Thank you for being part of the Drive Clean Across Texas e-mail group. We hope you use this listserv as a means to ask questions, share ideas and success stories, and to learn what doing to clean up our air.
Here is the latest news from Drive Clean Across Texas.
Drive Clean Across Texas is pleased to announce that transportation experts, Tex and Dot, will soon come to life in a 7-minute video tale that pairs learning about clean air with music and friendship. Our clean air crew characters, created especially for children grades K-5, will be joined by their new pals, Cool Jay and Ollie Ozone, in an animated journey to help clean up their air. Look for an announcement this fall on how you can receive a free copy of this new, fun, educational tool!
Tex and Dot, part of TxDOT’s Clean Air Crew
Joni Brown, Air Quality Program Coordinator for the City of Victoria, has successfully gotten local gas stations to put "Stop at the Click" stickers on their gas pumps. Nearly every gas pump in town, over 1,000 total, now displays these. Joni is working hard to get businesses and the community committed to doing what they can to help improve air quality.
"Getting people to just take a small step to help our air is a step in the right direction," says Joni. "Stopping at the click is a simple thing that motorists can do when pumping gas. And, it is a first step in changing unhealthy air quality driving behavior."
Joni has also been successful getting the Victoria school districts and local golf courses to agree not to mow in the heat of the day or on high ozone days. These simple efforts, when combined, have impact and will hopefully encourage others to join in the fight against air pollution.
The Air Victoria Team is leading air quality improvement efforts in Victoria. The team consists of 24 small businesses and local government entities that have made commitments to environmental best practices. The group’s success has been attributed to Joni’s "hands on" approach - getting people to buy into the program through one-on-one meetings and lots of handshaking. Once on board, these businesses and their practices are promoted through news releases and appearances on a weekly radio show.
The "Stop at the Click" program, according to Joni, is a first step to getting the general public to change their driving behavior.
Please visit our For Teachers section of the Drive Clean Across Texas website as the curricula for K-12 is now available. It includes lesson plans and activities designed to teach the "how's, why's and what-it-all-means" about air pollution and transportation. A coloring and activity book is also available for downloading. Each lesson is matched to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and includes teacher preparation material, directions, activities and quizzes. Best of all, it's free!
10 Simple Ways to Save Money on Gas 
and help air quality.
Ridesharing is the message on Drive Clean Across Texas’ newest billboards. Twenty-six billboards have recently been posted in Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, Beaumont, Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Tyler/Longview, Victoria and Houston to encourage folks to carpool and help air quality. The turtle billboard is the first of the themed "creature" billboards you will see this summer. A new television spot is also in the works and features other Texas creatures reacting to air pollution. The message encourages motorists to maintain their car, drive the speed limit and carpool to help make the world a healthier, happier place.
Read more about the Green Mountain Energy Company Teaming Up With Community Leaders in Dallas and Houston to Address Issue of Air Quality.
Call for Entries Issued for Houston’s Second Annual "Best Workplaces For Commuters" List. Visit http://www.commutesolutions-hou.com/events/bwc_5-5-04.htm for more information.
One of the best ways we can help get our clean air message out is to speak to local civic groups. If you have an opportunity to do this, Drive Clean Across Texas can help. We have recently updated a PowerPoint presentation that explains how mobile emissions contribute to our air quality problem and lists what each of us can do to help.
A copy of the presentation is located on the Drive Clean Across Texas website on the Speakers' Bureau Materials page. We can also provide you with brochures. Additionally, if you would like someone from Drive Clean Across Texas to come to your area to speak, please contact Michelle Hoelscher at m-hoelscher@tamu.edu.
Don’t forget to use this list serv to share ideas on what your area is doing to help air quality and to ask questions of other members. We can all learn and benefit from what is working in other areas of our state. To email the group, send your message to: drivecleanacrosstexas@listserv.tamu.edu
Thank you for your support of Drive Clean Across Texas.
