CLEVELAND, April 20, 2006 – The City of Cleveland will participate in this year's EarthFest to celebrate Earth Day at the Cleveland Zoo on Sunday, April 23rd, 2006. The EarthFest is a day to celebrate the Earth and learn about the environmental challenges we face as a society.
At this year's celebration, the City of Cleveland will announce a new policy to improve the quality of our local environment. The City of Cleveland's Anti-Idling Policy will limit idling allowed by vehicle operators with the goal of reducing fuel consumption and improving air quality by reducing emissions generated by City vehicles. Notification and training of employees will take place through May and the policy will go into effect in June for the entire City of Cleveland fleet.
Idling of vehicles consumes approximately 17% of the fuel that a vehicle has on board. Some idling is unavoidable in traffic, but a lot of idling can be avoided by turning off the engine when the vehicle is not in use or needed to generate equipment.
"Vehicle emissions are a major contributor to local air pollution and are a significant contributor to the non-attainment status of ozone & particulate emissions in our region. Fine particulate and ground-level ozone can trigger serious health effects in sensitive groups, such as those with heart or lung disease, asthma, young children, and older adults", says Andrew Watterson, the City of Cleveland's Sustainability Program Manager.
This policy is part of the City's efforts to be more efficient and improve air quality in the City of Cleveland and beyond.
"Unnecessary idling pollutes our environment and drains our resources," says Mayor Frank G. Jackson. "This is an important policy which can help improve quality of life and overall health for Cleveland's residents, employees, and visitors."
Please visit http://www.clevelandhealth.org for more information about Air Quality.
Visit http://www.earthdaycoalition.org/ for more information about EarthFest or the Earth Day Coalition.
