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For Immediate Release
April, 22 2009, 12:57pm EDT
Contact:
Kathleen O'Neil, National Parks Conservation Association, 202.419.3717, koneil@npca.org
Sandy Yusen, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, 866. 968.2739, sandy.yusen@gmcr.com
National Parks Conservation Association to Empower Park Visitors to 'Do Your Part' in Changing Climate Change
Association Wins $200,000 Grant from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc.
WASHINGTON and WATERBURY, Vt.
The nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA)
has been awarded a $200,000 grant to encourage and empower national
park visitors to "Do Your Part!" to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The grant, awarded by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc., will
fund outreach and education at dozens of national parks and their local
communities and at hundreds of schools. The "Do Your Part! for Climate
Friendly Parks" program educates people about the size of their carbon
footprint, and asks them to shrink it to help reduce the effects of
climate change on national parks.
"The impacts of climate change are the greatest challenge facing
America's national parks. From melting glaciers to disappearing
wildlife, national parks are on the front lines of this unnatural
disaster," said Mark Wenzler, director of Clean Air and Climate
Programs for NPCA. "This grant will enable us to educate more of the
parks' almost 300 million visitors about what they can do to lessen
those impacts."
The National Parks Conservation Association, the leading voice for
national parks, was one of four nonprofits to receive a grant under
GMCR's Changing Climate Change initiative. In addition to the grants,
the coffee company's climate change campaign includes operational
initiatives, employee incentives to reduce carbon emissions, and the
purchase of carbon offsets.
"Climate change poses a threat to our business, and to our entire
eco-system," says Michael Dupee, Vice President of Corporate Social
Responsibility for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. "The National
Parks Conservation Association's project will leverage information,
tools and a sense of community, as well as the high traffic patronage
of our national parks system, to support long-term emissions-reducing
behavior change."
The $200,000 grant to the National Parks Conservation Association is
payable over five years. Details on the project, and the three other
winning proposals, can be seen here.
The "Do Your Part!" program
supports the work of dozens of "climate friendly" national parks
throughout the country that have pledged to become leaders in educating
the public about climate change and what we can all do to lessen our
impact on the environment.
"Do Your Part!" was developed for the U.S. EPA and National Park
Service by ICF International. To learn more about climate friendly
parks, visit www.nps.gov/climatefriendlyparks. To learn more about Do Your Part! visit www.doyourpartparks.org/.
***
Statement by Shawn Norton, National Park Service, chief of climate
change and sustainability branch: "The National Park Service offers its
congratulations to NPCA for winning Green Mountain Coffee Roasters'
"Changing Climate Change" Grant. The Climate Friendly Parks Program
recognizes that the greatest impact that our national parks can have on
addressing climate change is through public education. The Do Your
Part! Program represents an opportunity to engage national parks
visitors on a continual basis and empower them to take actions that
will reduce the impact of climate change on the public lands that they
love. Together, if we all do our part, we can protect our national
parks for future generations."
Statement by Beth A. Binns, ICF International vice president for
climate change outreach and communication: "ICF International is
excited to be working with great partners at the National Parks
Conservation Association to develop this leading carbon reduction
initiative. Now, visitors who are inspired at national parks can take
action in their own lives. We are committed to addressing this issue by
developing the tools, resources and campaigns that can help catalyze
broad-based behavior change."
NPCA is a non-profit, private organization dedicated to protecting, preserving, and enhancing the U.S. National Park System.
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pic.twitter.com/eWbdnyiNig
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