Welcome to the Clean Air Day Newsletter!
This is our premiere edition -- and it's part of our effort to expand the reach of Clean Air Day and to raise awareness and action on issues that affect air quality in Canada.

Inside this Newsletter you'll find some tips and inspirational activities, you'll find a bit of science, you'll find out what people and groups are doing across the country -- and we hope you'll find a great reason to celebrate the eight annual Clean Air Day, coming Wednesday, June 7, 2006.

We also hope you'll let us know what you think. As you know, communication is always a two-way street, and your feedback will help guide our future outreach efforts.

Have a great Clean Air Day!

From:

The Clean Air Day Newsletter Team

"Environment Canada Celebrates the Eighth Annual Clean Air Day"

Since 1999, when Clean Air Day was proclaimed by the Government of Canada, Environment Canada (EC) has been a strong supporter of Clean Air Day activities across the country.

And Environment Canada encourages action by all Canadians -- whether those actions are big or small -- because clean air affects all of us, and every action taken is a positive contribution to a wide range of issues.

Why Should I Take Action?

For Your Health

Smog can irritate your eyes, nose and throat, or it can worsen existing heart and lung problems. In exceptional cases, it may even contribute to early death.

For Your Pocketbook

The actions you take (say, by idling your vehicle less or by insulating your home) will save you energy and money!

For Your Quality of Life

Cleaner air means cleaner communities, and less impact on the things you like to do. Environment Canada recommends reducing your exposure to air pollution by rescheduling strenuous outdoor activities when air pollution levels are high.

For the Health of Our Ecosystems

Air pollution has adverse effects on the environment, such as decreased biodiversity and reduced forestry production.

For the Health of Our Economy

Air pollution has big impacts on economy and can make a region less attractive for investments. It also imposes significant costs to our health care system.

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A “Clean Air Champion” visits the Biosphère!  

Young people are invited to celebrate Clean Air Day, Wednesday June 7th, at Environment Canada’s Biosphère and meet a true Champion of the Clean Air -- a professional athlete who will share his vision of a world where air quality is a major part of a healthy environment.  

As a Canadian   Museum of the Environment, the Biosphère raises awareness about environmental issues related to water, climate change andsustainable development. The Biosphère showcases permanent as well as temporary exhibitions such as Water Wonders, Moving Giant and Planet Bucky, and offers fun informative interactive and guided activities. Its Youth Program offers educational activities involving that I home which may be carried out at the museum or off-site.

As part of Canadian Environment Week, the Biosphère will be offering free admission from June 3-11, 2006.

www.biosphere.ec.gc.ca

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The Air inside Your Vehicle
By Lorin Gaertner

Most people recognize that there are risks and hazards associated with driving – crashes, speeding tickets and traffic jams come to mind. And everyone is aware that most cars pollute the air – but few people realize that the air quality inside their vehicle can be worse than the air quality outside in the environment.

The problem of in-vehicle exposure has been studied for over two decades and confirmed internationally by dozens of research teams. For example, scientists working for the California Air Resources Board crammed instruments into three models of cars and drove them around Los Angeles and Sacramento . They found levels of volatile organic compounds, benzene (a known carcinogen), toluene, formaldehyde and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), as well as carbon monoxide were up to 10 times higher inside vehicles than at fixed monitoring stations nearby. The type of vehicle or its ventilation settings had little effect.

Interestingly, users of other modes of transportation typically have lower levels of personal exposure. For example, numerous studies indicate that commuters’ exposure to carbon monoxide (an odourless gas that binds to blood cells decreasing their capacity to carry oxygen) is two to three times higher for those traveling in private cars than it is for those traveling by bus, trolley, train or on foot. In effect, cars on busy roadways drive through an invisible tunnel of concentrated pollutants. Of course, the toxins eventually spread so that everybody is exposed, albeit at lower levels than the motorists. However, exposure time is also critical and it has been shown that simply living near busy roadways is associated with heart disease, stroke, respiratory problems such as asthma, pre-term births, and a generally reduced quality and length of life.

Caption: Athens commuters traveling by private car are exposed to significantly
higher levels of carbon monoxide than those traveling by public transportation or walking.

The problem of in-vehicle pollution is not even limited to exhaust products. At least two classes of toxins resulting from the manufacturing process should also concern motorists: PBDEs, used as flame retardants, and phthalates, used to soften plastics and partially responsible for “new car smell”. A study released earlier this year found both classes of compounds in dangerous amounts in dust and windshield film samples collected from a sample of 1- to 4- year old cars.

To the motto “don’t drink and drive,” we may now want to add “don’t breathe and drive”.

