Carbon Free Girl - A Race Car Driver's Journey to Be Carbon Neutral

Leilani holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology specializing in Ecology, Behavior and Evolution from the University of California San Diego. While attending college she worked as a volunteer at a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center. She started racing cars in 2001 and quickly began making a name for herself in the racing world. In 2006 she set the record for the highest finish for a female driver in the history of Texas Motor Speedway when she finished fourth. In 2007 Leilani became the fourth woman in history to race in the Indy Pro Series, the developmental league of IndyCar. She qualified 5th for her open wheel debut in August 2007 and earned praise from many in the IndyCar community including four time Indy 500 Champion Rick Mears.

Her racing accomplishments have landed her on the pages of USA Today, Italian Vogue and ESPN. Esquire Magazine has called her "A Woman We Love" and Sports Illustrated named her in their list of the top ten female race car drivers in the world.

Leilani adopts an acre of rainforest for every race she runs to offset her carbon footprint and has been a long time vegetarian and eco activist. She is also active politically in the legislative fight for the environment. She has twice made the journey to Capitol Hill to speak with members on Congress on behalf of the Climate Security Act. In June 2008 she spoke at a climate action rally in Washington DC alongside Senators Barbara Boxer, Joe Lieberman, and John Kerry.

She is currently putting together a race program she calls her "Eco Dream Team" that will be a vehicle (pun intended) to reach out to millions of gear-head, NASCAR flag waving race fans to make eco minded changes to their lives. "Changing out light bulbs, recycling, and using canvas grocery bags may seem like small things," says Münter, "but small changes, when multiplied by millions, can make a big difference."

"I realize that being a race car driver, I am not in an environmentally friendly sport. That is why I am doing everything I can to reduce my carbon footprint such as using renewable energy, recycling, and adopting tropical rainforest for every race I run. As citizens of Earth, we all need to work together to take care of our world. So far, we have not been doing a very good job of that. The situation is dire and requires our urgent attention. Now is the time to make a change. We need to reduce our use of fossil fuels, commit ourselves to renewable energy sources, and conserve the biodiversity that we have on Earth before it is lost forever. Together we can make enough noise to get the attention of the decision makers in our local and national governments. Let's all do our part to help save our Earth for future generations to enjoy as much as we have. It is our responsibility -- and our privilege -- to do so. "

"Kiwi" as he is affectionately referred to by his mates in the USA, was born and raised in Wellsford, New Zealand. It is perhaps because he comes from a country which currently uses 65% renewable energy and has made a commitment to make that number 90% by 2012, that has ingrained in him a deep connection with the environment. He holds a masters degree in Chemical & Materials Engineering from the University of Auckland. In 2002 Kiwi moved to the US to work as product engineer for Irwin Industrial Tools and more recently, Amerock.

"Being an engineer, I am all about learning cool new technologies. The huge surge in break through technology is amazing. While we are in dire times in terms of global warming, we are also in exciting times in terms of science and engineering. Now is the green version of the industrial revolution and as more green tech start-ups emerge it is only going to get better. Two of my favorite sites are ecogeek.org and earth2tech.com, I could talk your ear off about the latest advances in concentrating PV solar, 2nd generation ethanol, or tidal wave energy and although I don’t believe in a single silver bullet coming to save us from global warming, with all the powers combined, we are in good shape (political will willing…). Oh, and since we purchased our new energy star home – I also have my own garage to play in!"