Louisville Zoo Helps Teens Fight Climate Change and Save Polar Bears

By Kara Bussabarger

Louisville, KY - Three Louisville Zoo teens are working to make a difference in the world by encouraging local area businesses to help the environment and save polar bears by reducing carbon emissions.

The teens—University of Louisville freshman Emily Goldstein, Saint Xavier High School senior Sam Leist and Atherton High School sophomore Kaitlin O’Bryan—have developed a free Energy Use Evaluation Kit for local businesses and organizations that evaluates the business’ energy use and offers easy energy-saving options to implement. In addition to the kit, the teens are making presentations to local businesses to educate employees on the importance of using less energy and asking them to sign a carbon emissions reduction pledge.

“Considering that people spend a third of their lives at work, and that commercial buildings produce 45 percent of the nation’s greenhouse gases, it is obvious that making even small changes at work could add up to huge changes in the environment,” Goldstein said. “It can also add up to significant monetary savings for the businesses, too!”

The teens have entered their Energy Use Evaluation Kit and website www.louisvillezoo.org/projectpolarbear into Polar Bears International’s Project Polar Bear contest, which challenges teens to develop community projects that will reduce the carbon dioxide load in the atmosphere. The contest ends December 31.

“The Project Polar Bear contest is a way for small groups of young people to make a big difference, and we are doing just that!” Leist said. “Through Polar Bears International and the Louisville Zoo, we have learned about what is happening to the polar bear and the arctic and its impact on the Louisville area. Our goal is to make the changes necessary that will not only save the polar bear, but the entire planet.”

The teens’ website not only contains the Energy Use Evaluation Kit and carbon emissions reduction pledge, but it also features information and resources on polar bears and climate change in the form of quizzes, a photo gallery and journal.

More than 15 businesses including Louisville Metro Government, Jefferson County Public Schools, TARC and Luckett & Farley have already signed the pledge saving more than 14 million pounds of carbon.

“One ton of CO2 fills up a football stadium,” O’Bryan said, “so we are very happy that these businesses have pledged to save more than 7,000 stadiums worth of CO2 emissions. And that’s just so far—we want more businesses and organizations to sign on.”

This is the second year a team of Louisville teens entered Polar Bears International’s Project Polar Bear contest. Last year, the team of Goldstein and Brandie Farkas won the grand prize—a 6-day, 5-night trip to the polar bear capital of the world in Canada to see polar bears in the wild, go dog sledding and gaze at the Northern Lights. They are going next month. (You can read more at http://www.louisvillezoo.org/news/press/MR/MR%2009-05-04_polar.htm.)

The grand prize for this year’s competition is also a trip to see polar bears in the wild near the Western Hudson Bay as well as to be featured in a short Polar Bears International film.

“I can’t imagine a world without polar bears,” Goldstein said. “These magnificent animals exemplify the awesome beauty of the arctic. Yet polar bears and their ecosystem are on the brink of destruction and extinction, threatened by our abuse and neglect. The mighty, magnificent polar bear has become a symbol of hope for a change in our global policies, in our need to fix the damage the human race has caused.”

For more information on how to obtain the teen’s free Energy Use Evaluation Kit as well as schedule the teens to talk to your organization or business, visit www.louisvillezoo.org/projectpolarbear, call 502-426-4399 or e-mail projectpolarbear@yahoo.com.

For more information on Polar Bears International’s Project Polar Bear contest, visit www.polarbearsinternational.org/project-polar-bear.

The Louisville Zoo, a non-profit organization and state zoo of Kentucky, is dedicated to bettering the bond between people and our planet by providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for visitors, and leadership in scientific research and conservation education. The Zoo is accredited by the American Association of Museums (AAM) and by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

To view Louisville Zoo's web page on Zoo and Aquarium Visitor, go to:  http://www.zandavisitor.com/forumtopicdetail-96-Louisville_Zoo