Air Date: Week of June 27, 1997

Facts about... the new Preserve the Environment U.S. postage stamps.

Transcript

CURWOOD: Want to lick pollution and global warming? Now you can. To mark the fifth anniversary of the Rio Earth Summit and call attention to this year's gathering in New York, the United Nations is issuing a set of stamps with an environmental theme. The stamps are the work of American artist Peter Max. In 1974, Mr. Max designed "Preserve the Environment," a series of stamps for the US Postal Service. Like that series, this work for the UN uses a linear style and bright colors to depict a harmonious balance between humans and nature. While the message is global, the stamps differ in content throughout the UN's world offices. In New York, for example, the stamps show sailboats gliding on an ocean. Geneva's edition depicts the sun rising over snow- capped mountains. And in Vienna, they feature a river meandering through a meadow of cherry blossoms. The stamps can be postmarked only from the United Nations offices. They're being sold to raise funds for UN programs. And for this week, that's the Living on Earth Almanac.