April 7th, 2008
ASTC (and IGLO) have joined the Earth Day Challenge. Partnering with EarthLab, ASTC and IGLO are urging science centers to promote a free carbon and lifestyle calculator to their visitors for Earth Day (April 22, 2008) and beyond. This tool is the first of its kind to factor in living habits in addition to one’s carbon footprint. Users can join and develop a personalized Earth Conservation Plan (ECP). The profile includes an easy-to-use survey that generates personal carbon output and ECP scores. Individuals can save their results upon completion and then come back, make pledges, and track their reductions over time. The pledges make small changes to lifestyles and habits will improve member scores over time and ultimately benefit the planet. EarthLab also offers exclusive climate crisis related content, advice from experts, celebrity endorsements and participation, and key analysis. Anyone in the world can use this calculator - just select the country in which you live and compare your score to the local average.
The EarthLab calculator was first presented to a global audience on July 7, 2007, in conjunction with the Live Earth concerts staged throughout the world, of which ASTC was named the official educational partner. This calculator is available in the IGLO Toolkit under “What You Can Do.” Please visit the other sections of the Toolkit for more useful resources.
April 1st, 2008
On February 20, 2008, the Melting Ice / A Hot Topic: Envisioning Change exhibit opened in Monaco during the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) 10th Special Session of the Governing Council. The exhibit opening was attended by HSH Prince Albert II who lauded the museums mission bridging art and the environment to inspire and engage the public about climate change. Prince Albert is also a member of IGLO’s Honor Committee and presided over its launch in March 2007. The Field Museum in Chicago is the first American venue to host this exhibit, which will open on Thursday, April 17, in honor of Earth Day after stops in Oslo, Brussels, and Monaco.
Melting Ice was created by the Natural World Museum in partnership with UNEP to address the theme of climate change from a global perspective - the melting and thawing of ice, snow and permafrost are environment-altering changes taking place around the world - from the Andes to the Himalayas to the melting ice caps of the Poles. Participating artists come from all over the globe, including Argentina, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, India, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, Norway, Peru, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. Like IGLO, this exhibit aims to transform society’s mindset - to take action in a positive way individually and to work toward a more sustainable future collectively. To learn more about Melting Ice, please visit the Natural World Museum web site.
March 28th, 2008
Earth Hour was organized by the World Wildlife Fund as a means of building awareness about energy consumption and climate issues. On Saturday, March 29, 2008, for one hour - from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. local time - cities from all over the globe will turn off their lights in a show of solidarity and to demonstrate the impact that individual actions can have. ASTC was named an official Earth Hour partner in recognition of the crucial role science centers play in educating the public and of the parallel goals between this movement and IGLO. Science centers that had already pledged their involvement through their cities include the Ontario Science Center, Toronto; Arizona Science Center, Phoenix; Philippine Science Centrum, Manila; SciTech Discovery Center, West Perth; and Questacon, Canberra.
Leveraging ASTC’s strong science center network, a call was issued to members urging them to involve their institutions and bring Earth Hour to the attention of their local governments. Science centers who answered the call include the Pacific Science Center, Seattle and TELUS World of Science, Edmonton. SciFest Africa, South Africa’s national science festival, will also address Earth Hour in Grahamstown. The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh also answered this call and through the efforts of Jane Werner, executive director, was able to bring about the full cooperation of the city government. On Tuesday, March 25, the Council of the City of Pittsburgh announced that March 29 would be Earth Hour Day and the arts, business, university, and technology communities are working together to participate. Plans to turn off the exterior lights of the City-County Building for the event are in the works. As a result of ASTC’s effort, 34 cities worldwide now will turn off for one hour - Earth Hour .
It’s not too late for individuals and science centers to join. Citizens can turn off their lights at home and use that occasion to look at the stars. Science centers can encourage their visitors to take part in Earth Hour, educate them about climate issues, and also reflect upon their own institutional practices. In fact, ASTC has used this movement as an opportunity to issue a green challenge to its members. To learn more about this new initiative, please visit the ASTC web site. To learn more about Earth Hour, please visit www.earthhour.org.
March 18th, 2008
The IPY-IGLO Interactive Videoconference on March 13 was part of the third quarterly International Polar Day themed Our Changing Planet: Past and Present. The web cast was created in partnership with NASA and MAGPI and represents the first time that these institutions have collaborated on a project. Seven science centers from all over the globe organized an audience of students and scientists who gave presentations on climate change and engaged in dialogue over two sessions. Dr. Robert Bindschadler, a scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, also spoke to both groups about polar research and unveiled Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica (LIMA), which is the first major outcome of the International Polar Year. To learn more about International Polar Days, please visit the Educators section of the IPY web site.
To watch the archived event (in Quicktime or Windows Media Player), please click HERE. The files are available as videos or audio-only. Contributor bios and resources created by participating science centers are available in the Toolkit.
IGLO would like to thank everyone who contributed to (and watched) this momentous event. If you are interested in participating in the next IGLO-IPY interactive videoconference, please check our web site for updates or e-mail iglo@astc.org.
March 7th, 2008
A new area of the IGLO Toolkit has been created that is dedicated to the March 13, 2008 IPY-IGLO Interactive Videoconference. This section will feature presentations, images, media, and other informational resources created and used by each of the seven “active” sites participating in this event. We’ve also compiled biographical information and presentation abstracts for the contributing scientists and students, which can be used as a resource when searching for experts in polar research.
Participants and contributors include Cardiff High School teacher Joanne Hopkins, Cardiff, Wales, who recently traveled to the Antarctic (left); Dr. Boshra Salem, head of environmental sciences at the University of Alexandria, Egypt (top middle); Dr. Ross Powell, co-chief scientist of ANtarctic Geological DRILLing (ANDRILL) and professor of geology and environmental science at Northern Illinois University, Chicago, Illinois (middle bottom); and Gonçalo Vieira, Assistant Professor at the University of Lisbon, Portugal, researcher at the Centre for Geographical Studies, and Portuguese national contact for the International Polar Year (right). Other experts involved in this event include scientists from the University of Mexico; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Chinese State Oceanic Administration; Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences; University of Cardiff, Wales; Monash University, Melbourne; and NASA. Their contributions can be seen on the live-streaming web cast at the MAGPI web site, where they also will be archived. To learn more about who is contributing to this interactive videoconference, please visit the Toolkit.
