EarthAction

Stop the Slaughter

The Government of Iceland announced that they had authorized the slaughter of more than 2,000 whales over the next five years. 

Earth Day Network stands in solidarity with those voices condemning Iceland for this decision, and we ask that you join us in sending a clear message of opposition to the Icelandic Government.

Join Earth Day Network and citizens worldwide telling the Government of Iceland that you oppose the recent decision to allow the killing of these innocent creatures. If enough of us speak up, they will have to listen!

Send a letter urging the Icelandic Government to reverse this decision. For your convenience, we've drafted a letter for you to send directly.

Please click here to send your letter

We can't afford to be silent. We must push back, speak up, and tell them that what they are doing is unacceptable.

Share our video and help save our whales.

Thank you for acting to Protect Our Species!

Learn more at Earth Day Network

Top 10 Animals Going Extinct Because of Climate Change

NASA scientists announced yesterday that 2018 was the fourth hottest year on Earth, exceeded only by 2017, 2016 and 2015. After 140 years of record-keeping, 18 out of 19 of Earth's warmest years have occurred since 2001.

For humans, this means more destructive hurricanes, floods, forest fires, droughts, and bone-chilling Arctic blasts resulting in thousands of deaths, billions in property destruction and massive interruptions of life as we know it.

But let's stop and think about what extreme weather and changes in climate caused by humans means for species.

By 2100, an estimated 50% of all world's species could go extinct because of climate change. We can't let that happen. At Earth Day Network we're working to Protect Our Species.

Here are 10 animals threatened with extinction because of climate change.

1. Bumblebees: Rising temperatures force bees north, disrupting access to the nectar and pollen they need to survive.
2. Whales: Migration, feed, and reproduction necessary for survival are disrupted by warming waters.
3. Asian Elephants: Habitat is disappearing due to lower rainfall and higher temperatures.
4. Giraffes: In addition to illegal poaching, shrinking habitat and disappearing food sources threaten their survival.
5. Insects: 18% of insect species will die off due to warming by 2100; if the planet warms 3.2 degrees C, that number rises to 49%.
6. Oceanic Birds: Rising waters threaten to submerge their coastal habitats and nests completely.
7. Sharks: Difficulty hunting and lower birth rates threaten sharks as ocean temperature and acidity rise worldwide.
8. Monarch Butterflies: Monarchs can't survive without milkweed, now being destroyed by hotter dryer land often damaged by pesticides.
9. Great Apes: With nearly 75% of forest cover at risk due to climate change, their habitat is disappearing.
10. Coral: Sustained heat stress causes coral bleaching, an often deadly occurrence in which coral starves from a loss of nutrition.

Join Earth Day Network's campaign to Protect Our Species, Together we can slow the pace of extinction.

Got ideas? Please share your plans to Protect Our Species.

Thank you for being part of our global movement.

From Earth Day Network. Read more here.

Earth Day 2019: Protect Our Species

This year, Earth Day Network is working to Protect Our Species, and we urge you to join us.

Nature's gifts to our planet are the millions of species that we know and love. Many more species remain to be discovered. Unfortunately, the world is facing the greatest rate of extinction since that of the dinosaurs more than 60 million years ago.

Today's unprecedented global destruction and rapid reduction of plant and wildlife populations are directly linked to human activity: deforestation, habitat loss, unsustainable agriculture, climate change, trafficking, poaching, pollution, and pesticides.

The good news is that through advocacy, education, changes in consumer behavior, preservation of current legal protections and advancement of new policies, species extinction can be slowed!

That where YOU come in.

We're offering the resources below to help you educate, inspire, and organize your communities and networks to protect species locally and globally.

• 10 Facts on Global Species Decline
• What you Need to Know About Declining Species
• Earth Day 2019 Organizers Toolkit
• Earth Day 2019 Teach-In Toolkit
• Climate Education Week Toolkit for Educators and K-12 Students
• Plan a "Protect Our Species" communications campaign using the hashtags #EarthDay2019 and #ProtectOurSpecies and tagging us @EarthDayNetwork.

Together we can slow the pace of extinction and Protect Our Species. Got ideas? Please share your plans to Protect Our Species with us.

Thank you for being part of the global movement to make Earth Day Every Day!

From Earth Day Network. Read more here.

2018 EarthAction Report & Request

December 2018

 

Dear Friend of EarthAction,

Our current President and his allies, with their domestic and foreign policies, judicial appointments, rhetoric, insults, and name-calling have set our country and the world on a very dangerous course.

EarthAction has a key role to play in limiting the damage and getting the world back on track to a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world. That's why we need your support now, more than ever.

