We are excited to announce our January challenge, #ShowUCAIR. One thing we are all good at during the wintertime in Utah is complaining about the air quality, this year we want to change that! We have worked with UCAIR throughout our TV years and we are very happy to be partnering with them for this monthly challenge!
So what is UCAIR? UCAIR is a statewide clean air partnership created to make it easier for individuals and businesses to make small changes to improve Utah’s air. Every small change adds to a collective bigger step towards better health for everyone. We highly encourage everyone to follow them on Instagram @ShowUCAIR where they post helpful tips and facts about Utah’s air quality.
Our goal this month with UCAIR is to become educated on ways that we can actively be improving Utah’s air quality through everyday habits.
Here is the good news – Utah’s air is cleaner than it was 10 years ago! With vehicle updates and more awareness of our polluting habits, positive changes are already adding up!
During the month of January, we are going to share 4 EASY things to incorporate into your life that will clean the air! To kick things off we are challenging everyone to be IDLE FREE this week!
Here are a few places you could practice being idle-free this week:
- School drop off and pick up line choose to turn off your car
- Online grocery pickup choose to turn off your car
- Dropping off something to a neighbor choose to turn off your car
- Forgo “warming up your car” before driving it.
- Drive your newest, greenest vehicle to reduce emissions. (to see how your car stacks up use the EPA’s calculator here)
Why is being idle-free so important? UCAIR explains it perfectly on their website,
“While the emissions from one idling vehicle may not seem like much when combined with the emissions from other vehicles, the cumulative effect can be significant. Idling also increases fuel costs. Ten seconds of idling can use more fuel than turning off the engine and restarting it. A car idling for two minutes uses about the same amount of fuel it takes to drive one mile.”
I know some of us may avoid turning off our car because we like to crank the heater and be toasty warm. However, this week I challenge you to put on your puffy coat and some gloves before getting in the car. If you dress warm you will be much more willing to turn the key and be idle free!
One other fact that we found really interesting from UCAIR is that a well-maintained vehicle with 50,000 miles on it pollutes only 40 percent as much as the same vehicle that is poorly maintained. So now is a great time to get your car up to date on all emissions and filters!
This month is going to be so much fun, we have some fun giveaways coming up! We hope you’ll join us in working towards clean air together and showing that UCAIR!
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