A word from our Executive Director...

The following is excerpted from CA-CP's newly released 2005 retrospective five-year annual report. You can download the entire report here.

IT’S BEEN AN EXHILARATING EXPERIENCE to be at the helm of Clean Air-Cool Planet during its first five years. I don’t think there’s another organization quite like it. What really makes us different is our strong focus on catalyzing and promoting excellence in institutional responses to just one issue—climate change—and our ability to get the message out about solutions to climate change. Every day, we and our partners are proving that taking action to reduce emissions of heat-trapping gases provides economic as well as social and environmental benefits.

Whether we are bringing a business together with experts to help solve an energy problem, arranging a trip for community officials to learn from others or providing a forum
for campus leaders to share lessons learned, Clean Air-Cool Planet puts the right people in the right place at the right time. By doing this, and by following up with advice, contacts and support, we’ve achieved a lot in a short time. Here are just a few of our accomplishments:
• We have helped dozens of businesses figure out new ways to reduce their green-house gas.
• We have facilitated, engaged and advised institutions of higher learning in moving forward on climate action.
• We have helped build new wind turbines and pioneered the market for tradable renewable energy credits.
• We created a coalition of science museums, research institutions and nature centers in Connecticut with the aim of bringing the best science on climate change and its solutions to the public’s doorstep.

There is still much to do. The seeds of change that we’ve helped sow in the Northeast must continue to grow and broaden their roots, and must be parlayed into national
policy action. Voluntary leadership and policy action are both necessary to ensure that a reversal in carbon emission trends is achieved soon enough to slow global warming.

As we move forward we will build on the lessons learned to strengthen existing work and create new initiatives. For example, we have begun a highly focused new effort in
community work, identifying a small number of cities and towns, including Boston, New York City, Portland, ME, Maplewood, NJ, and Stamford, CT, with whom we will develop models for action. We also look forward to taking our campus program in new directions, emphasizing technical support and assistance. A new clearinghouse for climate nternships will connect our partners with real-world opportunities for students to assist
businesses and municipalities with greenhouse gas reduction projects. Whether you are new to Clean Air-Cool Planet or an existing supporter, I hope you will find much to savor and celebrate in this our first annual report. More than that, I hope that you will join us as a partner and help us strengthen our work with corporations, campuses and communities in the Northeast to meet the challenge of climate change.

-Adam Markham