|
2-week challenge
to reduce car use
September 22-October 5
Madison
joined at least 1,000 cities across
the world in celebrating World Car-Free Day on September
22, 2004, when Madison Environmental Group launched the
2nd annual two-week Car-Free Challenge. Three hundred local
residents participated and reduced over 16,000 car miles
in 2 weeks (the equivalent of driving 65% of the way around
the earth). This prevented 6.5 tons of greenhouse gases
from entering the atmosphere.
read
the Capital Times article»
read
the Wisconsin State Journal article»
listen
to a 20-minute radio interview»
The Car-Free
Challenge will be conducted annually...
if you're interested in participating in or sponsoring the
2005
challenge,contact Madison Environmental Group at
(608)
280-0800.
Here's How it
Works
Commit
to reducing your car use for two weeks and:
-
save $$ on gas
-
improve
our air quality
-
improve your fitness by walking and bicycling more
-
enter to win prizes
| |
| Rebecca
Grossberg, Car-Free Challenge Program Manager |
It’s
up to you how much you reduce. You can either:
go
“car-lite” by eliminating a few car trips, or
go
"car-free" by not getting in a car at all for
2 weeks.
If
individually we commit to making some small changes, together
we can make a big impact for our
communities.
It
all adds up.
Steps:
1. Complete an initital transportation survey.
2. For 2 weeks, try to reduce
your car use as much as you can:
-
Replace
car trips by walking, bicycling or taking the bus
-
Reduce the length of car trips by choosing destinations
closer to home
-
Remove car trips by carpooling, combining trips, or
staying home
3.
Record your daily transportation on our easy-to-use Transportation
Log.
4. At the end of the Challenge, we will
add up the total car miles reduced and calculate our environmental
impacts (greenhouse gas and air pollution reductions) and
health impacts (extra calories burned).
5. Come to the final celebration
and awards
presentation
and celebrate your accomplishments!
Prize and Food Donors
Budget Bicycle Center / Machinery
Row Bicycles
Results from
the 2003 Car-Free Challenge:
Madison Environmental Group piloted the
Car-Free Challenge with funding from Madison Community Foundation
in Spring 2003. Employees at Alliant Energy, Foley Lardner,
UW-Madison Department of Urban & Regional Planning,
Dane County and the City of Madison cumulatively reduced
4,408 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas from the atmosphere.
read
the press release»
In Fall 2003, we partnered with the WI Department of Natural
Resources to launch the 1st annual Madison Car-Free Challenge,
September 24 through October 7, 2003. Fifty-three area residents
reduced 6,014 vehicle miles and about 5,276 pounds of carbon
dioxide (greenhouse gas) emissions. read
the press release »
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