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…)

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…)

BPA ( Bisphenol-A) is a chemical used in countless numbers of our everyday items, from baby bottles to tin cans. BPA has shown to be toxic to humans, especially small children and expectant mothers. For years the FDA has been considering banning BPA in food packaging and has recently voted against the ban. Check out Phil Landrigans CBS clip below for more information on the decision. (more…)

I was recently a keynote speaker at the 2nd Annual Green Schools Conference. While I was there I had the honor of introducing Marvelous from the High School for Recording Arts (HSRA). Marvin “Marvelous” Smith is a student in the HSRA’s unique and inspiring class Get Your Green. (more…)

Today, I am speaking at the 2nd Annual Green Schools Conference. This is a national gathering of K-12 leaders and educators coming together to make their schools and districts green and healthy centers of academic excellence. It’s amazing to think how fast the green and healthy school movement has grown in just the past few years. I will be speaking about several of the programs I work with to help provide environmental education and a healthier environment for our kids. Here’s a little information about these programs and where you can go to find out more! (more…)

What are we going to do about the national crisis of childhood diabetes?

• About 1 in every 400 children and adolescents has diabetes
• U.S. kids 8 – 18 average 8 hours a day in front of some type of media screen
• Health care providers are finding more and more children with type 2 diabetes, a disease usually diagnosed in adults aged 40 years or older.

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I have a special announcement today. If you are worried like me, about children’s health issues such as the high rates of chronic diseases -  try to tune in and get more information on sources of toxic exposure. Knowledge is power!!! This weekend CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be airing the beginning of his two act story – Toxic Schools on CNN Presents. CNN Presents airs Saturday & Sunday at 8pm & 11pm. Below is a brief description -

Schools are supposed to offer a healthy place to learn, but an investigation by CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta found that’s often not the case. Dust, mold and other indoor air problems serious enough to trigger respiratory symptoms in children are present in an estimated one third of all schools nationally. Dr. Gupta’s investigation also took him to a Bronx school, where city tests showed potentially dangerous levels of a cancer-causing chemical – but administrators kept the results secret for months.

Dr. Gupta reports on toxic schools on CNN Presents, Saturday, January 14, at 8p and 11p Eastern (re-airing Sunday at 2a, 8p and 11p). These stories follow his award-winning Toxic America documentaries, Toxic Towns USA and Toxic Childhood.  (more…)

When you hear the word “fluoride,” you might associate it with good dental health – not tooth discoloration or decay.

Nearly 50 years ago, the United States government began putting fluoride chemicals in our drinking water, with the goal of preventing cavities and tooth decay. Now, decades later, a staggering 41 percent of adolescents ages 12-15 have some form of dental fluorosis defects on their teeth. Fluorosis is caused by overexposure to fluoride and can cause white streaks or specks on the teeth, tooth discoloration and pitted or rough enamel. (more…)

Are you an environmental teacher? Do your children have a teacher you believe has been outstanding in environmental education with innovative approaches? The EPA has recently announced the 2011 Presidential Innovation Award Program for Environmental Educators. The award is a reinforcement of the newly launched Green Ribbon Schools program .You can either apply or nominate a teacher until Friday, Dec. 30. The winning recipients will be awarded $2,000 and the institutions where they teach will also receive $2,000 to further the recipients’ environmental education efforts. (more…)

Many of you have probably already heard the good news about Gov. Jerry Brown signing into law a ban on bisphenol A (BPA) in baby bottles and sippy cups sold in California. The Environmental Working Group has backed The Toxin-Free Infants and Toddlers Act from the very beginning and was instrumental in its passage. (more…)