Park School's Biodiversity Cool Globe

Biodiversity

To represent biodiversity on Earth, students from The Park School (Brookline, MA) submitted drawings of plants and animals to add to this globe. The World’s Climatic System is depicted with various colors to represent major climate regions and subtypes, inspired by Köppen’s Climate Classification System.  Biodiversity and climate are inextricably linked and affected by changes in the climate. Maintaining the delicate balance is vital to the health of the planet and its inhabitants. Learning about a wide range of animals and plants and their respective ecosystems sparks curiosity about the natural world both locally and globally. Understanding and appreciating biodiversity and the importance of climate issues fosters future involved citizenship.  The realms of World Health and Resource Management depend on ecologically-minded legislation, research and sustainable development, and protection of plants, animals, and ecosystems in order to preserve and improve our planet’s health.

With this Cool Globe, we ask people of all ages to learn these simple “A,B,C” messages:
Appreciate Biodiversity and Climate, and Act to Be the Change!

Artists: Park School Students and Andrea Sparks, “As simple as A,B,C-- Appreciate Biodiversity and Climate!”

Sponsor: Westfield Capital 

P.S.  I especially love the that Park School students contributed drawings to include on this globe. It is beautiful and so interesting to look at! - Liam

Shelby Electric Car

Hi! Dylan here. Did you ever think you'd see an electric car smoke a Ferrari in a race? Well, now you can wih Shelby's new Aero EV. This car can go from 0-60 in less than 2.5 seconds! This electric motor produces 1,000 horsepower. This is unheard of in the world of electric cars. The worlds focus is shifting to electric car. This is Dylan, signing off.

Fit Body, Fit Planet

Fit Body. Fit Planet.

At Reebok, our mission is to empower people to be fit for life. Living a fit and healthy life starts with making simple choices - like choosing to walk instead of drive. Walking not only helps you, but it also helps our planet. Today, 41% of all trips made in the US are one mile or less but fewer than 10% of those are made by walking and biking. Walking is the simplest pollution-free transportation. So get out there! Start using your feet instead of your wheels. Walk your way to a fitter you and a fitter planet. Change starts with a single step.

Artists: Frank Carroll, The Reebok Walking Team and the Reebok Production Team
Sponsor: Reebok 

P.S. This is definitely one of my favorite globes - and not just because my mom works at Reebok.  I really believe that we should all try to walk or bike instead of taking the car whenever we can. 

 - Liam

Neutralize Your Carbon Footprint

Neutralize Your Carbon Footprint

Is your carbon footprint a little heavier than you hoped? Like it or not, we all add to the problem of global warming because we are all energy consumers. Fortunately, we can add to the solution as well by making choices in our daily lives that will reduce or neutralize our carbon footprint. Becoming "carbon neutral" means that you balance the effect of the carbon emissions you create through your energy consumption by purchasing "offsets." Offsets are programs you can support financially that will ultimately reduce carbon emissions and fight global warming. Those programs include wind farms and tropical rainforest replanting projects. Reduce your energy use, offset the remainder, and become carbon neutral!

Artist: Jean-Baptiste Audat

P.S. In case you don't know what a carbon offset is, here is what I found: A carbon offset is a credit that an individual or organization can purchase to negate a carbon footprint. When the number of carbon offsets obtained is equal to an individual or organization's carbon footprint , that person or organization is carbon neutral. Revenue generated from the purchase of carbon offsets is often (but not always) invested in environmentally-friendly projects, like investments in green computing technologies. The purchase of carbon offsets is a fast-growing industry in the wake of compliance legislation and the development of cap and trade systems.(Source: WhatIs.com)   - Liam

BMW i8

Hi! Dylan here. The major sport oriented car manufacturer, BMW, announced that the new electric sports car, the i8, is being released next spring. The i8 is revolutionary in the world of cars because no car maker has ever made a high performance fully electric car like this one. The i8 can go from 0-60 in about 4.4 second and can hit speeds of up to 155 miles an hour on a completely electric motor. Not only is this car powerful, but it looks amazing too. The body is made of carbon fibre which is 50% lighter than steel and 30% lighter than aluminum. It's CO2 emission is 5,456 miles on a gallon of gas. Attached is a link to the i8 info page on the BMW website. This is Dylan, signing off.

i8 Info Page

Use Public Transportation Globe

Use Public Transportation

Saving time and money makes sense. Doing what we can to cool down the planet makes sense too. Public transportation is an easy way to cut the globe-warming carbon emissions produced by driving while avoiding the waste and frustration of traffic jams. A full bus takes 40 cars off the road—a full train can take hundreds. If you commute by train instead of driving, you are cutting carbon emissions by nearly 5,000 pounds per year. Now that’s a real contribution. Catching the latest exhibit at the Museum of Science? Take the green line! Got a meeting across town? Hop on the red line! Small steps like changing how we get around mean great strides in the fight against climate change . We are in this together.

Did you take public transportation today?

Artist: Sue Sommers, "Take the T"

P.S.  Even people like us who live in the suburbs can take the train into Boston whenever possible - it is better for the environment and it saves you from driving through traffic and finding and paying for Boston parking.  Give it a try!  - Liam

New England's Climate Pledge: Conservation Law Foundation's Cool Globe

New England’s Climate Pledge

To tackle climate change, we need to be working on solutions at every level – from the halls of Congress to the halls of our homes. Conservation Law Foundation is on the forefront of legal and policy solutions to reducing climate pollution, holding polluters and government accountable and advocating for the kinds of systemic change New England needs to meet its climate goals. Whether helping shut down the region’s old coal plants, supporting renewable energy, or fighting for accessible and affordable public transportation, change can’t happen without people who are committed to a thriving New England. The hundreds of people who signed our climate pledge represent diverse backgrounds and shared concern about the future of our region. They embody our belief that, “Together, we can tackle climate change.”

Sponsor: Conservation Law Foundation

Artist: Alexandra Overing

P.S.  Don't you agree that CLF's use of crowd-sourcing to decorate it's Boston Cool Globe is ingenious?  It's basically a giant 3-D climate pledge that was  signed by hundreds if not thousands of New Englanders while located down at the Bank of America Pavilion concert venue this past summer. You could spend hours reading it! - Liam