EARTH ACTION IN THE NEWS - April 12, 2024
OSC
EARTH ACTION IN THE NEWS
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Great Redwood Trail milestone: Plan unveiled for path connecting San Francisco and Humboldt bays
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/great-redwood-trail-milestone-plan-unveiled-for-path-connecting-san-franci/
"What would be the longest U.S. rail-to-trail project came into sharper focus this week with the release of draft master plan outlining the proposed route, funding options and challenges."
Point Reyes National Seashore ranchers in talks with The Nature Conservancy amid fight over their private leases
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/point-reyes-national-seashore-ranchers-in-talks-with-the-nature-conservancy/
If the Nature Conservancy does something right, that would be a good thing. They have not been reliable as environmentalists in regards to logging and other issues, so there is cause for concern that they are the mediators of this dispute. The Center For Biological Diversity is also involved, and they have a consistently excellent record. This article states that TNC might shut down the ranchers, but given their history that seems unlikely.
https://www.pjcsoco.org/peace-press.html
Pages 8 and 14
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/santa-rosa-sand-and-gravel-company-facing-8-6-million-fine-is-being-sold-t/
"BoDean’s owner would not directly say if sale is related to potential fine involving Mark West Quarry."
An herbicide so hazardous that courts have banned it twice
https://www.thenewlede.org/2024/04/an-herbicide-so-hazardous-that-courts-have-banned-it-twice/
"For the second time, a federal court banned the hazardous herbicide dicamba, which has been wreaking havoc on farmers, rural communities and the natural world for seven long years. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) re-approved dicamba after the first court action."
White House open to ending LNG export pause in push for Ukraine aid, sources say
https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/white-house-open-ending-lng-export-pause-push-ukraine-aid-sources-say-2024-04-02/
https://youtu.be/0z89WDmzj5I?si=sY708Ieg0emEyq43
Fukushima Turns 13 in an Ever-More Nuclear World - clip 1 (video clip)
https://youtu.be/d1o6Y153k3s?si=LrVK_c_gUoDgR6zB
60% of Bamboo Toilet Paper Brands in the UK Were Made With Other Woods, Testing Finds
https://www.ecowatch.com/bamboo-toilet-paper-sustainability-uk-greenwashing.html
Bamboo toilet paper is one of the worst greenwashing scams! Please don't use that. Bamboo is great for sustainable wood products, including the new bamboo toothbrushes. But the process of making bamboo into paper and also fabric for clothing is extremely polluting.
Zimbabwe Declares ‘State of Disaster’ as Drought Threatens Food Supply
https://www.ecowatch.com/zimbabwe-drought-national-disaster-food-shortage.html
More Than 80% of EU’s Agricultural Subsidies Goes to Animal Farming That Is ‘Driving Us to the Brink’
https://www.ecowatch.com/eu-agriculture-subsidies-animal-farming-plant-based.html
More Than Half of U.S. Landfills Are Methane ‘Super-Emitters,’ Study Finds
https://www.ecowatch.com/landfills-methane-super-emitters-us.html
3 ‘Most Important’ Greenhouse Gases Reached Record Highs Again Last Year: NOAA Scientists
https://www.ecowatch.com/greenhouses-gases-record-high-noaa-scientists.html
https://www.ecowatch.com/colorado-river-flow-agriculture-water-depletion.html
Climate Change Threatens the Health of Aging Adults, Researchers Say
THINK TANK & STRATEGY
‘Nature Has Rights’: Aruba Could Become 2nd Country to Recognize Rights of Nature in Constitution
https://www.ecowatch.com/aruba-nature-rights-constitution.html
Rebecca Solnit: Slow Change Can Be Radical Change
https://lithub.com/rebecca-solnit-slow-change-can-be-radical-change/
“Describing the slowness of change is often confused with acceptance of the status quo. It’s really the opposite.”
Peace is Necessary to Give the Climate a Chance
https://progressive.org/op-eds/peace-is-necessary-to-give-the-climate-a-chance-von-Mering-20240206/
"Military spending exacerbates the climate crisis, but emissions caused by wars and military operations are often exempt from our carbon budgets and climate analyses."
