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  • Earth Day Round Up from Across the Administration

    It’s been a busy Earth Day here at the White House and around the Administration.  Yesterday Vice President Biden kicked off the Administration’s Earth Day Celebration by announcing $452 million in Recovery Act funding to support a “Retrofit Ramp-Up.” This program will create thousands of jobs and allow these communities to retrofit hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses while testing out innovative strategies that can be adopted all over the country.  President Obama also issued a Presidential Proclamation on Earth Day calling on Americans to join in the spirit of the first Earth Day forty years ago to take action in their communities to make our planet cleaner and healthier.

    This afternoon, Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, hosted a live chat on WhiteHouse.gov to answer your questions about how the Administration is working to improve the environment and build a clean energy economy that supports the jobs of the future.  This evening, the President hosted an Earth Day reception in the Rose Garden at the White House where he discussed some of the challenges that lie ahead in achieving a clean energy economy:

    I think we all understand that the task ahead is daunting; that the work ahead will not be easy and it’s not going to happen overnight.  It’s going to take your leadership.  It’s going to take all of your ideas.  And it will take all of us coming together in the spirit of Earth Day -- not only on Earth Day but every day -- to make the dream of a clean energy economy and a clean world a reality.

    Over on the Social Innovation and Civic Participation blog, guest blogger and former Peace Corps volunteer Kelly McCormack shares here story about a community solution to an environmental problem in Gautemala.

    Finally, President Obama’s cabinet and other senior government officials fanned out across the country as part of the Administration’s 5-day celebration of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.  From live chats, to announcing major investments in renewable energy, to appearing on the David Letterman show - all-in-all a busy day!

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    • Delaware

    866-2-VISIT-DE
    www.visitdelaware.net

    www.state.de.us

     

    Flag of Delaware

    Seal

     

     

    #  Entered Union   Year Settled

    1st           Dec. 7, 1787         1638

     

    Nickname

    First State

     

    Rank      Population

    46th       873,092

     

    Rank      Square Miles

    49th       2,489

     

    State Bird

    Blue Hen of Delaware

     

    State Flower

    Peach Blossom

     

    State Tree

    American Holly

     

    State Motto

    Liberty and Independence



    With the state motto of "Liberty and Independence," it's no surprise that Delaware was the first of the original 13 states of the Union; it's often called the "First" or "Diamond State." The state's name comes from the original governor of Virginia, Thomas West, Lord De La Warr.

     

    William Penn acquired the land that makes up Delaware to keep his Pennsylvania colony from being landlocked. Today, Delaware is one of the most industrialized states, known for its chemical research. Dover is the capital.

     

    Henry Francis du Pont

    You have probably heard of the DuPont Company, which was founded by a family of the same name. But do you know about the museum that one of the family members began?

     

    Henry Francis du Pont (1880-1969) was an heir to Delaware's DuPont Company fortune. He was one of the first serious collectors of American decorative art objects --furniture, textiles, paintings, and other objects made in the United States between 1640 and 1840.

     

    American furniture and household objects had been considered inferior to those from Europe. But du Pont helped develop a new appreciation for American decorative arts. He created a legendary showplace for these objects on his family's estate just outside of Wilmington, Delaware. In 1951 it was opened to the public as the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur (pronounced winter-tour) Museum.

     

    Du Pont assembled objects from his collection into 175 "period rooms," each with examples of American antiques and decorative arts that followed a certain theme or period in early American history. For example, the du Pont Dining Room has furniture dating from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. And, because this was the time when the United States became a new nation, there is a patriotic theme in the room.

     

    Another example is the Chinese Parlor, which has furnishings that reflect Americans' fascination with Asian culture during the 18th century. In these period rooms du Pont believed he could tell the story of the early United States through furniture and other decorative arts.

     
     
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