Ambassador Ashe Celebrates Earth Day by Honoring GLOBE Program
18 April 2007
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| Ambassador Ashe with students at Gimnazjum Number 1 in Jozefow, Poland (photo gallery) |
In celebration of Earth Day, U.S. Ambassador to Poland, Victor Ashe, participated in two events to honor the 10th anniversary of the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment Program (GLOBE) in Poland. GLOBE promotes and supports students, teachers, and scientists to collaborate on inquiry-based investigations of the environment in partnership with the National Science Foundation and the NASA Earth System Science Projects by having students take scientifically valid environmental measurements and reporting them in a world-wide database. On April 17, Ambassador Ashe visited Gimnazjum Number 1 in Jozefow, Poland, where he heard presentations from students about their GLOBE and Earth Day activities. He also presented awards to the winners of a competition for posters and displays related to the environment. On April 20, Ambassador Ashe hosted the school directors of all participating GLOBE schools in Poland at a reception at his Residence in celebration of GLOBE’s 10th anniversary in Poland.
Earth Day is April 22 – to celebrate we offer 11 practical tips on things you can do to save the environment.
Remember that every little thing adds up – we can all make a difference if we change our daily habits.
· turn off the lights computer, stereo, TV, etc when not using them, both at home and in the office
· replace your regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs which use ¼ the energy of regular bulbs
· recycle – separate the trash at home, at work and at school and recycle it
· walk or ride your bike more often – driving less means less emissions
· plant a tree, or a few – trees help to clean the air by absorbing carbon dioxide
· take your own cloth bags to the grocery store, reducing your usage of plastic bags that take 1000 years to decompose
· rake leaves from the yard instead of using a leaf blower
· wash clothes in warm or cold water instead of hot, and hang clothes on a line to dry instead of using a dryer
· pay your bills online – reducing paper usage and waste and lowering the fuel consumption on the trucks and planes that deliver the checks
· eat less meat – the international meat industry accounts for roughly 18% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions
· tune up your car – a clean air filter, proper tire pressure, and a tuned up engine make your car more efficient and uses less gas
