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We have a winner!
After watching some of the most creative, interesting, informative and enjoyable ads I've ever seen, we have selected the $10,000 winner of the SmartPower/You Tube Clean Energy Challenge!
We think you'll love the winning video as much as we do!
Over the next two weeks we will be counting down the "Top Ten" ads - leading all the way up to our webcast announcement of the winner on June 18th! It's American Idol for clean energy! Be sure to check www.SmartPower.org each day to see each of the finalists as we count down to the number ONE ad!
The SmartPower/You Tube Clean Energy Challenge has been a huge success - we received almost 150 ads that have been viewed by thousands of people. Each ad, in its own way, has helped to spread the message that clean energy today is real. It's here. And it's working.
Thanks to all who participated! And thanks to all of you who will continue to participate as we count down to our Number One Winner!
Let's make more!
Brian F. Keane |
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Yahoo Green!
This month, one of the world's most visited Web sites, Yahoo.com, launched Yahoo Green, a Web site designed to raise awareness of global warming and to encourage energy conservation. The site allows people to take a "green pledge" to reduce their carbon emissions by completing simple tasks such as using compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), lowering their thermostat by two degrees, or taking the time to organize a carpool to work once a week. Naturally, the site also demonstrates the substantial difference that results when all of these efforts are combined. Every time someone pledges to incorporate energy efficiency into his or her daily routine, a counter at the top of the site is updated to include this individual's efforts. For example, currently, 29,353 people are pledging to save 67,133 tons of carbon dioxide per year through a variety of actions.
Yahoo Green also ranks America's top ten "greenest" cities, highlighting community efforts to better the environment. The list is continuously updated as more people join in the effort to help their city win the competition. At the end of the competition, America's greenest city will receive a fleet of hybrid taxis courtesy of Yahoo. In addition to the fleet of hybrids, individuals who take the "green pledge" for their city receive free compact fluorescent light bulbs for their home.
Other features of the new Yahoo Green include EcoGeek, which informs people about the latest green gadgets and technology, as well as a guide to Living Green. From the Yahoo home page there is also a link that allows visitors to see the savings, in dollars, which result from switching to Energy Star CFL bulbs.
Finally, the site features an array of blogs on various environmental issues. When it comes to educating people about global warming, Yahoo Green is a step in the right direction. Hopefully, the new Web site will continue to encourage people to make a difference by demonstrating that, as its motto states, "many small changes equal one great change."
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to learn how to sign up in your state. |
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Over the past several months, the SmartPower & YouTube Clean Energy Ad Challenge has helped clean energy tap into the creativity and talent that is widespread across the YouTube community and the World Wide Web as a whole.
We created this project because we were confident that the creativity of the YouTube community could help clean energy become a growing part of the solution to climate change and energy independence. And we were right! With almost 150 submissions, the YouTube community is helping to prove that clean energy is real. It's here and it's working!
Now, comes the moment we've all been waiting for - announcing the winner!
The judging is done, and the winner has been chosen. In addition to our $10,000 winner, the SmartPower judges have selected nine other finalists. So, in the spirit of "American Idol", we now share with America all Top Ten ads!
Beginning immediately, all of the Top Ten ads will be available for viewing on our Web site at www.smartpower.org/contest/contest.htm. On June 10th, and continuing over the next eight days, we will remove one ad each day, leading up to the "last ad standing" on June 18th! There will be a concurrent posting on the SmartPower Blog detailing the strengths of each respective ad. Each day we will highlight the ad finalist that was not chosen as our winner.
On Monday, June 18th at 5:00p.m., SmartPower will webcast the announcement of the SmartPower & YouTube Clean Energy Ad Challenge winner from The One Club in New York City. The One Club is the world's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to the recognition and promotion of advertising excellence. This event will herald the abilities of our winner and all of the entries in our "Top Ten."
And so America, here are your SmartPower & YouTube "Top Ten" Clean Energy Ad Challenge finalists! From this listing our winner will be announced over the next two weeks. Stay tuned as we count down to Number One!
