Leading High School Climate Education Organization Honored by the EPA. 

Oakland, Calif., April 25, 2012 - The Alliance for Climate Education (ACE) :: Alliance for Climate Education, the national leader in high school climate education, has been selected by Region 1 (New England) of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to receive an Environmental Merit Award. The Environmental Merit Award is an annual award that recognizes outstanding environmental advocates who have made significant contributions towards preserving and protecting our natural resources.  

ACE was nominated by Matthew Lappe for it's exceptional work and commitment to the environment in 2011. 

"We are honored to recieve this award and would like to thank the EPA for recognizing one of our most long-standing regions," said Pic Walker, ACE's Executive Director. 

"Congratulations to all of our 2012 Environmental Merit Award recipients. These awards are close to my heart because they acknowledge the importance of environmental stewardship," said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA's New England office. "As stewards, the 2012 Environmental Merit Award recipients are making real and lasting differences in communities across our beautiful region, and helping to advance our mission to protect human health and the environmnent."

ACE accomplished a great deal in 2011. ACE added two new board members, Tim Sexton and Jayni Chase. ACE also was the recipient of two awards for its innovative climate science education programs, the Climate Change Communicator of the Year by George Mason University's Center for Climate Change Communication and the 2011 Breathe California Clean Air Award for Public Awareness and Education. In addition, in the fall 2011, ACE expanded its program to North Carolina, Wisconsin and Las Vegas. In just one semester, ACE reached more than 27,000 new students in these states. 

In addition to expanding it's reach with students, ACE launched an ongoing evaluation project with the Yale School of the Environment and Stanford University's Human-Sciences and Technologies Advanced Research Institute to study the effects of ACE programs on the behavior, knowledge and attitudes of youth. ACE is also continuing to grow its relationships with national and regional partners across the country, such as with the Alliance to Save Energy and google.org. 

For additional information on ACE's programs and reach, visit acespace.org.

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About ACE:

ACE :: Alliance for Climate Education is the national leader in high school climate science education. ACE educations high school students on the science behind climate change with a free award-winning assemby presentation and inspires them to take action to curb global warming through carbon-cutting projects. ACE has reached more than a million high school students at more than 1,500 schools nationwide since 2009. To learn more, visit acespace.org.