FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 11, 2000 CONTACT: Lisa Lacher, (515) 271-3119 DRAKE UNIVERSITY TO CELEBRATE EARTH WEEK To launch Drake University's celebration of Earth Week on the morning of Monday, April 17, the Drake Environmental Action League (DEAL) will park a Honda Insight in Hubbell Field near Olmsted Center, 29th Street and University Avenue. The Insight, which will continue to be on display in Hubbell Field Tuesday, April 18, is a hybrid car that's been endorsed by the Sierra Club and gets 71 miles per gallon on the highway and 61 mpg on city streets. The car will be raffled off on Earth Day (Saturday, April 22) as a fund-raiser for the Botanical Center's educational programs. The drawing will take place at 1 p.m. at the Botanical Center in downtown Des Moines. DEAL will be selling raffle tickets for the car throughout the week in Olmsted Center during meal times and at Earth Week events. Tickets are one for $5, three for $10, or 10 for $25. "This car is a great way to highlight the need for cleaner, renewable energy sources that are better for the environment and necessary in the year 2000," said DEAL President Marta Anderson. "We're very excited to have this car help us send out the message!" DEAL also will publish its first-ever environmental newsletter, which will highlight environmental issues locally and globally. In addition, DEAL will distribute petitions and postcards concerning current environmental issues on Monday, April 17, and Tuesday, April 18. On Wednesday, April 19, David Osterberg, an environmental consultant for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, will give a presentation titled "Global Warming: Watch Out!" The event, which is free and open to the public, will start at 9 p.m. in room 101 of Meredith Hall, 28th Street and Carpenter Avenue. Osterberg stressed environmental issues in his unsuccessful campaign for the U.S. Senate in 1998. Drake's Earth Week activities will conclude Thursday, April 20, with a benefit concert performed by Dithyramb, a local band that incorporates the sounds of bongos, strings and guitars. The concert, which is free and open to the public, will run from 8:30 to 11 p.m. on the patio of the Olmsted Center.