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Earth Tones
Musings about our Earth, actions I am taking, and wishes for us to remake this world sustainable for our children. Also reports about the global water crisis as found on my blog: http://water-is-life.blogspot.com/
Trees provide a service to the life of all species on Earth. They are considered the lungs of our planet, and to some scientists now its heart as well. By continuing the rapacious rate of deforestation we are now sustaining globally we are contributing not only to the destruction of the natural beauty of our only home, but the exacerbation of CO2 levels that are contributing to the following effects of climate change that can be brought down to an acceptable level through the proper remediation process of providing carbon sinks:
1. Glacier melt causing floods, mudslides, and what is now considered a dangerous effect on water supplies for billions of people who depend on those glaciers for sustenance. Also, destruction of the Arctic ice caps at a rate three times faster than scientifically predicted by the IPCC which act as the mirror and climate balance of our planet. Without this mirror to reflect the rays of the sun we are risking passing what scientists call a "tipping point" of runaway climate change which will have catastrophic effects on this planet and our relationship to it.
2. Sea level rise due to melting ice caps and oversaturation of CO2 in our oceans. Forty eight islands have already seen the effects of sea level rise regarding destroying their homes, their traditions, and their ability to live. Many of these low lying islands are located in the Pacific and are only the first wave of islands and states to feel these effects. Scientists predict that within fifty years the Northeast coast of the United States may also be feeling these same effects due to sea level rise. If we do not curtail the rate of emissions of CO2 in our atmosphere to an acceptable level (350 PPM-450 PPM) we risk putting millions of people in danger of experiencing the same fate. Hundreds of millions of climate refugees would be catastrophic and cause the breakdown of society as we know it.
3. Wildfires due not only in part to normal conditions we see in certain areas yearly, but now more pervasive and destructive wildfires brought on by excessive drought. Scientists now predict that wildfires will become more intense and destructive as the world warms, which will then contribute to the greenhouse gases and lack of carbon sinks that precipitate climate change.
These factors along with other factors such as species invasion, species extinction, change in rainfall patterns which affect agriculture and food production, and evaporation of soil moisture and lower water tables in many rivers around the world must now lead us to formulating solutions that are timely, simple, economically viable, and that can improve the climate balance of our planet as well as provide much needed nutrients for our soil, water, food, sustenance, shelter, and a way to fight deforestation.
http://www.gopetition.com/online/27222.html
My initiative Plant America will seek to do this by requesting a program where one day would be set aside for all schools across America to go out and plant trees. In Macedonia last year for example, it's people came out and planted six million trees in one day. There is absolutely no reason why we can't do it threefold here. Involving our students will also get them out into nature, give them education about trees and the environment, and hopefully instill in them a love for this planet and their communities.
This could also be expanded to a "Johnny Appleseed" type of movement where college students as well as anyone who wishes to volunteer could become involved in montoring the growth of the trees planted in their communities, and work to plant more trees to offset the rapacious rate of deforestation that is now contributing thirty percent or more of the Co2 that is exacerbating climate change. Trees also work to bring water to the roots and the surface, which aids in alleviating water scarcity.
Please read the petition at the link and if you agree, please sign it. It will be sent to President Obama and Sec Salazar at the Dept. of the Interior.
There is no downside to planting trees and they are a guaranteed carbon sink. If we remove the lungs out of a human body it cannot breathe and it dies. So it is for our planet. She must breathe, and this is one way we can bring that breath to her and also show the world that the US is ready to lead by balancing our climate in an economical simple way in order to work for peace and sustainability.
1. Glacier melt causing floods, mudslides, and what is now considered a dangerous effect on water supplies for billions of people who depend on those glaciers for sustenance. Also, destruction of the Arctic ice caps at a rate three times faster than scientifically predicted by the IPCC which act as the mirror and climate balance of our planet. Without this mirror to reflect the rays of the sun we are risking passing what scientists call a "tipping point" of runaway climate change which will have catastrophic effects on this planet and our relationship to it.