With your contributions over these last 26 years, EarthAction has made real progress in finding solutions to many of the world’s most pressing issues. Our work has helped to educate children around the world, provide health care to women, protect the lives of indigenous peoples and immigrants, stabilize our climate, and reduce the risk of chemical, biological and nuclear wars.

As one of our generous friends, you have—and will continue to play—a critical role in changing our national and global political landscape forever. I urge you to make a donation that will enable us to continue and expand our work in 2019.

There is so much more we can do, with your help. This is the time of year when many of us make our most meaningful donations to help change the world. I hope you’ll include EarthAction on your list of causes to support. Click here to contribute on our website, or send a check to EarthAction, PO Box 63, Amherst, MA 01004. Please make the most generous gift you can.

EarthAction remains unique in its ability to build global political will and create positive solutions on such a wide diversity of issues. Whenever there are opportunities to make change towards a world with more peace, justice, and environmental protection, we are at work making sure people understand the issues, appreciate what’s at stake, and know how to add their voice for change.

Your support is what makes it possible.

With gratitude for your generosity,

Lois Barber
Co-Founder & Executive Director

 

P.S.  Can't help spilling the beans a little … as you'll read in our EarthAction 2018 Campaign Report, Best Climate Solutions has given its 2018 International Award to our Climate Scorecard Spotlight Project for our “effectiveness in Communicating Climate Change Threats and Opportunities.” I'm very proud and very grateful for your help to make this possible. This is one more example of what we're doing together for democracy, peace, and the environment. Your donation today will help us continue that critical work in 2019. Click here to donate. Many thanks.

Climate Scorecard Spotlight Report: Significant Greenhouse Gas Emission Activities

Less Coal, More Carbon Tax

This month, our Country Managers focused on significant greenhouse gas emissions activities. The results were a mix of positive and negative.

Germany's AfD, Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro, less coal and more carbon taxes are some of the most significant climate change activities this month.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE ACTIVITIES

Become a Partner

We must save the Paris Agreement!

Our campaign is focused on raising public awareness and putting public pressure on leading greenhouse gas emitting countries. 

Learn More

Donate Today!

Every donation helps our work.

Our global, grassroots organization relies on the support of other committed individuals.

Learn More

Read more at Climate Scorecard

The Status of Climate Finance in Leading Greenhouse Gas Emitting Countries

For Global Report #8 Climate Scorecard Country Managers identified key issues affecting international climate finance in leading greenhouse gas emitting countries. The first identified whether their country was an international climate finance donor or recipient and then described the effectiveness of their efforts (if they were a donor country) or the impact of international assistance (if they were a recipient country).

There are many insights that can be gleaned from reviewing the totality of the country posts in this global report. For example, countries are using a wide range of international climate funding mechanisms, such as multilateral development banks, UN agencies, bilateral assistance, and private sector investment. The Green Climate Fund, which remains undersubscribed, is only a small part of global international climate finance.

May recipient countries (e.g. Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Thailand) report the lack of a system for targeting international climate finance with the needs of recipient countries for specific mitigation or adaptation efforts. Conversely, several donor countries, e.g. Canada and the EU, have a need for better mechanisms to report on and account for the impact of their investments.

It also is clear, that despite the diversity of funding mechanisms, the overall level of donor finance support is too low to meet the needs of poorer countries. Several donor countries, such as France and the UK, report that their level of funding is diminishing. Only a few countries (Canada, China, France, the UK, the EU and Japan) have made substantial commitments, and the US has reneged on $2 billion of its $3 billion pledge to the Green Climate Fund.

Hopefully there will be an effort at COP 24 to ramp up and better coordinate international climate finance. The Green Climate Fund seems to be in a state of disarray after the resignation of its Director. There also is an overall sense, at least based on our reports, that the flow of finance support is somewhat random, based more on political considerations than climate mitigation/adaptation needs. Hopefully, discussions at COP 24 and elsewhere will lead to making the international climate finance system more inclusive, transparent and accountable.

Download the full report here

From Climate Scorecard. Read more here

Retiring One Trident Missile Could Ensure UN Does Not Run Out of Cash

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last week warned member states and UN staff that the United Nations is $140 million short of its budget and could run out of cash, due to late and non-payment of UN dues by member states.

In a letter sent to UN members, Guterres said that the UN had "never faced such a difficult cash flow situation this early in the calendar year. An organization such as ours should not have to suffer repeated brushes with bankruptcy. But surely, the greater pain is felt by those we serve when we cannot, for want of modest funds, answer their call for help." 

