Leaders in Clean Energy and Teen Empowerment - SmartPower and DoSomething.org - Collaborate to Reduce U.S. Dependence on Oil

"My Gulf Action" and "Weekend Without Oil" Call Americans to Action

WASHINGTON and NEW YORK, July 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- SmartPower, the nation's leading marketer of clean energy, and DoSomething.org, a national organization at the forefront of empowering teens and young people to improve their communities, are partnering to reduce U.S. dependence on fossil fuels in the wake of the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The two organizations have come together with their initiatives – SmartPower's "My Gulf Action" and DoSomething.org's "Weekend Without Oil" – to urge Americans of all ages to reduce their energy use, offsetting the millions of gallons of oil that have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico.

My Gulf Action, which launched earlier this month (www.MyGulfAction.com), is an online campaign with a unique tool that allows individuals to reduce their personal use of fossil fuels, calculate the effects of those reductions, and see how their reductions, combined with others from the My Gulf Action community, add up to offset the Gulf oil spill. The website is available for free to anyone. New information about the campaign is posted daily on Twitter (@MyGulfAction) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Gulf-Action/130562830302923). Among those supporting the campaign are several major environmental groups and legendary actor Ed Asner.

Weekend Without Oil (www.weekendwithoutoil.org) is driving that point home by asking Americans to spend the weekend of August 21-22 oil-free. The initiative's goal is two-fold: to spread the message of how much oil is used in everyday products, and to get at least 166,000 people to join the campaign by committing to 11 actions. Those 11 actions include walking or bike-riding; using reusable bags; not buying new make-up, clothing or DVDs; and drinking tap water during the weekend of August 21-22.

"Registering 166,000 youth at WeekendWithoutOil.org will offset 1 million gallons of oil," said James Elbaor, Director of Special Projects for DoSomething.org. "Educating young people about their impact today is an essential part of ensuring a cleaner, healthier tomorrow. We're proud to partner with SmartPower's My Gulf Action campaign, which supports this important mission."

As partners, Weekend Without Oil and My Gulf Action will promote each other's campaigns, link to each other's partnerships and fan bases and work together to increase participation in both initiatives.

"The fact that My Gulf Action and Weekend Without Oil are coming together underscores the need for organizations around the country to unite to help address our nation's dependence on fossil fuels," said Brian Keane, president of SmartPower. "This is a crucial issue that deserves collaborative attention. I'm thrilled that, in this case, a clean energy marketing group and a teen empowerment and volunteer organization can team up to move our nation to a clean energy future."

The latest estimate, reported by the New York Times based on government flow estimates, is that up to 145 millions of gallons of oil have been spilled into the Gulf of Mexico since BP's Deepwater Horizon well exploded on April 20.

About My Gulf Action:  My Gulf Action, a project of SmartPower, is an innovative tool for the personal reduction of energy use, offering Americans a way to take concrete, lasting action against the BP oil spill. My Gulf Action is powered by Climate Culture, a personal energy use reduction platform developed by SmartPower's technology partner, Efficiency 2.0. For more information, please visit www.MyGulfAction.com.

About SmartPower: Created in 2002, SmartPower is the nation's leading non-profit organization dedicated to promoting clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency. SmartPower's award-winning, research-based campaigns have engaged people across the United States, building the clean energy marketplace and helping Americans become smarter about their energy use. For more information, please visit www.smartpower.org.

About Weekend Without Oil: Weekend Without Oil, a project of DoSomething.org, urges individuals to fight the damaging effects of the Gulf oil spill. The new initiative encourages young people to give up 11 specific items that depend on oil for the weekend of August 21-22. For this initiative, DoSomething.org has partnered with AOL, Climate Counts, Mobilize.org, My Gulf Action, TreeHugger  and the infamous mock Twitter phenomenon @BPGlobalPR in hopes of raising awareness about the pervasiveness of our dependence on oil based products. More information at www.WeekendWithoutOil.org.

About DoSomething.org: DoSomething.org is one of the largest organizations in the US that helps young people rock causes they care about. A driving force in creating a culture of volunteerism, DoSomething.org is on track to activate 2 million young people in 2011. By leveraging the web, television, mobile, and pop culture, DoSomething.org inspires, empowers and celebrates a generation of doers: teenagers who recognize the need to do something, believe in their ability to get it done, and then take action. Plug in at www.DoSomething.org.

SOURCE SmartPower