It's a health problem that Utahns, especially residents of Salt Lake, Utah, Cache, Box Elder, Weber, Davis, Morgan, Summit, Tooele and Juab counties, will have to deal with this winter. One way to help curb pollution for everyone is to observe the state's annual Red Light-Green Light air-quality alerts that started Wednesday.

The notices from the state Division of Air Quality let people know when they should limit their driving and wood burning because of elevated levels of microscopic pollution known as PM 2.5. On yellow-light days, reductions are voluntary, and on red-light days, when a mandatory no-burning order is issued, violators can face fines from $25 to $300.

This year, residents of those 10 counties might as well consider all late-fall and winter days - yellow, red or no color at all - as a time to cut down on burning and driving, as those counties are likely to fail new federal regulations limiting fine-particle pollution that go into effect Dec. 18. And those regulations might get even tighter. Environmental and public health experts say the new standards are too lax and should be made more stringent.

Helping to cut down on dirty air should be everyone's goal, no matter what the rules. The pollution spewed by wood-burning fireplaces and stoves and by all the single-occupant vehicles on northern Utah highways is causing serious difficulties for children, the elderly and people with asthma and other breathing problems.

Let's dilute the air-pollution soup we all must inhale, for our lungs' sake.