|| Earth Week and the Earth Day Action Fair

Mark your calendars for another full and exciting Earth Week 2010. This year, Earth Week will feature another series of discussions and presentations including topics on renewable energy, sustainable and local food, and pollution from pharmaceuticals and personal care products.

Earth Week 2010 is scheduled for April 19 through April 22. As always, we will have the popular Earth Day Action Fair on Thursday, April 22, from 6pm to 8:30pm with local "green" businesses and nonprofits coming together to celebrate a happier, cleaner earth.

2010 GREEN SCENE AWARDS: Nominate an Eco-Warrior for the 2010 Green Scene Awards! Do you know an Eco-Warrior(s) that you feel deserves a big ol’ community pat on the back? If the answer is a thousand times yes, The High Country Center needs your help.

A great way to thank community members for making our mountain community a cleaner and greener place is to nominate them for a 2010 Green Scene Award. Please help us honor Summit County’s deserving individuals, businesses, groups and/or officials by filling out the attached nomination form and e-mailing it to erin@highcountryconservation.org or mailing it to the High Country Conservation Center. Nominations are due by Friday, April 16th. The Green Scene Awards will be held in conjunction with the annual Earth Day Action Fair on Thursday, April 22nd at the Silverthorn Pavilion from 6-9p.m. Thank you for being a partner in reducing waste and conserving our natural resources! Click here to download the 2010 Green Scene Award Nomination Form.

The 2010 Earth Week schedule:

Monday, April 19th - "Creating the (first) LEED Platinum LivingHomes: High Design; Low Impact" Spring Luncheon
Senior & Community Center, Frisco - 11:30am to 1:30pm
Steve Glenn, from Santa Monica, California will be presenting at this benefit luncheon for Park County Vision 2020. Mr. Glenn is the founder and CEO of LivingHomes, LLC, a premier developer of modern, prefabricated homes that combine world class architecture with an unparalleled commitment to healthy and sustainable construction. LivingHomes designed the first home ever to receive a LEED for Home Platinum rating by the U.S. Green Build Council and named Green Home of the Year by Green Home Builder Magazine. This is a rare opportunity to hear Mr. Glenn speak. Proceeds will benefit Park County Vision 2020 - Recycle the Park; a community based recycling project. Reservations: call Maria Sims 719-836-0706.
Advance tickets: $38 a person / Table of 6 for $198; Door: $45
Download flyer and registration form.

Tuesday, April 20 - Movie Showing of Food, Inc. & Food Panel Discussion
New CMC Auditorium in Breckenridge - 6:45pm
Join the High Country Conservation Center, Grant Family Farms, the Summit Prevention Alliance, and the Summit County Food Policy Council for a discussion about local and sustainble food (6:45pm to 7:15pm), followed by a showing of Food, Inc (7:15pm to 8:45pm). Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults. Food, Inc. reveals the truth about what we eat, how it's produced, and where we are going from here. See the trailer here. Thank you to our sponsors Grant Family Farms and the High Country Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.
Click here for info on the Sustainable Food Film Series
Call HC3 at 970-668-5703 for more info.
Suggested donation $5.

Wednesday, April 21 - Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products Summit Speaker Series
New CMC Auditorium in Breckenridge - 6pm
PPCPs or Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products include a long list of products like sunscreen, shampoo, makeup, and lotion. These everyday PPCPs are emerging contaminants responsible for a host of water pollution problems. Most emerging contaminants have been associated with Endocrine Disrupting Substances (EDS), which can block the work of natural hormones in the body. Most EDS and emerging contaminants enter our water supply by consumer use of PPCPs, cleaning agents, pesticide, and plastics. Join us for a PPCP and Emerging Contaminants Panel Discussion and hear from PPCP experts from Colorado State University, University of Colorado, and the Environmental Protection Agency. The panel will discuss: Emerging Contaminants & their Effect on Humans, Fate & Occurrence of Emerging Contaminants, and Fish Studies & Impacts of PPCP's on Humans & Wildlife. The Summit Water Quality Committee and others will also be discussing the new Summit Drug Take Back Program, as well as action steps you can take to reduce your PPCP footprint.
Call HC3 at 970-668-5703 for more info.
FREE to the Public.
Click here for a flyer.

Speaker Bios for the Panel Discussion:

Thomas Borch, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Chemistry & Biogeochemistry, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Department of Chemistry (joint position), a Faculty Member of The Graduate Degree Program in Ecology (GDPE), and a Faculty Member of The School of Global Environmental Sustainability - Borch Analytical Environmental Chemistry

Dr. Alan Vajda is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Colorado Denver. Dr. Vajda's lab focus is on the emerging eco-human health issue of endocrine-active chemicals in wastewater-dominated streams. Some of his studies include the role of global water management decisions in mitigating adverse impacts of environmental chemicals on the health of humans and wildlife.

Dr. Kristen Keteles is a toxicologist in the Pollution Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxics Program at EPA Region 8 Office of Partnerships and Regulatory Assistance. Her research expertise and background entails the investigation of biological and environmental factors that influence the availability of contaminants, important considerations for ecological and human health risk assessment for contaminants of emerging concern. She is currently researching the effects of hormones on fish reproduction in Colorado rivers.

Thursday, April 22- Earth Day Action Fair
Silverthorne Pavilion, 6pm to 8:30pm
Join environmental organizations and green businesses for this annual fair. Demonstrations and booths will highlight simple and effective actions you can take to celebrate Earth Day every day. This year we'll have live music and a cash bar. It's an Earth Day celebration that you won't want to miss!

The 2010 Earth Day Action Fair will feature: 

We hope to see you at the 2010 Earth Week in April!