Irv Zakheim started his international dinnerware business in Los Angeles. He knows about smog. He didn’t want smog to trail his company when it relocated to Airway Heights years ago, so Zakheim encouraged “green transportation” for his employees long before busing, biking, walking and carpooling grew trendy.

Zakheim was the star of the “Travel Green” press conference Wednesday morning. Elected officials and business leaders stood in the lobby of the STA Plaza with this challenge for employers: Encourage your employees to try an alternative commute at least one time during April.

Zak Designs has nearly 200 employees who live in neighborhoods throughout the Inland Northwest. For the ninth year in a row, Zakheim is insisting that every employee bike, walk, carpool or take the bus to work at least one time in April. There will be peer pressure, boss pressure and team-building competitions. Zakheim kicked off the effort by carpooling to Wednesday’s press conference.

“Leadership starts at the top,” he said.

Automobiles are the single largest source of air pollution in Spokane County. To make a difference, April’s Travel Green campaign needs to move beyond gimmick into true cultural change. Everything is in place for this to happen. Gas prices stun the imagination. Ridership is up on Spokane Transit Authority buses, thanks in part to a snowy winter that forced people out of their automobiles. And STA is pushing its vanpool program.

Also, state and county Commute Trip Reduction laws that passed in the early 1990s have motivated businesses to focus on incentives to wean their employees off gas-guzzling commutes. Coffman Engineers, for instance, put showers and indoor bike shelters in its downtown Spokane office to encourage walking and biking to work.

The biggest hurdle remains an entrenched bias toward commuting by single-occupant automobile. It’s still relatively easy for Spokane commuters to hop in their cars, drive through smooth traffic (compared to other cities’ traffic) and park in free or inexpensive lots.

Creating a culture of vanpooling, bus riding, walking or biking will require a shift in routine and a sea change in attitude. There are 27 days left in April to try an alternative commute. Travel green this month – for one day or for the rest of your working life.