2. Sea level rise due to melting ice caps and oversaturation of CO2 in our oceans. Forty eight islands have already seen the effects of sea level rise regarding destroying their homes, their traditions, and their ability to live. Many of these low lying islands are located in the Pacific and are only the first wave of islands and states to feel these effects. Scientists predict that within fifty years the Northeast coast of the United States may also be feeling these same effects due to sea level rise. If we do not curtail the rate of emissions of CO2 in our atmosphere to an acceptable level (350 PPM-450 PPM) we risk putting millions of people in danger of experiencing the same fate. Hundreds of millions of climate refugees would be catastrophic and cause the breakdown of society as we know it.
3. Wildfires due not only in part to normal conditions we see in certain areas yearly, but now more pervasive and destructive wildfires brought on by excessive drought. Scientists now predict that wildfires will become more intense and destructive as the world warms, which will then contribute to the greenhouse gases and lack of carbon sinks that precipitate climate change.
These factors along with other factors such as species invasion, species extinction, change in rainfall patterns which affect agriculture and food production, and evaporation of soil moisture and lower water tables in many rivers around the world must now lead us to formulating solutions that are timely, simple, economically viable, and that can improve the climate balance of our planet as well as provide much needed nutrients for our soil, water, food, sustenance, shelter, and a way to fight deforestation.
http://www.gopetition.com/online/27222.html
My initiative Plant America will seek to do this by requesting a program where one day would be set aside for all schools across America to go out and plant trees. In Macedonia last year for example, it's people came out and planted six million trees in one day. There is absolutely no reason why we can't do it threefold here. Involving our students will also get them out into nature, give them education about trees and the environment, and hopefully instill in them a love for this planet and their communities.
This could also be expanded to a "Johnny Appleseed" type of movement where college students as well as anyone who wishes to volunteer could become involved in montoring the growth of the trees planted in their communities, and work to plant more trees to offset the rapacious rate of deforestation that is now contributing thirty percent or more of the Co2 that is exacerbating climate change. Trees also work to bring water to the roots and the surface, which aids in alleviating water scarcity.
Please read the petition at the link and if you agree, please sign it. It will be sent to President Obama and Sec Salazar at the Dept. of the Interior.
There is no downside to planting trees and they are a guaranteed carbon sink. If we remove the lungs out of a human body it cannot breathe and it dies. So it is for our planet. She must breathe, and this is one way we can bring that breath to her and also show the world that the US is ready to lead by balancing our climate in an economical simple way in order to work for peace and sustainability.
I have done this year what I have done every year successively for the last few years; report on the global water crisis in an attempt to not only inform but to inspire and to move us to action. The need for that action has never been more necessary than it is now. The Earth now sits on a precipice, with man having the power to pull it back or push it off.
Around the world from North America to Africa and beyond, we see water scarcity and drought becoming more a part of daily life for more people. This does not bode well for the future as population continues to rise as the quality of life in the developing world decreases due to war, climate change, pollution, and poverty. Climate change continues to melt glaciers globally at a much more rapid pace than predicted, and man finds himself because of it at a crossroads in a world filled with war, disease, famine, injustice, poverty, and despair. It would be very easy to give up looking at the picture we have painted, but we cannot do so. Our own survival depends on how we treat this planet and our fellow man. How we react to these crises now will determine if the world falls off that precipice or is saved.
I firmly believe that even though we now live in a world of turmoil, this next year will be a year of awakening for many. There are many more organizations that are now bringing awareness and action to the parts of our world in need of potable water and sanitation. There are many more people becoming aware of not only their carbon footprint, but their water footprint as well. This past year saw a surge in activism against the bottled water industry with citizen groups across the world standing up to the corporations seeking to take our water for profit. These are good signs that point to a more intense activism in the year to come to hold political leaders accountable for policies that seek to fix water infrastructure, restore wetlands, reduce pollution, hold officials accountable for proper water management and efficient agriculture policies, and also hold them to signing a climate treaty to limit greenhouse gas emissions that lead to drought and glacier melt this next year.
