Tools for Organizations: Success Stories
"People always ask why they should fuel after 6 p.m., and after we explain why it's important, they almost always commit to getting gas in the evenings."
Barbara Colegrove, RideSolutions, OH
These stories feature dozens of low-cost, innovative approaches to delivering effective air quality education using It All Adds Adds to Cleaner Air materials and information. To read how organizations across the country are achieving success—and to get some great ideas for your own campaign—please click on the exemplary materials and the following articles:
- Air Victoria, TX
- Lawn mowers across the region are resting noiselessly until after 5 p.m., drivers are stopping at the click when they refuel their cars, and increasing numbers of people are hopping on the bus or sharing a ride when ozone levels peak.
- Alamo Area Council of Governments, TX
- The key to educating people about the importance of air quality and the steps they can take to improve it is to personally involve them in the effort. That's how the Alamo Area Council of Governments in San Antonio, Texas, conducts much of its transportation and air quality outreach.
- Bi-State Regional Commission, IL
- With two states, five counties, and more than 44 municipalities in its jurisdiction, the Bi-State Regional Commission (BSRC) in Illinois has a complex education challenge. It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air materials and resources enabled BSRC to enthusiastically meet the challenge and strengthen its ongoing "Aware of Air" public education campaign.
- Broward and Miami Dade Counties, FL
- From material development and dissemination to cost sharing, Miami-Dade County and Broward County in South Florida are putting up a united front to fight air pollution and traffic congestion using It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air materials and resources.
- Capital Area Transportation Authority, MI
- As towns in and around the border regions of Michigan battled air quality problems with years-old air quality outreach and education programs, Lansing's Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA) was just getting started. Resourceful and ambitious, CATA jumped right in and faced the challenge head-on using It All Adds Up materials and resources.
- The Central Florida Clean Air Team, FL
- Air quality has taken a turn for the better in middle Florida—ever since the Central Florida Clean Air Team began educating its citizens about air quality issues in 1999. That's great news for the team and the public, but it also presents a new challenge: keeping folks interested in and aware of air quality issues now that there is no longer a compelling problem…
- CommuterLink, NY
- It's not easy to promote carpooling, vanpooling, and mass transit to diverse audiences in a metropolitan region comprised of urban, suburban, and rural environments. New York City figured out a way to do it: tap the It All Adds Up materials and resources and focus on the cost savings.
- The Dover/Kent County Metropolitan Planning Organization, DE
- Dover/Kent County Metropolitan Planning Organization targets air quality messages to our future decision-makers—youngsters. They've used the It All Adds Up materials and messages to reach younger audiences, including an effort to strengthen a youth campaign they established in 2003.
- Fayetteville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, NC
- Until recently, the City of Fayetteville, North Carolina, and the surrounding community felt removed from "big city" issues like air pollution. Thanks to the hard work of the Fayetteville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, citizens are learning about the ground-level ozone problem that exists in their community and some simple ways they can help eliminate it.
- Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, KY
- When it comes to advancing air quality education in Kentucky—a state with metropolitan, rural, and small urban populations with diverse travel behaviors—the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet takes a regional approach to addressing transportation and air quality challenges.
- Maine Department of Environmental Protection, ME
- In October, after its summer-long air quality campaign, which included paid newspaper, television, and radio advertising, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection surveyed the public to see how effective It All Adds Up To Cleaner Air materials and messages were—what they learned was surprising…
- Middle Georgia Clean Air Coalition, GA
- Time and money are tight for the Middle Georgia Clean Air Coalition. So, they're more than happy to be another shiny spoke in the air quality wheel—as long as they don't have to reinvent it.
- Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, OH
- Not too long ago, central Ohio had a bit of a reputation...The six-county region had failed to meet federal standards for ozone pollution. So, Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission air quality staff put their heads together and launched the Clean Air Challenge, an engaging public action campaign that addresses mid-Ohio's air quality issues.
- Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District, CA
- In the Mojave Desert region, people from all walks of life are learning that "clean air is everybody's business!" That's the motto of the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District. The award-winning team is making great headway with people about the simple steps they can take to improve air quality, especially with kids.
- New York City Department of Transportation, NY
- The New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) is wholly dedicated to using the It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air materials and messages—so are their big-city sponsors!
- Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission, IN
- Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission, an enthusiastic and successful It All Adds Up participant, received the Indiana Department of Environmental Management's Outstanding Public Outreach Award for its extensive It All Adds Up campaign and has remained a committed partner ever since.
- San Diego County Air Pollution Control District, CA
- In mid 2003, the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District, a longtime participant of It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air, had an important message to get across. All they needed was a low-cost platform and a crowd.
- Spokane County Air Pollution Control Authority, WA
- When the Spokane County Air Pollution Control Authority joined It All Adds Up they got moving right away by designing a new public information program around the initiative's look and feel and adapting the logo and messaging to their local program.
- Tulsa Area Clean Cities Coalition, OK
- In Tulsa, Oklahoma, even routine tasks—waiting for the bus or cruising to work—have been turned into air quality learning experiences. Using It All Adds Up resources, Tulsa Area Clean Cities Coalition found some creative, inexpensive ways to reach out and inspire 74% of Tulsa residents to take simple steps that clean the air and reduce traffic congestion.
- West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission, MI
- When smog moved through the air across Lake Michigan, causing region-wide air-quality problems, the West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission—a metropolitan planning organization in Muskegon County—pushed back with a powerful regional coalition and creative use of the It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air messages and materials.
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, WI
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources use the It All Adds Up tagline throughout their air quality program, with a special tie-in to ozone action days that emphasizes steps individuals can take to reduce ozone. They've also included the tagline in their Gas Cap Wrench campaign—which earned them EPA's Clean Air Excellence Award—to target older drivers and those with weak hand strength.