Occasionally we hear about Homeland Security raising or lowering the perceived “threat level” in the U.S. – by changing the color from green to red, or yellow to orange. When I go to the beach, there are different coded days to let us know whether it’s safe to swim.
A new code in my life, here in DC, is the code to desribe our air quality. Aka: exactly how much smog is entering our respiratory systems each time we take a breath as we move through the streets on hazy, hot and humid days.
I know this is used in many cities, and isn’t new, but here the code is often orange, or red. When it is orange or above, all of the buses are free (which is pretty sweet!). But… the high level of toxins in DC is definitely alarming, and smog doesn’t just look and feel bad – it is full of ground level ozone and hydrocarbons which are very detrimental to our health. No wonder Congress goes on recess so much………..
With such great public transportation, there is really little need to take a personal car anywhere in this city. that being said, Saturday September 22 (I think) will be declared “Car Free DC Day” and some of my friends are organizing some big events to get folks to leave their cars at home and move around the city in a greener way.
July 14, 2007 at 2:16 am
[…] Climate Change blogs about a Car Free DC Day on September 17 in Washington, DC. Alas, Columbus doesn’t really have any decent mass […]
July 15, 2007 at 2:29 pm
The DC Council has named Tuesday, September 18 as DC Carfree Day and another group of DC residents is working towards organizing events for World Carfree Day on September 22. Check out our website at: http://www.carfreedc.info and email us at carfreedc (at)gmail.com for more info as we’re working on adding more to the website.
July 16, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Thanks for the info. Lolly!
I definitely want to help you guys organize some of these events – let me know how I can help as the date gets closer.
Critical Mass was amazing – one of the best experiences I’ve had here so far.
-Alisha