Lung health research
Clean Air Crusader & Eco-Dad Stan Jang
We need more eco-warriors like Stan Jang, says BC Lung Association's Air Quality Coordinator Jesse Eckert, who, with Stan's help, corralled the entire staff and student body at Vancouver's General Wolfe Elementary School on Clean Air Day 2007 to learn about clean air and the importance of making environmentally conscious choices.
Stan thinks great things can be achieved by reaching out to kids, "Children are sponges and if we can succeed in convincing them how important it is to make environmentally-conscious choices, they'll start leading the way. I've witnessed it - children lobbying their parents to make better choices - to get a more efficient car or to get out on their bikes more often. Kids can have a tremendous influence."
Jang and wife Elisabeth work hard to set the greenest possible examples for their 10-year-old daughter Anika and seven-year-old son Oliver. They shop locally, bike everywhere, do without a car, and live in a R2000 approved, energy-efficient home.
On Clean Air Day 2007, Jang and the BC Lung Association's Jesse Eckert co-championed an all-day event at General Wolfe Elementary School. The day began by students making smart transportation choices and getting to school by foot, bike, carpool or bus. The morning involved classroom learning about the link between air pollution and health, and the afternoon was spent entirely out of doors, enjoying the 'clean air,' navigating a bike obstacle course set up by parents and teachers, and putting their Frisbee skills to the test.
"One of the most important things we do at the BC Lung Association is to get behind individuals like Stan, and communities like the one at General Wolfe Elementary, who want to make positive change in the way communities think and act towards their environments," says Jesse Eckert, Air Quality Coordinator for the BC Lugn Association.
The BC Lung Association runs school education programs on lung health, tobacco use prevention, and clean air topics throughout the school year. This fall Air Quality Coordinator Jesse Eckert and colleagues will be traveling to schools throught BC to speak about indoor air pollution, its sources and health impacts.