ENVIROPORT 2007
> INTRODUCTIONTHE GREEN STANDARDRESOURCE CONSERVATIONPRESERVING HABITATS & SPECIESEDUCATION & AWARENESS
Making the World a Better Place
Our Green Leaderhsip
Our Education Programs
Earth Day 2007
Community Outlook: VoluntEARs
At Home and in our Parks
Community Outreach: Youth Education

At Home and In Our Parks






Environmental Programming The various media networks of Disney, including ABC and The Disney Channel, have responded to viewers' interests in environmentally themed programming. Throughout 2007, nearly every series incorporated some type of environmental messaging, from recycling to carpooling.

ABC News

Disney can trace ABC News' commitment to serious environmental reporting back to the late 1980's when Ned Potter and Bill Blakemore reported on topics including the global species-extinctions crisis and, even then, a series of spots on the dangers and causes of global warming. Today, ABC News continues in this tradition with popular shows such as "Good Morning America," "World News with Charles Gibson," and "This Week with George Stephanopoulos."

  • ABC News marked Earth Day 2007 with a day-long look at the state of the planet, featuring a special "20/20," anchored by Diane Sawyer. ABC News' "Planet Earth 2007: Seven Ways to Help Save the World" reported on the most critical environmental issues of today and what solutions are currently employed across the globe. This unprecedented event attracted 8.4 million viewers who tuned in to watch ABC News anchors and correspondents live from seven continents throughout the day on Friday, April 20.
  • "Good Morning America" (GMA) host, Sam Champion, presented a weekly segment titled Just One Thing, giving viewers eco-friendly action tips covering a broad range of topics including light bulbs, green hotels, back to school green gadgets, greening cubicles, and eco-bouquets for Mother's Day. In addition, Sam Champion completed additional environmental pieces on the ozone hole growth, wind farm energy, Sheryl Crow and Laurie David's bio-diesel bus tour, as well as reporting from the polar ice caps as part of GMA's "Seven Wonders" series.
  • On "World News with Charles Gibson," Charlie hosted regular Going Green segments covering topics such as environmentally-related financial savings, energy consumption and related greenhouse gas emissions, and carbon footprints.
  • "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" featured regular reports on environmental champions and their issues including Leonardo DiCaprio on his fight against global warming, Bill Clinton on the Clinton Global Initiative, and John Kerry on his new environmentally themed book.
  • "Nightline" aired a number of reports on the environment including Terry Moran's interview with former Vice President Al Gore. He also covered issues including the threat to polar bears, green hotels, Tesla Roadster electric car, and eco-friendly products and services from Home Depot.

Playhouse Disney

The popular Playhouse Disney channel in the United Kingdom published an environmental guide titled "Playing for the Planet" that encourages young children and families to act environmentally. Disney Channel UK launched the Guide at a family event in London, in collaboration with the Woodland Trust, the UK's leading woodland conservation charity, and Playhouse Disney has promoted the Guide on air.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

Ty Pennington and gang of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" incorporated eco-friendly, low energy and recyclable products into every build during the 2007-8 season. The most notable was a home built for the Yazzie family, which included multiple modern "green" utilities. For five years, the Yazzie family lived in a mobile home without running water, heat, or fully functioning electricity. 13-year old Garrett Yazzie tapped his scientific intuition to create a solar heater and a water heater using spare parts he found around his home. Taking a lead from Garrett, the "Design Team," national builder HomeLife Communities, and hundreds of volunteers and workers rebuilt a home in just seven days, using materials from a nearby landfill and wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. They also installed automatic light sensors, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), numerous day lighting windows, solar panels, special heating technology, and ENERGY STAR® rated appliances to reduce energy consumption and costs. The show aired on ABC on October 28, 2007.

Public Service Announcements

Departments within TWDC developed two public service announcements to share important environmental suggestions with television viewers. In a partnership with the Department of Energy, Remy, the hero of Ratatouille, made an appearance in 2007 to promote energy conservation by urging viewers to make the switch from incandescent bulbs to ENERGY STAR® CFLs.

 

Disney Fairies and America Ferrera team up to share the importance protecting the earth!

The Disney Fairies PSA used the talent of "Ugly Betty" star America Ferrera to inspire people to get involved in local environmental efforts, like cleaning up a local park. Disney has always and will continue to use PSAs as a platform for bringing public awareness to critical issues.

Guest Education

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Cast Members have shown a commitment time and time again to Guests' environmental education. Interacting with children and adult Guests directly in the magical atmosphere of a Disney Theme Park truly drives home the environmental messages and encourages Guests to take action at home.

  • October 3 was national Change-a-Light Day and Disneyland Resort, along with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Sylvania®, kicked-off the 2007 Energy Star Change-a-Light Bus Tour. A ceremony hosted by Senior Vice President of Resort Operations Greg Emmer along with EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson at the Mickey and Friends parking structure helped send off the Change-a-Light Bus. In addition, Sylvania presented Guests and Cast Members in attendance each with a CFL for use in their homes. After the Bus' debut at Disneyland, the vehicle left for a cross-country trip to promote the environmental benefits of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) over incandescent light bulbs, including the fact that changing just 60 incandescent light bulbs to CFL bulbs would offset the 5,000-mile tour trip. The bus tour lasted 20 days and made stops in ten cities, educating thousands of people.
  • Hong Kong Disneyland produced the "Tree Trail Guidebook," in partnership with a local organization, to promote local walking trails to Guests. The over-arching program, titled The Nature Walk, was first launched in 2006 to help students and teachers identify local trees and plants on property. More than 800 primary and secondary students have participated in these activities to date.
  • Cast Members continued the success of The Custodial Kids experiential tour at Tokyo DisneySea in 2007, helping kids participate in recycling and climate protection activities during their visit to the Park.
  • More than 8,500 Guests participated in World Ocean Day 2007 activities at The Seas with Nemo & Friends in Epcot.
  • Rafiki's Planet Watch, an attraction at Disney's Animal Kingdom, continued to draw numerous Guests with an interest in environmental issues to tour the animal research facilities and interact with resident wildlife.