Fall into Cleaner Air

October is International Walk to School Month!

Many U.S. celebrations focused on Walk to School Day on Oct. 7, but it's not too late to organize a celebration at your child's school. Visit www.WalktoSchool.org for tips to plan a quick Walk to School Day, starting with the principal's approval. It's just a few short steps from there to a fun community event promoting a healthier lifestyle for everyone. Whether you're able to get a celebration in place this October or not, mark your calendar for next year: Walk to School Day 2010 is scheduled for Oct. 6.

A Busy Parent's Best Friend: Carpooling

You know the drill: trumpet lesson, ballet class, art workshop, class project, soccer game, repeat. Feel like you spend more time in your car than your home lately? Save time, gas and stress by organizing or joining a carpool with other parents in the area.

Some carpool tips for parents:

• Determine how many seats you have to offer, especially if your other kids are in the car with you. It's not the number of seats in the car but the number available that counts.
• Set ground rules for child and parent behavior. No talking on the cell phone or texting while driving. Wear seat belts at all times. Decide how stragglers will be handled.
• Exchange cell phone numbers with all of the parents involved. You never know when you may need to contact someone at a moment's notice.

Kristen Gantos, Clean Air NY Outreach and Marketing Coordinator.

Climbing on Board a Vanpool is Easy, Convenient and Fun!

Traffic, congestion and stress in the metro New York region are abundant. So where do we turn to reduce this traffic, congestion and stress all while helping the environment? Vanpooling with Easy Street or VPSI! Two companies that provide vanpool services in the New York Downstate Metro Region.

Clean Air NY’s goal is to get single-occupancy vehicles off the road – vanpools make that goal possible by getting commuters who are going to and from the same place out of their own cars so they can travel together. Vanpools save time, money and gas and improve the environment. Plus, they’re a fun way to get to work!

The best way people can hop on the vanpooling bandwagon is by talking to a few co-workers who may live near you. You only need six people who are willing to join the program to be qualified for the minivan. There are no contracts associated with Easy Street or VPSI. If a person decides to leave the vanpool, that person is allowed to stop at anytime. After that, the others in the van have three months to find a person to take that spot at no penalty. The cost for the empty seat will be paid for by your local Transportation Management Association (TMA).

The next step to climbing on board a vanpool is to visit http://www.511ny.org/!

Guest Blog by Fred Wolf, Clean Air NY/LITM summer intern.

Get Some Relief from the Heat of High Gas Prices and Clean Our Air of Excess Pollutants: Dive into Carpooling!

Finally, summer has embraced New York's metro area! It's time for family picnics in parks, outdoor parties, relaxing in hammocks, sports and other exercise outdoors. During the warm summer days, we feel good to be outside and filling our lungs with some fresh air. However, New York's air needs to be healthier.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), New York's downstate region does not meet federal standards for air quality. As indicated by EPA tests, the air has harmful pollutants, a risk not only to sensitive groups, such as people with asthma or emphysema, but to those without health problems. Studies have also shown that pollutants can aggravate symptoms in people with pre-existing conditions, such as heart disease or high blood pressure.

The increasing numbers of people with respiratory problems signal that something is stirring in our air, even if some people do not think there are harmful effects.

Our cars are major contributors to air pollution. Most people believe that a single car is not going to make a difference, so they choose to drive by themselves. But each car that is on the road is releasing pollutants, and too many cars equal air pollution. How do we solve this problem? By jumping into something that some New Yorkers may be wary of - carpooling.

If more of us carpooled to work or to our summer activities, we'd experience some great benefits - fuel bills would be cut; there would be less wear and tear on our cars; there would be fewer cars on the road and, thus, less traffic; passengers would catch up on reading, e-mails or shut-eye; and our air would be healthier.

Some might think the idea of carpooling and not being in control of our own transit would feel like a nuisance. We might fear being at work, far from home and needing to get back home in case of an emergency and having no transportation. That is why your local transportation management association (TMA) offers a guaranteed ride home program that allows employees paid rides in the event that their transportation from work is unavailable. For more information, visit your appropriate TMA's Web site:

• MetroPool for commuters traveling within the Lower Hudson River Valley.
• CommuterLink for commuters traveling in and to New York City.
  
• Long Island Transportation Management (LITM) for commuters traveling in Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island.
  

These organizations also help commuters enter the carpooling system, linking people who want to carpool with others in their area. To find a carpool partner or vanpool in your area, visit www.511ny.org.

When comparing carpooling to driving alone, carpooling is the more environmentally friendly option. High-occupancy vehicle lanes on some major highways allow passenger cars with at least two people to travel amid less congestion. Some people may love the comfort of their own cars for various reasons, but try stepping away from your comfort zone and carpool for the greater good.

Take some relief from the heat of high gas prices and clean up the air that we breathe - it's time to dive into carpooling!

Guest blog by Jessica Wade, Clean Air NY/MetroPool summer intern.

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.

