On Valentine’s Day, you express your love by sending flowers, by showing kindness and consideration, and by reflecting on who you love and why.

You do that on Car Free Day, too. Though in this case, the object of your love is your community, and instead of delivering roses, you don’t drive your car, or you share the ride.

OK, maybe that’s a stretch. But not a big one. Air pollution generated by cars is one of the leading causes of poor air quality and a major contributor to asthma, heart disease and climate change.

Driving also wastes a lot of time. According to Clean Air Partners, people lose 70+ hours a year sitting in traffic jams! Not to mention all that time we spend driving to and from work when we could be sharing a ride with friends and family or relaxing at home with those we love instead.

Going car free is just about the best way to show your love for the planet – and for yourself, your family and your neighbors, too. You can drive less, save some money, and make life better for pretty much everyone you love.

When is Car Free Day?

Car Free Day is September 22, and just like Valentine’s Day, it’s celebrated around the world, with more than 40 countries and 1,500 cities all committed to encouraging commuters to try something new and go car free or share the ride.

Clean Air Partners, our air quality organization partner, is encouraging you to drive less and has pulled together a terrific list of ways you can celebrate the day.

Making a change has never been this easy. Their ideas for alternative transportation options across the D.C. region can likely be applied to wherever you live, as well.

How to Celebrate Car Free Day

Take the Pledge – Join hundreds of other residents of the D.C. area in pledging to go car free. Taking the pledge automatically enters you into drawings for lots of great prizes, including gift cars to use at supermarkets, on the subway, at restaurants, and even a one-year gym membership.

Bike to Work – You’ll avoid traffic headaches and parking will be a breeze! Plus, you won’t need to buy gas. Here in the greater metro Washington D.C. area, you can put your bike on the subway, then bike from the metro to your job, or take one of the many bike paths available in northern Virginia, d.C. and Maryland.

Walk – If you walked to your destination two days a week, you personally would help remove 1,600 pounds of pollution in just one year. Plus, it’s good for your health. Burn calories, not gas! Use MapMyWalk to find your route.

Rideshare – Instead of driving your own vehicle, carpool with friends and co-workers. You’ll improve air quality, get to know people in your community better, and still do your part for climate change. If four people share a ride instead of each one driving a car, you’ve reduced your environmental impact by 75 percent! Use Commuter Connections to find a ride.

Take the Bus – Eliminating one car per household and utilizing public transportation can save families $10,000 per year. Use Car Free Day to figure out the nearest bus stop and the route that will get you to your job without much fuss.

Ride a Train – Urban and suburban areas often benefit from commuter trains that offer a great alternative to driving. Is Car Free Day the day you finally buy a train ticket instead of gasoline or a road toll?

Telework – Save time and hassle getting to work by staying home. Plus, work in your pj’s all day if you want to.

Tell the World – Whatever you do, don’t keep it to yourself! Pledge to go Car Free on #CarFreeDay and encourage your community to show some love to their community. Use your social media and the hashtag #CarFreeDay to brag about your good deeds to your friends, family, and colleagues on Twitter and Facebook.

The post Why Car Free Day is Better Than Valentine’s Day (Almost) appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Clean Air Partners is a nonprofit partnership in Baltimore/Metropolitan Washington region that helps reduce air pollution through simple, everyday actions. For more information and to access easy ways you can keep your air clean, please visit: www.cleanairpartners.net.

More resources for your green holiday:

> Use our Green Holiday Shopping Guide to make this year’s shopping easy.

> Find a green gift for everyone on your list by shopping hundreds of Big Green Purse-approved items on our Amazon store.

> And as you’re preparing to wrap those gifts, don’t forget to read our tips on how to cut down on holiday waste!

The post White Xmas or Smoggy One? This Energy-Saving Green Guide to the Holidays Will Help Keep It Clean appeared first on Big Green Purse.

We often focus on poor air quality when kids are home in the summer and smog seems particularly intense. But even in September and early October, your community may experience Code Yellow and Code Orange days, both of which could make our kids sick. In this guest post from Clean Air Partners, based in Baltimore, MD, acting director Jen Desimone explains why we need to be on the lookout and what we can do to protect kids from air pollution.

It’s a bit of an irony, isn’t it? On the one hand, we want kids to get away from their computers and electronics and play outside. On the other hand, we don’t want them breathing unhealthy air. Created by the reaction of sunlight and emissions from cars and other sources, ozone pollution can damage lung tissue.

* Kids who already have asthma are particularly at risk when they play outside in polluted air. And while we all react to smog, children are among the groups most sensitive to poor air quality, as their respiratory systems are developing and they breathe in more air pollution per pound of body weight than adults.

* There are an estimated 7.1 million asthma sufferers under the age of 18. Asthma is the most common chronic childhood illness and the third leading cause of hospitalization among children under the age of 15.

* In the greater metropolitan Washington region alone, there are more than 18,000 children with asthma. Air pollution can make asthma symptoms worse and trigger attacks.

What can you do to protect kids from air pollution at school?

