History
The Delaware Valley Citizens’ Council for Clean Air (now known as Clean Air Council) was formed in 1967 through the efforts of 11 local, county-based Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware Tuberculosis and Health Associations (later to be known as Lung Associations). Each of the Associations recognized that while air pollution was a threat to health, it was a problem that demanded a region-wide solution. From its inception, the Council was intended to represent the interests of the Associations at a regional level. All of the Associations committed a portion of their Christmas Seals proceeds to fund the new organization.
Initially the Council was a two-person operation with an annual budget of about $22,000 just trying to promote its name to the public. It worked with the City of Philadelphia to organize the first regional “Cleaner Air Week” and it distributed reporting forms for community members to fill out if they had complaints about air pollution. Its first major advocacy action included successfully getting Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey, and Northern Delaware to be designated as one “air pollution control region,” which is still true today.
By the mid-1970s the Council had made a name for itself as the result of two major achievements: 1) winning a lawsuit against Pennsylvania for failing to implement a vehicle emissions inspection program and 2) establishing and distributing a regional air quality index report. While its programmatic focus expanded from air pollution to include solid waste, transportation, and energy, the Council’s budget and staff size only showed a modest increase.
The Council gained widespread notoriety during the 1980s when it fought toe-to-toe with Pennsylvania for refusing to implement vehicle emissions inspections. By the end of 1982, the Council had successfully obtained a court contempt judgment against Pennsylvania, which stood to lose $495 million in federal highway funding, as a result. Ultimately, Pennsylvania gave in. Along with its success in the courts, the Council increased its name recognition by organizing its first 5K Run for Clean Air in Philadelphia, in which 200 runners participated. Programmatically, the Council established an indoor air information resource center in response to public demand for information. It helped Philadelphia pass both the Worker and Community Right to Know and mandatory curbside recycling laws.
Throughout the 1990s and into the present day, the Council has flourished. In 1991 the Council amicably broke off formal affiliation with its founders, the Lung Associations, and truly became an independent entity. It legally changed its name to the present day “Clean Air Council.” Notable accomplishments included forming Community Energy, Inc., which was responsible for bringing the first wind farm to Pennsylvania; establishing the Philadelphia Port Environmental Task Force; and starting an active community outreach team, which has significantly grown the Council’s membership base. The Council also expanded its work to address global climate change, tobacco smoke pollution, and children’s environmental health. Today the Council boasts more than 8,000 members, a $1.1 million annual budget and 20 staff members.
5K Run for Clean Air
Over the past three decades, The 5K Run for Clean Air has grown into Philadelphia’s largest Earth Day Celebration, a certified green run, and much more. Located on the beautiful banks of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, the 5K Run for Clean Air is a community effort to decrease the air pollution that triggers asthma and other respiratory problems in our families, as well as support programs that reduce waste in favor of increased recycling and composting and slow down global warming.
The 5K Run for Clean Air is Philadelphia’s premier green run, an environmentally responsible event certified by Athlete’s For a Fit Planet. Last year the Council implemented a series of sustainable practices so that participants could enjoy a sense of accomplishment, not only from finishing, but from being environmentally conscious– something no other run in the area offers. Paperless registration eliminated the printing and mailing of over 25,000 Run brochures. Runners were urged to take public transportation, walk, or bike (bicycle valet provided!). All of the Run’s trash was either composted or recycled!
