RACE CAR DRIVER COMMITS TO GOING GREEN: LEILANI MÜNTER OFFSETTING HER CARBON FOOTPRINT BY PURCHASING AN ACRE OF ENDANGERED TROPICAL
RAINFOREST FOR PROTECTION FOR EVERY RACE SHE RUNS IN THE INDY PRO SERIES
(Oct 4, 2007) MOORESVILLE, NC - Despite being a professional race car driver that burns fuel at speeds up to 200 mph, Leilani Münter is determined to go green.
To offset her carbon footprint and help protect the worlds fragile ecosystem, Leilani has commited to purchasing an acre of endangered tropical rainforest for every race she runs in the Indy Pro Series. She has already purchased two acres from World Land Trust this year - one for
her debut in the Kentucky 100 and another for the season finale at Chicagoland Speedway. Next season Leilani plans to run full time
and will purchase 16 acres for the 16 races she runs during her bid for Rookie of the Year.
"I felt a responsibility to do something about the impact I have on the environment because of my racing career," said Leilani, "I am
speaking out about my actions in hopes of bringing awareness to race fans and the racing community. If I can get one person to think twice
about their impact on the Earth and start recycling and conserving energy, then it's working. We need to start taking better care of our planet."
Leilani, who holds a degree in biology for the University of California San Diego, is well known for her support of wildlife and environmental causes.
She hosts a section on her official site called Leilani's Earth Watch which is dedicated to environmental issues and clean energy.
She also has a blog where she is known to speak about green issues. Leilani has been a PADI certified scuba diver since 1994 and during her college years was a volunteer
at the Stephen Birch Aquarium, part of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. Leilani also volunteered for three years at Project Wildlife - a wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, and release center based
in San Diego, California. Leilani is a long time vegetarian, an animal friendly and environmentally sound diet. An area of rain forest the size of seven football fields
is destroyed every minute to make room for grazing cattle and more than one-third of all fossil fuels produced in the United States are used to raise animals for food according to E, the Environmental Magazine.
An average meat-eater requires about 20 times as much land as a vegetarian to fulfill their yearly calorie requirements.
“World Land Trust helps local organizations buy, protect, and replant tropical rainforest to help absorb
the carbon we pour into the air," said Byron Swift, President of World Land Trust-US, "Every time Leilani races she helps us
purchase one more acre of endangered tropical rainforest. It’s just great that she’s doing this and at the same time raising awareness in the racing
community of the need to balance our use of carbon.”
Eco Friendly Racing Sponsor
Leilani's eco friendly thinking has landed her in the company of other like minded businesses with green initiatives. Her current sponsor SMART Papers is an eco-conscious company (read SMART Papers' Environmental Policy here).
They are a leader in recycled papers, using up to 100% post consumer waste in their products which insures responsible use of forest resources.
Their facility was the first local industrial facility to enter in to a cooperative program with Cinergy aimed at opting out of purchasing power during peak
demand summer months. Their wastewater treatment program is so effective that the water they put into the Miami River is cleaner than the water they pull out.
SMART Papers is working towards becoming carbon neutral. SMART Papers was a leader in environmental practices and products before it became
fashionable.
"We have a rich heritage of using recycled fibers in fine coated and uncoated paper
manufacturing. For us, responsible natural resource utilization combines with a deep
belief that nature’s wild meadows, waterways, backyard streams and forest are all
interconnected. This belief has inspired our environmentally responsible paper products and
manufacturing practices.”
"SMART Papers feels as strongly as I do about protecting our Earth's resources," said Leilani, "I am proud to carry their
colors on my race car."
Leilani Münter's Environmental Statement
"I realize that being a race car driver, I am not in an environmentally friendly
sport.
However I am working to reduce my carbon footprint by finding ways
to become carbon neutral
such as using compact fluorescent lightbulbs,
recycling, donating to green power when I pay
my electric bill and most of all,
using my voice to educate others. I want to bring attention
to the fact that as
citizens of Earth, we all need to work together to take care of our world
for
future generations. So far, we have not been doing a very good job of that.
The situation
is dire and requires our urgent attention. Now is the time to
make a change. We need to reduce
our use of fossil fuels, commit ourselves
to renewable energy sources, and conserve the biodiversity
that we have on
Earth before it is lost forever. Together we can make enough noise to get
the attention
of the decision makers in our local and national governments.
Let's all do our part to help save our
Earth for future generations to enjoy
as much as we have. It is our responsibility - and our privilege - to do so."
For more information about Leilani's racing career and her Earth Watch, please visit http://leilanimunter.com.
