Today is National Dump the Pump Day! And perhaps there was never a better year to start celebrating than 2011. With skyrocketing gas prices, ongoing legislative and regulatory battles to finally regulate greenhouse gases, and increasing awareness about the negative health impacts of car-caused smog, I say it is time to celebrate this little known holiday.
Transit agencies around the country are offering celebratory discounts and events. In my hometown of Los Angeles—the #1 Most Ozone-Polluted city—the Metropolitan Transportation Agency’s Executive Officer Art Leahy is going to symbolically drive a bus through a giant gas pump. Orange County car commuters can pledge to Dump the Pump and enter a raffle to win prizes from the Orange County Transportation Authority.
I wish you and your family a Happy Dump the Pump Day, filled with bus rides, subway adventures, bicycles, rollerblades, skateboards, and walking shoes!