Join The Leaders For Clean Air

A year ago, I asked “what happened to all the clean air?” The post drew a lot of attention from Hubspot and others who were unaware of the pollution problems that inversions can cause, but for those of us who live in Utah, it’s nothing new. Every year, when the weather starts getting chilly, the cold air traps all the pollution from our cars, factories, and refineries; and makes us breathe it until conditions outside of our control change.

The particle pollutants in the air exacerbate existing health problems and pose particular risks to the elderly, infants, and outdoor enthusiasts.

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While today isn’t as bad as the worst days we had last year, there’s still a visible layer of smog floating over the entire valley right now.

This is a pretty far cry from the pristine environment and the fresh air that Utah’s tourism industry shows. While Utah has “the greatest snow on Earth” and more national parks than any other state in the US, many of our residents avoid going outside in the winter months, and on some days the air quality is bad enough that the state government actually cautions against it.

This is wrong. Air shouldn’t come with a health advisory. We may not be able to get rid of the inversion, but we can help reduce our pollution.

That is why Hanko Kiessner, our co-founder, started Utah’s Leaders for Clean Air™, a non-profit aimed at decreasing our carbon footprint through electric vehicles.

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As a company, Packsize has always been strongly committed to being a sustainable business, and we encourage our employees and customers alike to decrease their carbon footprint. Today, we have installed 16 electric vehicle chargers at Packsize offices, and 15 percent of our commuter miles are emissions free.

Hanko would like other companies to join us by building the infrastructure needed to encourage their employees to drive low or zero emissions vehicles.

The way the program works is simple, to join the program, a Utah business leader simply agrees to install a Bosch electric vehicle charging (EVC) station at their business for employee use. Leaders for Clean Air provides this first EVC for free, and the business is asked to pay it forward by making an investment of $550 for the next business.

We have a goal of installing 2,000 new EVCs by 2016. If you would like to help us achieve this goal, visit LeadersforCleanAir.org and fill out the form at the bottom of the page.

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