Mark Your Calendar
Following are a list of upcoming clean air/green-oriented events that you'll want to add to your calendar. You may even consider hosting some fun incentive-based promotions at your company to coincide with one of these events.
Aug. 18....STL Green Drinks' Green Book Swap and Discussion, 6:30 p.m., Schlafly Bottleworks
Aug. 28....American Lung Association hosts its 2009 Fight for Air Affaire, 7-11 p.m., Third Degree Glass Factory
Aug. 29....Moonlight Ramble - Ride the Night 2009,
12-3 a.m., Soldiers Memorial in Downtown St. Louis
Sept. 11....Citizens for Modern Transit's 25th annual meeting, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Renaissance Grand Hotel
Sept. 14....Citizens for Modern Transit's 10 Toe Express Fall Session kickoff
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To date, Air Quality Season sees five orange days and one red day
With the 2009 Air Quality Forecasting Season now more than 2/3 over, the St. Louis region has recorded five orange days and one red day since the kickoff of the season on May 15. This represents a slight increase in the number of orange days recorded at this time last year and the return of a red day in the area. By this time in 2008, the region had seen just three orange days and no red days.
As we head into the home stretch when air quality conditions in the region are typically at their worst, your continued efforts to go green and do your share for cleaner air will play a critical role in helping to prevent additional orange and red days. For a list of steps you can take to help keep the air quality good during the final weeks of the summer season, visit The Partnership's website at www.cleanair-stlouis.com.
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 Metro restores services across St. Louis region
Thousands of Metro customers who lost their link to employment, healthcare, shopping and recreation via transit last March are now taking advantage of restored access.
On Aug. 3, Metro restored approximately one-third of the services that were suspended last spring. The service restorations were made possible by a $14 million one-time emergency appropriation from the State of Missouri and a grant from the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program that will provide Metro with $3.8 million annually for two years. The funding is expected to support restored services for just over 10 months.
The restored services include a combination of enhancements to existing routes that extend back into communities that lost service, restoration of routes that were cut and the creation of new routes. To date, service has been restored to approximately 2,000 of the 2,300 bus stops to which service was temporarily suspended in March.
The restoration plan also provides Metro Call-A-Ride paratransit access to many locations that lost service and restores some express MetroBus service in North, South and West St. Louis County.
With transit use playing such an important role in the fight to improve the region's air quality, The Partnership will continue to keep you up-to-date on the latest from Metro regarding the status of the service restorations. In the meantime, we encourage you take advantage of the newly restored routes for your commute to work or to access other locations throughout the region.
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Partnership expands outreach efforts with local colleges and universities
In recent months, the Partnership has been busy strengthening its bonds with several colleges and universities in the St. Louis area.
This summer, the Partnership met with representatives at Lewis Clark Community College (LCCC) to learn more about the new sustainable initiatives underway within the organization and discuss how The Partnership can work with LCCC to engage its students and staff members in the regional clean air effort. As a result, LCCC has agreed to become an active member of The Partnership, and we are looking forward to embarking on a variety of clean air initiatives with them in the coming months.
In July, The Partnership also partnered with the
University of Missouri - St. Louis (UMSL) Parking Services Department to produce a clean air tips-themed bookmark and a co-branded marketing piece highlighting the link between transit use and air quality, and offering information on how to pollute less when commuting alone by car. The pieces were provided to UMSL for distribution at its New Student Orientation Marketplaces, which are being held through August. Southwestern Illinois College has also demonstrated its commitment to the regional clean air effort by adding a "Think Green. Be Green." link to its homepage. The link takes visitors to a page which highlights the connection between our daily decisions and air quality, and provides a link to The Partnership's website. We're thrilled for this opportunity to get further engaged with our area institutions of higher learning, and we would welcome the opportunity to work with all of our partners in an expanded capacity. CACs who are interested in expanding their organization's relationship with The Partnership are encouraged to call (314) 645-5505, ext. 1007 or send an e-mail to sfuchs@breathehealthy.org. |
EarthShare director devotes life and career to environmental stewardship
Even as a child, Jerry Klamon considered protection of the planet and its resources a no-brainer. Now, as Executive Director for EarthShare of Missouri (ESMO), Klamon has dedicated his career to increasing awareness and support for green initiatives.
Prior to ESMO, Klamon worked in construction as an industrial and commercial electrician until he took a class at the Missouri Botanical Garden that inspired a career in environmentalism. In 1992, he began working at EarthWays Center, where he was tasked with organizing the St. Louis Earth Day Festival. While at EarthWays, Klamon attended meetings with the Missouri Coalition for the Environment. The meetings eventually led to the creation of the Missouri Environmental Fund in 1993, which became EarthShare of Missouri in 2001.
As Executive Director of ESMO, Klamon manages workplace giving campaigns that benefit 74 local, national and international environmental organizations. The program allows employees to make small contributions that are automatically deducted from their paychecks to fund environmental groups in an easy way.
"Workplace giving is the most efficient fundraising model there is," Klamon said. "The overhead is lower than any other method and it's easier for donors. Once you sign up, it just happens without having to do anything."
Since participating in its first campaigns in 1995, ESMO has raised more than $1.4 million, but for Klamon, ESMO is about more than just raising money. It's about creating a strong, grassroots ownership for environmental causes.
"You and I can't do everything all the time," said Klamon. "Environmental groups get kids out into the woods to play and learn, clean up water and air, plant trees, preserve wildlife and habitats, and educate decision makers for us. A dollar per pay period or whatever people are able to give, multiplied by lots and lots of folks creates a lot of action."
In addition to his work at ESMO, Klamon's personal life reflects a commitment to environmental stewardship. One of the biggest changes he made to improve air quality was giving up smoking in 1986. He also bikes whenever possible, avoids flying for pleasure, maintains a small cubic living space and is currently in the process of rehabbing a two-family and four-family apartment building to meet Platinum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, the highest certification level offered by the United States Green Building Council.
"Happiness and fulfillment as a human being can be done at a lower environmental impact and it doesn't necessarily have to be about suffering and sacrifice," Klamon said. "I know I have a long way to go, but the quality of my life has actually been enhanced by this."
Looking ahead, Klamon aims to implement more workplace giving campaigns equaling around $1 to $1.5 million annually so ESMO can sustain itself into the future. Although raising money in these times poses a formidable challenge, Klamon's fundamental sense of duty towards the environment fuels his determination to succeed.
"Most of my life I've felt concerned with the greater good," Klamon said. "It's a spectacular place, Planet Earth. I can't imagine, knowing what I know and loving nature as I do, not being a good steward."
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We need your input!
As we continue our work to improve the air quality in the St. Louis region, we remain on the lookout for new partners to join us in our efforts. If you have friends or colleagues at companies or organizations that you think would be interested in serving as Clean Air Coordinators or Employee Transportation Coordinators, please ask them to call (314) 645-5505, ext. 1007 or send an e-mail to sfuchs@breathehealthy.org for information on how they can get involved.
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