Catherine Garcia – Research Coordinator

Anna Osadchuk – Communications Director

Spare The Air is…

A CUNY-wide program consisting of a website that facilitates the access to resources and information on environmental legislature otherwise difficult to attain in New York State.

Spare The Air will give students the instant opportunity to:

-Contact local legislators and law-makers.

-Keep updated on environmental policy as it affects New York.

-Attend workshops and seminars throughout the city.

Spare The Air Aims For…

• Increased exposure to pro-environmental policy and legislature, especially among college students.

• Promoting and encouraging public involvement in policy-making.

• Facilitate the access of current environmental issues and pending bills to the public.

Why Spare The Air?

The environmental threat can no longer be denied. The warmer winters, harder hurricanes and rising acidity in oceans serve as proof of a serious problem. Although much is being done on an individual level, the impact would be greater on a bigger scale.

-A 1 degree increase in average temperatures will double heat-related fatalities from 300 to about 700.

- Due to the potential loss of wildlife and habitat, New York State tourism could suffer. In 2006, tourists spent almost 3.5 billion dollars in fishing and hunting activities. In turn, this supported over 65,000 jobs in the area.

• *Statistics taken from the National Wildlife Federation.

Project Objective

• Access

• Awareness

• Education

Website Strategy

• Accumulate a database of relevant policies which pertain to environmental issues.

• Present the policies in an easier to understand format using explanations and summaries.

• Provide links to online petitions.

• Create liaison between student body and New York State council members and policy makers.

Competition

• Difficult to find public legal information in a concise and understandable manner.

• Resources are limited to students.

• Comparable services are either non existent or extremely hard for the CUNY community to find.

Campaign Objective

• Arouse attention to our proposed website.

– “Shock” Factor

– Seminars and Workshops focused around the importance of legislative involvement in environmental issues.

– Community Service events to expose purpose of website.

Advertising Concepts“Shock Factor”

• Photos of drowning polar bears, before and after photos of the melting poles.

• Photos of simulated time-lapse photography featuring Manhattan under water, children drinking out of nuclear waste bins; with captions that tie these images to the public such

as : “You will be the next to drown”

Strategy

• Advertisement Campaign

• Flyers

• Print Ads

• Online Ads

• Brochures

• Exposure

• Community Service Events

• Educational Seminars

Existing Samples of Advertisements

Spare The Air Flyer

Conclusions

• We have a specific goal of educating the public on environmental legislation

• We have a specific strategy to generate attention to our cause

• The next step is to create a website and commence a publicity campaign

Why Spare The Air?

While much is being done to remedy the issue on a legislative level, there is still a high number of people who are unaware of laws, bills and proposed programs. Without their knowledge and support, most of these bills and laws go un-noticed and un-passed.

Legal means is one of the most effective ways to enact solutions to this growing environmental epidemic. By facilitating access to legal resources in an understandable manner, we will be taking the reign in preserving our precious Earth.

With Spare The Air, we hope to provide the means for change by those who initiate the movements for change; our fellow classmates and college

students.