In the spirit of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, Bookmans is proud to present Jane Poynter, author of “Champions for Change: Athletes Making a World of Difference” for a book signing at our Speedway store on Saturday, February 20 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

When air pollution drove many athletes from the Beijing Olympic Games, all eyes turned to the delicate relationship between sports and the environment. For athletes, every step of the game relies on the earth, giving to and taking from it, and every action has consequences.

“Champions for Change” looks through the eyes of many of today's top athletes and explorers at a world in the grip of global warming, and asks how each of us can tap into our own heroism and lend a helping hand. Part photographic essay, part call to action, this book guides readers of all ages through the front lines of climate change and into the lives of athletes working to make a difference.

Some of the athletes featured in the book include: Brian Vickers, Andrea Jaeger, Shaun White, Masa Sampei, Lynn Hill, Jim Whittaker, Liz Odera, Michael Johnson, Justin Rose, Greg LeMond, Natalie Coughlin, Jen O'Brien, Jessica Long, Haile Gebrselaissie, Jack Johnson, Roz Savage, Anne Quéméré, and Marcos Diaz.

Jane Poynter is a former Biosphere 2 crewmember; and is president of Paragon Space Development Corporation, a technology firm; and Global Sports Alliance USA, a non-profit dedicated to environmental education and action. She has flown experiments into space, sailed the world's oceans and worked with the World Bank on projects to mitigate climate change.

This is an effort never seen before. Top athletes and explorers have joined together with Poynter in an effort to educate and motivate the world community to join in the fight against climate change and environmental degradation. “Champions for Change” was created with the support of the United Nations Department of Public Information and dozens of athletes and explorers who shared their personal experiences. Proceeds from the book go to sports and environmental education projects around the world.

As shocking examples of global warming, a picture of Lewis Gordon Pugh (world record holder for swimming in the planet's coldest seas) shows him about to dive off an iceberg to swim across the North Pole, which until recently was frozen over for millennia. “I've seen glaciers retreat up valleys. I've swum in places where there used to be glaciers. But the biggest change is the sea ice; every year it's getting thinner and thinner,” he says.