press room
Champions for Change Program launch at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, November, 2009
11.04.09 | Press Event
World's top athletes and explorers will join together at U.N. Headquarters in NYC to give 1st hand view of damages caused by climate change (full story below)
Press Materials Available for Download
The following photos may be used for re-broadcast in stories related to Champions for Change book and press event. Please print the credit with the photograph. To use the photos for other stories, please contact the athletes and other rights holders as indicated by the credit. Thank you. |
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NASCAR driver Brian Vickers
Credit: Phil Cavali BVLLC | BrianVickers LLC
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Brian Vickers (high resolution jpg)
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Anne Quéméré, Ocean rower and kite sailor, and BLUE Project Ambassador
Credit: Ronan Quéméré
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Anne Quéméré | Ocean Kite (jpg)
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Natalie Spilger, Soccer player and founder of Green Laces
Credit: Håkan Flank
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Red Stares v Athletica (jpg)
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Natalie Spilger with Green Laces
Credit: Håkan Flank
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Natalie Spilger (jpg)
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Sara Renner, Canadian Olympic cross-country skier and co-founding athlete of Play it Cool.
Credit: CCC | John Evely
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Sara Renner (jpg)
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For a high resolution photograph please contact Krystal McKay. |
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Chris Jordan’s depiction of the number of plastic bottles Americans throw away every five minutes: approximately two million.
Credit: Chris Jordan | www.chrisjordon.com
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Plastic Bottles (jpg)
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Jane Poynter, author of Champions for Change
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Jane Poynter (high resolution jpg)
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
World's top athletes and explorers will join together at U.N. Headquarters in NYC to give 1st hand view of damages caused by climate change
PRESS CONFERENCE:
Wednesday November 4, 2009
TIME:
11.00am EST to 12.30pm EST
(8.00am PST to 9.30am PST, 6.00pm GMT to 7.30pm GMT)
WHERE:
United Nations Headquarters,
New York, NY 10017
LOCATION:
North East Gallery
VISUALS AT EVENT:
IMAGES OF ATHLETES AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND PROJECTS TO REVERSE IT; DISCUSSION WITH U.N. UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL, AUTHOR, AND ATHLETES; PRESENTATION TO ATHLETES OF U.N. SEAL THE DEAL! RECOGNITION SCULPTURE; SIGNING OF SEAL THE DEAL! CLIMATE CHANGE PETITION TO BE PRESESNTED TO WORLD LEADERS AT THE COPENHAGEN MEETING IN DECEMBER IN HOPES OF A FAIR CLIMATE AGREEMENT; PARTICIPATING SCHOOL CHILDREN.
In an effort never before seen on a global level, top athletes and explorers will join United Nations officials and sustainability expert Jane Poynter (former Biosphere 2 crewmember) in an effort to educate and motivate the world community to join in the fight against climate change and environmental degradation. Jane Poynter, who is President of both Paragon Space Development Corporation (a technology firm) and Global Sports Alliance USA, a non-profit dedicated to environmental education and action, has flown experiments into space, sailed the world's oceans and worked with the World Bank on projects to mitigate climate change. Her new book Champions for Change: Athletes Making a World of Difference was created with the support of the United Nations Department of Public Information and dozens of athletes and explorers who shared their personal experiences in the book that is being launched at the press conference. Proceeds from Champions for Change go to sports and environmental education projects around the world.
As shocking examples of global warming, a picture of Lewis Gordon Pugh (world record holder for swimming in the planet's coldest seas) shows him about to dive off an iceberg to swim across the North Pole, which until recently was frozen over for millennia.
“I've seen glaciers retreat up valleys. I've swum in places where there used to be glaciers. But the biggest change is the sea ice; every year it's getting thinner and thinner,” he says. Mike Williams, Alaskan, Iditarod musher, and representative of over 200 Alaskan tribes, (testified before the U.S. congress about his region's transformation) reports his beloved wilderness has changed since his first race. Insufficient snow has twice moved the race's starting point northward.
“Our fish are running later, the migration of caribou is different, we're seeing more of our hunters go through the ice because it's thinner,” said Mike.
These and other riveting firsthand accounts from extreme sports athletes that enter some of the most isolated places on Earth, as well as from more conventional Olympic gold medalists, reveal a deeply connected and quickly changing world. French explorer Anne Quéméré describes the massive garbage patches she traversed as she rowed across the Atlantic, and Cincinnati Reds outfielder Chris Dickerson shares his efforts to rid Baseball of the plastic that washed out to sea and into Quéméré's path.
Gorgeous full-color photographs take you into the floating villages of Bangladesh, through the living wall holding back the Gobi Desert, and over the rapidly heating metropolises of the United States to explore how global warming is reshaping our world. Revealing quotes bring you up close to sports legends like Andrea Jaeger and current stars like Jack Johnson and NASCAR driver Brian Vickers, to their hopes and fears for our planet's future. In-depth profiles showcase athletes and athlete organizations that are actively combating climate change, including the Philadelphia Eagles' “Go Green” initiative, Natalie Spilger's Green Laces project, and Conrad Humphreys' BLUE Project. The book also features a foreword by United Nations Under-Secretary-General Kiyo Akasaka.
It is the hope of all involved in this project that the world community will be made aware of the severity of the consequences of global warming and climate changes.
Media Contacts
Champions for Change:
Susan Schonfeld
+1 (845) 721-9456
universepr@aol.com
United Nations Department of Public Information:
Julia Hagl
+1 (212) 963-0943
hagl@un.org
All attending members of the media must be accredited by the United Nations. To complete the simple process, please go to www.un.org/media/accreditation and fill out the form. Please contact Susan Schonfeld above for assistance.
Information about Champions for Change, and book excerpts:
www.gsa-usa.org/Champions_For_Change.php
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