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	activism alerts march 2008

• Earth Hour 2008 - A Global Movement
• Keep Young Drivers Safe
• Help Create Positive Change in Your Community

Earth Hour 2008 - A Global Movement

Created to take a stand against the great threat our planet is now facing, Earth Hour uses the simple action of turning off the lights for one hour to deliver a powerful message about the need for action on global warming.

Earth Hour first started in Sydney, Australia. On 31 March 2007, 2.2 million people and 2100 Sydney businesses turned off their lights for one hour, producing the world's first Earth Hour. If the greenhouse reduction achieved during that one hour in Sydney was sustained for a year, it would be equivalent to taking 48,616 cars off the road for a year.

This simple act has captured the hearts and minds of people all over the world. As a result, at 8pm March 29, 2008 millions of people in some of the world's major capital cities will unite and turn their lights off for one hour to join together in a global Earth Hour.

What can you do?

1. Sign up for Earth Hour 2008
2. Get involved and create a bigger and better Earth Hour
3. Reduce your impact on climate change
4. Organize Earth Hour in your own community
5. Create your own Earth Hour event
6. Know your footprint and challenge your friends

Keep Young Drivers Safe

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for older children and teens in the U.S. With passengers between the ages of 12 and 16 dying at a higher rate than younger children, it is necessary for adults to intervene long before a teenager receives their learner's permit. With the risk increasing with each teenage year, now is the time for someone to step in. Helping to bring these staggering findings to the public are The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and State Farm Insurance. As a result of their study (watch the video), they have been able to offer evidence-based guidelines for parents and policymakers to help protect this vulnerable age group.

What can you do? CHOP offers materials you can download to help educate your community about this very important issue. They also offer a timeline guide for parents on driving lessons and informative articles on teen driving at their website.

Help Create Positive Change in Your Community

In 2007, Green Halloween (GH) took the Seattle area by storm, as families across the Puget Sound celebrated a healthier and more Earth-friendly holiday. News spread to parents, kids, educators, organizations and businesses from other parts of the country who want to get involved too—GH has been asked to bring their model nation-wide. So in 2008, they're officially making Green Halloween a cross-country initiative—and they need your help to do so.

GH is looking for one person (or organization) from each city to be the GH Coordinator in their community. GH coordinators are passionate about making a difference in the world and have several hours a week to contribute their time, enthusiasm and creativity to the cause. Coordinators not only play an integral role in helping to create sustainable change, they'll also be helping to raise funds and awareness for their own local charity, as well as for GH's beneficiary, Treeswing (link to www.Treeswing.org), a non-profit committed to improving children's health through nutrition, exercise and healthy environments.

Interested? Contact Corey Colwell-Lipson, Founder & Director of Green Halloween via email at Corey@GreenHalloween.org or call206-818-7591. The deadline for joining the team is March 31st, 2008.