This event is celebrated around the world to promote alternative transportation choices and enjoy fun, community wide events focused on education to reduce vehicle usage, pollution, noise and improve safety and air quality.

There will be interactive family-oriented events including free bike valet, a kids zone, roller derby demos, active transportation films, yoga in the park, and much more!

A portion of a local road will be closed to traffic so community members can experience fun, family-oriented activities and interactive displays.

For more information and to view the Car Free day schedule of events and activities, check out www.i-go.ca

The NeighbourWoods Program is a pilot residential planting initiative developed by Parks Services to encourage citizens and communities to grow and preserve Kelowna’s urban forest. As planting a shade tree helps reduce household energy consumption, FortisBC is partnering on this project.

With a minimum of 20 properties, neighbourhoods can apply to receive trees, one per participating household, at a significantly reduced rate of $30 per tree (valued at $100). For more information on neighbourhood participation visit our Frequently Asked Questions.

Interested neighbourhoods must apply online by Saturday, October 10, 2009.

The City will:

• Provide a tree to be planted (up to 350 trees will be made available in this program)
• Provide tree care information and free training for the residents in registered neighbourhoods.

Registered residents are responsible for:

• Planting the tree.
• Tending the tree, including watering and watching for pests and diseases.
• Contributing $30 per tree.

Up to 350 trees will be delivered to winning neighbourhoods on October 24 to celebrate the  International Day of Climate Action.

Every September 22, people from around the world get together in the streets, intersections, and neighbourhood blocks to remind the world that we don't have to accept our car-dominated society.

World Carfree Day, a showcase for just how our cities might look like, feel like, and sound like without cars, is an en excellent opportunity to rethink and rediscover our personal mobility and the urban environment we live in.

Come celebrate International Car Free Day and to promote clean air, safe streets and the many active transportation and making healthy and active transportation choices on Saturday September 26th 2009 from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm in Downtown Kelowna on Bernard Avenue by the Sails and Kerry Park.

There will be Free activities including live music in Kerry Park, skateboards and bike demonstrations, games for all ages, interactive booths and displays, you can explore a Double decker bus, street art and face painting and more!

Source: I-Go Central Okanagan

Conserving fuel to stretch your fuel dollar and to be environmentally responsible is extremely important.

Listed below are more tips from Shell Canada on simple ways to increase fuel efficiency and save money at the pump:

• Keep your distance - If you keep your distance from the car in front of you, you will avoid hard braking. Hard draking uses more fuel than smooth braking.
• Use air conditioning (and other electrical appliances) sparingly - Using air conditioning in the city can increate fuel consumption by 20%. On the highway you can use the flow-through ventilation. On city streets, open a window.
• Check the air filters - Replacing a clogged air filter can improve fuel economy by 10%
• Conserve momentum - Anticipate hills, traffic lights so you avoid hard braking and sudden stops.
• Avoid small fuel fills - Every time you open the fuel cap, fuel evaporates. Try to fill up when you're at a quarter tank.
• Perform a monthly check - If you can, check tire pressure, fluid leaks, fluid levels, cracked or loose hoses and wires, adequate braking efficiency and wheel alignment in between your regular checkups.

76,728 kg of CO2 emmisions were prevented from entering the atmosphere as a direct result of Bike To Work Week participants efforts.

During Bike To Work Week, between May 10-17, 6,167 Central Okanagan cyclists participated at least once. There were 1,135 new cyclists for this year's campaign. Cyclists travelled a total distance of 106,903 km, which is equivalent to cycling around the world 3 times.

Listed below are the winning teams:

• Educational Category - 1st Place: Spring Valley Middle School with 52.5 % participation
• Government/Health Care/Transportation - 1st Place: Parkinson Recreation Aqua Spinners with 53% participation
• Industrial - 1st place: PCL Constructors West Coast Inc.: 33.4% participation
• Media/Retail/Goods and Services (Professional and Consulting) - 1st Place: New Town Architecture and Urban Design with 21.28% participation
• Mini Team (10 employees or less) - 1st Place: Opus International Consultants Ltd. With 93.2% participation

Clean Air Day is a celebration of environmentally-friendly activities that promote clean air and good health across Canada. It is a great opportunity to make environmentally-friendly lifestyle choices, for you, your family and your community. This year Clean Air Day is on Wednesday June 3rd.

The Transit will be free. Tell the driver it's Clean Air Day. There will be complimentary breakfast from 7:00 to 8:30 AM at Queensway, Orchard Park and Westbank Transit exchanges.

Choices made by businesses, communities and individuals can lead to meaningful reductions in air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions.

Tips to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions:

• Leave the car at home. Walk or bike for short trips;
  
• For longer trips, take the bus; one busload of passengers takes 40 vehicles off the road, saving 70,000 litres of fuel, 175 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and nine tonnes of pollutants per year.
• Don't idle your vehicles; Ten seconds of idling uses more fuel that restarting your engine and produces more air pollution
• Keep to the speed limit. Driving at 100 km/h burns 10 per cent more fuel than driving at 90 km/h. 
• On the highway, use cruise control to maintain a steady speed and reduce fuel consumption. 
• In the city, stop-and-go traffic means that your air conditioning can increase fuel consumption by as much as 20 per cent. At low city speeds, open windows can be a fuel-saving alternative.

Glenmore Cycling Route
Kelowna Mayor Sharon Shepherd was able to convince enough councillors to consider a new Glenmore cycling route connecting Kelowna to Lake Country.

