Event Zones | Green Event | CSTEM Challenge

Earth Day Houston Festival, 5K & Green Expo is a Green Event
The Earth Day Houston Festival, 5k and Green Expo is a Green Event benefiting Air Alliance Houston, formerly Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention (GHASP) and Mothers for Clean Air (MfCA),, the leading advocate for healthy air in the Houston area. This year we've taken the Fit Planet sustainability pledge, which requires a minimum of 10 eco-practices.

Air Alliance Houston is exceeding the pledge minimum in the following ways:

To learn more about how eco-practices help our planet, see the following links:

Compostable Cups – made from an annually renewable resource - corn, these cups reduce landfill waste and save resources, preserving our air, land and water quality

Plants – plants clean the air and give people oxygen to breathe
http://www.globio.org/glossopedia/article.aspx?art_id=30#
http://www.ypte.org.uk/environmental/environment-how-can-you-help-protect-it-/81

Recycling – why it matters – saves energy, landfill waste reduction, reduces air and water contaminants, saves precious resources http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4759632_recycling-help-environment.html

Shoe Recycling -
http://www.nikereuseashoe.com/
http://www.aboutmyplanet.com/daily-green-tips/recycle-your-shoes/

Carpooling - keeps pollutants out of our air and reduces traffic
http://www.ridemetro.org
http://www.carpoolworld.com
http://www.erideshare.com

Show You Care About Clean Air!

fourth graders display their ozone warning flags

first graders show their scary "pollution" faces

Sponsor Air Alliance Houston's Ozone Theater, an interactive program that teaches children about the importance of air quality, air pollution, its sources, and its effects on human health. Children in the Houston-Galveston area are exposed to more ozone air pollution than most kids around the country, particularly during warm, dry summer months. Our local ozone levels have exceeded federal health standards for several decades, and are among the worst in the country. Too much ozone in the air we breathe can cause coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, watery eyes and scratchy throats. It can also trigger asthma attacks and intensify allergic reactions. Children suffer more than adults from the health consequences of ozone air pollution because:

• their lungs and immune systems are still developing.
• pound for pound, they breathe in 50% more air than adults.
• they tend to spend more time outdoors than adults, especially during the summer, when ozone levels are highest.
• they tend to participate in more vigorous outdoor activities than most adults.

Be part of the solution to improve air quality!

• Volunteer – join Air Alliance Houston members at events such as the State of the Air luncheon, Earth Day Houston, and our fall campaign. Help raise air quality awareness in the Houston area.
• Become an Air Champion - printing of 500 English or Spanish manuals to help residents improve their environment $500.00
• Become an Air Defender - 1 environmental workshop for 15 children $250.00
• Become an Air Advocate - for 25 middle school students to learn about air quality issues through Air Pollution $25.00
• Find ways on the job to cut emissions.
• Reduce ozone - Leave your car at home. Walk or ride your bike to do errands, to work, to the gym. Try mass transit. Fill your tank in the morning, not the heat of the day. Buy local foods and other products to reduce truck, ship and airplane emissions.
• Limit resource consumption in your home - Wash full loads of laundry and dishes. Run your appliances late at night when energy plants are off peak. Use a rain barrel and drip irrigation. Go pesticide free.
• Find your green thumb - Plants clean the air.
• Recycle anything and everything - Find new uses for old things or pass them on. Buy recycled or used.