Move the Nuclear Weapons Money has called for re-allocation of a portion of nuclear weapons budgets to assist the UN cash crisis. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, the cost to extend the lifetime of each US Trident nuclear missile is $140 million, the same amount as the UN shortfall.

Trident II nuclear missile

"if the US retires just one Trident nuclear missile from their arsenal, the money saved could be used to meet the UN deficit," says Alyn Ware, Global Coordinator for Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (PNND) and Co-founder of Move the Nuclear Weapons Money.

"Better yet, if all the nuclear armed States abandoned their plans to upgrade their nuclear arsenal, nearly $100 billion could be saved. This could then re-directed into the economy for job creation, climate protection, education, health, peace, diplomacy and sustainable security."

PNND Co-President Senator Ed Markey has introduced the Smarter Approach to Nuclear Expenditures (SANE) Act into the U.S. Senate to cut redundant and destabilizing nuclear programs and curtail nuclear modernization. "It is time we inserted some desperately needed sanity into America's budget priorities,"  says Senator Markey.

Senator Markey introducing the Smarter Approach to Nuclear Expenditure (SANE) Act

"Unfortunately, Senator Markey is unable to move a majority of the US Senate to support his act due to the lobbying power of the companies which are manufacturing the nuclear weapons systems" says Mr. Ware. "We can reduce this pro-nuclear lobbying power, and encourage the companies to get out of the nuclear weapons business, by nuclear weapons divestment."

The Move the Nuclear Weapons Money campaign shows how you can be involved, by moving your government, city, religious institution, university, bank and/or pension fund to divest (See Take Action). The campaign also lists examples of divestment policies adopted at these different levels.

"Next week parliamentarians, faith communities and peace organizations will commemorate the 73rd anniversary of the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki," says Vanda Proskova, PNND Research Officer, "Amongst the many actions around the world will be calls for further divestment from nuclear weapons corporations." 

In order to highlight the issue, the World Future Council along with PNND and other partners, will hold Count the Nuclear Weapons Money, an action during UN Disarmament Week (October 24-30) to "count out" the $1 trillion budgeted for nuclear weapons for the next ten years, and reallocate this money to better areas.

One million mock notes, each of $1 million value, will be counted by people of all ages, nations, backgrounds; celebrities, activists, politicians, UN officials, diplomats, artists, religious leaders, sportspeople, refugees and others. The counting will take place in front of the United Nations and at other relevant locations in New York.

"Counting the money note-by-note, no-stop over seven days and nights, will demonstrate what an exorbitant amount of money is being wasted on nuclear weapons - money which is sorely needed to end poverty, protect the climate, provide adequate health care and basic education, fund the United Nations and achieve the sustainable development goals," says Holger Güssenfeld, Creative Director of Count the Nuclear Weapons Money.

"This event will reach millions of people, encouraging them to take action to end investments in nuclear weapons, and reinvest in peace and the planet."

READ MORE AT UNFOLD ZERO

Partnership Campaign to Save the Paris Agreement

 

Invitation to Participate

Climate Scorecard and our partners invite all concerned organizations to join the Partnership Campaign to save the Paris Agreement. The Campaign is targeted at getting countries, especially leading greenhouse gas emitting countries, to strengthen the ambition of their pledges to the Paris Agreement before the Agreement goes into effect. If you agree with the following campaign statement please let us know (see contact information below) and paste the following message, along with the Partnership Campaign logo on your organization’s website and social media. The message should say:

Support the Campaign by Posting this Message and Campaign Logo

“We support the Partnership Campaign to persuade all countries to strengthen the ambition of their pledges to the Paris Agreement before the Agreement goes into effect in 2020. Unless countries strengthen their pledges, the Paris Agreement, and the world community of nations will not succeed in their important goal to protect our planet from the life threatening widespread damages of global warming.”

Download the logo included at the top of the post.

About the Partnership Campaign

Recent scientific evidence* suggests that emission reduction pledges that countries have made to the Paris Agreement are too low to prevent the planet from warming beyond the dangerous global warming tipping point of between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius. Therefore,

Climate Scorecard is inviting all other concerned organizations to join us in developing a partnership Campaign to ensure that the Paris Agreement achieves its goals.

Our message: Leading greenhouse gas emitting countries need to strengthen the ambition of their emission reduction pledge to the Paris Agreement before 2020.

Our campaign is focused on raising public awareness and putting public pressure on leading greenhouse gas emitting countries to significantly strengthen the ambition of their emission reduction pledges before the Agreement goes into effect in 2020.

