Earth Day 2016 is the Most Hopeful Ever

This is an Earth Day unlike any that have preceded it. After almost five decades of grass roots activism, the festivities in 2016 finally have something to celebrate. This year we are driving a stake into the heart of climate pessimism. We are challenging those that doubt our resolve and we are breathing hope into a new climate narrative. 

We are seeing tremendous momentum in renewable energy and corporate sustainability. There is clear evidence that the fossil fuel industry is in decline. The Paris Climate Agreement offers the strongest reason yet to be optimistic this Earth Day. For the first time in history the human race has come together to collectively resolve to take on the greatest threat modern humans have ever known.

Last year was the most important year ever for climate action and 2016 promises to be even better. Although 2015 will be remembered as the year the world woke up and began to address the problem of climate change, the good news is mixed with bad. There were a number of very serious climate and environmental disasters in 2015. For a review of the best and the worst climate stories of 2015 click here.

In 2016 there was more bad news contributing to the urgency of climate action. We have witnessed the death of vast swaths of the Great Barrier Reef drawing attention to the death of coral in oceans all around the world.

We have also seen research suggesting that heat and sea level rise are not the only serious threats to human civilization. In addition to air pollution, we may actually see decreases of atmospheric oxygen attributable to climate change.

Despite these terrifying threats, there are good reasons to be hopeful. Led by US President Barack Obama and Pope Francis, we are seeing climate leadership from some of the most powerful people on the planet.

In Canada a new Liberal government released its budget that has delivered on its green promises. Canada has also partnered with the US on climate action and Arctic protections.

A clear trend is emerging as the economics of climate action are becoming clear. The COP21 climate deal will inevitably result in major policy and regulatory changes. However, it is now up to the business community to realize the ambitious goals set in Paris. The business of sustainability has reached a turning point. There are a number of reasons why corporations are embracing sustainability as never before. In 2016 we are also seeing that green finance has gone mainstream

The best news from 2015 was the successful outcome of COP21. It delivered the Paris Climate Agreement that is being formally signed today at a UN ceremony in New York. Around 150 nations including the world's top two emitters, China and the US will be present to formally sign the deal. 

The agreement is a turning point that has augured a number of optimistic predictions. Perhaps most importantly the agreement augurs a radical shift in energy production which is critical step in addressing the climate crisis. Last year was a transformational year for energy and in 2016 it looks as though it will continue in earnest.

The COP21 deal specifically signals the end of fossil fuels and the dawn of unprecedented growth for renewable energy.  The fossil fuel industry has been exposed. We are already seeing that investments in renewables are eclipsing fossil fuels and we are also seeing how we can address climate change by riding fossil fuels into the ground.

We have reason to be hopeful about renewable energy. We have seen the prodigious growth of renewables in 2015 and there are even higher expectations going forward is 

It is heartening to see that a new understanding is permeating the powerful pressure exerted by market forces supporting the transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewable sources of energy.  We are also seeing ancillary trends that like a new wave of more affordable electric vehicles.

Although the real work is just beginning, the world is coming to the realization the green economy is the right solution for our troubled times.

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The Crucial Significance of Earth Day and Grassroots Environmentalism

April 22, is Earth Day, this annual flagship event has achieved a great deal in the last 44 years. In the US and around the world, Earth Day leads the way on issues associated with environmental advocacy. Earth Day not only raises awareness, it encourages people to act in defense of planetary ecology and local environmental issues throughout the year.

If there is one thing we have learned from the IPCC's efforts, it is that science alone has not been able to change our current trajectory. Despite decades of peer reviewed research (much of it predating the IPCC), a mountain of solid scientific evidence has not managed to build the critical mass required to augur change. If we are to change our course we will need to continue to grow grassroots environmentalism and events like Earth Day play a crucial role.

From its early origins in 1970 to its present day incarnation, Earth Day has become the leading environmental event in the world. On the inaugural Earth Day in 1970, 20 million people across the US, stood up for the environment. The event is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network, and it is celebrated in more than 192 countries. More than a billion people around the world celebrate Earth Day and engage in actions that will lessen our impact on the planet.

In 2014, these actions cover a wide range of issues including greening our cities, reducing energy use, increasing renewable energy, conserving forests, and saving wild elephants. People have committed to more than one billion "Acts of Green." To see the pledges made or to make one of your own click here.

