Earth Day 2007 Event Recap
For Earth Day 2007, Earth Share of Georgia raised over $100,000 through its incredible sponsors, patrons and party goers. On Friday, April 20, held at the Biltmore Hotel, The Leadership Breakfast featured Mayor Shirley Franklin and keynote speaker, Charles Jordan, Chairman of the Board of The Conservation Fund. The Leadership Breakfast brought together over 320 business leaders and environmental organizations. Party in the Park, held at Atlantic Station on Saturday, April 21 welcomed over 300 for food, music and a great silent auction with items valued at over $28,000.

For Corporate Green Day Challenge on Saturday, April 21, over 450 volunteers turned out to more than 20 locations throughout Atlanta and beyond to improve their environment. Congratulations to The Home Depot for winning this year's Corporate Green Day Challenge!

Thank you to all of our wonderful sponsors and supporters that made this year's Earth Day events the best ones to date!

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Member Group Spotlight: The Conservation Fund
Delta to Launch Worldwide Carbon Offset Program

Becomes First U.S. Airline to Offer Customers Opportunity to Offset Carbon Emissions Associated with Air Travel

Delta Air Lines is partnering with The Conservation Fund, an Earth Share of Georgia national member organization dedicated to protecting land and water resources, to become the first U.S. airline to help its customers give back to the environment by buying trees to help offset carbon emissions associated with air travel.

To kick off the program, Delta is making a donation to The Conservation Fund for every customer that took a Delta mainline or Delta Shuttle flight on Earth Day, April 22, and pledged a commitment to plant a tree for each of the airline's 47,000 employees.

Beginning June 1, customers who purchase a ticket online at delta.com will have the option to contribute toward the offset of carbon emissions associated with air travel through a donation to The Conservation Fund. Contributions of $5.50 for a domestic roundtrip flight and $11 for an international roundtrip flight will be used by The Conservation Fund to plant trees throughout the U.S. and abroad. A small portion of the donation also supports the organization's education and outreach efforts.

"Many of Delta's customers and employees worldwide are passionate about and committed to social responsibility with environmental stewardship as an important area where they can make a difference," said Jim Whitehurst, Delta's chief operating officer. "In support of that, we are pleased to become the first and only U.S. carrier to offer a program that allows customers to help promote positive global environmental change through carbon offsets."

Added Conservation Fund President Larry Selzer: "We applaud Delta's leadership for its commitment to help offset the carbon footprint of its travelers on Earth Day. Climate change has emerged as one of the dominant environmental issues of our time, and Delta's industry-leading efforts to address this challenge, and its invitation to its customers to join in this initiative, serve as a model for corporate environmental stewardship in the 21st century."

The newly planted forests will help to absorb carbon dioxide, filter water, restore wildlife habitat and enhance public recreation areas. As the program grows, Delta will invite its employees and customers to participate in ceremonial tree plantings in select cities worldwide.

Delta's partnership with The Conservation Fund is the latest addition to "Delta's Force for Global Good" - a program that unites Delta employees and customers in support of philanthropic and socially responsible efforts throughout the world.

Go ZeroSM
Since 2000, The Conservation Fund, though its Climate Change Program and Go ZeroSM, has restored nearly 30,000 acres and planted more than 9 million trees that will capture an estimated 13.5 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent from the atmosphere. For more information, visit http://www.conservationfund.org/; and http://www.conservationfund.org/gozero;".

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Join Trees Atlanta each and every Saturday morning from 9:00 AM - Noon for hands-on tree planting, maintenance and greenspace projects. It's fun! It's free! It's a great way to meet new friends and get to know Atlanta! For an updated list of events and volunteer opportunities go to: http://www.treesatlanta.org/volunteer.html;".

Chattahoochee Nature Center has many exciting volunteer opportunities listed on their website: http://www.chattnaturecenter.com/sections.php;". If you would like to become a volunteer please contact the Volunteer Coordinator for more information at (770) 992-2055 x 223 or via email at mailto:volunteercoordinator@chattnaturecenter.org".

To get more involved in your community park, or to become a volunteer with Park Pride, willing to work for the greater good of Atlanta's parks and green spaces, give us a call! We are always excited to put a new, fresh player into the game. Please contact Nicholas Williams, Director of Community Building at (404) 817-7963 or via email at mailto:Nicholas@parkpride.org".

For more volunteer opportunities at our many member organizations please visit: http://www.earthsharega.org/getinvolved.htm;"target="_blank"

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Recycling

by Kris Lefever

When you think of recycling, do you think of collection bins for glass jars, plastic bottles, and cardboard? Well, times have changed, and you might be surprised at what can be recycled or reused these days, rather than being thrown into the landfill.

The best place to start is http://earth911.org/www.earth911.org;. Just enter your zip code, and then click on one of the links. Under `Reuse and Recycling Services', you'll see a long list of categories, from `Auto' to `Construction and Demolition' to `Paint Products'. The links provide detailed information about those companies that will take those old cans of paint thinner or those dead batteries in your garage. But, you'll also find places to accommodate your on-going needs, such as recycling used inkjet or printer cartridges, ancient electronics, and out-dated cell phones. (Don't forget Earth Share of Georgia partners with Collective Good to recycle cell phones - the proceeds benefit Earth Share of Georgia directly. Call Earth Share of Georgia to find out more at (404) 873-3173.)

There's a lot more on the site - from information about hazardous waste and composting, to a link to http://www.pets911.com/index.php;-check it out. But, http://earth911.org/www.earth911.org; is not the end-all, be-all source to find out what can be recycled or reused. You may just have to do a web search to find out how to deal with something. For instance, did you know that there is a company that literally recycles crayons, and makes new crayons? What a great project for schools! http://www.crazycrayons.com/recycle_program.html;.

So, before you throw something away - to "disappear" into the landfill "forever" - think about it. Is there a better place to send it?

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Fall Campaign events start soon! If you have a workplace campaign with Earth Share of Georgia, call now to schedule a speaker for your campaign event! Also, don't forget that we have a great campaign resource center on our website that has everything you need to know to get ready for your campaign:
http://www.earthsharega.org/campaigncenter/index.html;.

If you would like to sign up your company for a workplace campaign with Earth Share of Georgia please call (404) 873-3173.

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