Kids Should Learn About Clean Air, Too – They’re the Drivers of the Future!

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/07/livable-streets-education-anti-idling-rap-new-york-city-video.php?dcitc=th_rss

A few days ago, I came across this video. A Park Slope, Brooklyn, middle school documented what the students learned from a unit their teacher did on transportation and air pollution. I shared it with my Clean Air NY colleagues and we can’t get enough of it!

Here are the top five reasons this is a great video, and a great project:

5) The kids were able to express what they learned creatively. Some sang, some danced and others drew. By combining what they learned with their interests, they made the project more interesting and more memorable.

4) They worked to spread the word. Beyond producing this video and simply keeping it, they were able to get it onto a popular blog, Treehugger. This teaches them at an early age that when you have an important message, you need to spread the word!

3) The climate change journal is a great idea. Requiring the kids to monitor the air quality each day allows them to really notice when the air quality is poor. They’ll most likely to continue noting the quality of the air each day, simply by habit. You can stay current on air quality with our widget, located on our Web site.

2) This project was very hands-on. Instead of being told that idling releases carbon pollution into the air, they measured the pollution. Instead of being told that typical vehicle occupancy is one person, they did a survey and found out for themselves.

1) Kids don’t learn enough about the negative effect vehicles can have on air quality. Because they can’t drive yet, we assume that we don’t need to teach them. I think if people are taught clean-air actions early, they are more likely to incorporate them into their daily lives. It’s a lot easier to start off with good habits than it is to change bad ones. These students are likely to remember what they have learned from this video project once they begin driving. They know now to carpool when possible, to stop idling, etc. Hopefully, these actions will be incorporated automatically into their driving habits.

All you teachers and parents – take a lesson from this lesson. Make sure your kids know about transportation and air pollution. They are, after all, the drivers of the future.

Amanda Moss, Clean Air NY Outreach Coordinator.

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.

EPA's New Report Finds that Greenhouse Gases Pose Threat to Public Health, Welfare

EPA has declared greenhouse gases a health threat – perhaps the first step in regulation of these pollutants. The EPA press release states that "The scientific analysis also confirms that climate change impacts human health in several ways. Findings from a recent EPA study titled “Assessment of the Impacts of Global Change on Regional U.S. Air Quality: A Synthesis of Climate Change Impacts on Ground-Level Ozone,” for example, suggest that climate change may lead to higher concentrations of ground-level ozone, a harmful pollutant."

This will also increase the amount of Air Quality Action Days, that is why it is so important to join the Clean Air NY network and learn how you can improve the air quality and lessen the harmful effects of climate change. Join Clean Air NY by texting AIR to 42269 or visit CleanAirNY.org.

To learn more visit EPA's website -- http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/0EF7DF675805295D8525759B00566924.

Jessica Horne, Marketing and Outreach Associate, Clean Air NY.

What is the Relationship Between Climate, Weather, Air Quality and Health?

Monday, March 23rd was World Meteorological Day, and the theme was the relationship between climate, weather, air quality and health. In response, the United Nations' World Meteorological Organization put out a warning that about two million people die prematurely every year due to air pollution. The World Meteorological Organization’s Secretary-General says "For the air quality, what we are talking about is not only the sort of traditional pollutants as you could imagine them," he noted. "But, it is also many of the gases, which are the greenhouse gases that are also influencing the quality of the air when they are abundant in the lower atmosphere." To read more, please visit: http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-03-23-voa19.cfm.

Clean Air NY is an initiative sponsored by the NY State Department of Transportation in support of regionwide air quality efforts. Clean Air NY’s network of individuals and businesses believes that every person has the power to help make New York’s air healthier and protect our community from the effects of climate change. In an effort to reduce vehicle miles traveled, Clean Air NY educates the public on simple changes to everyday travel choices and provides real-time updates on Air Quality Action Days via text messaging, e-mail and media notifications. To learn more, visit CleanAirNY.org.

Where in New York has Clean Air NY been spreading the word?

Despite the cold outside, we can still do our part to clean our air! During January and February, Clean Air NY has promoted smart travel choices that everyone can make to improve New York’s air quality. We’ve been carpooling or taking public transit (always practicing what we preach – see page 3 of Clean Air Connections) to events, meetings and presentations all over the New York metro area.

Since air quality affects everyone, Clean Air NY’s outreach is aimed at educating all sectors of society. We’ve been really busy doing just that! The following activity highlights will show what Clean Air NY has been up to in these past several weeks:

· January 23 – Attended the Queens Green Business Summit. After speaking with representatives from various Queens-based businesses, we learned many people are choosing smarter, greener ways to commute, but more outreach is needed. Therefore, we signed up 25 companies and 30 individuals to join the Clean Air NY Network. These environmentally conscious businesses have committed to assist Clean Air NY in telling their co-workers, friends and family members that simple changes in their commuting habits can improve our air quality.

· January 28 – Presented to the Riverhead Town Energy Advisory Committee. They were intrigued to learn during our “We Can All Make a Difference” presentation that driving one mile in your car releases the equivalent of a one-pound brick of carbon dioxide into the air and it takes one tree one month to turn that one-pound brick of carbon dioxide into oxygen.

· January 31 – Attended the Bedford Environmental Summit (where we saw journalist Bob Woodruff and actor Chevy Chase!). We told many of the 1,000 attendees to avoid topping off their gas tanks because that simple act would improve their air quality. To learn more simple steps to achieve cleaner air, check out Clean Air NY: Everyday Choices Make a Difference.

· February 4 – Participated in four area colleges’ National Teach-In on Global Warming; they included Bard College, Marist College, Purchase College and Queens College. Roger Drew, New York Public Interest Research Group Project Coordinator at Purchase College, said: "The participation of Clean Air NY and MetroPool really enhanced our Sustainability Fair. The Fair was part of the National Teach-In on Global Warming Solutions and Clean Air NY and MetroPool's presence allowed dozens of students to stop by and learn about steps they can take to lead a more environmentally sustainable life by making smart travel choices."

· February 17 – Presented at the Rockland Business Association’s (RBA) Green Council Meeting. Clean Air NY launched our Clean Air NY Champion initiative to dozens of businesses in Rockland County. More about the Clean Air NY Champion initiative is here.

These activities resulted in 250 new individuals and 50 new businesses joining the Clean Air NY Network. So can you! To join the Clean Air NY Network and to receive real-time air-quality action day updates, visit CleanAirNY.org or text AIR to 42269.