At a 1969 UNESCO Conference in San Francisco, peace activist John McConnell proposed a day in recognition of the Earth, to be first celebrated on March 21, the first day of spring or Vernal Equinox in the northern hemisphere.

One of the early advocates of government action in support of better environmental stewardship was US Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin. In 1969 Nelson began to think of ways he could marshal people to demonstrate the way people actively protested the Vietnam War. Nelson got activist Denis Hayes involved to organize the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970.

In the months which followed the first Earth Day, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was born and environmental issues were on the US political map. In the years which followed the celebration went global. In 1990 Hayes organized events in 141 nations and now, thanks in part to Earth Day, environmentalism is mainstream.

Earth Day is about far more then empty advocacy, the day has helped to foster meaningful change. In the early days people demanded federal action on air pollution and land contamination. Subsequently, a number of legislative measures have been passed along with a wide range of regulatory actions from government agencies including the EPA. Thanks in part to Earth Day, the air and water are now much cleaner in the US than they were.

Although we now face more difficult and less visible environmental problems. It is hard to see how skyrocketing rates of carbon (now at 400 ppm) and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are causing climate change. As we rapidly head towards devastating temperature increases, Earth Day's efforts to raise awareness become even more pressing.

We need grassroots action now more than ever. Events like Earth Day serve as powerful catalysts to help get larger numbers of people involved so that we can succeed in changing our perilous trajectory.

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Event - 2014 Edison Earth Day Celebration

The 2014 Edison Earth Day celebration will take place on April 27, 2014, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm at Papaianni Park, 100 Municipal Boulevard Edison, NJ. This free, annual, family-friendly, green/sustainable, public event in honor of Earth Day. This celebration is co-presented by the Township of Edison, Edison Clean Communities Program; Edison Township Environmental Commission (ETEC) and the Edison Sustainable Jersey Green Team (ESJGT). Activities include: Volunteer plantings, site cleaning and organic debris consolidation, as well as a variety of other green/sustainable activities; Test America environmental testing; Central Jersey Bicycle Association (CJBA) Bike Ride.

The Edison Clean Communities Program has provided free, re-usable Edison Earth Day shopping bags and water bottles for event participants and the first 150 visitors. The Arbor Day Foundation has afforded free tree saplings for the public as part of the New Jersey Tree Recovery Campaign to help replant communities damaged by Superstorm Sandy. The National Gardening Association has provided free vegetable and flower seed packets, as well as youth gardening information for the public as part of its Gardening with Kids program. Ample free parking will be available for event participants and visitors.

For more information as to event attendance, volunteer/vendor/presenter participation and/or sponsorship, please contact Chris Mazauskas, Resource Development Officer, Dept. of Administration, Township of Edison at 732-248-7356 (Office Telephone), 732-287-6679 (Office Fax) and/or cmazauskas@edisonnj.org (E-mail).

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Video - Greener Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras throws are usually the one part of parades you can take home. For people like Katrina Brees, the throws should be memorable and from her perspective, sustainable. party, celebration, Mardi Gras, Carnival, lent, celebration, sustainable, sustainability, improvements, better, waste, garbage, plastic,

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A More Sustainable Carnival and Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras is getting greener. Carnival is a major event that is celebrated in many places around the world including New Orleans, Mexico, Brazil and the Caribbean. Although this party is well known for over the top excess, here are some of the initiatives, organizations and companies that are helping to make the festivities more sustainable

Each year over 25 million pounds of beads are distributed during Mardi Gras in New Orleans. This amounts to over $1 billion of Mardi Gras beads. Many of these toxic petroleum based beads are manufactured in factories where workers are treated inhumanely. These mostly plastic strings of beads are both the most popular "throws" and one of the most hazardous. Over 60 percent of the Mardi Gras Trinkets tested were above the US Consumer Product Safety Commission limit for lead in children’s products of 100 parts per million (ppm). The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends 40ppm as a limit. These trinkets are unregulated and the toxins in them leach into the environment.

A report published by Healthystuff.org in collaboration with VerdiGras indicates that there are a host of hazardous material in Mardi Gras trinkets including metals such as lead and Cadmium; phthalate plasticizers, brominated flame retardants; and chlorinated flame retardants.

