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Green Star Air Quality Resources

Air Quality is now part of the Green Star Award. It is an issue that affects us all. The health of a community is tied to the quality of the air its citizens breathe. Carbon monoxide (C0) emissions from vehicles during cold winter months comprise Anchorage's most serious air quality threat. These emissions are highest during morning and evening commute times and are often concentrated in neighborhoods with higher densities of vehicles that are older and/or parked outside garages. More history on Air Quality issues in Anchorage.

To read past articles about a variety of Air Quality topics, visit the E-News archives.

Visit Green Star's web calendar of events for air quality events.

Engine Block Heater Timers
Idle-Free Zone Signs
Engine Block Heaters
Summer Air Quality
Helpful Links

Receive a free 17" x 22" metal Idle-Free Zone sign for your business or school if you enroll in Green Star's Air Quality Award program. Visit Green Star's Tool Kit to order a sign. Additional signs are available for $20 each.

Using a block heater for two to three hours prior to a cold start can cut CO (carbon monoxide) emissions by an average of 60%. Commuters can use a programmable timer to start their block heater a few hours before their morning commute and cut electricity costs to about 15 cents per plug-in.

The Municipality of Anchorage Department of Health and Human Services encourages everyone to plug in. Plugging in your vehicle’s engine block heater when temperatures fall below 20 degrees is one of the best ways to keep our air clean.

This program is funded through AMATS (Anchorage Metropolitan Area Transportation Solutions) using Federal Highway Administration money designated for air quality improvement projects.

Please call 343-4003 or visit www.muni.org for further details.

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SUMMER AIR QUALITY

BIKE TO WORK WEEK -- MAY 14 - 18, 2007

National Park Service staff bike to work.	CH2M Hill hosts a bike tune-up event for staff.

Visit Bike to Work Day for more photos and details.

They say three time’s a charm and that adage certainly holds true for this year’s Bike to Work Day, held on May 16th. Anchorage’s third year promoting the event was a great success with 745 bicyclists completing the online survey -- more than double the 2006 participation, which saw 330 survey takers.

“It’s exciting to watch the growth of the Bike to Work Day event,” says Beth Verrelli, Green Star’s Air Quality program director.

All told, the data gathered from the survey responses showed that approximately 9,530 miles were cycled, which in turn led to an estimated fuel savings of 480 gallons ($1,387 worth if bought at Costco!), and helped lighten the load on our roadways by 700 cars. By leaving their vehicles at home, participants helped eliminate about 9,312 pounds of CO2 emissions – all in just one day!

Green Star, the Municipality of Anchorage’s Department of Health and Human Services, and other interested businesses, agencies and nonprofits worked collaboratively to make this year’s event better than ever. To encourage more businesses to get involved, safety sashes and Bike to Work T-shirts were given away to the first 20 businesses to sign up a team of three or more.

A total of 50 businesses, representing 539 bicyclists, met the Business Team Challenge. Beyond forming teams, businesses, such as the National Park Services, ConocoPhillips, BP, Rise Alaska, CH2M Hill and others, provided refreshments or bike tune-up clinics at their workplaces for employees. Some even added new bike racks in anticipation of the event!

Again this year, local businesses were very supportive of Bike to Work Day event by offering lots of great drawing prizes to encourage participants to submit online comments about their ride. The survey results will be incorporated into the public comment portion of the Anchorage Bike Plan that will focus on identifying routes for cyclists to commute safely.

On Bike to Work Day, REI gave a repeat performance and brought back its Bike Safety Check at Westchester Lagoon for morning commuters and evening users. Subway partnered its current healthy-eating promotion with the bike event by providing Subway coupons and remote radio coverage. Volunteers handed out the coupons while counting bicyclists and noting if helmets were being used. The volunteers found that about 83% of the bicyclists were wearing helmets.

Thanks to all of this year’s bicyclists, business team participants, and supporting sponsors. Without you, the Bike to Work event would not be possible! To see photos from the event, or for additional details, please visit www.ci.anchorage.ak.us/healthchp/biketoworkday.cfm.

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Helpful Links

Programs

• A Buck or Two for AQ is a Green Star incentive program to encourage alternative transportation for business commuters.
• Municipality of Anchorage Air Quality Program will link you to information about engine block heaters, Anchorage's current air quality status, health advisories, and other air quality-related issues.
  
• American Lung Association offers resources and detailed information about air pollutants and acceptable levels.
  
• People Mover Public Transportation has various programs and services that help reduce air pollution.
  
• People Mover Ride Match makes carpooling easy by providing a free, confidential, on-line matching service for local commuters.
• Valley residents can find out about the door-to-door bus service provided in the Valley by MASCOT.
  
• A Walking School Bus is just one creative idea Anchorage could model to improve air quality and create a sense of community.
  
  
  FOR MORE AIR QUALITY LINKS, VISIT RESOURCES

Documents

• “Traffic as Risk Factor for Childhood Asthma in Alaska,” a study recently completed by Dr. Mary Ellen Gordian, revealed that children between the ages of five and seven living close to high traffic intersections were more likely to suffer from asthma than those living elsewhere.
  
• Air Quality in Anchorage: A Summary of Air Monitoring Data and Trends, released in May 2005, describes the results of monitoring of six criteria pollutants in the Anchorage area over the past 25 years. This summary report was originally released in April 1994 and has been updated periodically since then. This updated report includes air quality data collected through December 2004.
  
• Analysis of the Air Quality Impacts of the Anchorage Long Range Transportation Plan, DRAFT, October 2005, analyzes the impact of the Anchorage Long Range Transportation Plan on emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), and on fine (PM-2.5) and coarse (PM-10) particulate matter.
  
  
  

Green Star Tip Sheets

Additional Links:
  Green Star Award
  Green Events
  Green Star Schools
  Site Assessments
  Electronics Recycling
  AK Materials Exchange
  AME Listings

880 H Street, Suite 106
Anchorage, AK 99501
info at greenstarinc.org
907.278.7827
279.5868 fax