Carbon Emissions Reduction Rate in U.S. Has Doubled Since Passage of Inflation Reduction Act, Report Finds
Brazil and France ‘Join Forces’ With $1.1 Billion Green Investment Plan for Amazon Rainforest
Specialized Paint Coatings Help Cities Feel as Much as 1.5°C Cooler, Study Finds
https://www.ecowatch.com/paint-coatings-cooler-temperatures.html
Scientists Develop Window Coating That Blocks Heat While Letting in Light
https://www.ecowatch.com/window-coating-heat-blocking-light-visibility.html
European Court of Human Rights to Rule on Whether Governments Must Protect People From Climate Change
Surviving an Era of Pervasive Nuclear Instability
https://www.thenation.com/article/world/surviving-an-era-of-pervasive-nuclear-instability/
https://forgeorganizing.org/article/strategy-craft
"A conversation with Deepak Bhargava and Stephanie Luce about their new book, Practical Radicals, and the need for the left to embrace a rigorous, multi-pronged strategy for change."
Meet the communities trying to take over their local electric utility
https://grist.org/politics/meet-the-communities-trying-to-take-over-their-local-electric-utility/
"Activists say public power would lower bills and expand clean energy. But they face tough opposition from investor-owned utilities."
https://www.thenation.com/article/environment/youth-plaintiffs-peru-alvarez-climate-change-court-case/
"Seven youth plaintiffs, ages ranging from 14 to 16, argue that the state is violating their right to a healthy environment by failing to curb Amazon deforestation and mitigate climate change."
‘A powerful message through song’: the UK’s Climate Choir Movement is growing
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/07/a-powerful-message-through-song-the-uks-climate-choir-movement-is-growing
"Founded in Bristol in 2022, ‘the moderate flank of protest’ has 600 members in 11 choirs."
Upcycling 101: Everything You Need to Know
https://www.ecowatch.com/upcycling-facts-ecowatch.html
"Upcycling is the reusing of discarded objects, materials and other waste, for repurposing into something new of higher value and different use."
Rose Essential Oil Is a Safe and Effective Pesticide for Organic Agriculture, Study Finds
Regenerative Farm Map
https://organicconsumers.org/regenerative-farm-map/
Use this tool to find regenerative agriculture in any location.
How To Grow Strawberries On The Balcony, Beautiful And Have Free Strawberries To Eat (video)
Strawberries are easy to grow from plants or from seeds. You can use this method with recycled plastic bottles or any type of containers: clay or plastic pots, cloth growing bags, raised beds, buckets... anything. For fertilizer use compost, compost tea, worm castings, worm castings tea, or well-rotted manure. Apply fertilizer once a month. Put a thick layer of mulch such as dry leaves around the plants to retain soil moisture and add gradual fertility. Strawberry plants are perennial for several years and will survive our winters here.
Call To Action!
We urge all groups including schools,
neighborhood associations, organizations, clubs and groups of any kind to adopt
a Climate Declaration. Adopt ours or write your own. Share your
Climate Declaration with local governments, the media, write articles, and share
information.
Occupy Sonoma County Climate Declaration
Occupy Sonoma County, along with concerned, forward thinking people all over the world, declares that climate change has reached catastrophic proportions as evidenced by the current level of CO2 in the atmosphere, the melting of polar ice caps, and the continual rising of global temperatures. This is a global emergency, and we must act immediately. We invite all forces of life to join together for our survival. We stand up for life.
We recognize that the root of climate change is a capitalist system run by money greedy corporations and the governments that they control. We actively oppose greenhouse gas producers, nuclear power investors, and fossil fuel companies by boycotting their products, developing alternatives, divesting from corporations that endorse them and insisting that governments at all levels take action. We call on all governments and corporations to adopt life-sustaining practices immediately.
The people must act now to
stop this destruction from continuing and reverse the damage this has
caused. The future is in our hands. We are the 99%!
What Earth Actions are you taking?
https://OccupySonomaCounty.org
https://OccupySonomaCounty.org/es (en español)
http://facebook.com/OccupySonomaCounty
https://twitter.com/OcSoCo
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmJoCP-ePUTPWNgHZwtBelg