In addition to being hazardous, plastic beads also contribute to a whole lot of waste that ends up in landfills. To help manage the problem of waste several groups are recycling these beads. These groups include the nonprofit group, Arc of Greater New Orleans, who follow parades with their "Catch and Release" float and urge people along the parade route to throw their beads back rather than throw them out. Their decorated trailer invites party goers to pitch their surplus beads and baubles at the end of the parade The company then sorts and resells the beads. The money earned goes back to their non-profit.

Other ways that people are minimizing their environmental impacts include bringing reusable cups for water and other beverages. When it comes to costumes it is always better to create your own out of recycled materials or buy used. 

There are a number of organizations that are working to make Mardi Gras festivities more sustainable they include:

I Heart Louisiana is an organization aimed at creating an economically and environmentally sustainable Mardi Gras. They strive to strengthen the local economy and protect our natural resources. Their Brees' boutique sells sustainable Mardi Gras stuff made out of recycled materials.  These  products are the kind of trinkets that people will actually keep as opposed to throw away.

Arc Enterprises is a branch of the nonprofit Arc of Greater New Orleans. They provide jobs for intellectually disabled citizens with jobs such as landscape maintenance, janitorial services as well as its popular Vintage Garden, which also markets its own vegetable soups. Arc employees and volunteers sorted 100,000 pounds of beads that were donated by school bead drives, collected in bead recycling bins stationed at grocery stores, and donated by private citizens. The company then resells the beads enabling buyers to save a lot of money compared to the environmentally more destructive imported throws

Verdi Gras is a non-profit aimed at greening the Carnival practices and shifting our dependence away from foreign, petroleum based throws. VerdiGras has teamed up with Arc are to introduce recycling bins to Carnival

Zombeads is an organization that offers a line of locally sourced and recycled material throws. They also partner with independently owned businesses abroad that produce throws made by women living in poverty who are paid fair living wages.

Nola Brewing is a local brewery that takes steps to be more environmentally and socially responsible. Because New Orleans does not recycle glass, they only use cans for their beers. The can holders are furthermore made of recycled plastic and are marine-life friendly. They source their ingredients locally when possible, donate their spent grain to a local cattle farm, and support local non-profits like the Gulf Restoration Network.

Throw Me Something Local: A Green Mardi Gras Ball was an event that supports the local economy and advocates moving away from petroleum-based beads. This event is all about stewardship of culture, planet, and people. The event included a local throw competition, a recycled costume contest, local beer and food.

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World Wetlands Day 2014 Highlights Agriculture

Yesterday, Sunday February 2nd was World Wetlands Day (WWD). As 2014 is the UN International Year of Family Farming, the theme for this year is 'Wetlands and Agriculture.' The slogal for the Day is 'Wetlands and Agriculture: Partners for Growth,' placing a focus on the need for the wetland, water and agricultural sectors to work together for the best shared outcomes.

Our wetlands are of great importance to the health of the planet and all its inhabitants. Our waters provide habitat for a myriad of species, recharge groundwater and provide opportunities for wildlife viewing and other outdoor recreation.

As is becoming increasingly obvious climate change is drastically altering the water cycle. We are now living with more intense storms, floods, droughts, in addition to rising sea-levels. Many species are suffering from the impacts of habitat loss and we continue to make ever-increasing demands on our waters. Now more than ever we need to protect and restore these precious resources and the beneficial functions they offer.

WWD marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Each year since 1997, the Ramsar Secretariat has provided materials so that government agencies, non-governmental organizations, conservation organizations, and groups of citizens can help raise public awareness about the importance and value of wetlands.

The Ramsar Convention Secretariat

The Ramsar Convention Secretariat's reports of WWD activities of all types, from lectures and seminars, nature walks, children’s art contests, sampan races, and community clean-up days, to radio and television interviews and letters to newspapers, to the launch of new wetland policies, new Ramsar sites, and new programmes at the national level. Government agencies and private citizens from all over the world have sent us their news, often with photographs, and these annual summaries and over 1000 individual reports, with more than 1400 images, make an excellent archive of ideas for future celebrations.

And each year, the Ramsar Secretariat, with generous financial assistance from the private sector Danone Group, has offered a new selection of posters, stickers, videos, pocket calendars, leaflets and information packs free of charge and has suggested a unifying theme for the benefit of those who wish to use it.

