The Clean Air Campaign of Georgia has set it sights high. Specifically, up high in the northern regions of the state, including Walker and Catoosa counties.

Sharon Foxworthy of the Northwest Georgia Clean Air Campaign explained that although the majority of popula-tion growth in Georgia has concentrated on the Atlanta area, people are now rapidly expanding into less congested areas, specifically those in the northwest portion of the state.

“As you can imagine, we’ve had a large influx of people moving to Georgia in the last 10 to 15 years. And from the big cities, now they’re spreading to surrounding counties. ”

The population growth brings a whole new host of concerns for formerly small towns. “Our air quality is definitely becoming more and more of an issue,” Foxworthy said.

The Environmental Protection Agency began monitoring Georgia air quality in 2004, and since that time, the organization has “determined that particle pollution in particular is becoming a problem in Bartow, Floyd, Catoosa and Walker counties.” Most of this alarming pollution is caused by road travel and the exhaust left behind by an increasing number of cars and trucks on the road.

In other words, Atlanta traffic is catching up to northwest Georgia.

The Clean Air Campaign wants to mitigate the Environmental Protection Agency’s findings by encouraging the people of northwest Georgia to be more aware of how frequently they travel by car.

Foxworthy met recently in Calhoun with LaFayette’s economic development director Catherine Edgemon and other northwest Georgia leaders.

“We’re just beginning to bring all this new information to Walker County,” Foxworthy said. “We’ve been meeting with employers and talking about getting employees to participate in the Clean Air Campaign programs.”

And this is one organization whose programs are worth it.

Participating companies would not only “claim a significant reduction in their carbon footprint,” an important step toward keeping skies free of smog and ozone, but have the potential to claim tax benefits, increased employee morale and increased productivity, according to the Clean Air Campaign website.

In this sullen economy, anything that could boost local economies is worth looking into.

But the Clean Air Campaign is not just for large companies. Anyone is welcome to join, and there are benefits to individuals as well.

The campaign’s Commuter Rewards program specifically targets working individuals who currently drive alone to their place of business. By switching, even if only on occasion, to a clean commute mode, such as carpooling, using public transportation, biking or walking to work, or even teleworking, commuters can actually earn money from the Clean Air Campaign.

For each day that a single commuter who usually drives alone uses a clean alternative, he or she will earn $3, up to a total of $100 in each 90-day period. The money will be mailed to the commuter’s home in the form of a gift card.

Carpoolers get an extra incentive as well. Gas cards of $40 or more are offered monthly to carpools of three or more people.

Finally, each time a registered commuter logs in a clean commute with the Clean Air Campaign, he or she is automatically registered in a random drawing to win a $25 gift card. The chance of winning is estimated at one out of 20, much better than the local lottery.

Many companies in the northwest Georgia area are looking to hop on the bandwagon with the Clean Air Cam-paign. According to Foxworthy, about 10 employers in Floyd County, including Mohawk Carpets, are hoping to get their employees involved.

“My hope is that we can get more and more people taking advantage of these options,” Foxworthy said. “It’s be-come incumbent upon everyone to take a closer look at this issue and modify the way they get to work. Any time we can reduce the number of vehicle miles driven,” then, she said, the organization is doing its job.

In a few weeks, the Clean Air Campaign will launch a comprehensive commuter tracking system which will make it even easier for people to get involved. A carpool matching program and a bicycle buddy matching program hopes to align people of similar neighborhoods who want moral support to keep up the alternative commute lifestyle.

And there are a good number of reasons to commute cleanly. “People who especially are taking advantage of bi-cycles when going to work are finding themselves in better shape.” Foxworthy adds that those who carpool are “finding that there’s a lot of social value” to commuting with other people.

In general, she says about clean commuting, “people find it’s such a positive change in their life that they con-tinue to do it.”

Anyone can sign up online for the Clean Air Campaign’s incentive programs, and interested companies in Walker and Catoosa counties are encouraged to contact the campaign at (706) 233-1100.