The Environmental Leadership Awards is the largest single fundraiser for the Georgia Conservation Voters, and largely determines the amount of work they will be able to accomplish this year.

This event honors public officials working to protect our children, our health, and our economy by supporting conservation and economic growth through innovation. (more…)

Tell your friends and vote for Captain Planet Foundation at 100carsforgood.com on TUESDAY, MAY 15.

The Captain Planet Foundation has been selected as a finalist in Toyota’s 100 Cars for Good program! Toyota’s 100 Cars for Good program will be awarding 100 vehicles to 100 nonprofits over the course of 100 days based on votes from the public. A total of 500 nonprofits were selected from more than 4,000 applications nationwide. We are hoping to win a new Toyota Prius V to help Captain Planet spread the word about environmental education to youth at schools, community organizations and eco-events.

What will environmental super hero do with a Toyota Prius V ? (more…)

Please join Rutherford and me on May 4th to support Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper River Revival.  We are both longtime supporters of UCR and this event.  We hope to see you on May 4th.

We have an incredible lineup of musical talent not to be missed:

• Ben Sollee
• Julia Haltigan
• Ruby Velle and the Soulphonics
• Burnt Bacon

And recognizing incredible environmentalists with our River Rock Star Award:

• Johnny Colt
• Ben Sollee
• Gareth Asher

Ticket options

•  $45 General Admission includes food, beer and wine from Park Tavern and a one-year UCR membership – as well as beer from SweetWater.
•  $65 VIP access (limited availability) includes all of the above, plus preferred seating with private bar and the opportunity to meet and mingle with musicians and honorees.

We’re talking about tickets worth more than $150, so this is a party with a value and a purpose!  Proceeds from this event help support our efforts to preserve and protect our Chattahoochee River – drinking water for over 3.5 million Atlantans.

SweetWater will again kick off the annual Save the Hooch campaign at the event! (For more info, visit this link.)

Air Quality Awareness Week marks the beginning of smog season and is an annual opportunity for all of us to review issues surrounding air quality in our communities and the precautions we need to take to ensure our family’s health.

What is Smog?
Smog is another term for ground level ozone, which is formed when nitrogen oxide (NOx)combines with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the presence of sunlight. NOx are a by-product of fossil fuel combustion (oil, natural gas, coal) and so come from cars and trucks, power plants, and industrial processes.  (definition via MothersandOthersforCleanAir.org)

Exposure to many pollutants in the air can result in a range of adverse health effects from shortness of breath and coughing to heart attacks and lung cancer. Check out Mothers and Others’ Health Effects of Bad Air Fact Sheet for more information.

Georgia Guide to Air Qualilty Awareness Week
1. World Asthma Day
May begins with World Asthma Day on May1! Join me at at the Fulton County Health & Wellness event “Asthma Awareness: Putting the Pieces Together.” In an effort to combat asthma, the Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness, Division of Health Promotion, is launching the Fulton Asthma Improvement and Reduction (FAIR) program to focus on the state of asthma in Fulton County. The FAIR kick off panel discussion will raise awareness about asthma and allow participants to share strategies for improving asthma care throughout Fulton County. The event is May 1, 10am – 2 pm at the Fulton County Aldredge HealthCenter. Click here to register! Seating is limited.

2. Get Informed: Air Quality 101
As smog season 2012 approaches, please consider making a commitment to at least one personal action to reduce your contribution to smog this summer. At the same time, ensure you have the tools you need to reduce your and your family’s exposure to smog by bookmarking Georgia Environmental Protection’s air quality forecast site and reviewing and sharing Mothers & Others guidance documents on outdoor air quality and physical activity.

3. Clean Air Campaign
The Clean Air Campaign invites schools to observe the week by incorporating activities on air quality, sources and types of air pollution, and actions to reduce air pollution and improve health in their school community.
For Clean Air Schools, Air Quality Awareness Week is a prime occasion to celebrate the pounds of pollution your school has already taken out of the air through No-Idling, Ride the Bus! For Clean Air and Pool to School programs.
Teachers can download the 2012 teacher’s guides for planning tips, air pollution resources and classroom activities at the Clean Air Campaign Website.

4. M&O School Air Quality Index (AQI) Flag Program
Many school nurses, principals and teachers are concerned about high rates of asthma among students and faculty. They welcome the flag program as a way to ensure all staff, as well as parents who see the flag when dropping off their children, are aware when air pollution concentrations are high. Flying a flag that corresponds to the day’s air quality index—green, yellow, orange or red—makes air quality forecasts highly visible to the school community, including parents, faculty, staff and children. In addition, the flags are flown daily, in contrast to the smog alert system that only comes into play if the air is unhealthy. As a result, while taking precautions when the flag is orange or red, teachers and coaches can celebrate green days and use the green flag as a visual cue to get active outdoors when air quality is good.
Mothers & Others for Clean Air is expanding the AQI flag program to other Georgia schools as we head into the 2011 smog season. Contact Mothers & Others if your school is interested in participating.
More information can be found here

5. Mothers & Others for Clean Air Newsletter
This is a comprehensive resource for your need to know information on local clean air initiatives, legislation, updates, health information, resources and events. If you would like to receive the newsletter please contact rebecca@mocleanair.org

6. Check the Air Quality Index
Georgians can check their Air Quality Index here
Additional Resources for National Clean Air Information-
NOAA’s Air Quality Awareness Week Resources
EPA’s Air Quality Awareness Week Resources
AirNow.gov Local Air Quality Conditions and Forecasts
GINA

Captain Planet and I are packing up for the Mobilize the Earth™ rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Earth Day! I am so excited to be asked to speak at the National Mall on Earth Day 2012.

The rally on the National Mall, America’s premier national park, is the centerpiece of the global Earth Day and part of a vast network of Earth Day events around the world.  More than one billion people in 192 countries participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world. Earth Day Network, who organizes the global Earth Day, has set the theme for Earth Day 2012 as Mobilize the Earth.
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We had a record turnout this year for the 10th Annual Earth Day Kids Fest. Each year the Captain Planet Foundation partners with the Chattahoochee Nature Center to put on this amazing event that teaches kids to celebrate, love and play within our natural world. Children are introduced to important environmental concerns, like the dangers of plastic bags and preservation of fragile ecosystems, but arguably, one of the most important goals of EDKF is to get these kids outside, playing in the sunshine and forming a bond with nature. This year we had 1,655 in attendance! (more…)

Although we should celebrate Earth Day every day, we do dedicate the entire month of April to supporting environmental education and ways to save the planet on a daily basis.  Atlanta has so many exciting Earth Month events – for families, individuals and business leaders alike.
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Last week Rutherford and I had the pleasure of hosting a party at our home for our dear friend Dr. Mark Hyman. We met Mark on a rafting trip several years back and became instant friends. He is a brilliant doctor, who takes a holistic approach to wellness. His new book The Blood Sugar Solution is a #1 New York Times Bestseller! The Blood Sugar Solution offers a healthy way to lose weight, prevent diabetes and lead a healthy lifestyle.

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I’m so excited for the 7th annual Eco-Fashion Trunk Show!! This year will be bigger than ever. (more…)

On April 22, 1970, Senator Gaylord Nelson called for teach-ins across the country to raise awareness on local and global issues affecting our environment. His grassroots effort rallied the support of 20 million people and thus the very first Earth Day was born. Forty-two years later, the Earth Day Network is still dependent upon this “grassroots effort” and is calling for the individual actions of 1 billion people to do their part to restore and protect the natural systems that support all life. (more…)