The Danone-Evian Fund for Water generously supports World Wetlands Day as part of a collaborative partnership since 1998 between the Ramsar Convention and the Danone Group.

Click here to see local, national and international adaptations of WWD materials, the collection of all the WWD cartoons, the collection of WWD Children's activities.

The National Wildlife Federation (NWF)

In addition to the work of the Ramsar Convention a number of organizations work to protect wetlands, one of the best is the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). Their effort include:

Wetlands - Those amazingly productive and diverse waters that stand between upland and open water. As important as they are to water quality, flood storage, and biodiversity, they are vanishing at such a quick rate in some parts of the country that within our lifetime they may just be a memory. Economists estimate that one acre of wetlands provides about $10,000 worth of ecosystem services which include: filtering and recharging drinking water, preventing flooding, protecting our coasts from hurricanes and storms, and providing habitat for diverse wildlife populations.

Streams - Where water often first surfaces from underground and begins its march to the sea. They form a complex hydrologic network that absorbs and then gradually releases nutrients, organic matter, and stream flow downstream. These headwaters support a staggering diversity of fish and wildlife species. Like wetlands, they provide essential "services" for humans such as preserving water quality and lessening the impacts of flooding.

Floodplains- The flood-prone bottomlands that cradle rivers, streams, and wetlands are nature's best defense against floods and provide invaluable functions for wildlife and communities. Undisturbed floodplains — or those that have been restored to a near natural state — provide such benefits as flood and erosion control, groundwater recharge, enhanced farmlands, fish and wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities. Development along floodplains puts people and property in harm's way, resulting in more frequent and severe floods, puts species at risk, and compromises water supplies.

To protect these valuable waters, NWF:

Works to restore Clean Water Act protections lost due to two controversial Supreme Court decisions. We advocate for legislation and agency action to restore Clean Water Act protections.

Advocates for preventing wetland and stream destruction and pollution through strong enforcement of the Clean Water Act. Since passage in 1972, the Clean Water Act has made great strides in protecting and restoring America's waters. A series of court cases and agency decisions threaten to reverse the unprecedented progress that was made over the previous 30 years. NWF litigates, advocates, and works with federal, state and local agencies to keep safeguards strong and protect our waters from development and population pressures.

Urges agencies to consider global warming and wildlife impacts when making decisions affecting our nation's waters. Decisions that affect our nation's waters must take into account the impacts of global warming on fish and wildlife — especially endangered species — and the aquatic habitat they depend on. NWF litigates, advocates, and collaborates with all levels of government to protect our wetlands, streams, and floodplains.

Keeps people and wildlife out of harm's way by promoting nonstructural solutions to flood control. Flooding poses a major threat to people and wildlife. National Wildlife Federation works at the local and national level to prevent development along floodplains. NWF has actively advocated for reforming the National Flood Insurance Program so that flood insurance rates reflect real risk.

Prevents the construction of water projects that will degrade, destroy, or alter waters' natural and beneficial functions and promotes economically and environmentally sound solutions. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' water civil works projects and outdated federal water policies can have devastating impacts on the nation's rivers, wetlands, and coasts. National Wildlife Federation coordinates the Water Protection Network to help hundreds of organizations and community leaders understand and influence Corps projects and federal water policy to ensure water projects and policies are economically and environmentally sound. NWF is also leading a campaign to prevent the Corps from constructing the New Madrid Levee Project.

Works to enact new national water planning guidelines that are more friendly to wildlife, that preserve intact ecosystems to feed our economic growth and buffer our communities from increasing threats from global warming. The 21st century, with the increasing pressures on our nation's water resources, demands a more proactive approach to water planning, rather than the piecemeal, project-by-project approach taken thus far.

© 2014, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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DIY Workshop - A Living Christmas Tree

The DIY Workshop titled "A Living Christmas Tree" will take place on Saturday December 14, 2013, from 1 pm - 2 pm at the Evergreen Garden Market, located at 550 Bayview Ave., Toronto, Ontario. A living tree is a far more environmentally sound alternative to traditional cut trees. During this workshops participants will learn how to care for and maintain a live Fraser fir in their homes, and then how to plant it in the garden or forest so that it will be around for generations to come.

The program is sponsored by Home Depot.

For more information go to their website or contact Evergreen by Phone: 4165961495, E-mail: info (at) evergreen.ca

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