Oct. 6 Event Aims to Improve Health
The fourth annual California Clean Air Day is set for Wednesday, Oct. 6 and residents, businesses and cities around the state are encouraged to sign up and commit to clear the air, through actions big and small.
Organizers say efforts to clean California’s air is critical: seven of the 10 most ozone-polluted U.S. cities are in California, 1 million school absences in the state are related to air pollution, and Californians are four times more likely than other Americans to experience air pollution-related issues.
There are two options to take the Clean Air Day Pledge: register as an organization, such as a city, or as an individual or household.
In 2020, more than 1.6 million Californians participated in Clean Air Day, with 3.1 million pledges made. The menu of pledge options from which participants can choose includes three main categories:
- Planting something
- Reducing vehicle use
- Switching things out
Pledges are as simple as planting a tree, trying public transit, changing a home air filter or buying local produce.
There are also several events surrounding Clean Air Day.
Transit agencies around the Bay Area and across the state also are part of the effort, with several offering free rides Oct. 6. These include:
- Livermore Amador Valley Transit is offering systemwide free rides on all of its Wheels bus routes.
- Napa Valley’s Vine Transit is offering free rides.
- Petaluma Transit is offering free rides.
- Tri-Delta Transit will also offer free rides.
- WETA’s San Francisco Bay Ferry (Water Emergency Transportation Authority) is offering systemwide free.
- Western Contra Costa Transit Authority (WESTCAT) is offering free rides.
- The City of Vacaville is offering free rides on all its City Coach bus routes.
Also, this year there is an option for organizations to be assigned a code that their employees can use when making an individual Clean Air Pledge. Participating organizations will be listed on the Clean Air Day website.
California Clean Air Day is a project of the Coalition for Clean Air.