns. The other side on this issue is spending a lot of money to demonize us and while we might not have the same deep pockets ourselves, we can get out there and raise public awareness in a more positive manner.
Conversely, the Las Vegas area media declared the Dusthole character "(not) such a bad guy after all", [8] having saved the State of Nevada from a $280-million loss of funds thanks to the precipitous drop in dust and other pollutants from the time of the campaign's inception.
The "Dusty the Dusthole" character was portrayed by lifelong Las Vegas resident Alan Burd, who passed away January 2024. [9] In the Dusthole ad campaign's opening years, Burd was a common sight at various fairs and functions as the Dusty character. [10]
In December 2014, a bi-weekly Capitol Hill-based publication from National Association of Counties featured the Dusty character in a word search puzzle. [11]
Smog, or smoke fog, is a type of intense air pollution. The word "smog" was coined in the early 20th century, and is a portmanteau of the words smoke and fog to refer to smoky fog due to its opacity, and odor. The word was then intended to refer to what was sometimes known as pea soup fog, a familiar and serious problem in London from the 19th century to the mid-20th century, where it was commonly known as a London particular or London fog. This kind of visible air pollution is composed of nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxide, ozone, smoke and other particulates. Man-made smog is derived from coal combustion emissions, vehicular emissions, industrial emissions, forest and agricultural fires and photochemical reactions of these emissions.
Clark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,265,461. Most of the county population resides in the Las Vegas Census County Divisions, which has 2,196,623 people as of the 2020 Census, across 435 square miles (1,130 km2). It is by far the most populous county in Nevada, and the 11th-most populous county in the United States. It covers 7% of the state's land area but holds 73% of the state's population, making Nevada the most centralized state in the United States.
Indoor air quality (IAQ) is the air quality within and around buildings and structures. Poor indoor air quality due to indoor air pollution is known to affect the health, comfort, and well-being of building occupants. It has also been linked to sick building syndrome, reduced productivity, and impaired learning in schools. Common pollutants of indoor air include: secondhand tobacco smoke, air pollutants from indoor combustion, radon, molds and other allergens, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, legionella and other bacteria, asbestos fibers, carbon dioxide, ozone and particulates. Source control, filtration, and the use of ventilation to dilute contaminants are the primary methods for improving indoor air quality.
Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, so that it negatively affects its uses. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water pollution results when contaminants mix with these water bodies. Contaminants can come from one of four main sources: sewage discharges, industrial activities, agricultural activities, and urban runoff including stormwater. Water pollution is either surface water pollution or groundwater pollution. This form of pollution can lead to many problems, such as the degradation of aquatic ecosystems or spreading water-borne diseases when people use polluted water for drinking or irrigation. Another problem is that water pollution reduces the ecosystem services that the water resource would otherwise provide.
The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area is coextensive since 2003 with Clark County, Nevada. The Valley is largely defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a 600 sq mi (1,600 km2) basin area surrounded by mountains to the north, south, east and west of the metropolitan area. The Valley is home to the three largest incorporated cities in Nevada: Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas. Eleven unincorporated towns governed by the Clark County government are part of the Las Vegas Township and constitute the largest community in the state of Nevada.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is a combined city and county law enforcement agency for the City of Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is headed by the Sheriff of Clark County, who is publicly elected every four years. The sheriff is the only elected head law enforcement officer within the county, and, as such, the department is not under the direct control of its jurisdictional cities, Clark County, or the State of Nevada.
The U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards are limits on atmospheric concentration of six pollutants that cause smog, acid rain, and other health hazards. Established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under authority of the Clean Air Act, NAAQS is applied for outdoor air throughout the country.
An air quality index (AQI) is an indicator developed by government agencies to communicate to the public how polluted the air currently is or how polluted it is forecast to become. As air pollution levels rise, so does the AQI, along with the associated public health risk. Children, the elderly and individuals with respiratory or cardiovascular problems are typically the first groups affected by poor air quality. When the AQI is high, governmental bodies generally encourage people to reduce physical activity outdoors, or even avoid going out altogether. When wildfires result in a high AQI, the use of a mask outdoors and an air purifier indoors are also encouraged.
