The Air Self-Care Handbook: Breathe Easier and Protect Yourself from Pollution

Want a simple and effective way to improve your health? Hoping to survive the next wildfire smoke event without going through ten inhalers? Breathe easier with the practical support of this air care handbook, where you’ll find expert guidance on air quality and effective steps that you, a non-scientist, can take to preserve--and enhance--your own air health. Sustainability consultant, engineer, and healthy building design expert Melissa Wrolstad handily distills the technical aspects of healthy air best practices, including strategies that people on any budget can implement with no need for fancy tools or training, and guides you through air exercises you can do in buildings you frequent. You’ll be equipped with the principles of indoor and outdoor air quality, understand common pollutants such as dust, smog, and radon, and learn strategies for how to protect yourself, your pets, and your loved ones from their effects. Written with passion and tons of research, The Air Self-Care Handbook offers insight and expertise at a time when reliable, non-governmental resources are more crucial than ever.

Melissa Wrolstad, LEED AP, WELL AP, EIT, is a seasoned sustainability consultant specializing in the built environment with a background in engineering. After completing a Bachelors and Masters of Engineering at Cornell University, she went on to pursue a career in first engineering, and soon after, sustainable building consulting. Currently Melissa works as Managing Director of the Technical Advisory Studio at Ecoworks Studios, a sustainability consulting firm based out of Atlanta, GA. She leads a team of professionals that provide expert support to consulting firms around the world implementing sustainable building solutions, including those specific to air quality. She also serves on the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) Air Advisory. She has presented at events including the WELL Summit in Atlanta in 2019, 2016 REBNY / BOMA / NYC Mayor’s Office of Sustainability educational event, and taught a sustainability in buildings focused course at Laguardia Community College. As a child she suffered from asthma, and has always been passionate about air quality and air quality education. When not working or writing about air quality, Melissa enjoys teaching, playing many instruments, singing, writing music, dancing tango, and adventuring around with her partner near their home in upstate New York.