However, none of these things can happen without us. Without our voices, our hands, our perseverence, and our love for this planet and for the one resource we cannot live without. It is that love and perseverence that carries me into another year of water activism and of reporting the stories of our water, it's life, and our contributions to its preservation. May this coming year bring us closer to a world where water is truly appreciated for the beautiful life sustaining source and human right it is.
Water Is Life.
http://water-is-life.blogspot.com
From the time I was a child I was concerned about the Earth and the affect we were having on her, especially on water. In the early seventies as a young girl I noticed a difference in my local waterways and that they looked polluted more than previously. This actually scared me because I did not know what the world would then be like when I grew up and had a child if we kept dumping poisons into our water. My mom told me the best way to learn about pollution was to read about it.
I went to my local library and asked the librarian to give me some books about the environment and pollution. She gave me a book on air pollution, water pollution, and a copy of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. And that was my wake up call. My mom and I sat on our porch that summer reading her book together, and I made a pledge that I would from that point on do all I could as one person to speak out for the Earth and us when I saw environmental injustice.
I was always involved in some sort of environmental event in school, even winning some awards for my community work. After that I went on to high school and joined an environmental club that did neighborhood cleanups and spread awareness of pollution. I then wrote about it a few times for my college paper and continued to write Congress about my concerns.
Since the seventies the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and many other bills passed in an effort to preserve our planet and hold polluters accountable. I even remember writing to President Nixon all those years ago when the EPA was born when I was but 12 years old to tell him that automobiles should be run without combustion engines and with solar power. Solar power was always the one way I believed and still believe that this world was meant to be powered.
My advocacy for this planet has not waned as I have become much older and wiser, now with my own teenage son who is informed about the climate crisis we face and what we must do to hold government accountable for laws that will help mitigate its affects. I also now write my own blog on water issues and am a vocal advocate for water conservation as the global water crisis we face is interlinked with the climate crisis. I suppose you could then say my love for Earth is generational. My mom passed it on to me and now I pass it on. Only now, it is much more serious in regards to the future sustainability of our climate balance. This is why I joined WE. Because my heart is this Earth, and still as a child I pledge to do all I can as one person to speak out for her when I see environmental injustice.
100 in 10.
I went to my local library and asked the librarian to give me some books about the environment and pollution. She gave me a book on air pollution, water pollution, and a copy of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. And that was my wake up call. My mom and I sat on our porch that summer reading her book together, and I made a pledge that I would from that point on do all I could as one person to speak out for the Earth and us when I saw environmental injustice.
I was always involved in some sort of environmental event in school, even winning some awards for my community work. After that I went on to high school and joined an environmental club that did neighborhood cleanups and spread awareness of pollution. I then wrote about it a few times for my college paper and continued to write Congress about my concerns.
Since the seventies the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and many other bills passed in an effort to preserve our planet and hold polluters accountable. I even remember writing to President Nixon all those years ago when the EPA was born when I was but 12 years old to tell him that automobiles should be run without combustion engines and with solar power. Solar power was always the one way I believed and still believe that this world was meant to be powered.
My advocacy for this planet has not waned as I have become much older and wiser, now with my own teenage son who is informed about the climate crisis we face and what we must do to hold government accountable for laws that will help mitigate its affects. I also now write my own blog on water issues and am a vocal advocate for water conservation as the global water crisis we face is interlinked with the climate crisis. I suppose you could then say my love for Earth is generational. My mom passed it on to me and now I pass it on. Only now, it is much more serious in regards to the future sustainability of our climate balance. This is why I joined WE. Because my heart is this Earth, and still as a child I pledge to do all I can as one person to speak out for her when I see environmental injustice.
100 in 10.
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