National Bike to Work Day 15 Inspired This Commuter to Become A Biker

Do you have a bike in your garage that you've wanted to use now that the weather is warmer? Well, if you’re like me, I had been waiting for the right time and found it just recently. My company participated in National Bike to Work Day on May 15 by setting up a competition among offices to see which one could get the most people to bike to work. Some of my colleagues ride in every day, but I was new to biking and not sure I was ready for the challenge. When a colleague told me about all the reasons biking is so good for me and my surroundings, I couldn't say no. Did you know that a short, four-mile round trip by bike keeps about 15 pounds of pollutants out of the air we breathe? Even our small steps can make a big difference!

Aside from the environmental benefits, I saved money on my commute (no stops at the pump to fill up on gas!) and felt a fresh, energetic start to the day. Biking to and from work is now my mode of exercise; did you know that a 130-pound cyclist burns 402 calories while pedaling 14 miles in an hour? By biking to work, I found that I felt healthier, saved money and improved the air quality in my region. Grab your bike out of the garage and get on the road!

Guest Blogger, Ryan Thompson, Clean Air NY individual partner.

Telecommuter Appreciation Week

The American Telecommuting Association (ATA) has declared this week, March 1 - March 7, 2009, “Telecommuter Appreciation Week,” honoring Alexander Graham Bell, whose birthday is March 3.

Clean Air NY is celebrating “Telecommuter Appreciation Week” by saluting all the telecommuters in the New York metro area. Since their only commute is from room to room, they are improving New York’s air quality by reducing vehicle miles traveled.

The ATA listed the three main benefits of telecommuting. Clean Air NY especially appreciates #3:

1. The individual and family benefit from saved time, lower commuting expenses, reduced stress, more scheduling flexibility, greater satisfaction regarding work and the pleasure in spending more time together.
2. The employer benefits from greater productivity, loyalty and job satisfaction, a stronger focus on job performance, better recruiting and longer retention of the most productive employees and reduced overhead and facility expenses.
3. Society as a whole benefits from reduced traffic congestion, minimized air pollution, lower requirements for (and strain on) transportation infrastructure and decreased demand for scarce and nonrenewable resources, such as fossil fuels.

CA, Inc. of Islandia, NY, one of the world's largest IT management software providers based in New York, recently implemented its “Flexible Workplace Program.” Long Island Transportation Management Inc. (LITM) assisted CA in establishing this program, which enables qualified employees to forego commuting to work and allows them to work from home. Clean Air NY recognized CA’s telecommuting initiative and honored it as a 2008 Clean Air NY Champion. CA's Joe Archila, vice president of human resources programs, said, “We feel strongly about offering our employees air quality-friendly and healthy commute options. It not only helps to improve our air quality, but it also helps our company attract and retain top talent while enhancing productivity.”

Andrea Vera, operations manager of CommuterLink offered this advice: “Telecommuting is not suitable to every job, person or situation. The decision has to be mutually agreed upon between the employer and employee, the job has to be conducive to working remotely and the home office must have the appropriate equipment (computer, phone, fax, printer, copier, etc.)” Check out the telecommute section of CommuterLink’s Web site for more telecommuting tips.

Another suggestion? A company could allow telecommuting specifically on air quality action days, when ground-level ozone levels are at their highest. On those days, it is crucial to drive less to avoid worsening the already poor air quality. To find out more about air quality action days and to receive updates when they occur, please visit CleanAirNY.org.

If you would like to use the momentum of Telecommute Appreciation Week to establish a telecommute program at your company or would like to propose this idea to your human resources department, please reference MetroPool’s telecommute resources.

For more information on telecommuting in:

· Long Island, contact LITM.
· Lower Hudson Valley, contact MetroPool.
· New York City, contact CommuterLink.

Happy Telecommuter Appreciation Week!

Jessica Horne is Marketing and Outreach Associate of Clean Air NY.

Clean Air NY: Everyday Choices Make a Difference

Here are some simple steps to achieve cleaner air:

Combine Trips. This is one of the easiest choices and can save time while you are improving the air. Instead of going home after work and then back out to the gym or to the grocery store, plan ahead and combine your errands into one sensible trip, even on the weekends.

Bike, Walk or Use Public Transit. Forgoing your car just one day a week for a year could save about 1,000 miles on the vehicle and more than $500 in total driving costs. Just think of what you could do with that extra money, not to mention the health benefits of walking or biking.

Share a Ride. Whenever possible, share a ride by carpooling or vanpooling to your destination. To find a carpool partner or vanpool, visit nycommute.org.

Maintain Your Car. Take care of your car by following the suggested maintenance schedule, keeping the tires properly inflated. A well-maintained vehicle not only preserves your investment, it also produces 20 percent less ozone-related emissions, saves money on gas, and means less traffic congestion due to breakdowns.

Avoid Topping Off Your Tank. When filling your car with gas, avoid topping off the tank.

Cut Back On Idling. Whenever possible, avoid idling your car. For example, go into a fast-food restaurant to pick up food rather than waiting in the drive-through lane

Don't Be So Cool. At home, set your air conditioner at 78 degrees when it's warm outside to conserve energy.

Use Safe Products. Read product labels and be sure to purchase and use environmentally safe paints and cleaning products whenever possible. This limits the amount of unhealthy vapor in the air.

Spread the Word. The more people who know about Clean Air NY, the more steps will be taken to improve air quality and the health of all New Yorkers.

To receive FREE real-time Air Quality Action Day updates, text AIR to 42269 or sign up at http://www.CleanAirNY.org today.