Bergeson has a personal reason for her interest: Lincoln, one of her four children, has severe asthma. Poor air quality can trigger asthma attacks.

Air quality is "an issue we just can't ignore," Bergeson said. "Just because you can't see the pollution on an average day doesn't mean it is not there."

Lincoln was born with compromised lungs and had a serious case of RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) as an infant, but he developed asthma only after the family moved from American Fork to Bountiful five years ago.

The Bergesons have installed air filters in their home and, this winter, adopted a special diet and supplements to help their son through periods of bad air quality. For the first time in many years, Lincoln made it through the winter without a trip to the hospital.

But Bergeson wants the community at large - specifically, local refineries - to take steps, too, to clean up the air.

"We need to be proactive about this," she said.

A preliminary Utah Department of Health report issued last year seemed to show that some Davis County cities - such as Woods Cross and North Salt Lake - had the highest childhood asthma rates in Utah. According to the report, 16.2 percent of children 17 or younger in the two cities have asthma; the state average is 8.5 percent.

Experts at the time suspected the findings were an anomaly - probably due to the small number of cases in the study. After further research, the health department found no significant differences in childhood asthma rates across the state, said spokeswoman Cyndi Bemis.

Still, air quality is a concern in Davis County, which is included in the Salt Lake Valley air basin. This winter there were 20 yellow and 13 red alert days - signaling poor air quality - in the basin. In 2006, there were 11 yellow and 30 red alert days, said Bob Dalley, manager of the state's Air Monitoring Center.

Two types of pollution - particulate matter and ozone - have been problems in the county; both aggravate asthma.

And that is what is fueling local moms' interest in getting involved with Utah Moms for Clean Air.

Each chapter finds a "rallying point" to focus on, said Cherise Udell, founder of Utah Moms for Clean Air. In Sevier County, the target is a coal-fired power plant in Sigurd. In Park City, it is vehicle idling and traffic problems related to tourism.

"The more immediate it seems to be, the more energized the chapters are in getting off the ground," Udell said.

She said five or six other chapters are "in the wings" and the nonprofit now has 800 names on its e-mail list, showing a steady increase since the formation of Utah Moms for Clean Air 10 months ago.

One of Udell's challenges is finding enough hours in the day to be a mom and an activist. "Hopefully, we're going to get a grassroots coordinator to help us," she said.

The group's latest success was pushing for passage of House Bill 146, which set aside funds to retrofit school buses to control emissions. Utah Moms for Clean Air is working on a public outreach campaign with help from Vanguard Media.

It supported efforts to create idle-free vehicle programs at three Salt Lake City area schools - Rowland Hall-St. Mark's School, Emerson Elementary and The McGillis School. The programs encourage parents to not let cars idle for longer than 10 seconds while dropping off or picking up their children.

"A lot of moms and dads sit out in front of a facility and idle their cars," Udell said. "I did the same thing before I started Utah Moms for Clean Air, and then I learned how much pollution idling cars create."

The program encourages children to act as "mini air pollution police" - akin to the Buckle Up seat belt program - to remind their parents not to idle their vehicles.

At Emerson, "the kids felt very empowered, they could see they were making a difference," Udell said.

She said the idling program might be a good first step for motivated moms to tackle in Davis County.

Bergeson is for anything that will help reduce air pollution - and keep her in the community.

"We are considering moving because it is just not fair to keep our kids where the air isn't good," she said.

* To learn more or get involved, visit www.utahmoms forcleanair.org or e-mail Udell at supermoms@utahmomsforcleanair.org.

To get involved

Motivated mothers are working to clean up the air in Salt Lake and Sevier counties and in Park City - and Davis County moms may be next to join them.