Monitor air quality. As a parent, you’re already probably on the alert. Clean Air Partners offers free, daily AirAlerts to residents across the greater metro Washington-Baltimore region. AirAlerts also provide a daily and three-day air quality forecast. When  an unhealthy air quality level is reached (in real-time) all subscribers are notified. Users can have AirAlerts sent directly to their email and can also use the Clean Air Partners Air Quality App for on-the-go information that can help keep students safe.

Talk to your kids’ coaches and day care providers, who may also be responsible for children during primetime hours. If your kids have a peanut allergy, or are highly allergic to bee stings, you let school officials and day care operators know. It’s the same with asthma and air quality.

When the Air Quality Index (AQI) reports unhealthy levels:

1) Timing is Everything: Limit kids’ outdoor physical exertion. Be aware that ozone often peaks in mid-afternoon and early evening. Adjust strenuous outdoor activity during off hours and/or reduce the intensity of the activity.

2) Pay Attention: Know how to recognize symptoms of respiratory discomfort, such as coughing, wheezing, breathing difficulty, and chest tightness – and reduce exposure if these occur. Asthmatic children are not the only ones at risk– all children are susceptible to these symptoms.

3) Rotate and Rest: Rotate players during physically exerting games and rest players to reduce exertion.

4) Have Options: Provide alternative activities that allow kids that have asthma or other respiratory problems to participate in activities that are less physical when pollution levels are high.

5) Play Indoors: If pollution levels are particularly high, move physical activities indoors where the air is filtered by an air conditioning system.

6) Plan Ahead: Asthma management is important and children with asthma should have adequate medication on hand and follow their asthma management plans.

Air Quality Guide to Keep Kids Safe

CODE GREEN: Great day to be active outside!

CODE YELLOW: Air quality is acceptable but this could cause health concerns for sensitive groups (such as athletes and those who spend a lot of time outside). Students who are unusually sensitive to air pollution could have symptoms.

CODE ORANGE: Limit outdoor activities. For longer activities such as PE or band practice, take more breaks and do less intense activities.

CODE RED: Everyone is sensitive to this level of poor air quality and should avoid prolonged outdoor exertion. Consider moving longer or more intense activities indoors or rescheduling them to another day or time.

CODE PURPLE: Everyone, especially children, should avoid any physical outdoor activities as pollution levels are very unhealthy. Move all activities indoors or reschedule them to another day.

Clean Air Partners would like to thank teachers and coaches in the community for contributing to an overall improvement in our community’s air quality and environment and keeping children safe. Have fun and make sure you check out cleanairpartners.net to sign-up for AirAlerts.

If you don’t live in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area, check in with your county to find a similar organization or agency that monitors air quality and will send you alerts to help protect your kids.

The post 6 Ways to Protect Kids from Air Pollution, Even When They’re Back to School appeared first on Big Green Purse.

According to Clean Air Partners, a non-profit organization that helps cities and communities in Washington and Baltimore raise awareness about air pollution so they can reduce it, code orange means that the air I’m breathing outside is, well, pretty bad.

Specifically, it warns that “pollution levels are harmful to children, older adults, and anyone with a respiratory or heart condition.”

On a code orange day, parents should keep their kids indoors – even though it’s summer and they’d love to be running around outside. It means that older folks should stay inside, too – no brisk walks around the block, definitely no lawn mowing. Ditto for anyone with asthma or other lung ailments. When I hear “code orange,” I automatically think, “Uh, oh. I better stay inside,” even though summer is my favorite time of year.

Clean Air Partners bases its recommendations on a sort of measuring stick called the Air Quality Index, or AQI. The AQI, seen right, uses both a color-coded and a numerical scale to report on how clean or polluted the air is and what associated health effects might be of concern. The AQI, says Clean Air Partners, focuses on health effects people may experience within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air. Pollutants it monitors include particulate matter, ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide.

Obviously, even if you don’t have a weakened immune system or heart disease or a similar problem, it’s not a good idea to breathe dirty air, no matter how old you are. Staying inside on code orange days or worse is a way you can protect yourself and your family in the short-term. Long term, we all need to work together to protect the air we all breath.

The most important action we can take is to use less energy, since burning oil, coal and other fossil fuels is the primary source of so much air pollution.

AT HOME:

Turn off lights and electronics when you’re not using them. Use a programmable thermostat like the Nest to keep your air conditioning at a reasonable and even temperature. Don’t mow the lawn if you really don’t need to. Use a gas or electric grill instead of charcoal.

AT WORK:

Telecommute if possible. Otherwise, carpool or take mass transit to work to reduce the amount of gasoline being burned. Support your employer’s energy-saving initiatives, which will help clear up the air in your entire community.

If you live in the Washington/Baltimore region, you can also sign up for free Air Alerts to get air quality updates, especially when pollution levels are projected to be high.

Our air can get dirty and smoggy, but it doesn’t have to. Saving energy always makes sense. It increases our national security and saves us money, too. But in the summer, it’s especially important, since it’s the best way to keep our air clean.

The post What is a Code Orange Day & How Does It Hurt Your Lungs? appeared first on Big Green Purse.