On the eve of Earth Day, I'd like to recognize April 22nd as a time to reflect on and renew commitment to environmental stewardship. Our missions encompass both ends of the Earth and involve some of the most pristine and cherished environments like the Arctic and inland waterways. We also help protect and preserve marine life and habitats.
I compliment your efforts and recognize the many efficiency achievements submitted by nominees this year for an environmental award (click on this link and the left side menu option for nominees). You have demonstrated commitment to protect the environment and uphold these values in our Service. We are America's Maritime Guardian. We are raising our own awareness and are actively undertaking additional initiatives to recycle, adopt further green practices and seek alternative and renewable energy applications at sea and ashore.
We save lives and we can also help save the Earth.
There are many success stories in this regard. Some of the stand out units I'd like to recognize from the nominees listed above are Air Station San Francisco's commuter van pool which saved over 9,000 gallons of gas last year. BSU Kodiak installed energy saving heating, lighting and refrigeration as well as water conservation systems with an annual savings of $1.8 M and 49 million gallons of water. Together, we've achieved many of the goals and best practices outlined in My Environmental Stewardship Commitment which said, "Do your part, wherever you are within the organization, to make environmental stewardship a Coast Guard core competency.”
Send in your examples of accomplishments this year both at your unit and within your communities for recognition in our iCommandant blog to Chief, Office of Environmental Management, CG-47, Ed Wandelt, Edward.F.Wandelt@uscg.mil. As you look for new ways to personally honor our Earth on this 40th anniversary of Earth Day, here are a couple of ways to support your communities: electronics reuse and recycling, energy efficient lighting, hold a cleanup drive, leave the car at home and carpool or bike. More ideas are available at the White House's website as well as: http://earthday.net/ www.energystar.gov/homeimprovement http://epa.gov/watersense/ www.epa.gov/earthday/