Roadway air dispersion modeling is the study of air pollutant transport from a roadway or other linear emitter. Computer models are required to conduct this analysis, because of the complex variables involved, including vehicle emissions, vehicle speed, meteorology, and terrain geometry. Line source dispersion has been studied since at least the 1960s, when the regulatory framework in the United States began requiring quantitative analysis of the air pollution consequences of major roadway and airport projects. By the early 1970s this subset of atmospheric dispersion models was being applied to real-world cases of highway planning, even including some controversial court cases.
Sigmund Aronson "Sig" Rogich is an Icelandic/American businessman and is president of The Rogich Communications Group, a business facilitator, public relations, and crisis management firm. He is also a former US Ambassador to Iceland.
Rancho High School is a zoned, and magnet high school in North Las Vegas, Nevada. It is part of the Clark County School District. Opened in 1953, Rancho High School was the third public high school founded in the Las Vegas Valley, after Las Vegas High School (1905) and Basic High School (1942).
Christina R. Giunchigliani, commonly known as Chris G., is an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as a Clark County Commissioner from 2007 until 2019. Giunchigliani has been active in Nevada politics since 1991, previously serving in the Nevada Assembly, 1991–2006.
Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials into the atmosphere, causing harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or damaging ecosystems. Air pollution can cause health problems including, but not limited to, infections, behavioral changes, cancer, organ failure, and premature death. These health effects are not equally distributed across the U.S. population; there are demographic disparities by race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and education. Air pollution can derive from natural sources, or anthropogenic sources. Anthropogenic air pollution has affected the United States since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
The Clean Air Act (CAA) is the United States' primary federal air quality law, intended to reduce and control air pollution nationwide. Initially enacted in 1963 and amended many times since, it is one of the United States' first and most influential modern environmental laws.
Pollution in California relates to the degree of pollution in the air, water, and land of the U.S. state of California. Pollution is defined as the addition of any substance or any form of energy to the environment at a faster rate than it can be dispersed, diluted, decomposed, recycled, or stored in some harmless form. The combination of three main factors is the cause of notable unhealthy levels of air pollution in California: the activities of over 39 million people, a mountainous terrain that traps pollution, and a warm climate that helps form ozone and other pollutants. Eight of the ten cities in the US with the highest year-round concentration of particulate matter between 2013 and 2015 were in California, and seven out of the ten cities in the US with the worst ozone pollution were also in California. Studies show that pollutants prevalent in California are linked to several health issues, including asthma, lung cancer, birth complications, and premature death. In 2016, Bakersfield, California recorded the highest level of airborne pollutants of any city in the United States.
The Regional Coalition for Clean Rivers and Streams (Coalition), a partnership of eight public agencies in the Portland/Vancouver metropolitan area; City of Portland, Oregon, City of Gresham, Oregon, City of Vancouver, Washington, Clean River Partners of Clackamas County, Clark County, Washington, Clean Water Services, Metro and Multnomah County, advocates on behalf of the local waterways within the territories through outreach and marketing.
Particulates or atmospheric particulate matter are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. The term aerosol commonly refers to the particulate/air mixture, as opposed to the particulate matter alone. Sources of particulate matter can be natural or anthropogenic. They have impacts on climate and precipitation that adversely affect human health, in ways additional to direct inhalation.
The Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory model (HYSPLIT) is a computer model that is used to compute air parcel trajectories to determine how far and in what direction a parcel of air, and subsequently air pollutants, will travel. HYSPLIT is also capable of calculating air pollutant dispersion, chemical transformation, and deposition. The HYSPLIT model was developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Air Resources Laboratory and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology Research Centere in 1998. The model derives its name from the usage of both Lagrangian and Eulerian approaches.
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The White Pine Energy Station was a proposed coal-fired power plant that was to be built in White Pine County, Nevada. The plant was to be built in the county's Steptoe Valley, and would be located 34 miles north of the city of Ely. White Pine Energy Associates, LLC, a subsidiary of LS Power, announced the project in February 2004, with plans to begin construction in 2006, with the possibility of having it operational in 2010. The 1,590-megawatt project would consist of three units, each producing 530 megawatts.