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The leaders of tomorrow are here and marketing clean energy today! Some are barely past their eighth birthday and are already fighting for a clean energy future. In both Pennsylvania and Connecticut, SmartPower is seeing a trend of youth advocacy in our Clean Energy Communities. Many of them are playing an instrumental role in convincing their elected officials, neighbors, and parents to purchase clean, renewable energy to create healthier communities, promote energy independence, and solve the global climate crisis.
Most readers of this newsletter in 2006 will remember Chad Vincente, a 12-year old from Mansfield, CT, who demonstrated the strong influence that youth can have on a community. For an environmental class project, Vincente helped his hometown reach the 100 CTCleanEnergyOptionsSM sign up threshold, qualifying Mansfield for a free solar Photovoltaic (PV) energy system from the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund. He created his own flyer and distributed it to 1,600 students, posted a notice on a newspaper Web site, sent an email to over 700 town employees, set up a display at a popular community center, and worked with the town's Energy Task Force to encourage local residents to support clean energy.
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Chad Vincente with Award - Mansfield Middle School
student Chad is congratulated for his Climate Change
Leadership Award by Connecticut State Senator Bill Finch
(D-Bridgeport, Monroe, Trumbull) |
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Reflecting on his work, Vincente said, "I really hope that my project has inspired other young people, because we are the future of this nation and this world, and we have the responsibility of protecting it." In 2006, as a result of his efforts, Vincente was one of five individuals to receive a Climate Change Leadership Award from the state Department of Environmental Protection as well as a proclamation from his town.
In Pennsylvania, Swarthmore College students volunteered to implement a community outreach campaign to help Swarthmore Borough get their residents to sign up for clean energy. These college students created the group WE CAN (Wind Energy Clean Air Now) and implemented a rigorous schedule of tabling and canvassing for two months. Their efforts helped to bring in roughly 50 new enrollments and spread the word about clean energy throughout the community.
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WE CAN student members from Swarthmore College
pictured with the Swarthmore Borough
Here Comes the Sun poster |
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SmartPower's Pennsylvania Director, Molly Tsongas, who worked with these students stated that, "the efforts of these students have brought Swarthmore Borough's total clean energy enrollments up to almost 20%, a level that is unmatched by any other community throughout the state of Pennsylvania."
Back in Connecticut, The National Children's Theater, in collaboration with SmartPower, just completed a 66-school tour all across Connecticut of their live theatre performance of the Unseen Green Machine. This play reached out to kindergarten through sixth-grade students to help educate them about clean energy.
The idea behind the Unseen Green Machine was to educate the children of Connecticut that clean energy is real, it's here and it's working for families across the state. Over 17,000 school children participated in these live theatre presentations and learned about clean energy.
Yet another example of the involvement of our youth has been in Windsor, Connecticut. Recently, the Town Council of Windsor listened very carefully to the pleas of two fourth grade students from the Clover Street School in Windsor, Tom McAuliffe and Alex Simon, as they made a presentation on why clean energy is important. During their presentation, the boys stated, "We are concerned about global warming and how it can affect our future." Afterwards, Windsor passed an important resolution committing to the SmartPower 20% by 2010SM campaign, becoming one of 49 municipalities in the state to commit to the program.
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Clover Street School 4th grade students, Tom McAuliffe
and Alex Simon show off the Town of Windsor Here
Comes the Sun poster with their teacher, Lisa Thomas |
"Alex and Tom deserve a tremendous amount of credit for demonstrating to everyone that committing to clean energy today is one step toward creating a smart energy future," stated SmartPower Connecticut Director, Keri Enright. "Perhaps more than many adults, they already understand that clean energy is real, here and working!"
While these young people may not yet have the financial power to purchase clean energy, they are clearly creating a demand for investment in a clean energy future that powerfully resonates throughout their communities.
Currently, 21 cities and towns across Connecticut, including Windsor, have achieved Clean Energy Community status.
Let's Make More!
