A year ago, The Clean Air Campaign issued a simple but meaningful challenge to commuters: pledge to keep one ton of pollution out of the skies by using alternatives to driving alone once a week.

The One Ton Challenge was created last year strictly to appeal to the emerging "green" appetite among the commuters with whom we interact. It was an environmentally-focused idea that would be easy for individuals to work into their routine and that would make the efforts of the individual become a part of the greater good.

The concept came from the finding that every mile we drive creates a pound of pollution. This finding has become one of our most compelling links of late between traffic and air quality, which is central to The Clean Air Campaign's mission. It's so effective because it's boiled down to a concrete thought we can all grasp. I've said it before in this space and I'll say it again: sometimes in the discussion about other abstract pollution issues (like greenhouse gas emissions, for example) it's just not as easy to get our heads around it and see what our individual impact could mean.

It's gratifying to see how The One Ton Challenge was so well-received in its first year. Legions of commuters stepped up and took the pledge, resulting 3,600 fewer tons of pollution we have to worry about. That's 3,600 tons! That's about the equivalent weight of a fleet of 8 jumbo jets ... or 15 locomotives ... or two dozen Blue Whales.

The One Ton Challenge moved the needle in a positive direction on reducing pollution, but equally as important, it sparked a dialog among commuters about the difference they want to make. Here are just a few comments we received from those who took the pledge:

• “I bought a house within walking distance from my office. I now drive a total of about 10 miles a week to get groceries, for entertainment and to run errands. I used to estimate approximately 200 miles weekly. I am proud to put in my extra effort to make a huge dent in the ton.”
• “I've been driving to work for many years now, but for the good of our planet and my pocket book, I decided to take MARTA train/bus to and from work everyday! I park my car at the nearest MARTA station and take the train from there and transfer to a bus to Emory."
• “I have joined a vanpool and I pledge to use the vanpool everyday of the work week. I would normally travel 25 miles each way from home to work - so I should reduce pollution by 50 pounds each day.”

We believe this project has shown individuals that they really can make a difference ... without radically changing their way of life. We think it's about reaching one person, getting them to see this and replicating that process over and over. And we want to be sure that it remains fun. That's why we're rewarding One Ton Challenge advocates who bring others into the fold with a chance to score a Clean Air Campaign t-shirt.

Where do you stand? Do you buy into the One Ton Challenge? Do you believe the little things we do as individuals can create significant change in terms of environmental impact? Or does it require wholesale sacrifice from everyone? Does this debate show up anywhere else in the decisions we make or the actions we take?

Welcome to our new blog. We’ll use this forum to address a variety of topics central to our mission of clearing the air and improving traffic; topics we hear about every day, affecting our wallets, our health and our quality of life.

Read any paper or watch any newscast and, chances are, the lead stories cover the subjects The Clean Air Campaign team works on every day: Traffic congestion is causing delays. Gas prices are eating into our budgets. Smog is affecting our health and the health of our children. Georgia’s transportation funds are shrinking while the costs of improvements continue to skyrocket.

Over the coming months, we’ll share our thoughts about how best to address these challenges. We’ll also invite some guest bloggers – employers and commuters – to contribute their thoughts and their success stories. But most importantly, we’re looking forward to hearing from you.

The first thing I’d like to hear about is something that's already on everyone’s mind – gas prices. Analysts predict that gas may hit $5 a gallon in our current economy and may even go as high as $7 a gallon within four years. While we're not there yet, we're certainly on the way. What effect is $4 a gallon gas really having on you? We know it’s making a difference to thousands of people – June was a record month for us, with more than 1,700 people signing up for our incentive program, Cash for Commuters (demand was so high we burnt up a fax machine!).

Are you making changes to your driving habits? What are you doing? If you’re not changing your ways, why not? Have you found any creative ways to improve gas mileage?

We have a few recommendations to get the best MPG possible, but we’re curious to hear more from you. Let us know. Until then, bookmark us and join the conversation. You can also connect to us on MySpace and through our new homepage poll.