Yahoo! Earth Day Microsite Launched to Help Slow Climate Change
IT News Online Staff
2006-04-22
Yahoo!, in honor of Earth Day, has launched the Yahoo! Earth Day microsite that helps people take simple steps to slow climate change.
The microsite, which has a wide range of helpful resources, tips and links, provides concerned citizens with a one-stop shop to take action against the deterioration of the global environment, promoting greener living year round.
"The potential consequences of climate change are so sobering that it's difficult to imagine how individual actions can make any impact," said Meg Garlinghouse, director of Yahoo! For Good, the company's community relations initiative. "We are hopeful that Yahoo!'s Earth Day campaign will illustrate that if we act as a global community, together we can make a difference. We encourage citizens everywhere to embrace our collective responsibility to protect the earth for future generations."
To help users get started, Yahoo! has created a list of ten simple actions for earth-friendly living, including buying a TerraPass to fund clean-energy projects that offset the emissions impact of cars, putting an end to junk mail, powering down computer monitors, buying energy-efficient appliances, charging cell phones with solar power and much more. Users can also pledge to take at least one step to decrease climate change; a live ticker indicates how many people pledged to support each action.
Visitors to the Yahoo! Earth Day site will find the following tips and resources from the Yahoo! network and beyond to encourage them to go green year round:
- Yahoo! Answers: View and participate in questions and answers from real people related to climate change and Earth Day. Every "best" answer receives an entry into a sweepstakes for a free trip to the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany.
- Hybrid Car Spotlight: Find information via Yahoo! Autos about alternative fuel sources as well as hybrid models that people really like. Drivers can also link to a gas mileage impact calculator.
- Environmental Videos: Turn to Yahoo! Video Search to watch entertaining and scientific video clips and short films from across the Web related to climate change. Content includes the trailer for Paramount Classics' upcoming "An Inconvenient Truth" documentary, starring Al Gore; celebrities' Earth Day speeches; environmental spoofs from Comedy Central's "The Daily Show;" and clips from the new series, "The Eyes of Nye," featuring well-known science personality Bill Nye.
- Yahoo! Groups: Connect with like-minded conservationists or engage in policy debate in Yahoo! Groups related to climate change.
- Volunteerism: Search for environmental volunteer opportunities on and around Earth Day through VolunteerMatch.
- Flickr: View and leave comments for a collection of Earth Day-related photos.
- Earth Day T-Shirts for Yahoo! Avatars: Show support for the environment by dressing a Yahoo! Avatar in one of four different Earth Day t-shirts.
- Green Quiz: Determine how environmentally savvy you are by answering questions about daily habits.
Yahoo! is also taking initiative to slow climate change as part of its ongoing energy conservation program. Yahoo! has recently purchased green power near its headquarters equivalent to more than one quarter of the energy produced by one large-scale wind turbine. This is comparable to planting 108 acres of trees or removing 70 cars from the road for a year. Yahoo! is celebrating Earth Day on its campuses by offering employees hybrid-car test drives as well as information on transportation alternatives.
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