While the new International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report confirmed recently that climate change is indisputable, it's something that the winter sports community has been seeing first-hand for years. Protect Our Winters re-launched their "Hot Planet/Cool Athletes" program this week to take that first hand perspective into the classroom to explain climate change from an engaging new perspective and to inspire and empower students to become involved. Presented by The North Face, and in association with Clif Bar, Mountain Equipment Co-Op and Teton Gravity Research, the Hot Planet /Cool Athletes program has been presented to more than 20,000 students at 41 schools nationwide since 2011. The new format for 2013 continues to educate students about climate change, combining engaging action sports footage and understandable climate science with first hand athlete's perspectives and a call to action that truly breaks through to students and gives them the tools to be part of the solution. Pro athletes such as Gretchen Bleiler, Jeremy Jones, Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, Ingrid Backstrom, Lucas Debari, Danny Davis and Angel Collinson are featured in the video project, with many others scheduled for in-person school appearances. "Young people have the most to gain and the most to lose, by taking care of this earth and solving climate change right now," The North Face Skier and POW advocate Sage Cattabriga-Alosa said. "They should be empowered to take care of their environment and see that they can actually influence adults, their parents, and the people around them." The program kicked off this school semester and will continue throughout the school year in places such as Vancouver BC, Seattle, Santa Barbara, Burlington, Boise, Salt Lake City, Denver and many others. To book a school assembly, please contact POW at: info@protectourwinters.org See the 2013 promotional video here: https://vimeo.com/78555952 An Urgent Call to Action: #ourtimeisnow To take this educational platform to the next level, POW is launching the #ourtimeisnow campaign, an urgent call to action that invites students to become "POW Student Climate Leaders", empowering them to take meaningful action. By connecting with them in a relevant way, via their social media, POW will invite all students to use the hashtag #ourtimeisnow across their social media channels. POW can then track its use and provide meaningful climate actions directly back to each student. As students become more involved in the campaign by using the hashtag on Twitter and Instagram, they will have opportunities to win great prizes from brands like The North Face and Clif Bar and the chance to spend time with professional athletes discussing climate change or joining POW representatives on Capitol Hill. "We've got to create a social movement starting with young kids who will be the most affected, and we feel that this component of the program is a critical step in making a difference. By using social media as a backbone for it, we're connecting with students on their terms and starting that movement with meaningful results," said POW's Executive Director, Chris Steinkamp The new program also provides benefits to the students and their schools. The Shane McConkey Foundation is inviting student teams that host a Hot Planet / Cool Athletes assembly this fall to compete against each other by submitting cutting carbon ideas for their schools, for a chance to win $10,000 in total prize money to be awarded on Earth Day, 2014.

• published: 07 Nov 2013
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