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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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    • Kentucky
    502-223-8687 (not toll-free)

    www.tourky.com

    www.state.ky.us

     

    Flag of Kentucky

    Seal

     

     

    #    Entered Union   Year Settled

    15th       June 1, 1792        1774



    Nickname

    Bluegrass State

     

    Rank      Population

    26th       4,269,245

     

    Rank      Square Miles

    37th       40,409

     

    State Bird

    Northern Cardinal

     

    State Flower

    Goldenrod

     

    State Tree

    Tulip Poplar

     

    State Motto

    United we stand, divided we fall

     

    Daniel Boone and other frontiersmen settled in Kentucky, the "Bluegrass State," in 1769. Its name comes from the Iroquois Indian word "Ken-tah-ten," or "land of tomorrow." Admitted into the Union in 1792, Kentucky is the 15th state and the first state west of the Appalachian Mountains.

     

    Today, Kentucky is associated with coal mines and horse farms and racing. America's most prestigious horse race, the Kentucky Derby, is held in Louisville annually. Frankfort is the capital.

     

    Daniel Boone

    Have you ever been camping and thought you'd discovered a place that no one else had ever seen? Have you ever been lost in the woods? Imagine wandering through mountains and wilderness that had never been explored and blazing a trail that others would follow. If you can imagine doing this, you're a lot like Daniel Boone

     

    For months, Boone trekked through forests in the Appalachian Mountains, where few Anglo-Americans had ever been. On June 7, 1769, Boone reached the summit of a ridge and saw the woodlands of what is now Kentucky. He realized then that he had made it across the mountains to the forests on the other side. This trail became known as Wilderness Road and would become one of the main roads for people traveling west. It opened up vast amounts of land for further exploration.

     

    June 7 is celebrated as "Boone Day" in Kentucky. Daniel Boone is considered a hero, not for wearing a raccoon-skin cap, which he's said to have done, but for building a road to the state of Kentucky.

     

    Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby

    Kentucky is a state that is known for its horses. For more than 100 years horse breeding, shows, and racing have been popular in Kentucky. The state's many grassy farms are considered by many to be the best place to raise and breed horses. Horses have been an important part of Kentucky since the early frontiersmen came on horseback through the Cumberland Gap.

     

    Early on, the settlers began racing and breeding their horses. Many early races were on straight quarter-mile roads or paths. By the 1780s, the first-known circular horse racing track had been constructed in Kentucky.

     

    The most famous horse race in the United States is the Kentucky Derby. It has been held at Churchill Downs in Louisville every May since 1875. Can you name any horses that have won the race? One of the greatest was named Secretariat.

     
     
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