TCP News


The Climate Project Canada Teams Up with Olympic Athletes for a Cooler Climate

02/18/10

The Climate Project Canada and The David Suzuki Foundation are working with top Canadian athletes this winter to raise awareness about climate change as part of the Play It Cool program. Play it Cool, launched in 2006, challenges Olympic, professional, national team, and internationally competitive athletes to reduce their carbon footprint and to educate the public about climate solutions.

Play It Cool members work hand in hand with Al Gore-trained presenters of The Climate Project Canada. These presenters deliver an updated version of the slide show featured in the Academy Award-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth. Athletes bring presentations to life by sharing their compelling stories of the visible effects of climate change and what they are doing to help solve the climate crisis.

"Athletes add star power and deliver inspirational stories to audiences with their efforts to live more carbon neutral lives," said TCP Canada Outreach Manager Andrea Foster.

The 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, BC are providing a top-notch opportunity for Play It Cool athletes to get the message out. “As a winter Olympian, I see global warming firsthand: melting glaciers, changing snow patterns and the closing of lower-elevation hills. Winter sports are threatened by global warming and Canadian Olympic athletes are stepping forward and calling for action,” said Olympic Alpine Skier Kelly VanderBeek.

"Throughout my 15-year career as a cross-country skier, I have seen the seasons becoming less predictable, and races being cancelled more frequently due to lack of snow. I am concerned about the future of the sports we love, but also about the next generation of Canadians, who will be left to deal with even more serious climate change impacts if we don't act now," said Sara Renner, Play It Cool co-founder and Canadian Olympic cross-country ski silver medalist.

More than 60 Canadian athletes are a part of the Play It Cool program. Among its members are 2010 Winter Olympic medalists, Jenn Heil (silver medalist in moguls) and Kristina Groves (bronze medalist in the 3000m skating).

As of mid-February, Play It Cool athletes have offset 509 tons of carbon emissions.  The Climate Project Canada has hosted the program since April 2009.


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The Climate Project is Al Gore's climate change leadership program and is a part of the Alliance for Climate Protection, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. TCP's mission is to educate the public about the harmful effects of climate change and to work toward solutions at a grassroots level worldwide. TCP supports more than 3,500 diverse and dedicated volunteers worldwide. TCP Presenters have delivered 70,000 presentations and have reached a combined global audience of 7.3 million people. Your donation will allow us to engage even more people directly in our mission and empower every individual to play a part in solving the climate crisis.  Donations for The Climate Project are accepted through the Alliance for Climate Protection. Please specify that your gift should be allocated to The Climate Project fund. Contributions or gifts to The Alliance for Climate Protection are deductible as charitable contributions for Federal income tax purposes. No goods or services of any value were or will be transferred to you in connection with this donation. Unless otherwise indicated, donations are considered unrestricted and will be used by the Alliance to fulfill its overall mission and goals.

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