Why are we not reducing our emissions? Why are they in fact still increasing? Are we knowingly causing a mass extinction? Are we evil? No, of course not. People keep doing what they do because the vast majority doesn't have a clue about the actual consequences of our everyday life, and they don't know that rapid change is required. ~ Greta Thunberg, FridaysForFuture
July 21, 2019
The Climate Crisis
Dealing with push-back and forging ahead.
A Series on the Environment from the QL Duo
Back on July 8, the chief of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the President of the United States made a series of misleading claims about the state of our environment, and what to expect from our government in the future.
The Biggest Lie in Trump's Environmental Speech Today
[MotherJones, 7/8/19]
The truth is, in fact, quite different than the statements made that day. Do you know about all of the legal (and not-so-legal) actions being taken to ignore, bypass or remove environmental protections? Here is comprehensive list. We encourage you to hang in there and read the whole thing. Being informed gives us the power to change this.
83 Environmental Rules Being Rolled Back Under Trump
[NY Times, 7/7/19]
It's not unusual these days to read an article about a U.S. government agency actively working to limit your access to accurate information. For example, a researcher working for the National Park Service wrote a report to help park managers better understand the safety and environmental challenges of potential flooding in light of anthropogenic (aka "people did this") climate change. Her boss, her boss's boss, and so on all wanted her to remove the word "anthropogenic" along with any indications that current catastrophic changes were caused by humans. Her report could have been altered, made useless or buried, but she held her ground.
And now everyone can see and share an important visual aid to go along with detailed flood-damage predictions in the report: an interactive map showing the level of flooding that could be expected after a medium-range hurricane in just 30 years time. That is, if we do nothing to counter rising temperatures and rising sea levels. Sometimes you can't wrap your head around the damaging impact of the things we humans do, and you just have to see a map of where all the water will go.
See how climate change could bring disaster to some popular coastal national parks.
[RevealNews, 7/13/19]
It's critical that we each make the most of whatever opportunities come our way to advocate for our environment, for better environmental policies, for thriving plant and animal biodiversity, for our planet. Keep paying attention to what's happening and act. Act as if the planet's fate depends on us.
Here are just a handful of organizations and individuals working toward these goals. Check them out. Choose one to support. Maybe financially, maybe through volunteering. Maybe you won't be able to narrow it down to just one, and find yourself getting creative with your contributions in order to maximize your support!
World Wildlife Fund for Nature
League of Conservation Voters
FridaysforFuture
Sunrise Movement
And join us in supporting plant and wildlife biodiversity with your home environment and 10 drops of EoP.
Do the EoP Biodiversity Process on Thursday, August 1st!
Here's an interesting idea: How about allowing nature — the intelligence inherent in that nature — to join us in equal partnership to give us the input we need to make new decisions and live in new ways that have a strong, positive impact on our lives and our health, as well as the planet? ~ Machaelle Wright, Celebrating the Power of the Individual
The Environment Series