Kids Against Pollution (KAP) presented Ford Motor Co. with their Totally Awesome! Award.
KAP chose Ford as this year's Totally Awesome! Award winner because the company took a stand in support of scientific evidence regarding the existence of global warming.
"KAP chose Ford for the Totally Awesome! Award because they recognize that climate change is partly human induced, and therefore human solved," said Shadia Wood KAP Youth Leader. "Peer pressure is difficult to confront as a kid, or as a corporation. Ford had the courage to do what was right in this case, and we think that is Totally Awesome!"
Andy Acho, worldwide director of environmental outreach and strategy at Ford Motor Co., accepted the award. "This award is very important to us because it means the people we are working to preserve the environment for recognize how important they are to us," said Acho. "At Ford, we believe in doing things that will assure environmental preservation -- things finding innovative ways to re-use post-consumer products, producing vehicles that run on alternative fuels and produce fewer emissions, and supporting research into environmental hazards."
Other totally awesome award winners include Ralph Nader and New York Congressman Sherwood Boehlert.
KAP was formed in 1987 when a teacher, by the name of Nick Byrne asked his students to analyze the news over the weekend. They could choose any issue, and the entire class decided on pollution, which started the organization Kids Against Pollution.
Interest in the group's quest resulted in a multinational network of KAP chapters.
The first Totally Awesome Award was handed out in 1994. KAP youth leaders choose recipients who are leaders for environmental health protection and or whose work keeps democracy alive.
Edited by Virginia Foran