Sources:

California Air Resources Board (1999), Measuring Concentrations Of Selected Air Pollutants Inside California Vehicles, http://www.arb.ca.gov/research/indoor/in-vehsm.htm

International Center for Technology Assessment (2000), In-Car Air Pollution, The Hidden Threat to Automobile Drivers, www.icta.org/doc/In-car%20 pollution%20report.pdf

A. Duci, A Chaloulakou & N Spyrellis (2003) Exposure to carbon monoxide in the Athens urban area during commuting , The Science of The Total Environment Vol 309 pp 47-58

The Ecology Center (2006) Toxic at Any Speed, http://www.ecocenter.org/releases/20060111_autotoxics.shtml

Lorin is a member of BEST and a father of two who has lived happily car-free in Ottawa , Ontario ; Houston , Texas and now Vancouver.

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Clean Air Day – Not Just For Urban Dwellers

Clean Air Day celebrates and encourages actions that contribute to cleaner air. Air issues affect all Canadians, but many people erroneously think air quality is only an urban problem. The truth, however, is that rural areas suffer from air quality issues too.

"When you live in an urban area, for example, transportation issues like traffic congestion and smog are very visible, and choices like using public transit, car pooling, or biking are accessible to most commuters" said Kenneth Maybee, President and CEO of the New Brunswick Lung Association. "Whereas in rural areas, commuter issues can be harder to see -- people tend to travel further than their urban counterparts and generate more emissions, they tend to idle their vehicles for longer periods of time, and they are less likely to check and maintain their tire pressure on a regular basis. We need more clean air messages in rural communities -- people need to know what they can do; people want to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.”

“The Clean Air Day National Steering Committee – of which NBLung is a member -- recognizes there is a gap in rural clean-air outreach." At the 2005 annual CAD Steering Committee meeting it was decided to form a subcommittee to investigate Clean Air Day options for rural areas. In addition to transportation issues, rural audiences can take action on clean air in other ways. There are many things people can do, like:

• upgrade wood stoves with EPA or CSA certified models;
• weatherproof older homes with insulation, caulking and weatherstripping;
• use lawn mowers and snow blowers less often;
• plant trees near your home for shade and protection from the wind;
• and much more!

Over the course of this year, the CAD Rural committee plans to expand its network into rural areas. For more information on the CAD Rural Committee, please contact the CAD Rural committee Chair, Arthur Thomson at arthur.thomson@nb.lung.ca.

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Rural Clean Air Activities from the Okanagan-Simikameen region of BC

With Clean Air Day 2006 on its way, Regional District Okanagan-Simikameen(RDOS) Air Quality has begun its pre-Clean Air Day activities.

On April 22, The Environmental Mind Grind Challenge -- which included a component on air quality and transportation issues -- tested teams from schools in the region to a variety of environmental questions. Pizza lunches and movie passes were among the prizes available to participants. And the Clean Air Day display also had a ballot box for air related door prizes. Those entering the draw first answered a skill testing question on air quality.

Frisbee's were flying to audience participants who answered the clean air questions. It was exciting and loud with students jumping up and down with hands up in the air, answering, “I know, I know”. Even parents and teachers joined in.

RDOS Clean Air also joined with other environmental organizations and held a weeklong displayin the local shopping mall. Air quality drew lots of attention and lots of brochures were picked up. The Ministry of Environment kindly donated the use of their new colourful display panels and brochures, and interestingly, the brochure, “Air Pollution Knows No Boundaries, from Neighbor to Neighbor”, was the most popular.

The Okanagan Children's Festival -- the next event! Last year’s Festival -- a partnership between RDOS Clean Air and the South Okanagan Art Gallery -- drew crowds of children, teachers and parents to the activity tents. The main activity was print making, where children drew creative ideas onto Styrofoam, rolled it with their choice of colour, and then printed the images onto paper. Children also drew on a large roll of paper taped to the table and made a mural with the theme, “What Does Clean Air Mean to You?”  Promotional materials (clean air buttons, pamphlets, drink bottles and bicycle reflectors) were given at random -- and participants were asked to state what clean air meant to them personally. The Clean Air Day brochures from Environment Canada were also useful as a lot of teachers and parents did not know there was a national Clean Air Day.

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Richmond elementary school reaches 5000 kms this Clean Air Day

The Way to Go! program provides school communities with the tools required to develop traffic safety awareness and increase the opportunties for students to walk, cycle, rideshare or take transit to school. Pat Broz, Way to Go! volunteer organizing parent for RJ Tait Elementary in Richmond, has been championing road safety education, best routes to school, walk to school celebration days, and daily walking school bus routes, for over six years, as part of the BC Autoplan Broker’s Way to Go! School Program.

Pat’s own neighbourhood walking school bus, with 15 to 20 children daily, will reach a special 5,000 km milestone in early June, 2006! This cheerful bus leaves St. Edwards Church and crosses a busy truck route before winding its way through a residential area to school. The children are relaxed but road safety is paramount. “The children know to
obey the signal of Pat’s whistle immediately, “ says Principal Bill Juhasz, “and the walking school bus helps welcome new families into the community. It is a great initiative for RJ Tait Elementary.”

Congratulations on 5,000 kms reached by Pat’s walking school bus! The Mayor of Richmond will join their walk to school on Clean Air Day, June 7 and help all the RJ Tait community celebrate their combined alternative transportation efforts for road safety, fitness and clean air.