California Team Takes Top Honors at 2010 Canon Envirothon

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A five-member team of high school students from Arlington High School, California, is the winner of the 2010 Canon Envirothon. The winning team was announced on Friday, August 6^th, during the closing ceremony of the weeklong North American environmental education competition held at the California State University, Fresno, and sponsored by Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in advanced digital imaging.

“Congratulations to all of the teams that participated in this year’s Canon Envirothon”

More than 270 teenagers from 45 U.S. states and 9 Canadian provinces studied environmental issues and resource conservation, while competing for a share of more than $125,000 in scholarships and Canon products.

"Congratulations to all of the teams that participated in this year’s Canon Envirothon," said Bunji Yano, senior director and general manager, Corporate Communications, Canon U.S.A. "Canon is dedicated to creating an environment which fosters innovation and critical thinking among our future leaders. It has been truly inspiring to witness the hard work and dedication demonstrated by each student participating in this competition. Their commitment embodies Canon’s corporate philosophy of Kyosei – all people, regardless of race, religion, or culture, harmoniously living and working together into the future.”

The first-place Arlington High School team received a total of $25,000 in Canon scholarships, as well as Canon video equipment for their advisor and sponsoring agency/organizations to use in science education. Charter School of Wilmington Team 1, Delaware, ($20,000), and Rushford-Peterson High School, Minnesota ($15,000), placed second and third, respectively. The fourth-place team, John Carroll High School, Florida received $10,000 and the fifth-place team, Carroll County Boy Scout Venturing Crew 202, Maryland received $7,500. The list of schools/organizations finishing in the top 10 appears at the end of this announcement.

The National Association of Conservation Districts, the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation in the U.S., and the Provincial Forestry Associations in Canada, are key partners in organizing the Canon Envirothon.

The Canon Envirothon tests teams on their knowledge of soils and land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife and a current environmental issue. The current issue for this year’s competition was Protection of Groundwater Through Urban, Agricultural and Environmental Planning. The competing teams analyzed the long-term and short-term impacts of natural environmental occurrences and human activities on genes, species and ecosystems, relative to how each may influence or directly impact their future.

Since 1997, Canon U.S.A. has been a sponsor of this annual competition. The Canon Envirothon is the culmination of a series of competitions that began during the past school year and involved more than 500,000 teenagers throughout North America. In written tests and oral presentations, starting on the local level, winning five-member teams from schools and organizations competed for the distinction of representing their state, province or territory at the Canon Envirothon.

Each team’s knowledge is tested under the supervision of foresters, soil scientists, wildlife specialists and other natural resource professionals. Teamwork, problem-solving and presentation skills are evaluated as each team offers a panel of judges an oral presentation containing recommendations for solving the specific challenge that is presented during the competition.

The 2011 competition will be held in the Canadian Province of New Brunswick, July 31^st through August 7^th, 2011.

In addition to the Canon Envirothon, Canon U.S.A. supports a wide range of environmental education and youth programs including, the PBS Nature Series; programs at Yellowstone National Park; and many additional local programs. For more information, visit www.usa.canon.com/environment.

Canon Envirothon Media Center: www.envirothon.org Click on the media center for information about the competition, daily updates and photos of the winning teams. Photos of winning teams can be downloaded beginning Saturday, August 7, 2010.

About Canon U.S.A., Inc.

Canon U.S.A., Inc., is a leading provider of consumer, business-to-business, and industrial digital imaging solutions. Its parent company, Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ), a top patent holder of technology, ranked fourth overall in the U.S. in 2009†, with global revenues of US $35 billion, is listed as number six in the computer industry on Fortune Magazine's World’s Most Admired Companies 2010 list, and is on the 2009 BusinessWeek list of "100 Best Global Brands." Canon U.S.A. is committed to the highest levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty, providing 100 percent U.S.-based consumer service and support for all of the products it distributes. At Canon, we care because caring is essential to living together in harmony. Founded upon a corporate philosophy of Kyosei – "all people, regardless of race, religion or culture, harmoniously living and working together into the future" – Canon U.S.A. supports a number of social, youth, educational and other programs, including environmental and recycling initiatives. Additional information about these programs can be found at www.usa.canon.com/kyosei. To keep apprised of the latest news from Canon U.S.A., sign up for the Company's RSS news feed by visiting www.usa.canon.com/rss.

†Based on weekly patent counts issued by United States Patent and Trademark Office.

All referenced product names, and other marks, are trademarks of their respective owners.

The top 10 teams at the 2010 Canon Envirothon:

Place	Organization	State
1^st	Arlington High School	California
2^nd	Charter School of Wilmington Team 1	Delaware
3^rd	Rushford-Peterson High School	Minnesota
4^th	John Carroll High School	Florida
5^th	Carroll County Boy Scout Venturing Crew 202	Maryland
6^th	Middleton High School	Wisconsin
7^th	University of Toronto Schools	Ontario
8^th	Candor High School Chardon High School	New York Ohio
9th	Keene High School	New Hampshire
10^th	Lexington High School	Massachusetts