Businesses Race to Stop Global Warming; Clean Energy Focus Reflects National Earth Day Message.

News Editors, Environmental Writers

PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 18, 2000

On the 30th Anniversary of Earth Day, at 7:30 in the morning, over a thousand runners will sprint out of Portland's Rose Quarter in the "First Annual Race to Stop Global Warming."

At the head of the pack will be 3-time New York City Marathon champion Alberto Salazar; somewhere further back will be participants from Nike, ShoreBank Pacific, and the Pax World Fund. These and other corporate sponsors of the run are an integral part of a much higher stakes race to invent climate-friendly ways of doing business.

Reflecting on Nike's role in the race, Sarah Severn, Director of Environmental Action, said, "As a company committed to sustainability, we believe that continuous progress in reducing our climate footprint will benefit business, society, and the environment." David Williams, President of ShoreBank Pacific, added: "Environmentally sustainable business practices are essential to long-term relationships. Making loans to companies that use climate-friendly practices is just good business."

Nike and ShoreBank are part of a growing community of businesses in the Portland area who are working towards climate solutions. Nike has been working to reduce its overall greenhouse gas emissions as part of the company's comprehensive environmental program, which also includes the use of organic cotton in apparel, and a major recycling program for athletic shoes.

Other Earth Day run sponsors are showing similar leadership:

-- ShoreBank Pacific is the country's "First Environmental

Bancorporation"; its mission is to promote the growth of a

conservation economy, in part through lending to businesses

who use sustainably harvested materials, who need funds to

invest in eco-efficiency measures, or who are renovating

existing properties rather than pursuing greenfield

development.

-- The Pax World Fund mobilizes capital for environmentally

responsible companies, through a family of four mutual funds

that subject potential investments to rigid social and

environmental-responsibility screens, as well as rigorous

financial scrutiny.

"The Portland Earth Day Race is unique in the country because all the major sponsors have a proven commitment to the creation of a new kind of economy: one in which business works to restore rather than degrade the environment," said Christopher Curtis, Coordinator of the National Earth Day Network, an organization helping promote Earth Day events across the country. "In addition to Nike, Pax and Shorebank, other corporate sponsors include Portland environmental leaders Collins Pine, Nature's Northwest, The Joinery and Neil Kelly Designers."

The 8K race, which winds across two bridges through downtown Portland, launches a day of events with a focus on the National Earth Day theme -- a future powered by clean, renewable energy. Immediately following the race there will be a family-oriented fair, featuring:

-- A solar-powered performance of "Famous Cats & Rabbits" by the

Northwest Children's Theatre.

-- An electric-powered Ford Ranger, and the Toyota Prius and the

Honda Insight, two new hybrid-electric vehicles both getting

more than 60 mpg.

-- A presentation by David Douglas High School students of their

solar-and- wind-powered light rail system.

-- Races (and a toddle and a crawl) for children of all ages.

-- Folks singers Megan Murphy and Timothy Hull, interactive

information booths, a treasure hunt, a salmon story-teller,

and great food.

Proceeds from the race benefit the Green House Network, a Portland-based non-profit organization dedicated to public education about the environmental threat posed by global warming. Media sponsors include KXL Radio, Jammin' 95.5, and Portland Family Magazine.

Registration forms for the run are available at Nature's stores and NikeTown, and most other running and fitness outlets -- or register on line. For more information, call 503/639-0600, or visit www.greenhousenet.org.

About Global Warming. Over the last hundred years, the planet has heated up by more than one degree Fahrenheit. Most climate scientists believe the cause of the warming is pollution from cars and power plants. Carbon-dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion have built up in the atmosphere, creating a greenhouse effect. While a handful of vocal skeptics have questioned whether global warming was real, in recent years the evidence supporting the greenhouse theory has become overwhelming. The latest nail in the skeptic's coffin was a March report in Science that average ocean surface temperatures have increased by half a degree over the last 40 years.

In Oregon, the biggest impact of the warming will be a large reduction in snowfall. University of Washington researchers have forecast a 50% drop in snowpack in the Oregon and Washington mountains by 2050. This will lead to a dramatic decline in summer flows for the region's rivers and streams -- flows that are needed to maintain salmon habitat, support irrigation, and produce electric power. Sea level rise will batter coastal communities and could destroy the rich estuary environments along the coast.

There are solutions. Information on these issues will be available at the environmental fair following the race.