Clean Air

San Diego Region to Celebrate Clean Air Day with a Variety of Activities

The first ever California Clean Air Day is taking place on Wednesday, Oct. 3, but don’t wait until then to take action to help clean the air we all breathe.

A variety of activities will take place across our region and the state this week, providing opportunities for everyone to do their part to reduce air pollution. Many of these activities target transportation-related pollution. Transportation is a leading source of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).

The movement of people and goods accounts for 41 percent of the carbon emissions in California and about 50 percent in our region. Due to pollution from transportation and other sources, the San Diego-Carlsbad metropolitan area is ranked as the sixth most ozone-polluted in America by the American Lung Association.

Free Ride Day – October 2

Take advantage of Free Ride Day tomorrow by hopping on a bus, train or Trolley instead of driving solo. Both public transit agencies in our region – San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) and North County Transit District (NCTD) – are offering Free Ride Day.

All rides on the Trolley system, fixed bus routes, and SPRINTER and COASTER trains will be free tomorrow.

Increasing transit ridership and reducing solo drivers on the road helps reduce the use of gasoline, which is a key contributor to ozone. According to the 2017 American Public Transportation Fact Book, public transportation conserves 4.16 billion gallons of gas per year.

Clean Air Day – October 3

Join your fellow San Diegans on Wednesday, Oct. 3, to clear the air as part of the inaugural California Clean Air Day. Everyone is encouraged to take a pledge to take actions – such as riding transit or not idling your car – to help reduce air pollution. You can choose from list of 16 common actions to help the environment. Pledges will be accepted through Oct. 10. Around 650,000 pledges have already been made. Help the Clean Air Coalition reach its goal of securing 1 million pledges.

The regional Clean Air Day Committee comprises the Center for Sustainable Energy, Greenlining Institute, Coalition for Clean Air, the offices of Assemblymembers Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher and Todd Gloria, San Diego Councilmembers Chris Ward and Georgette Gomez, and SDG&E.

Everyone is invited by the regional committee to attend a Clean Air Day community resource fair  Fair@44 in City Heights. Set for 4-7 p.m. on Wednesday, at 4330 El Cajon Blvd. near 44th Street, the fair will feature food, music, kids activities and info booths.

Rideshare Week – Oct. 1-5

Oct. 1-5 is National Rideshare week. When you rideshare, aka carpool, you can save money and help reduce air pollution and traffic congestion.

Leading by example and carpooling to our Century Park offices during Rideshare Week are our new chairman and chief executive officer Kevin Sagara, and Estela de Llanos, our chief environmental officer and vice president of operations support and sustainability.

It’s not just during Rideshare week that our employees embrace sustainable transportation. Throughout the year, many ride transit, bike, walk, carpool and telecommute. Also about 400 of our employees have made the switch to driving fully electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles, which produce low or no tailpipe emissions.

For more information about local Rideshare Week activities and prize drawings organized by the San Diego Association of Governments, visit this webpage.