More than 100 air quality and transportation professionals from across the country use the Exchange to share ideas and information on their public education and outreach activities, get feedback, find out about new tools, and learn what other communities are doing to address air quality and transportation problems. Initially launched as a tool for It All Adds Up Community Partners, members of the public and private sectors now use the Exchange to discuss a broad range of air quality and transportation issues. A sampling of information recently “Exchanged” includes:

• Refueling issues are especially important during the summer months, which is why they are one of the It All Adds Up summer themes. Alamo Area Council of Governments (AACOG) will be implementing a “refuel in the evening” campaign this August. They plan to partner with a local radio station and area gas stations to hold four one-hour live-radio “remotes” during the evening. During the remote, they'll give auto sunshades with car care tips as well as standard giveaways to the first 100 customers who can say a certain “catch phrase.” For more information on AACOG's “refuel in the evening” campaign, click here.
  
  
• Car maintenance is another It All Adds Up summer theme. Cars that haven't been maintained and older cars that aren't equipped with modern controls have been shown to cause up to 60% of the pollution emitted by cars on the road today. Miami-Dade County's Department of Environmental Resources Management and Broward County's Department of Planning and Environmental Protection, along with Palm Beach County Health Department and members of the Southeast Coalition for Outreach, launched a car maintenance campaign last fall. They created and distributed gas-pump-topper posters, tire gauges, and car care log books at regional gas stations and car repair facilities. They also held free vehicle-maintenance-inspection events in each county. Just recently Miami-Dade County produced and aired a TV ad that played off of Mastercard's “Priceless” commercials. For more information, click here. To view the scripts and some of their other materials, visit the Reference tab of the Exchange's “Marketing Materials and Activities” category.
  
  
• With the arrival of warm temperatures and rain showers, it's likely your lawn is growing wild. With the buzz of lawn mowers – as well as their harmful fumes – filling the air, a number of communities have started Lawn Mower Trade-In programs. Residents can trade-in their gas-powered lawn mowers for a discount on clean-running electric or battery-powered mowers. AACOG partnered with a local utility to fund a program in their community, the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission (MVRPC) partnered with Black & Decker to carry out a program in their region, and the Maryland DOT partnered with the Maryland Department of the Environment, the local utility company, Black & Decker, and the Home Depot on their program. For information on AACOG's “Mow Down Smog” program, click here. For information on MVRPC’s “Mow Down Air Pollution” program, click here. For more information on Maryland DOT’s program, click here.

We welcome your participation on the It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air Exchange. Signing up is easy. Simply visit www.italladdsup.gov/exchange and complete a "My Interests" form.

If you have any questions about the Exchange, please contact us at http://www.italladdsup.gov/about/contactus.html .