Clean Air NY Skating in Central Park - Give the Gift of Cleaner Air this Holiday Season. Win FREE TICKETS!

This holiday season, Clean Air NY is partnering with 106.7 Lite FM to educate New Yorkers on simple steps that help improve New York’s air quality. As a special treat, you are invited to participate in the Skating in Central Park event, to be held at Wollman Rink on Saturday, Dec. 12, and Sunday, Dec. 13. The first 1,000 people to enter the rink each day will get in FREE! Clean Air NY and its lovable character, FRESH, will be there spreading the word and encouraging everyone to care for cleaner air. Be sure to take mass transit, walk or carpool to the rink!

Get 4 free tickets to Skating in Central Park! Upload a photo of yourself doing one of our clean air actions-- biking, walking, taking mass transit, carpooling/vanpooling, telecommuting, or car sharing and be entered to win 4 free tickets to our Skating in Central Park event. Please upload your pictures on or before Monday, November 30th. Winners will be drawn on Tuesday, December 1st and announced on our Facebook page accordingly.

Remember that taking action to improve air quality is important year round. Here are some things you can do before and after Skating in Central Park to beat traffic congestion and help create cleaner, healthier air:

· Combine shopping trips to save time and gas

· Carpool to holiday parties and events

· Take mass transit to beat the traffic

· Avoid weather hazards and work from home

· Encourage loved ones to join Clear Air NY

To receive real-time Air Quality Action Day updates, text AIR to 42269 or visit http://www.cleanairny.org/. For traffic, travel and transit information, call 511 or visit http://www.511ny.org/.

Combine Errands – Combat Air Pollution and Climate Change

There are many terms related to “going green” that some people may not understand. However, saving energy is one concept we all comprehend, not just power or fuel, but your own personal energy.

One way to conserve your own energy is to combine your errands into one car trip. At first glance, this may seem obvious, but it is something that we often neglect to do.
For example, in the past – prior to starting my internship with Clean Air NY – if I had errands to do after work, my exhaustion would get the best of me; since I was ready to get out of my work clothes and high heels and into my yoga sweats, I would bypass the supermarket, the bank and gas station and just head home. Having a car, I could do that. Sound familiar?

It is easy to get caught up in a convenient lifestyle we can enjoy. But it takes just a little extra effort to make those conscious decisions, like holding off on swapping your stilettos for your favorite flip-flops so you can complete a few errands before driving home.

The message at the very heart of Clean Air NY’s mission is that there are little things we can do in our everyday life that do not cost an arm and a leg and that, in fact, will help you save money, time and energy. By combining errands, Clean Air NY’s simplest and most popular call to action, you also can help reduce the harmful effects of climate change. (See picture above of Clean Air NY's bus ad that are running throughout the NY downstate region).

It’s so important to make smart travel choices because the emissions from millions of cars in New York affect you, your family and friends. We should all be concerned about the estimated 370,000 children (NYS Department of Health Asthma Surveillance Summary report, 2005) who can’t breathe properly on Air Quality Action Days because the air quality in the New York metro area is deemed unhealthy for sensitive groups.

Be smart, plan ahead and combine your errands into one car trip. That’s what I’ve started to do after learning the benefits from Clean Air NY.

To find out more about simple changes to your driving habits that can help reduce the harmful effects of climate change, visit CleanAirNY.org.

Guest Blogger: Thea Charles, Clean Air NY/MetroPool summer intern.