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LETTER FROM FOUNDER
 Dear Cool the Earth Community,
I never was a fan of baseball. Sure, I could enjoy the first few innings, but by the top of the 4th I'd be ready to move on. My friends would tell me I just didn't understand the game, and would try to imbue me with appreciation of the strategic nuances. None of this made a bit of difference to me.
Oh, how things have changed! Our 12-year old is pitching for our local Little League team, and baseball has taken on a whole new meaning.
What's all this have to do with solving climate change? Plenty!
Through children's activities such as Little League, we see the powerful dynamic of child-driven interests in the family. Kids lead their parents in a topic and a reciprocal dynamic occurs in which the parent begins developing their own curiosity about the topic. In this process, the two naturally feed each others' interests and a powerful cycle is established.
The cycle is the fundamental premise of Cool the Earth. Kids lead parents in climate action and parents build upon this in their own way. Kids and parents then support each others' climate engagement. When researchers at Stanford University evaluated the Cool the Earth program they found, "The result is the family as a whole taking more energy-saving actions, having more conversations about such issues and becoming more likely to take future actions as a result of the CTE program (Flora, J. et al., 2011. Evaluation Report. Stanford University).
You can call this a double play or going around the horn. I call it knocking one out of the park. Play ball!
Enjoy summer and we look forward to spreading climate action in the new school year.
CARLEEN CULLEN
Founder and Executive Director
Cool the Earth
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IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Helen Esposito from PS 224 at 26 Queens Elementary School in New York City, NY
In her 30 years as a teacher of students with special needs, Helene Esposito has "always felt the importance of teaching my students about the beauty of earth and taking care of it." So when she read about Cool the Earth in a parents' magazine, she had the vision of bringing the program to her school, PS 224 in New York City, for her 6 classes of 5-9 year olds with autism and some of the mainstream classes from the school.
She started running Cool the Earth in the spring of 2011, and encouraged by the program's success, she expanded it this year. In 2012, the teachers and students performed two assemblies to a total of 25 classes, including seven special needs classes from other locations, as well as parents, families, and representatives from local councilman's and assemblyman's offices--a feat which required some complicated scheduling! "Witnessing the hard work and enthusiasm of our students and staff involved in presenting the program, and then seeing first hand, the reactions of students, staff, and families that come to see the show, and the follow up of activities done, have been the most rewarding parts of running the program," says Helene.
One thing she's done differently this year is having the students tally the coupons, a practice she recommends to other team leaders: "Getting the students more involved not only helps ease the amount of work you have to do, but gets the students more enthusiastic about the program. And I would have to think this involvement also helps improve their abilities to master school learning goals and standards."
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 TIP OF THE MONTH Sign Up to Run Cool the Earth at your school NEXT YEAR
This is a great time to start planning to bring this inspiring carbon-reduction program to your school community for the 2012-13 school year. Lay the groundwork to have Cool the Earth on your school's calendar next fall: team up with another parent or teacher to coordinate the program, talk to your principal, and enlist support from your parent organization by putting Cool the Earth on the agenda for your last meeting of the year. Cool the Earth is free, easy to run, and can be incorporated into any k-8 public, private, charter, or religious school. For full access to the program materials, sample videos of the assembly skit, and FAQs, go to Enroll your school. If you have questions, or want to let us know that you're starting the process, contact Sarah Starbird, Program Director, at 415-531-5172 or email at sstarbird@cooltheearth.org.
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THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS
We're thankful to our many partners and supporters who have enabled Cool the Earth to grow and reach the milestone of reducing over 150 million lbs of carbon.
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SUPPORT COOL THE EARTH
Cool the Earth engages kids and their families in climate change solutions, by increasing awareness about global warming, and inspiring people to take simple actions to reduce their carbon emissions. You can share in our commitment to inspire and empower kids and families to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through a one time or reoccurring monthly donation. For more information or to support our programs visit cooltheearth.
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 Total Actions 233,268
 Total Carbon 162,165,223 lbs
 Total Schools 385
 Total Students 94,657
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Teacher Training Workshop; HS Sustainability Certificate
Strategic Energy Innovations is offering a teacher workshop on Tuesday June 26, 2012 from 9:30-4:30 at the Pacific Energy
Center. Topics include: Climate Change; Fundamentals of Energy;
Performing Classroom Audits; Solar Site Assessment; and Green Career Paths for Youth. Register at
Training enrollment. For more information about the certificate program, please email Sandy Wallenstein at sandy@seiinc.org or call 415.507.2183.
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 | | Cool the Earth: Climate Change Assembly Program |
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