Tag: climate crisis

Refresh

It has been a hard week in the United States. The election of Donald Trump has created an exhausted public full of fear and sadness.

Don’t let this president-elect drag us down. Like VP Harris said, “Fill the sky with a billion stars!”

Everyday spend time outside, expend positive energy and kindness, and do something positive for the Earth. Drive less, eat less meat, and use less plastic.

Make telling the truth a priority. Always tell the truth and insist everyone around you tell the truth. Never share ideas that might not be true.

Take a deep breath and take care of yourself. Reduce your social media exposure, smile, be kind and love our earth.

He and SHE seeks!

Try this: When anxiety or overwhelm creeps in, step outside for a 10-minute nature break. Notice the clouds drifting overhead, listen for birdsong, or simply feel the breeze on your face. Even in the heart of the city, a nearby park’s grass and trees can provide this natural reset.

Let nature amplify your joy – whether that’s watching a spectacular sunset, watching a bird or finding a beautiful tree.

We need to go through the stages of grief, and everyone deals with grief at different rates. Give people space. Our values have been rejected and it takes time to come to grips with such a big loss. Read about the stages of grief here.

Please work for peace, harmony and joy for yourself and those around you

Find a beautiful tree

Enjoy and protect nature.

PEACE

Less Waste for the Holidays

We are in a climate crisis, a waste crisis, and a plastic crisis. The last thing we need is for people to purchase more landfill junk. Everyone has a right to clean water and clean air. Buying less stuff, and producing less waste helps keep our water and air clean.

Purchase items of quality and things you really need this holiday. Also, become aware of the plastic that you send to the landfill.

Zero Waste is moving from our throw-away and overconsumption culture to a more sustainable way of reusing and refusing.

Food waste in landfills produces harmful methane gas.

The EPA reports that garbage increases 25% between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Here are new ways to reduce your waste.

Zero Waste for the Holidays Webinar

Gifting with less waste

Buy less, give more  

Wrapping with less waste

Tell Amazon: It’s time to move beyond wasteful single-use plastic packaging 

Refurbished gifts

Fixed for the Holidays 

Tell Amazon: We need repair scores

Reduce food waste

How to reduce food waste and save money this holiday season 

Tell Congress: Pass this bill to combat the worst kind of food waste
Federal food donation protections info
Calculator to figure out how much food to serve
Leftover ideas

How Can You Reduce Holiday Waste?

World Plastic Treaty

peace on earth

Plastic is a problem not just because it becomes litter but because it poses a real and immediate threat to human health. We must reduce the plastic we consume! Please sign the petition below from Earthday.org

Please sign the petition calling for a strong Global Plastics Treaty.
SIGN NOW

Please sign the petition calling for a strong global plastics treaty
Plastics have a huge impact on human health, leaching harmful chemicals into our food, water, and air leading to hormonal issues,2 increased cancers risks,3 and developmental issues.4 As the plastics breakdown into micro and nano-plastics they are able to penetrate every aspect of our lives and their production pumps emissions directly into the atmosphere further exacerbating the climate crisis.5 That’s why Earth Day 2024’s theme is Planet vs. Plastics, which we believe embodies the struggle we all face for human and planetary health. We must demand action from world leaders to address the issue. The Global Plastics Treaty is the first step to united global action6 — but we need to make sure that they commit to effective measures instead of just do lip service.
Please sign the petition calling for a strong Global Plastics Treaty.
SIGN NOW

As with any international treaty, success is impossible without strict enforcement and commitment by participating countries.

Here are our demands to the United Nations and World Government Organizations:

-Support a highly ambitious Global Plastic Treaty that binds all to the same standards
-A 60% of reduction of all fossil fuel-based plastic production by 2040
-Require producers and retailers of plastics to be liable for the cost of any environmental or health-related damages in accordance with the “producer pays” principle
-Public and private sector investments in innovation to replace all fossil fuel-based plastics
-Ban all plastic-related tobacco products including, but not limited to tobacco filters and e-cigarettes
-Ban the export of plastic waste
-End the incineration of plastic waste
-Support innovative solutions and alternatives to plastic in all sectors
-Fully finance education and public awareness campaigns to inform the public about reasons and strategies for ending plastic pollution

Footnotes:

1. The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/22/microplastics-revealed-in-placentas-unborn-babies

2. The Harvard Gazette: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/01/plastic-additive-linked-to-excessive-reproductive-abnormalities/

3. The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/29/plastics-cause-wide-ranging-health-issues-from-cancer-to-birth-defects-landmark-study-finds

4. National Institutes of Health: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5615581/

5. Center for International Environmental Law: https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Fueling-Plastics-Fossils-Plastics-Petrochemical-Feedstocks.pdf

6. United Nations: https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/historic-day-campaign-beat-plastic-pollution-nations-commit-develop