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Drive Less Challenge: Part II

Drive Less Challenge: Part II

Community Reports @ EPA.net Posted on 5/4/10 Put on your walking shoes and enjoy nature! Photo credit: Selagi Nimo Lesu'i (Click on image to enlarge) Drive Less Challenge: Part II Role Call: Menlo Park? Here. Mountain View? Here. East Palo Alto?... By Selagi Nimo Lesu'i E.P.A. Staff Writer As most of you were aware, April 22nd was Earth Day; the beginning of the Drive Less Challenge. As stated in the first part of this article piece, the Drive Less Challenge lasted for two weeks: April 22nd, 2010 - May 5th, 2010. I am here to inform you that the last day of the Drive Less Challenge is tomorrow! Still have more stories to share? Don't forget to post them on the DLC website: http://drivelesschallenge.com/ . In case you don't know, the objective of the Drive Less Challenge is to try and reduce the amount of carbon that enter the air and trying to make your travels more "green". What options were you presented with throughout the course of the challenge? Walking, bicycle riding, carpooling, public transportation, or trip batching [grouping your trips into one so that you don't have to waste gas, time, and less carbon enters the air]. The challenge focuses on how many miles you've traveled. While using the site, it distinguishes how many miles you used driving alone versus the "green" miles. According to my source, Joe Wamsley: the Drive Less Challenge Menlo Park Outreach Coordinator/ volunteer with the Menlo Park Green Ribbon Citizens' Committee, "'Participation numbers grow by the hour, so any report is incomplete right now. As of last night, [ April 27th, 2010] there were 350 people signed up ... This represents a remarkable increase over last year's FINAL total of 120.'" "'Unfortunately, despite much interest from many individuals in EPA, none were in a position to take the lead in getting the community involved. I think this was mainly due to them hearing about it only after the project's development was well under way, by which they were already committed to other things. In short, just bad timing.'" "' As a consequence, only the original four organizing cities of Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Burlingame show on the website www.drivelesschallenge.com as the participant communities.'" To the residents of East Palo Alto, this is your role call. I was quite saddened at the fact that East Palo Alto residents were interested, but didn't take a standing lead. In honor of our absence of the Drive Less Challenge, my source encouraged me to continue striving and representing East Palo Alto. How so? I went on the website and created an account. There, I formed a group just for us/you; the residents of East Palo Alto! Don't be shy! Come on, East Palo Alto! Lets make our community a better, greener community. Creating an account is easy. Log onto their website www.drivelesschallenge.com , click on the tab take the challenge, and fill out the form. In case you are having trouble finding the group that I have created specifically for East Palo Alto, you can search for it, after creating your account, by clicking on the "my groups" tab. To the right of the tabs, there will be a long list of groups split into sections: work, school, kids' activities, etcetera. You will find a group that says East Palo Alto; nimz is me by the way. To the far right of this, there is a join button. That's for us! And of course, at the end of this challenge, participants will be rewarded. There will be a few small prizes that businesses have offered. The award ceremony will be held May 7th, 2010 at the Keppler's Bookstore, located at 1010 El Camino Real Menlo Park, CA 94025. Don't be sad East Palo Alto. This isn't the end and no this doesn't mean that you failed the challenge. Once you sign up, you get a head start on the "' ... expanded 2011 Challenge, which very likely will officially include the city.'" People of East Palo Alto, this is not the end; for this is merely the beginning. Don't go walking away with your tails between your legs just yet! Come join my group and together, we will make the community of East Palo Alto more green!!

Contributed by William Molina

Approved by: Content Manager

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