There's been lots of chatter as of late about fried foods at the Democratic National Convention. Will they be served? Can delegates eat them? For the definitive word, have a look at this letter to the editor of the Wall Street Journal.

Taylor Bates, a recent high school graduate from Williston, Vermont, knew the competition to be a delegate to the Democratic National Convention would be tough. With nearly 200 people competing for 23 delegate and four alternate spots in the Vermont delegation, Taylor had to be creative with his platform.

That’s when the idea came: He could campaign on the platform to offset carbon emissions for every Vermont delegate, as part of the DNCC’s “Green Delegate Challenge.”

It was a tough sell at first. Vermont Democrats were skeptical: How could an 18-year old raise more than $200 to offset the carbon emissions for all of the 27 delegates and alternates? With a little help from his skills as a champion in extemporaneous speaking, Bates managed to convince his fellow state Dems to elect him to be an Obama at-large delegate – the youngest member of the Vermont delegation.

Thanks to Bates’ determination, Vermont also became the second state in the U.S. to offset the carbon emissions created from the full delegation’s travel to the Convention.

So, how will he raise the money?

“I want to have a community auction for friends and family with Democrat and Convention memorabilia and maybe even an autograph or two from a famous party leader,” said Bates. “Senator Obama’s signature sure would be nice.”

UPDATE: Check out this video of our tree planting in Sunnyside!

Rounding out a week of activities around Earth Day, many of our staff will don T-shirts and old jeans and get their hands dirty Saturday morning at a tree planting in Northwest Denver’s Sunnyside neighborhood. The planting of 400 trees will increase the tree canopy in one of Denver’s most underserved and least shady neighborhoods.

Our participation in the project is part of “DNCC Service Days,” an effort to give back to the community that has been such a gracious host, and reflects our commitment to making this year’s Democratic Convention the most environmentally-sustainable event of its kind.

The project is part of the Mile High Million, Mayor John Hickenlooper’s initiative to plant more than 1 million trees in metro Denver over the next 19 years. In a bit of a warm–up exercise, some of my colleagues participated yesterday in another city-sponsored tree planting on Auraria Parkway, not far from the Pepsi Center, home of our 2008 Convention. You can check out our work – and perhaps catch a bit of shade – when you arrive here in August.

More from Earth Week at the DNCC:

• Green Screen Episode 2: Climate Change
• Earth Day Must Read: DNCC Commitment to Greening Democratic Convention is 'About Stewardship'
• Democratic National Convention Committee Rolls Out Technology Strategies Behind The Most Environmentally Sustainable Democratic Convention To Date
• Speaker Pelosi, DNCC Announce Green Delegate Challenge For 2008 Democratic National Convention
• Greening the 2008 Democratic National Convention 

The DNCC launched its Green Delegate Challenge today -- a new initiative to encourage friendly competition among the states and offer special rewards for the delegation or delegations that demonstrate the highest level of commitment to offsetting their carbon footprint from attending the Convention in Denver.

And speaking of competition (or lack thereof), watch this video for more on our selection of carbon offset projects for this challenge. Through Native Energy, the DNCC is supporting the Wray School District Wind Turbine in the Democratic National Convention's home state of Colorado and the Focus the Nation Wind Turbine on a family farm in....well, you'll just have to watch and see....

There was no shortage of green ties or agreement across party lines at the Pepsi Center this morning, that the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver would be the greenest on record.  But don’t take our word for it.  Watch the video below to hear Colorado’s Governor and a Bush administration EPA official singing the same tune.

While the Convention may seem a long way off, there’s a lot going on at the DNCC as we lay the groundwork for the historic event that will put our nominee on a path to victory in November. With all the focus on the primary race, you may have missed some of the news the Convention in Denver is making. Check out just a few of the stories from this week.

UPDATE: Check out this video for a taste of a few of the pieces of art found in our office.

This Wednesday, DNCC CEO Leah Daughtry visited Boulder, Colorado for the third in an ongoing series of Convention Conversations. Joining Daughtry on stage was Colorado House Majority Leader Alice Madden.

In addition to offering information on how Boulder residents and members of the local business community can get involved in the Convention experience, a good portion of the discussion focused on organizers’ efforts to “green” Convention planning. During the forum, Leah introduced Andrea Robinson, the first ever Director of Greening for a Democratic National Convention. Watch this video to hear Leahs remarks from Boulder and learn a bit more about the newest addition to the DNCC team.

To read more from media on this event click here, here and here.