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.

 

Helpful Links & Air Quality Reports
 

Summer Air Quality Winter Air Quality
Bike to Work Day
REI Bike Workshops
Become A Bicycle Friendly Business		 Winter Survival Tips
Engine Block Heater Timers
Idle-Free Zone Signs
 

 

Brown Bag It for the Air, your Wallet and your Waste!

Download an AQ kit for your workplace
print tip sheets and posters for your break rooms

Tip Sheets
(print double sided to reduce paper use)		 Posters
(sized to print 11 x 17")

Cover Sheet
How to Carpool
How to Plug In
How to Ride the Bus

Bike To Work

Brown Bag It

Car Care

Commuting Facts
Plug It In

 

SUMMER AIR QUALITY

  


 

BIKE TO WORK DAY

By promoting Bike to Work Day, we hope to motivate commuters to leave their cars at home (for at least one day!), help reduce local traffic congestion, and improve air quality. In addition, the increased physical activity of biking to work means improved productivity, decreased rates of illness, reduced absenteeism, and lower health care costs. These all benefit employers as well as the employees.

Some photos of 2010 Bike to Work Teams!

MSI Communications (above)
CRW Engineering Group (above)
The Nature Conservancy (above)

 

The 2010 Bike to Work Day was another banner event. With 1,992 registered riders and 155 teams, bicyclists once again showed the community that Anchorage is a bikeable city. The rider count on Bike to Work Day was the highest ever at 2,567 riders -- a 43% increase from 2009. The sunny day probably contributed to this increase as anyone who participated last year will recall, it was pouring rain on Bike to Work Day in 2009!

The 2009 ride was a great success, with 198 business teams registering 2,334 riders.

Need more information? Email us at: biketowork@muni.org or visit www.muni.org/biketowork

WINTER AIR QUALITY

 

FREE ENGINE BLOCK HEATER TIMERS

THIS PROGRAM IS AVAILABLE OCTOBER THROUGH MARCH

CALL 278-7827 TO LEARN MORE.

 

Do you park your car outdoors at night? For those Anchorage residents who already have an engine block heater in their vehicle, Green Star still has free programmable outdoor timers (approx. $15 value) available. Using a programmable timer to warm your vehicle’s block heater will cut electricity costs to about 20 cents per plug-in, while allowing you to reduce fuel use, engine wear, and idle time. Tell your friends and neighbors!

Studies show that using an engine block heater whenever it's 20ºF or colder for two to three hours prior to starting your personal vehicle can cut carbon monoxide emissions by an average of 60%.

Remember, the benefits of plugging in your engine are many, including:

* Saving gas
* Reducing engine wear
* Increasing vehicle dependability
* Decreasing carbon monoxide emissions and other pollutants

 

Anchorage residents line up at the University Center for a recent outdoor timer giveaway.  During the winter months, timers are a money saver when residents plug in their vehicles. Anne Schlapia (right) of MOA's Dept. of Health & Human Services demonstrates an outdoor timer with extension cord to Anchorage residents during a recent giveaway event.

 

ENGINE BLOCK HEATER INSTALLATION PROGRAM DISCONTINUED

Please contact your own dealership or mechanic if you still need an engine block heater installed in your vehicle.

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.

For vehicles already equipped with block heaters, programmable timers are on order and will be distributed again this year through Green Star. Motorists may call Green Star’s recorded message at 278-7827 for distribution dates and sites.

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.

 

IDLE-FREE ZONE SIGNS

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

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.
  • MASCOT provides door-to-door bus service for Valley residents. 
  • A Walking School Bus is just one creative way Anchorage can improve air quality and create a sense of community.

FOR MORE AIR QUALITY LINKS, VISIT RESOURCES

Documents

  • The EcoDriver's Manual: A Guide to Increasing Your Mileage & Reducing Your Carbon Footprint
  • A Report on the Burden of Asthma in Alaska, 2007, a study by Dr. Mary Ellen Gordian and Brian Saylor looks at the costs of asthma to indicate what is at stake and why asthma research, control, and public health policies are of significant importance. 
  • Air Quality in Anchorge: A Summary of Air Monitoring Data and Trends, 1980 - 2008, released in March 2009, provides an update of the original report released in April 1994. The purpose of this report is to summarize air quality monitoring data collected in Anchorage since 1980. It focuses on the six pollutants for which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has established a National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). They are carbon monoxide, airborne particulate, airborne lead, sulfur dioxide, ozone and nitrogen dioxide.This updated report includes air quality data collected through December 2008.
  • 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.
  • AMATS CY 2010-2011 Unified Planning Work Program, October 2009, identified all transportation planning and/or air quality planning or programming activities within the metropolitan area of the Municipality of Anchorage. 

Green Star Tip Sheets