Partners in the campaign will support the core message of the Campaign (see above) by posting it on their website and social media pages. They also are encouraged to develop messages and materials that can be used by concerned citizen groups and other advocacy-based organizations to target Environmental Ministers and other key country level climate change decision-makers with suggestions as to how their Paris Agreement pledges can be strengthened.

Some suggested examples of ways in which leading greenhouse gas emitting countries can significantly strengthen the ambition of their pledges include:

1) Adopt the immediate goal of a 50% reduction in their 2018 CO2 emissions level by 2030, and include a plan for reaching that goal**

2) Adopt the long-term goal of achieving net zero emission status by 2050, and include a plan for reaching that goal

3) Eliminate reliance on Business As Usual*** scenarios, make pledges unconditional, and use a baseline year of 2018

4) Enact new policies and/or strengthen existing policies that improve energy efficiency in all major sectors (buildings, transport, energy, agriculture), reduce the use of fossil fuel and eliminate the use of coal, scale-up the use of sustainable and low-carbon energy, use the best available technology to support energy efficiency and carbon reduction, and support environmental-friendly lifestyle changes

*See United Nations Environmental Program “Gap Report” (2017) and World Meteorological Organization Statement on the State of the Global Climate (2017) and Climate Action Tracker’s assessments of country Paris Agreement pledges (2017)
** A 50% reduction in emissions globally equals 2.13 Gt C or 1 PPMV CO2
** *Business as Usual refers to emission reduction pledges based upon socio-economic data projections and existing but no new climate change policies

Confirm Your Organization's Participation in the Partnership Campaign

Please let us know if your organization will participate in the Partnership Campaign by posting the Campaign message of support and logo on your organization’s website or social media pages. Contact Ron Israel and/or Kristin Hope at Climate Scorecard: roncisrael@gmail.com or kristin@climatescorecard.org

READ MORE AT CLIMATE SCORECARD

The bruges whale

Near the statue of Jan Van Eyck, Skyscraper (the Bruges Whale) rises up from the Canal. Skyscraper is 5 tons of plastic waste pulled out of the ocean to create a 4 story tall whale: a powerful reminder of the 150,000,000 tons of plastic waste still swimming in our waters. Skyscraper is a physical example of why we need to change how we use and dispose of plastic in the world today.

The Installation

The gigantic sculpture is more than just a representation of a whale; the animal is made of waste, collected from the plastic soup that floats on the seas and oceans of the world. Working with volunteers from the Hawaii Wildlife Fund and the Surfrider Foundation, StudioKCA combed the beaches of Hawaii to gather up the waste. The installation was built out of those finds. StudioKCA seeks this way to draw attention to the universal problem of pollution that affects us all, and to make viewers aware that individual action is necessary.

About the Skyscraper Kickstarter Project

StudioKCA has started a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. Processing and transporting the waste on this scale is larger than expected. StudioKCA is still looking for $15,000 to complete the manufacturing of the steel and aluminium parts, to hire the cranes and tools, to transport everything to Bruges in time for the event and to assemble all 107 parts that Skyscraper consists of on location. Deposit your contribution to this project via the Kickstarter website and receive exclusive Skyscraper (the Bruges Whale) returns!

READ MORE

Top 3 Shocking Facts About Plastic Pollution

Fact #1:

8.3 BILLION Metric Tons (9.1 BILLION US Tons) of plastic has been produced since plastic was introduced in the 1950s. The amount of plastic produced a year is roughly the same as the entire weight of humanity!

Fact #2:

Virtually every piece of plastic ever made still exists in some shape or form (with the exception of the small amount that has been incinerated).

Fact #3:

Nearly TWO MILLION single-use plastic bags are distributed worldwide every minute.

Plastic pollution is killing our planet, and plastic pollution is killing us. It's choking our oceans, poisoning our food and water supply, and wreaking havoc on the health and well-being of humans and wildlife worldwide.

That's why we are dedicating Earth Day 2018 to ending plastic pollution. We've developed a series of comprehensive resources and toolkits to help Individuals, Organizations, and Educators like you inform, inspire, and mobilize everyone you know to join the movement to END PLASTIC POLLUTION this Earth Day.

Every week, we'll be releasing new resources to help you build the Earth Day 2018 End Plastic Pollution movement-starting now, with our Scope of Plastic Pollution Fact Sheet offering 10 shocking facts about plastic pollution.

Stay posted for more upcoming resources you can use to play a role in saving our planet. Putting an End to Plastic Pollution is a fight citizens across the world MUST win.

Our survival depends on it.

Join the fight today!

DONATE NOW

The Earth Day Network Team