(NAPSI)-Enough energy is saved by recycling one aluminum can to run a TV set for three hours or to light one 100-watt bulb for 20 hours. In addition, recycling a soda can saves 96 percent of the energy used to make a new can from ore.
Chemists and other scientists see that as progress-now American schoolchildren are asked to see it as poetry. A national contest challenges kindergarten through 12th-grade students to create an illustrated haiku about recycling or chemistry.
A haiku is a three-line poem with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second and five in the third. Haikus typically have nature-related themes and do not rhyme. Here’s an example:
New materials
once old, now reworked for use
shining in the light.
The contest is sponsored by the American Chemical Society (ACS) as part of its Chemists Celebrate Earth Day (CCED) celebration, which includes fun and educational activities nationwide. The ACS is a nonprofit organization chartered by Congress. It serves as the world’s largest scientific society and is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research.
First-place winners in each grade category will receive a $150 Amazon.com gift certificate. Second-place winners will receive a gift certificate for $75.
For more information about the society or the contest, including the contest deadline, visit www.chemistry.org/earthday2007.
Calling All College Students
The site also features information on an ACS video contest open to college undergraduate students. Entrants are encouraged to produce a video best illustrating the CCED theme “Recycling-Chemistry Can!” Videos will be judged on originality, creativity, composition and relevance to and incorporation of the theme.
Students are asked to be creative in their representation of the theme and can create music videos, educational videos, short skits, talk shows or any other video representation of recycling, reduction of waste or biodegradable materials and their associated chemistry. Visit www.chemistry.org/earthday2007 for more information and contest deadline.
About Earth Day
The first official Earth Day was April 22, 1970. The day was established to raise awareness of environmental issues and to remind people of the need to contribute to a sustainable planet. The ACS takes part in Earth Day under the banner “Chemists Celebrate Earth Day.”
Two new contests give students a chance to get creative with recycling.