Introducing Planet Connect – a program from the National Environmental Education Foundation

The National Environmental Education Foundation, in partnership with The Weather Channel, has launched Classroom Earth, a program designed to enhance and strengthen environmental education in high school classrooms nationwide. Planet Connect, a program of Classroom Earth, targets high school youth in an effort to increase student engagement in environmental learning, stimulate interest in environmental careers, and learn how to protect the environment. Planet Connect was developed with input from a diverse group of students from around the country who have helped to design the Planet Connect Web site, www.planetconnect.org and the Planet Connect High School Grants. This week on Go Green Radio, we’ll be talking with David Lanham who just finished a highly successful student video contest for Planet Connect. The winning videos can be found on the Go Green Initiative YouTube Channel: http://tinyurl.com/2fhtq2h.

Tune in to the live interview on Friday, July 2, at 9 a.m. Pacific/Noon Eastern on www.VoiceAmerica.com, or download the podcast when the show is archived at: http://tinyurl.com/yzhyjdc

Shanghai Elementary Students Totally Grasp "Green"

I recently made a whirlwind trip to Shanghai, where I spoke at Ignite Shanghai ; attended reThink Shanghai (hosted by one of my favorite international entrepreneurs, Christine Lu ); hung out with Geeks on a Plane (see CNN international’s coverage - ;talked with one of the coolest eco-chicks ever,Leah Lamb , about sustainability in China (see the video thanks to What Gives ); saw the World Expo ; and best of all, got to spend an afternoon at YK Pao Elementary School in downtown Shanghai [See the pictures I took: ]

I spent several hours on campus talking with the principal, vice principal, numerous teachers and parent leaders. While the existing campus is a beautiful oasis of playgrounds and greenery amidst the heart of downtown Shanghai, there are plans in the works for a new campus built for optimal environmental performance. The new school will be a learning laboratory where children learn to live sustainably.
One of the things that impressed me most about the adults on campus was their firm commitment to being good role models of environmentally responsible behaviors to the kids. Environmental education isn’t just about curriculum, though they have developed some of the best I’ve seen, it’s about providing the children with examples of adults who conserve natural resources, coupled with frequent opportunities for the children to imitate what they see.

Clearly, the lessons are resonating with the children. In the videos you will see by visiting the YK Pao Student Work playlist on our YouTube Channel, note that even kids as young as first grade are able to explain water conservation and recycling principles like it’s second nature. [See the videos:]

The YK Pao school will be using the Go Green Planning Guide to further advance their goal of becoming the greenest school in China. Please join me in wishing the students, teachers, parents and administrators the best of luck on their “green” journey!

Sammy's Wish for Her 14th Birthday

Sammy S. is one cool kid! Her birthday is on June 24, and instead of presents, she is asking her friends and family to donate to the Go Green Initiative via Facebook Causes. She is asking people to donate $14, or whatever you can afford, in honor of her 14th birthday. Click here to see her Cause page.

"I don't need presents...why not use my birthday to do something good for the world?" says Sammy. "I think that we all should go green at school so we can raise money, and reuse everything."

Sammy is spot on! When schools recycle, they can often sell their recyclables to a broker and raise money. Aluminum, cell phones and sometimes even paper and plastic can provide lucrative money makers for the school.

If you'd like to help Sammy get her birthday wish, click here, and thank you in advance from the Go Green Initiative!

What is Energy Storage, and Why Should I Care?

I'm so glad you asked! :)

This week's guest on Go Green Radio can answer that question for you.

According to our guest, Jason Makansi, Executive Director of the Energy Storage Council (www.energystoragecouncil.org), “The reason storage is so essential to renewables is the renewables are intermittent -- the sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow, and they are often located in areas far from population centers. Because the price of wholesale electricity varies throughout the day, when electricity is sold is just as important as how much electricity is sold. But if you can store the energy generated on a sunny or windy day and then inject that energy into the grid at periods of high demand ... well, then you've got yourself a market. You've got both physical and economic control over your resource and the leverage with which to build increasing demand for your product.
So coupling bulk energy storage with renewable energy -- especially remotely located wind farms -- creates a more reliable market for the energy generated and a more attractive environment for investment. Perhaps most importantly, storage also begins to make renewably generated electricity behave, from a market and supply perspective, like electricity from baseload plants such as nuclear.
Before we expect too much from renewables and are disappointed by their failure to perform, we need to start talking about giving them the power they need to succeed. We need to be talking about storage.”
Go Green Radio airs at 9 a.m. Pacific on Friday, June 4, on www.VoiceAmerica.com. If you miss the live broadcast, you can check out the archive at: http://tinyurl.com/yzhyjdc.

My work in China is Greener than Ever!

I've been spending more and more time in China since 2007, when I was first asked to help the China Entrepreneur Club develop standards for green companies. This year I spent Earth in Chengdu, an area that was hit very hard by a devastating 8.0 magnitude earthquake in May 2008. Here I'm pictured with Chinese mothers and grandmothers who lost their homes to that quake, and are now in new housing built by the Sichuan provincial goverment. You can see more photos from my trip by checking out my Flickr stream. And you can read a full report of the work I've been doing in China by clicking here.

Video: Green News 4 Kids!!!

Get Green Video Contest

By guest blogger, David Lanham, National Enviornmental Education Foundation


Americans account for roughly five percent of the world’s population, but use around twenty five percent of the world’s energy. With a majority of our energy resources coming from the use of fossil fuels, that’s a particularly substantial carbon footprint! If the rest of the world consumed as much per capita, we would need over five Earths to support the world’s current population.

Since the beginning of industrialization, worldwide energy consumption per capita has increased nine-fold. During the same time period, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has increased by about 36%.

As a result of these factors, scientists are now pushing for a worldwide decrease in carbon emissions. Reducing your carbon footprint not only conserves energy and natural resources, it decreases the negative impacts that traditional behaviors have on the environment. In essence, your actions leave behind a cleaner and more sustainable Earth.

As the next generation of leaders, teens today have a better understanding of the environment and its importance than any other generation. Planet Connect is hoping to help teens become more aware of how they can make a lasting impact.

Planet Connect has just announced the Get Green Video Contest. We want you to make a creative video that shows how you are reducing your carbon footprint – whether it’s biking, using less water, walking more, etc. Prizes include an Apple MacBook, an iPad and more!

We know you can make a difference. Here’s your chance to inspire others. You can watch our video commercial at youtube.com/pcgetgreen and read the contest rules at planet-connect.org/getgreen