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Bringing marketing to the community level is essential to helping Connecticut towns and cities achieve "Clean Energy Community"
status. Utilized in towns and cities across Connecticut, SmartPower's marketing toolkit is designed to support the marketing and outreach efforts of communities that have committed to the SmartPower 20% by 2010SM Campaign. Our tools are aimed to assist community efforts to obtain the required number of clean energy customers needed to officially qualify as a Connecticut "Clean Energy Community".
One example from our toolkit is the creation of a paragraph or link on the homepage of a participating town's Web site that describes the town's commitment to the campaign and how local residents and businesses can sign up for CTCleanEnergyOptionsSM. Another example of a toolkit item we offer is a customized clean energy sign up form designed specifically to encourage residents in the local town to sign up and help the town earn a free solar PV system. These community-based marketing partnerships are instrumental for a town to realize its clean energy goals.
A recent addition to our toolkit in the Nutmeg state is a Google Groups forum in which elected officials and clean energy task force members from all 20% by 2010SM towns have been invited to participate. The forum encourages members to post updates, resources and exchange ideas on how to make their town a successful Clean Energy Community. Important topics such as "What is your town doing to reach the 20% by 2010SM Clean Energy goal?" are posted as well as ideas on how to increase residential and business CTCleanEnergyOptionsSM sign ups. To check out the forum or sign up to participate go to http://groups.google.com/group/20by2010CleanEnergy
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Although the National Theatre for Children has already been mentioned in this newsletter, its significance to the marketing of clean energy in Connecticut merits yet another reference as it relates to our marketing toolikit. Throughout April and May SmartPower sponsored NTC's theatrical performance of the Unseen Green Machine as another toolkit item. Highly praised by all of the schools that participated in the program, SmartPower's sponsorship of the Unseen Green Machine was a noteworthy addition to our extensive marketing toolkit.
Created as a unique marketing piece to compliment NTC's "Unseen Green Machine" tour, SmartPower is now offering students and their parents a free SmartPower/Boomerang Jack t-shirt when they sign up their home for CTCleanEnergyOptionsSM. This is a limited-time offer so if you haven't signed up for CTCleanEnergyOptionsSM yet and you would like to receive the free t-shirt featuring SmartPower and Boomerang Jack go to www.smartpower.org and fill out the attached sign up form.
The SmartPower community marketing toolkit is intended to provide participating towns with a starting point to encourage community participation and is continually updated and enhanced as a part of our ongoing process to strengthen our community marketing strategies. Staying relevant and building tools that will help to build a strong marketplace is crucial to creating a winning clean energy marketing campaign.
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"What the Presidential Candidates are Saying about Clean Energy in NH."
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Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY):
"I want to invest in clean energy technologies, and to establish a national program to reduce global warming and increase our fuel efficiency. The United States must be a leader in international efforts to address the problem of climate change."
- Manchester, NH, May 12, 2007
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Governor Jim Gilmore (R-VA):
"I will launch a national energy independence project to motivate American ingenuity and technology and to use research and tax incentives to free our nation from its dependence on foreign oil within 25 years. I also want to make dramatic increases in domestic energy production and increase the size of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. I support expanding our use of alternative fuels like ethanol."
- Manchester, NH, May 16, 2007
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Senator Barack Obama (D-IL):
"I have been leading the bipartisan effort to raise CAFÉ standards and to promote the development and use of hybrid cars. I am also working on a bipartisan effort to produce more clean coal."
- Rye, NH, May 18, 2007
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Governor Bill Richardson (D-NM):
"Renewable energy would play a huge role in my Administration. I want to initiate an Apollo-like program where in 10 years we have shifted 65% of our demand away from fossil fuels towards renewables. I am against a Carbon Tax."
- SmartPower Blog Interview, Rollinsford, NH, May 5, 2007
(Hear the complete interview in our SmartPower blog May archives)
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Former Cabinet Tommy Thompson (R-WI):
"America must become more energy independent and break its reliance on foreign oil. We must make greater investments in renewable energy, like ethanol."
- Seabrook, NH, May 16, 2007
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