Kicking off the Topic: North Texas webinar series for June, Chris Klaus of the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) discussed the state of North Texas air quality and what can be anticipated for 2015. Also, companies and organizations were presented with opportunities to participate in air quality efforts including the upcoming Clean Air Action Day on June 26.
The Dallas-Fort Worth region has been working to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s ozone standards since the early 1990’s. While air quality has improved, federal standards continue to get tougher and the region still faces many challenges. In order to continue making progress toward new ozone standards, leadership from the business community will be essential to air quality improvements.
What Can We Do
With rising greenhouse gas emissions from large diesel engine vehicles, off road transportation such as trains and planes, and other area sources, the number of efforts to cut those emissions is also rising. The Transportation Department of the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) new comprehensive website, found HERE, allows people in North Texas to see current and predicted ozone conditions and plan around them, for both business and personal use. NCTCOG is also encouraging people to cut emissions by carpooling through the new website, by creating a comprehensive database of ride share systems throughout North Texas.
Clean Air Action Day
Clean Air Action Day is just around the corner on June 26, 2015. In this webinar, Chris discusses businesses can engage with various efforts throughout the region. These efforts can include changing modes of transportation to and from work, changing your Friday night plans or taking a weekend at the lake to cut electricity use. To document those efforts and review the results of past Clean Air Action Days HERE.
About the Presenter
Chris Klaus has been on staff in the Transportation Department of the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Dallas-Fort Worth area, since July 1994. He is a Senior Program Manager managing the department’s Air Quality Planning and Operations activities, which respond to federal air quality requirements and work towards reaching attainment of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
For the full details from the webinar, watch the presentation or view the slides below. For past webinar recordings and details on future webinars, visit our webinar page HERE.