Some councillers were skeptical because the project may take away from other projects within the city. While other councillors backed the idea of at least studying the project.

Green Transportation
Canada's Transportation Minister, John, Baird, announced that the Government of Canada is investing in 11 projects across the country that supports green transportation. The projects will receive upto $421,000 under the Moving on Sustainable Transport (MOST) program. The program is intended to support community groups and non-governmental organizations in their initiatives.

House boats not causing pollution
Houseboats in Gellatly Bay didn't show any signs of environmental pollution via leakage from septic systems or fuel systems so they won't be forced out by the provincial environmental ministry.

Water Issues
Kelowna councillors will be discussing water conservation measures for the city. They will look at the efforts made so far to develop a Water Sustainability Action Plan and look at initiatives outlined to reduce water consumption within the Kelowna utility by another 15% by 2012.

Waste Reduction
Volunteers are being invited to participate in the rollout of the automated curbside waste collection program. The new garbage carts are an easier, cleaner and greener method of waste collection. Residents will receive 3 bins - one each for garbage, recycling and yard waste. Large bins encourage more recycling and yard waste will be picked up on the opposide biweekly schedule. Check out the 2009 Calendar for more information.

Pickup-Pal represents "an eco-friendly transportation revolution that connects drivers, passengers and packages with the places they need to go."

How it works.

Passengers tell the system where they want to go and Drivers tell the system where they are going. The system matches the Passengers with Drivers who are going the same way. For instance, Passengers can specify that they are going to Water Street Kelowna BC from Rutland Road every Tuesday night; based on Drivers who are also going the same way, matches are found and displayed to the Passengers.

Drivers are informed of potential pickups and they can make an offer to the passenger on how much they want to charge for a ride and the Passenger's feedback rating from other drivers. The Passenger reviews the offers and based on price and Driver rating, chooses the Driver with whom they want to ride.

When an offer is accepted, the Driver and Passenger both get a "ticket to ride" with all the necessary information.

At the end of the ride, the Passenger pays the Driver the amount agreed upon. Both the Passenger and the Driver are requested to provide feedback on their PickupPal experience and their profiles are updated accordingly.

Pickup-Pal has an Eco-Ridesharing program (ERP) that allows communities to move people smarter, cleaner and better. They have partnerships with John Mayer, Subaru Triathlon Series, Oberlin College, Home Depot etc.

EscapePollution.com is proud to partner with Pickup-Pal to reduce carbon emissions through ridesharing while providing people with a method to combat traffic congestion and high gas prices ($1.45/litre!) within the City of Kelowna. Please feel free to join the revolution. The more people there is on the system, the better the chances of escaping pollution.

Cool Shops program provides energy efficiency options for small businesses

FortisBC, Terasen Gas, and the City of Kelowna, in partnership with Clean Air Foundation, are testing a program that helps small businesses conserve energy, save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Small businesses in Rutland and downtown Kelowna can benefit from the free audits provided from the program. The "Cool Shops" program also provides the businesses with energy efficiency options that can help them save money on their utility bills.

Downtown Kelowna and Rutland based businesses can book an audit by contacting the Cool Shops team via email at coolshops@fortisbc.com or by phone at 250-469-8107

Source: Kelowna Capital News article titled "Cools Shops initiative to help choose energy options"

Mode offers green inspired systems and materials

The Mission Group, the company that brought us developments such as the Verve and Sheerwater, are working on their eco-friendly project Mode - A smart address. The Mission Group has strived to be unique in their projects and Mode is by all means just that.

The Mode project is inspired green with the following features:

• the building is located in the Landmark neighbourhood so there isn't a need for cars, you can just leave it at home.
• plumbing fixtures, appliances and drought resistant landscaping are all desgined to conserve water
• carpets and paints have been chosen for their low emmisions of VOCs (volatile organic compounds)
• water heaters are powered by solar energy systems
• the homes are fitted with low "e" windows that are superefficient
• the home is heated and cooled using geothermal packaged terminal heat pumps

The project recently won an Mayor's Environmental Achievement Award for Most Sustainable Development.

Since the development is in the heart of the Landmark Centre, it only makes sense that it's equiped with hi-tech features such as iPod docking stations and the Telus Smart Box.

The Development is located at 1620 Dickson Ave and features "loft-style citi-homes with seperate street entry, and a variety of contempory living spaces from studios to two bedroom homes". Prices range from $185,900 to $415,900. 

At the time of this posting, there's only 10 homes left.

E-friendly renovation tips that can increase the value of your investment

• Windows - switch to triple-glazed that are installed properly
• Lighting - use sensor lights, skylights, compact-flourescent bulbs
• Heating - get high-efficiency furnaces, radiant heating, solar panels, solar heated hot water tanks (hot water tanks are 25% of your gas bill)
• Insulation - pack insulation in the walls, basement, attic, around pipes
• Water - install low flow toilets and showerheads, install on-demand hot water heaters
• Paint - use paint that has no VOCs (these cause breathing problems)
• Carpet - install wool carpets that don't pollute the air and are renewable,
• Floors - use renewable resources such as bamboo or cork or recycle old materials
• Surfaces - use products such as PaperStone that is made from recycled paper instead of non-renewable stone

Tips gathered from Joanna Pachner's article titled "Green renos increase a home's value".

Eco Friendly Clean Air Coating

General Paint chemists are boasting a new zero Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) coating that reduces the odour of their paints.

The Enviro friendly clean air coating allows homes to be painted without the harmful fumes interupting day-to-day tasks.

Learn more at GeneralPaint.com