Take a Break's Background
Take a Break from the Exhaust was developed by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control in 2001. In 2003, it received the Governor’s Pollution Prevention Award. SCDHEC made the program available to other state agencies in 2004. The purpose of Take a Break is to encourage participants to take voluntary action to help improve air quality.
Vehicle emissions are one of the largest sources of air pollution in the Kansas City region. Ground-level ozone, which causes lung-tissue irritation and difficulty breathing, is our leading pollutant.
Making small changes in your daily habits can add up to thousands of pounds of prevented pollution. Take a Break from the Exhaust allows participants to see how — by working together — their actions can have a quantifiable, positive impact on local air quality.
Take a Break Info
Emissions Savings
Since the Take a Break program started, participants have reduced the amount of carbon dioxide entering our air by 212 tons! Learn more
Who's Taking a Break?
UMB; Commerce Bank; City of Kansas City, Mo.; Hallmark; Mid-America Regional Council; Shook Hardy Bacon; Embarq; Johnson County; Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce; Missouri Department of Transportation; Commercial Lithographing; Social Security Administration; State Street; Garmin International; Terracon; Kansas City Area Transportation Authority; Coffeyville Resources; and DLR Group
Costly Commute
The average commuter who drives 20 miles round trip to work or school each day spends more than $2,000 a year on those trips. Discover how much you spend to drive alone by filling out the Cost of Driving Calculator.