Air Quality Proposal

Created By: Yaseen Ahmad, Olivia Allen, Lauren Brown,

Michael Dang, Epotte Masango

Table of Contents
1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 2
1.1 Objective of Proposal
1.2 Why Dallas?
1.3 Green Mountain Energy & Conservation
1.4 Summation of proposal

2. Background ................................................................................................................... 3-4

2.1 Ground level ozones
2.2 Health effects of ground level ozones
2.3 Other effects from ground level ozones
2.4 Ways to reduce ground level ozones
2.5 Green Mountain Energys past involvement

3. Proposal ........................................................................................................................ 5-7

3.1 Outline
3.2 Earth Day
3.3 Why Tesla?
3.4 The Schedule
3.5 Indoor Air Quality Movement
3.6 Floor Space

4. Budget .............................................................................................................................. 8
5. Staffing ............................................................................................................................. 9
5.1 Our Employees
5.2 Community Volunteers
5.3 Security and Custodial Staff

Target Questions and Answers ..................................................................................... 10-11

Authorization Form............................................................................................................ 12
References .................................................................................................................... 13-14

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1. Introduction
1.1 Objective of Proposal
The Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce has called for a proposal to address the most
important problem of Dallas, Texas. Green Mountain Energy believes that the three necessities
of life should be looked upon first. Through comprehensive research, our campaign focuses on
air being the most important factor amongst the three.

1.2 Why Dallas?

Since 1997, for over 19 years, Green
Mountain Energy has been providing
green homes to the city of Dallas, with
renewable sources of energy and water. At
Green Mountain Energy Company, we
share our customers commitment to the
environment and sustainability. Ever since,
we have been trying to emulate our efforts
in Austin here in Dallas, to have offices
that run on 100% renewable sources of
energy, creating zero waste.

1.3 Green Mountain Energy & Conservation

Green Mountain is one of the leading providers of costeffective cleaner energy products to businesses and
organizations in a competitive electricity market like Dallas.
Just as the Earth continues to provide for us, it is essential for
us to give back and do our part. Cleaner energy leads to a
cleaner world. That is the reason we continue to exist. For
more than 17 years, we have been using water, wind, and the
sun to help protect the environment. Truly, we are proud that
our customers have supported us to become the nations
longest serving renewable energy retailer. One of our greatest
projects is the Sun Club, in which the mission is to improve the
quality of life via means of sustainable solutions that focus on
the people and the planet.

1.4 Summation of proposal

Green Mountain Energy has prepared a proposal to the problem of the air quality in Dallas. Both
outdoors and indoors By sponsoring Earth Day in which a Tesla will be raffled off, raising awareness to
the public via lectures and seminars, and providing over thousands of special, carbon-emission reducing,
plants throughout the city of Dallas all from the funds we collect.

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2. Background
In 2015 the American Lung Association released its State of Air report, which ranked Dallas 7 th
in the nation as the most polluted city in regards to ozone. The ozone levels of pollution are
measured by PPM which is Parts per million. Scientist state that safe ground ozone levels
should below 60 PPM as of 2014. The National
Ambient Air Quality Standards has 6 requirements;
Dallas has not met the 6th requirement which is safe
ground ozone levels. The other 5 requirements
include, Carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxides,
particulate matter and sulfur dioxide. Since 1993
the ozone levels have not gone below 84 for Dallas.
This is considered nonattainment, in 2010 the EPA
designated 10 counties in
North Central Texas as
nonattainment

2.1 Ground level ozones

Ground Level Ozones are created from emissions from Industrial facilities, electric utilities,
motor vehicle exhaust, and gasoline vapors. These emissions place oxides of nitrogen as well as
volatile organic compounds in the presence of sunlight and they react together chemically.
Warm summer days in Texas also help create the ground level ozones, which prefer to form in
warmth.

