July 2000

Code Red Plan Ahead

It's summer in Baltimore, time for steamed crabs, Orioles' baseball, ethnic festivals, trips downey ocean, and ground-level ozone.

For the last five summers, the ENDZONE Partnership, a non-profit organization jointly chartered by BMC and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, has been educating residents in central Maryland and northern Virginia about the causes and the dangers of ground-level ozone pollution. The color code warnings about air quality have become just as familiar to people in our region as beach traffic reports. In fact there is some concern that the warnings might have become too familiar. That is part of the reason behind ENDZONE's new public awareness campaign: Bad Air Alert.

Last fall, the partnership sought the services of the Reeves Agency, a highly regarded Baltimore advertising and public relations firm, to help sharpen its public communications efforts. The experts at Reeves felt the term Code Red ground-level ozone warning did not fully communicate to people just how harmful the air quality is on a typical Ozone Action Day. They felt that a more direct phrase was needed, one like Bad Air Alert.

ENDZONE members agreed, and Reeves was given the go ahead to design a new ozone awareness logo. The logo is currently being phased in on ENDZONE publications, and it will be seen on WJZ TV spots that will be aired later this summer. ENDZONE hopes that the new logo will become just as familiar as the ozone sun symbol that it replaces.

Although the program has a new look, many things about it remain the same. A Bad Air Alert is called when unhealthful air is forecast in the Baltimore/Washington region, and advises people who suffer from respiratory diseases or who may have trouble breathing to stay indoors. When Bad Air Alerts are issued, all sectors of the community are called on to take voluntary actions to reduce air pollution.

ENDZONE Partners make available a broad range of educational materials, workshops, speakers and other resources to help employers and individuals find ways to reduce ozone pollution.

For more information about receiving Bad Air Alert faxes or participating in the Ozone Action Day Program, please call 1-800-745-RIDE or visit http://www.cleanairpartners.net.

Posted: August 7, 2000