Dear Cool the Earth Community,
Every month, magazine covers claim, “Lose 30 pounds in 30 days”, or “Organization tips that really work!” And my personal favorite, “How to be happy—10 simple steps!”
Have you ever thought about how all those magazines stay in business, while they give us mostly the same advice month after month? Their formula is simple: give the reader the necessary information to change, but count on the reality that behavior change is just not that simple.
At Cool the Earth, we understand that reality. In fact more than 75% of the American population is informed and concerned about climate change, but less than 25% are doing anything about it. (George Mason University)
Our job is to educate and to stimulate behavior change. There are many theoretical models explaining how to bring about change. Our success stems not from models, but from on the ground experience coupled with the belief that children naturally stimulate change in the household.
Children brought home change around smoking, seatbelts, recycling and more. Now, it’s time to create lasting change around energy consumption. For all of us working on climate change, we know the difficulties of this task. Traditional education and information models are no longer sufficient. Climate demands immediate efficiencies, conservations, market shifts, pattern changes and most of all, reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Results from our five years on the ground show the value of education combined with actionable steps. From Morristown to Tacoma, from Houston to San Francisco, we see that parents and teachers, kids and adults are engaged and shrinking their carbon footprint.
Our lives will be ok if we don’t lose those few extra pounds or if our homes remain unorganized. It’s climate change that demands swift change.
Happy summer (just follow the 10 simple steps)!
CARLEEN CULLEN,
Founder and Executive Director
Cool the Earth
Regina D’Orio, mother of two and the Science and Technology teacher for grades K-2 at Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School in Oyster Bay, NY was looking for a way to teach her young students about climate change and empower them to make changes in their own lives. When she discovered the idea could be taught through examples like “Mr. Carbon covering the Earth with blankets” to represent the global warming fever – she decided the kids would get it so she signed on to become a team leader.
“The excitement that this program generated from the kids and parents was incredible! Not only were the children eager to get new trading cards, but also they were thrilled to learn that little things make a big difference!” says D’Orio.
One of the highlights of the program for Regina were the action spotlights. “I loved the @home spotlights! These were what really kept the momentum going toward the end of our 5-week program.” Regina who took it one step further saying, “We even tried one of our own. We had students bring in plastic grocery bags to recycle and pledge to use a reusable shopping bag instead.”
Overall, D’Orio conveyed the program was educational, inspirational and a lot of fun. And, she’ll always smile when she remembers “a kindergartener, after hearing my announcement on the loud speaker as Mother Nature asked, ‘How to you switch back to Mrs. D'Orio so fast?’”
 TIP OF THE MONTHFrom one optimist to another--we need your help! It takes an optimist to look at a problem like climate change and say “I’m going to tackle that.” Cool the Earth is based on the belief that optimists—people like you and me--can make a difference.
This is where you come in. We believe you know more optimists! Would you refer us to one or two friends who are at K-8 schools, either in your area or elsewhere?
Recommendations from supporters like you are essential for our small nonprofit to expand its reach and fight climate change.
We thank you for your continued commitment to cooling the earth. As Rene Dubos so aptly put it: Think Globally Act Locally and Optimism Despite All.
We're thankful to our many partners and supporters who have enabled Cool the Earth to grow to reach the milestone of reducing over 100 million lbs of carbon this year.
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