2.2 Health effects of ground level ozones

High levels of ozone can have many major impacts on our citizens health, especially in regards
to respiratory ailments. These include, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, more
susceptible to respiratory infection, chronic coughing and sore throat, also aggravating already
existing respiratory conditions like emphysema or
bronchitis. From the American Lung Association
estimated prevalence and incidence of Lung disease of
May 2014, the total population in Dallas County is just
over 2.4 million people. With 52,192 citizens
diagnosed with pediatric asthma, 121,013 with adult
asthma, 87,305 with COPD and 1,433 with lung
cancer. That is 261,943 people with respiratory
related illnesses. From the Horizons Dallas County
Community Health needs assessment, it is stated that
the rates for Adult asthma in Dallas County are high, with incidence 23% above the Texas
average.
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2.3 Other effects from ground level ozones

High concentration of ground level ozones not only impact the Dallas citizens health but also economic
and environmental wellbeing. Ozone pollution can have a negative impact on vegetation especially
during growing season. It can slow the plants growth, slow the photosynthesis process and damage
insects. Ozone can also deteriorate trees and damage the appearance of cities, national parks and
recreation areas. Ozone levels also reduce crop and forest yields. Not only can the ground level ozone
effect the appearances but the city can have sanctions and fines placed on them by not reaching the
attainment. These consequences are handed down from the US government for not meeting the EPAs
standard after a specific amount of time. Punishments also include loss of federal highway funding and
more stringent requirements on businesses needing air quality permits in order to expand current
operations. This can cause business to not come to Dallas which can have a major impact on the citys
economy.

2.4 Ways to reduce ground level ozones

Actions that citizens can take to reduce ground level ozones include: conserving energy at home by
turning off lights in rooms that no one is in. Unplugging devices that are not being used. Look for the
Energy Star label when buying home or office equipment. Try carpooling as much as possible or using
DART more often. Using gas logs instead of wood, try composting. Use environmentally safe paints and
cleaning products. Be sure your tires are properly inflated. Large industrial corporations can reduce their
waste by implementing supply chain management and finding ways to recycle and completely cut out
waste in their productions.

2.5 Green Mountain Energys past involvement

Every year or two Green Mountain Energy publishes a sustainability report to show our progress to
helping achieve a more polluted free environment. In our offices we use 100% renewable energy. We
are very close to being carbon neutral. And we strive for zero waste. In February of this year we
announced a sustainability partnership with Texas parks and wildlife departments, to deliver innovative
and cost effective solar and smart meter solutions.

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3. Proposal
3.1 Outline
With the air quality in the Dallas Fort Worth, metropolitan area on a sharp decline since 2011, we here
at Green Mountain Energy want to make an effort to achieve safer air quality levels. Air quality has a
great influence not only on the environment, but also on the businesses and people.
With a $50,000 expected price point for our project, we plan to raise awareness and host campaigns and
events in order to take action in cleaning up the air quality in DFW. An event called Earth Day we will be
sponsoring, and we will be using the campaign money towards that event.
We will be hosting special guest speakers to help raise awareness to the public about the current
environmental crisis, and to encourage air awareness. These special guests will be people who are
specialized in the air quality field, and who are alumni from the University of Texas at Dallas as well.

3.2 Earth Day

We at Green Mountain Energy want to bring
awareness to air quality and the fact that the city
of Dallas currently does not met the 6th
requirement set up by the EPA. Not enough people
in the DFW area know about this issue, so we plan
to sponsor Earth day to bring awareness. A threeday free event held in April, Earth Day has been
occurring in Dallas since 2011. This event is a
perfect catalyst for us to launch our awareness
campaign. This event brings together
environmental organizations, businesses, academic
institutions and other organizations altogether.
We will be sponsoring the event at Fair Park in the heart of Downtown Dallas at the level of advocate.
There are seven levels of sponsorship and we will sponsor at the $15,000 level. There will be guest
speakers and seminars to raise air awareness to the public. Within our budget, we plan to host a raffle
giveaway for the newest Tesla Model 3, which will be unveiled in March 2016, and being produced
starting in 2017. Tickets pries are $20 each, and if someone brings three or more articles proving that,
they are eco-friendly (DART pass, lightbulb label, appliances, etc. Utility bill showing green energy being
used), then they will be eligible to purchase a raffle ticket for half the original price.

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3.3 Why Tesla?

A group of engineers
founded the Tesla
Motors company in
2003. Their purpose
was not only to make
electric cars, but also to
prove that they were
'better' than gasolinepowered cars. By
creating a car with zero
emissions, their mission
coincides with our own.
These engineers in Silicon Valley then created and launched their first model, the Model S, as the
world's first premium electric sedan, built to be 100 percent electric. Tesla is distinguished for their
groundbreaking and innovative attributes. This is the reason we have chosen their product to raffle off.
Not only do their environmental goals align with our own, Teslas cars are also a symbol of status
consumers want to have.

