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Sponsored by the Environmental Assistance Office (EAO) for Small
Business at UNC Charlotte, The Environmental Corner is
designed to serve as an environmental management and pollution
prevention resource. The theme for the month of August is Commuting.
How
high
can
gas prices go?
We
don’t know how high gas prices might go and each time we fill up at
the pump, we wonder how long we can afford to fill our vehicles.
Wondering where the best place is to fill up your tank? Check
Charlottegasprices.com for the least expensive places to fuel up
your vehicle.
http://www.charlottegasprices.com/ Most employees in the
Charlotte area live farther than walking distance from their place
of employment and most folks drive to work alone in their
vehicles. All of us know that we are paying more for our commute
and many of us might be considering alternatives to our usual way of
traveling and doing our work.
How
many
ozone code red/purple days can we still have in our region?
We
have had a record number of ozone air quality alerts for our region
this summer and the ozone season isn’t over until October. Ozone
contributes to poor respiration and is especially dangerous for
persons with asthma. Refer to the May 2005 newsletter for
additional information on ozone.
http://www.eao.uncc.edu/Newsletter_Archive/May05Newsletter.htm
What do you need to know in the greater Charlotte area to
make or take
alternative travel choices?
In
this issue, several different commuting methods are discussed and
there is a poll we would like you to take to let us know what
alternative travel choices you may be considering. Many cities are
already promoting and expanding their alternative commuting
programs. Raleigh has its Triangle Commute Options, Research
Triangle Park has its SmartCommute Challenge and Charlotte has CommuterChoice.com. Did you know? Read below for more details.
In
this issue:
E-mail POLL on
commuting methods
If the price of gas got high enough to be a significant
motivation, how would you get to work? Vote in our e-mail poll
and let us know. Results will be posted in the next
newsletter. To vote, simply click the link for the item you
wish to vote for and send a blank e-mail with the automatically
posted subject line and the votes will be tallied in the middle of
September.
Bicycle
Bus
Carpool
Work from home
Buy a hybrid
Continue to drive a car
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Riding your bicycle to work
A great resource for potential routes and questions about
commuting via bike around the Charlotte area is the Bicycle Commuter
Mentor Program. The site has information on equipment
recommendations along with known routes and a discussion forum for
asking questions and finding answers to frequently asked questions
about bicycle commuting. Additional links for information are
available on their site as well.
http://bikementor.org/index.php
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Charlotte's public transportation system
The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS)
http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/CATS/Home.htm can
significantly reduce your commuting costs as well as benefit the
environment by reducing individual auto emissions. This gas
calculator
http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/CATS/Riding+CATS/gas+calculator.htm
can show how much money can be saved by utilizing the bus
system for your daily commute. CATS has even purchased a few
hybrid vehicles to further reduce emissions.
http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/CATS/About+Us/PR+8_12_05.htm
From the home page of the CATS website, there are links to show the
different routes and schedules. There is even a guaranteed
ride home program for holders of a CATS Express monthly pass and
CATS Vanpools.
For those who live in the Concord and Kannapolis areas, the
Concord Kannapolis Area Transit system is available.
http://www.ckrider.com/default.asp The color coded
routes are shown by following the links for each route on
http://www.ckrider.com/routes.asp.
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Carpools
Carpooling or ride share is another good way to save on gas and
protect the environment by having fewer cars on the road. A
search of eRideShare.com showed 14 available carpooling groups in
the Charlotte area.
http://www.erideshare.com/carpool.php?dstate=NC&search=charlotte
Carpoolworld.com has lists of carpools available for the
Charlotte area. A quick search revealed 8 new carpools.
Registering for membership on the site allows for better route
matching.
http://www.carpoolworld.com/carpool_.html?to=CHARLOTTE&state=NC&country=USA,US
The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) also has a vanpool
available and information in the vanpool can be found at
http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/CATS/Commute+Options/Vanpool.htm.
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Working from home
If your company offers telecommuting, on bad air
quality days, working
from home can save on gas and protect the environment at the same
time.
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Hybrid
Vehicles
Last month's newsletter was all about alternative fuel vehicles.
For a review of the different alternative fuel vehicles the July
2005 newsletter can be viewed at
http://www.eao.uncc.edu/Newsletter_Archive/July05Newsletter.htm
An easy to understand discussion of the operation of hybrid
vehicles is available at howstuffworks.com. Basically, a
hybrid vehicle utilizes more than one fuel source.
The gasoline-electric hybrid car is
just that -- a cross between a gasoline-powered car and an electric
car. The gasoline-electric hybrid is the most commonly
available hybrid at this time. In addition to far lower gas
costs, you might qualify for a federal tax deduction if you purchase
a hybrid vehicle. Three hybrid cars are now available in the
United States -- the
Honda Civic Hybrid, the
Honda Insight and the
Toyota Prius. A discussion of the Honda Insight and the Toyota
Prius is presented on the howstuffworks website.
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/hybrid-car.htm
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Environmental Assistance Office (EAO) for
Small Business
The Environmental Assistance Office for Small Business provides
non-regulatory, client-confidential pollution prevention assistance
to small businesses in the greater Charlotte region. The EAO is
designed to assist regional businesses in their efforts to
voluntarily prevent pollution. The EAO staff can provide timely
assistance for pollution prevention planning, including information
about industry-specific case studies, waste-specific case studies,
and new technologies. The office provides links of resources to
needs between the region's business community, government,
municipality, and university. If there is a particular issue or
question you would like to see in an upcoming edition, please send
an e-mail to
EAOforSB@email.uncc.edu.
Contact Information:
Environmental Assistance Office for Small Business:
9201
University City Blvd. 136 Kennedy Building, UNC Charlotte,
Charlotte, NC 28233-0001
Phone number: 704-687-3968 Fax number: 704-687-3115
Email:
EAOforSB@email.uncc.edu
Services:
·
Assistance with Air Permits - Assistance for small businesses in
completing paperwork for EPA air permits.
·
Educational Materials - Educational pamphlet, brochures, flyers, and
other materials to relate facts on pollution prevention.
·
Educational Outreach - Develop educational outreach campaigns and
presentations for the public or employee training.
·
University Resources - Library information, faculty expertise,
student projects and research at both graduate and undergraduate
levels.
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