NC State-based center launches statewide clean transportation campaign

At the center of the campaign is a dedicated microsite, FuelWhatMatters.org
At the center of the campaign is a dedicated microsite, <a href="http://FuelWhatMatters.org">FuelWhatMatters.org</a>

You shouldn’t drive less just to save money at the gas pump. Driving less also improves N.C. air quality according to Fuel What Matters, a statewide educational campaign recently launched by the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center at NC State.

Through TV, radio and digital media advertisements, the Fuel What Matters campaign aims to reduce harmful vehicle emissions by encouraging the use of cleaner fuels (biofuels, electricity, natural gas and propane), transit, bicycle and pedestrian options.

At the center of the campaign is a dedicated microsite, FuelWhatMatters.org designed to intuitively connect the public as well as leaders in business and the public sector to information about alternative fuels, decision making aides (such as a “Buyers Book” for fleet managers) and compelling stories or case studies.

“Fuel What Matters will help get you where you want to go whether it’s by walking, biking, transit, in a personal or business vehicle,” said Anne Tazewell, who coordinates the campaign.

With support from the N.C. Department of Transportation and the N.C. Association of Broadcasters, the initiative runs from April through September 2015 and includes a $100,000 television and radio non-commercial sustaining announcement program. The campaign also features a Twitter, Instagram and Facebook contest which is currently awarding $100 cash prizes each month to random social media users who use the hashtag #FuelWhatMatters.

Fuel What Matters is part of the Clean Fuel Advanced Technology project, which is supported with federal Congestion Mitigation Air Quality funds and operates in 24 counties that do not meet National Ambient Air Quality Standards. More than half of North Carolinians live in counties that have unhealthy air, and transportation related emissions are a primary contributor to the state’s air quality problem. Raising awareness of how transportation impacts the quality of the air we breathe is one of several actions being taken to address the problem.

Though Fuel What Matters offers some North Carolina specific resources, the campaign is open to people from every corner of the country, because clean air is something in which everyone has a stake.