3.4 The Schedule

The schedule for our awareness campaign has been set, and the dates for Earth Day Event are in place.
We will be present during all of the events listed in the date in order to help raise awareness of our own
purpose, and to advocate clean air awareness. Earth Day is only on Friday the 22nd, but that weekend
will be the days where we will be hosting our clean air awareness campaign. Our objective is to expand
the label of Earth Day to more than just April 22nd. Our goal is to help the public make every day Earth
Day.

Event

Date

Tesla Model 3 Unveiling

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Meeting: community volunteers advocating clean air

Friday, April 15, 2016

Earth Day

Friday, April 22, 2016

Guest Speakers and Seminars for Awareness

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Tesla Model 3 Raffle Giveaway

Sunday, April 24, 2016

World Environment Day

Sunday, June 5, 2016

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3.5 Indoor Air Quality Movement

One of the movements we will be bringing awareness to is not only the outdoor air quality in the Dallas,
but the indoor air quality as well. There are records of indoor air quality in most office buildings being up
to five times worse than the outdoor air quality, which can easily affect the habits and environment of
the workspace. Within the budget we are projecting, we will be able to donate about 3,750 plants to
companies in the Dallas area who would like to implement this movement into their office workspace.
Having plants donated to
companies will spread word
of mouth throughout
employees, colleagues, and
acquaintances. Issuing a
quarterly survey will show
whether or not the plants
have made a significant
impact on the work
environment.

3.6 Floor Space

The floor space we are requesting is an advocate
level. The advocate level of floor space will be
600 square feet large, which is plenty of room
for our speakers and audience. The advocate
level will cost $15,000, which is well within our
budget of $50,000. In sponsoring Earth Day, the
guest speakers and seminars will be hosting on
Saturday the 23rd, since it will be the best date
for people to congregate, and majorities of
people tend to be free on Saturdays.

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4. Budget

The Budget is a total of $50,000. This includes the cost of the sponsorship and the purchase price of the
Tesla. The raffle is expected to generate $585,122 in net profit. The funds will be spent in two ways.
First, by having guest speakers promote the goal of cleaner air. Second, the purchase of buying plants to
help with indoor air quality, the average price of a plant being $20, this means that we will purchase and
donate 29,006 plants.

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5. Staffing
5.1 Our Employees
Our values on environmental sustainability are also valued and upheld by our employees. We will have
approximately 95 Green Mountain employees including our Chief Executives and Senior Managers
volunteering at the Earth Day events. They will be responsible for operating booths, collecting and
handing out raffle tickets, presenting and promoting information on Dallas air quality to attendees, and
many other tasks.

5.2 Community Volunteers

We will have approximately 75 community volunteers at the events. The community volunteers will
hand out the snacks and beverages speak to attendants about air quality awareness, assist in operating
the booths, amongst other tasks. This is a way for the community to receive a hands on role in the
event, and get involved in raising air quality awareness.

5.3 Security and Custodial Staff

We will hire the Security Renaissance Team to provide security at the Earth Day event. They will ensure
all attendees are safe from harm. They will monitor and authorize entrances and departures of
attendees, visitors, and other persons to maintain security. We will have 15 security guards located
throughout Fair Park who will be prepared to react to any anticipated and unanticipated problems that
occur thought-out the event.
All World Clean, a Dallas janitorial service will be hired to clean up the site after the event. They will
ensure the park is cleaned, and maintained at a level of excellence after the event is complete on April
24th. They will also be on site during the events to manage any unexpected circumstances that may
require maintenance or cleanup.

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Target Questions and Answers

How will this event create positive change to the state of Dallass air quality?
We are expecting over 60,000 people to attend the earth day events from April 22-24. We will give them
information on how they can improve ground level ozone. We will have speakers that will inform them
on the environmental, and health risks that ground level ozone has on their everyday lives. Our speakers
will focus on how air pollution effects the everyday community members, and steps they can take to
reduce it.
Education is the key to change, and educating the community will empower them with the knowledge
they need to know to help improve the air quality in the Dallas area. We will be equipping 60,000 people
with the knowledge they need to make a positive change in the Dallas area air quality. Our goal is that at
least 10% of those 60,000 will each go out and equip 2 people with that same knowledge, and those 2
people will also equip 2 more people, thus creating a multiplier effect of knowledge, and through that
knowledge bringing about change.

