Clean Air Council (Philadelphia) Profile

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  1. What person, group or organization is being profiled, and why are they of interest to this project?

    1. The Clean Air Council works to increase air quality of the region including Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey, and Northern Delaware. They have a comprehensive strategic plan (document) to reduce the impact of air pollution on health to vulnerable populations, and to ensure laws are in place to protect air quality. The group wants the Mid-Atlantic region to become "a model and a magnet for people and businesses that desire to live and work in a thriving green economy".

  2. What have they done – through research, or a public health program or education forum, for example-- that illustrates how they have worked to improve air pollution governance and environmental public health?

    1. Hosts an event called Greenfest, where people raise awareness about various environmental issues, and exchange ideas about living sustainably. The whole community is able to get involved and have a good time. This festival also acts as a sort of fundraiser for the group. (greenfest)
    2. Annually hold "The Run for Clean Air", which acts as a fundraiser and increases awareness in the community. The event itself showcases sustainable alternatives to usual 5k supplies, such as water cups and id numbers. (clean air run)

  3. What timeline of events illustrates how this way of addressing environmental public health has developed?

    1. August, 2015 -- The group is suing Sunoco Logistics, who is trying to use eminent domain to seize land to build an oil pipeline across the state. (Sunoco)
    2. July 2015 -- Launched GoPhillyGo website, that has carless directions available along with real-time event locations, to use while exploring the city on foot. Also has information crucial to cyclists, such as whether streets have dedicated bike lanes or not. A great resource that encourages people to ditch their cars. (new website)
    3. 2009 -- Partnered with Drexel University to provide a mobile monitor for low-cost air quality data for port-adjacent communities. (air quality backpack)

  4. Does this person, group or organization claim to have a new or unique way of addressing environmental public health? Does this approach point to or suggest problems with other approaches?

      1. One way in which the Clean Air Council is especially unique is in their comprehensive, many pronged approach to tackling air pollution. They have many projects and partnerships and are dedicated creating a more environmentally healthy region.
      2. Locally, they offer educational courses for free to health professionals, so they are knowledgeable about the risks of air pollution and can appropriately advise their patients who are more vulnerable to low air quality. (health professionals)
      3. They take a more regional approach to improving air quality, having realized that even distant areas affect their air. Specifically, they have partnered with universities in the region to monitor air quality to promote changes in policy.

  5. What data have they collected or used to support their approach to environmental public health? What visualizations of this data have been created?

    1. They have collected surveys of residents who live in shale-field regions, and have directed this information at government protection and regulation agencies in an effort to increase monitoring and research in these affected areas. (citizen air monitoring) This call-to-action of locals also increases engagement of the community in air quality issues.

  6. What research has the organization produce or drawn on on in their initiatives – in the last year, and over the last decade?

    1. The Council has drawn on government collected data (example referencing EPA research) that allows them to make informed recommendations and lobby for measures in their area that could improve public health.

  7. What kinds of technology and infrastructure do they rely on in the production of environmental health care?

    1. They go straight to the source to increase environmental health care by hosting free training for health care professionals, to teach them more about the hazards of air pollution, how it affects health care, and strategies for limiting exposure. These presentations require only a PowerPoint and a presenter.
    2. In increasing public awareness, they have used websites such as GoPhillyGo to appeal to young crowds, as well as appearing on more traditional platforms, such as radio, to reach other generations.

  8. What social ecology does this person, group or organization work within, and how did it shaped their way of conceiving and engaging asthma?

    1. The Philadelphia community is active about this issue, no doubt in response to the community engagement events (such as the 5k run) that the Clean Air Council has run for the past decade.
    2. Regionally, the Clean Air Council has taken an active role in partnering with similarly oriented organizations to work on air quality outside of Philadelphia.

  9. What events or data seem to have motivated their ways of thinking about and engaging environmental health?

    1. Pennsylvania has large amounts of shale gas, which is being sought after more in trying to limit our reliance on foreign oil. Shell's facility to extract this gas, which can have compounds other than methane being released, was met with opposition from the Clean Air Council. Because of this facility and others like it, there was an effort to monitor the health in communities that may be effected. (health impact )

  10. What funding enables their work and possibly shapes their way of thinking about environmental health?

    1. A lot of their funding opportunities, such as the 5k and greenfest, double as informative programs and are a way to actively engage the community, this great participation solidifies the Clean Air Council's influential position in Philadelphia.

  11. What in the history of this person, group or organization likely shaped the way they conceived or and engage environmental health?

    1. The group was founded by many regional Lung Associations, focused on the health affects of air pollution. They realized that a broad, regional solution was needed and partnered together. (origins of group)
    2. After partnering with regional organizations, the Council realized that air pollution must be addressed at a regional level, as well as locally. This led to more projects outside of the city of Philadelphia, that would affect air quality in their region.

  12. What does this person, group or organization seem to find methodologically challenging or concerning in dealing with environmental health?

    1. As stated in their Strategic Plan, challenges include being flexible and customizing programming at the local level, raising funds for projects that have no clearly established outcomes (new programs), and increased fervor from some groups to create anti-environmentalist policies.

  13. What kinds of governance are (implicitly or explicitly) called for in the way they think about environmental health?


    1. Currently, the Council provides commentary to relevant local legislature that include points they would change or do differently. Based on this, they want the government to include more rigorous tests and to limit emissions levels more, in order to crack down on businesses that are larger sources of pollution. Perhaps they would like some legal channels aside from lawsuits that they could use to change industry behavior.

  14. How can The Asthma Files enable or supplement this way of thinking about environmental health, and the work of this person, group or organization?

    1. I think the education/training of health care professionals is very important because it helps the health professionals inform vulnerable populations about the things they can do to lower exposure to air pollution. Using health professionals as a channel also emphasizes the importance of monitoring air quality, and allows individuals to learn how air pollution affects everyone.