clear the air kick-off

have you heard of the Clear the Air Challenge? i hadn't until earlier this year, and it's super cool!
it is a month long challenge every year to help create awareness about Utah's air quality. in most cities the air is crisp and clean, but if you every drive into Salt Lake County - especially in the Winter - you can plainly see the air quality is terrible. this is due largely in part to vehicle emissions. so this August 1st-31st the Clear the Air challenge begins again and i am so excited to participate this year!


this challenge was issued by the Governor (pictured above) and Mayor of SLC and all they want us to do is be smart about our vehicle trips. consolidate your errands, pre-plan your routes to avoid unnecessary back-tracking, and definitely don't leave your car idling. when they made me aware of the numbers involved with wasteful emissions and the damage it does to the air and environment i was motivated to do better.
fortunately i live close to just about anything i need to do and so whenever possible we take bikes instead of the car, we walk to church and other nearby activities, and i've become a nazi about planning my days and events better to avoid any singular trips.


on the Clear the Air website you can register with a team, or by yourself and track your miles and miles saved. each week teams will be selected to win awesome prizes. honestly, i don't care a whole lot about winning anything, but i do care about what i'm doing to lower the quality of the air i, and my children breathe.


several months ago i did some consulting for the event and helped brainstorm ideas for their press conference kick-off. in past years they have had great response from all demographics except one: young non-working mothers. it made me laugh because of all groups i'm sure, next to commuters, we waste the most emissions. i have friends that drive their kids around town just so they'll take a nap. no judgements here, but i think we can all do better!


when i got the invite to their kick-off i was so happily surprised to see they had taken my idea and ran with it: here's a peek at the challenge kick-off and press conference at Hogle Zoo!

and look at this stinker! too cool for his mama.

we loved the new Rocky Shores exhibit, this polar bear in particular was a huge ham.

he'd push off the glass a swim backwards, go under the water and come back up right in everyone's faces. awesome!

big thank you to Clear the Air and Penna Powers Brian Haynes for taking care of us! i'll be updating you guys on easy ways that i've cut down our family's emissions over the month of August. if you want a team to join, Today's Mama's team is open to any and all!