Is reaching the EPA's 70 parts per billion ground ozone level possible?
The entire state of North Carolina with a population of 9.4 million people has already reached the EPA's
attainment goal of 70 parts per billion. The DFW metropolis has approximately 6.5 million people, and
we can follow a similar path as North Carolina to also reach attainment. We can reach it by creating
stricter emission standards on cars and trucks, cleaner-burning fuels and tougher emission standards on
factories and power plants. Lower emissions from power plants, factories, and cars will significantly
lower the ground level ozone in the DFW area.

How will you get the community to actively make changes in their daily lives to reduce
air pollution?
We will be hosting a raffle for a Tesla at Earth Day. To receive a discount on the raffle attendees must
present proof of ways in which they have gone green. These ways include proof of using DART transit for
at least 2 weeks. Proof of switching to green electricity, or of buying indoor air cleaning plants. We
expect at least 1/3 of attendees to bring one or more of these requirements to receive a discount on the
Tesla raffle tickets. This is approximately 20,000 attendees that will make positive changes towards
decreasing air pollution in their daily lives. We believe that at least 10% of these people will continue to
incorporate these positive changes in their daily lives, and share those changes with those around them.

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Why donate indoor air cleaning plants, when your focus is on outdoor air quality?
What many do not realize is that air pollution is higher indoors than outdoors. Polluted outdoor air
moves indoors and mixes with other indoor contaminants such as gas appliances and outgassing from
VOC's. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's) are a large group of carbon-based chemicals that easily
evaporate at room temperature. VOC's are part of our everyday indoor lives in things such as, carpets,
adhesives, composite wood products, paints, upholstery fabrics, vinyl floors, cosmetics, air fresheners,
etc.
The level of VOC's indoors is usually 2 to 5 times greater than the outdoor VOC's levels. Indoor air
cleaning plants have been proven by NASA to remove VOCs, CO2 and CO in indoor air. Breathing low
levels of VOC's for an extended period can have significant health risks. The short-term health risks are
irritation of the nose eyes and throat, headaches, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and the worsening of
Asthma symptoms. Long-term health risks of breathing in excessively high levels of VOC's include an
increased chance of cancer, and damage of the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system.
EPA studies have shown than people in urban areas spend 90% of their time indoors. Which means that
people in the DFW area are spending 90% of their time indoors breathing in VOC's. By donating indoor
air cleaning plants to schools and businesses in the Dallas area and promoting people in the community
to adopt the use in their homes, indoor air pollution will be significantly reduced.

Why is this this cause important?

The very air we breathe is essential to our everyday life. Taking a breath of fresh air is a privilege that
many cities around the world do not have the opportunity to experience. Although the Dallas area air
quality may not be as bad as Los Angeles, the number one EPA ranked air polluted city, we one day
could be. This is a number one spot that the Dallas area does not want to hold, and change starts from
within the community. To lower Ground level ozone power plants, factories, and car emissions need to
be lowered, but the people in the Dallas community also need to be a part of promoting and implicating
positive everyday changes.
Our Earth Day event will be hosted every year as a continual reminder, and source of education to the
people in Dallas to implicate these changes in their lives, and together help reach ground level
attainment.

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Authorization Form
Please authorize initiation of our Air Quality project with the form below.
Authorization
The Dallas Chamber of Commerce hereby authorizes Green Mountain Energy to initiate the Air quality project, as
presented in.. The Chamber of Commerce also agrees to remit funding for the project by _________, including
their half of the cost -$25,000. Green Mountain Energy will fund the remaining $25,000 for the project.

Notarized Authorization Signatures

Dallas Chamber of Commerce
________________________________ _______________________________ ______________
Printed Name
Signature
Date

Green Mountain Energy

Yaseen Ahmad

________________________________
Signature

Olivia Allen

_______________________________
Signature

Lauren Brown

________________________________
Signature

Michael Dang

________________________________
Signature

Epotte Masango

Date

______________
Date

______________
Date

______________
Date

________________________________ ______________
Signature

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______________

Date

References
https://suburbanstats.org/population/texas/how-many-people-live-in-dallas-county
http://www.nbcdfw.com/weather/stories/Air-quality-Worsened-in-Dallas-Fort-Worth-American-LungAssociation-301752691.html
http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/airquality/monops/ozonefacts.html
http://greendallas.net/air-quality/challenges/
https://www3.epa.gov/apti/ozonehealth/population.html
https://issuu.com/earthdaytexas/docs/event-participation-guide
http://www.mnn.com/health/healthy-spaces/photos/15-houseplants-for-improving-indoor-airquality/warneck-dracaena#top-desktop
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http://www.rotarympls.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Blog-9.jpg
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