For the third consecutive summer, the University’s Infrastructure, Design, Environment and Sustainability (IDEAS) Center will hold raffles to encourage faculty and staff members to reduce pollution on Air Quality Action Days.
The North Carolina Division of Air Quality uses a color code system to identify ozone conditions when the air quality is unhealthy for children, active adults and those with heart or respiratory disease, such as asthma. On these days, outdoor activity should be limited. Codes Orange, Red or Purple are designations of increasing levels of unhealthy air quality and are considered Air Quality Action Days.
According to the American Lung Association’s “State of the Air 2013,” the city of Charlotte is ranked No. 19 among the nation’s most polluted metropolises. UNC Charlotte employees are being asked to prevent unnecessary carbon dioxide and gas fumes from entering into the atmosphere on Air Quality Action Days, and as an incentive, the IDEAS Center’s Environmental Assistance Office (EAO) is sponsoring two raffles.
Employees who don’t drive during lunch from Monday, June 17, through Friday, Aug. 16, can email the EAO (IDEASCenter@uncc.edu) with the location of where they dined on campus for entry in a weekly drawing.
Individuals who fill up their car with 10-plus gallons of gas before 6:30 a.m. or after 6 p.m. from Monday, June 3, through Friday, Aug. 16, can send the receipt (IDEAS Center, Cameron Building, Room 239), along with their name and campus email address for a monthly raffle.
University employees also can participate in the statewide “Race to the Beach” being sponsored by N.C. Air Awareness, a public outreach and education program of the North Carolina Division of Air Quality. Individuals who choose to “clean commute” to work (carpool, bus, LYNX, walk, bike, telecommute or compressed work days) at least 16 times could win a free beach trip. More information about the different prizes and about how to race is on the Web.
Additional information about the air quality forecast is available on the N.C. Division of Air Quality website. Forecasts are posted after 3 p.m. each day for the next day.