Awards & Recognition

SACRAMENTO –- Governor Schwarzenegger announced that The Energy Coalition won the 2010 Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award (GEELA) for its PEAK Student Energy Actions Program.

GEELA is the State of California's highest and most prestigious environmental honor. The award program recognizes individuals, organizations and businesses that have demonstrated exceptional leadership for voluntary achievements in conserving California’s resources, protecting and enhancing the environment, and building public-private partnerships.

The Energy Coalition is a non-profit organization that has developed energy efficiency initiatives with local governments, utility companies and community partners for over thirty years. The organization’s mission is to mobilize, educate, inform and empower individuals to change the way they think about and use energy. The Energy Coalition’s PEAK Student Energy Actions program is a statewide, standards-based educational program designed to empower elementary and middle school students with the knowledge and skills to manage energy use in their homes, schools and communities.

In a world where energy is a precious commodity, smart energy management is critical for the economic success of California. PEAK creates a generation of individuals capable of controlling their energy future. The program recognizes that in order to empower students to manage energy use, students must understand the entire energy equation from the science of how energy is created to the environmental ramifications of electrical generation and the financial impact of energy use on household budgets. PEAK not only teaches students about smart energy management but also provides students with an opportunity to apply their learning to real-life situations. Through hands-on science experiments and home-based activities, students learn that saving energy helps their households save money and that their energy saving actions benefit the environment. Most importantly, through their participation in PEAK, students develop skills and an environmental ethic that last a lifetime.
 
The Energy Coalition is one of only 13 recipients receiving awards at the Governors’ Global Climate Summit in Davis. Award recipients are chosen in ten different categories based on their strength in eight specific areas including results, transferability, environmental impact, resource conservation, economic progress, innovation and uniqueness, pollution prevention, and environmental justice. The Energy Coalition won the award for the best Children’s Environmental Education program.

The Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Awards program was established in 1993. The award program is administered by the California Environmental Protection Agency and the California Natural Resources Agency in collaboration with the State and Consumer Services Agency, the California Department of Food and Agriculture, California Labor and Workforce Development Agency and the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency.

To learn about the award-winning PEAK Student Energy Actions program, go to www.peakstudents.org and to learn more about The Energy Coalition go to www.energycoalition.org. For more information on GEELA and this year's award recipients, visit the Cal/EPA Web site: www.calepa.ca.gov/Awards/GEELA/.  

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