Transportation Secretary Slater Announces Joint Information Effort To Improve Air Quality

Transportation Secretary Slater Announces Joint Information Effort To Improve Air Quality

Topics: Rodney E. Slater

Transportation Secretary Slater Announces Joint Information Effort To Improve Air Quality

Federal Highway Administration
May 22, 1998

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 22, 1998
Contact: Karen Whitney
Telephone: 202-366-0660
FHWA 22-98

U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater today announced a joint U.S. Department of Transportation-Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) public information campaign to describe how transportation choices by businesses and consumers affect air quality.

The campaign, which is called "It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air," begins May 25, the first day of Clean Air Week, and will be tested this spring and summer in Milwaukee, San Francisco and Dover, Del.

"President Clinton is committed to protecting the environment, and that’s why the department has set a high priority on protecting and enhancing communities and the natural environment affected by transportation" Secretary Slater said. "This public information campaign will help everyone participate in helping to improve air quality."

The effort is part of a national public information initiative on transportation and air quality sponsored by the department’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and EPA’s Office of Mobile Sources. The agencies developed the initiative in response to requests from state and local governments for assistance in meeting their clean air goals.

"Many of us do not realize how our travel choices affect air quality," FHWA Administrator Kenneth R. Wykle said. "This campaign is designed to make us more aware of the link between transportation and air pollution and to show how a few adjustments to our daily routines can contribute to better air quality and reduce traffic congestion in our communities."

The campaign will consist of television, radio and print public service announcements encouraging travel choices that cumulatively add up to cleaner air and less congestion. The message promotes activities such as combining trips, keeping up car maintenance and using other modes of transportation.

The campaign will provide information on the effects of a number of transportation-related activities. Examples include:

Restarting your car when it has been sitting for more than an hour and is cold pollutes up to five times more than starting your engine when it is warm.

Combining errands into one sensible trip is more time-efficient and reduces air pollution.

Vehicles on the road account for more than 25 percent of all air pollution nationwide. A poorly maintained or malfunctioning car can release as much as 100 times the pollution of a well-maintained car.

Topping off your gas tank allows the release of gas vapors that contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone, a major air pollutant.

The pilot sites were selected to represent a mix of geographic locations, community sizes and transportation infrastructures. Each site will form local coalitions among businesses, transportation agencies, environmental organizations, health insurance groups, electric utilities, automobile dealerships and churches to increase the visibility of the public education campaign and to encourage public-private partnerships. The department and EPA will use feedback gained from the pilot campaigns to expand the project to as many as 25 other cities in 1999.

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