Seneca Valley students Brendan McKelvy and Anthony Pittavino, both 16 and of Cranberry, were acknowledged by Cranberry supervisors last night for their work to benefit polar bears.

The students are finalists in a national contest sponsored by Polar Bear International in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium. The teens have been working for months to educate the community about ways to "power down" and reduce the consumption of fossil fuels in an effort to preserve the polar bears' arctic habitat, which many believe is being destroyed by global warming. They are to travel to San Diego this month for the final leg of the competition.

The teens told supervisors they believe their efforts so far have helped reduce carbon output by more than a thousand tons. Among their efforts, they persuaded people to use compact florescent light bulbs. Cranberry strategic planner John Trant Jr. said township employees now are using the energy-saving light bulbs at work.