A Man Plants A Tree Every Day For 37 Years

Um, wow.

Jadav Payeng has planted a tree in the same place everyday for 37 years.

Take a look at what he's accomplished. This is awesome.

Man plants a tree in the same place every day — 37 years later, the world is amazed by the result pic.twitter.com/hFOdLw827r

— Cognitive Theorist (@PsychologyDoc) August 17, 2017

Manhattan: 1973 v. Today

(via Occupy Democrats)

California Bans Plastic Grocery Bags

California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed into law the first ban of plastic grocery bags in the country:

SB270 prohibits stores from providing disposable plastic grocery bags to shoppers, and requires them to charge for paper bags. The bill, which proponents called a national model, represents a step toward elimination of the plastic checkout bags which have been a standard for American shoppers since the mid-1970s. Bag manufacturers, however, have vowed to repeal the bill through a ballot initiative.

“This bill is a step in the right direction – it reduces the torrent of plastic polluting our beaches, parks and even the vast ocean itself,” said Governor Brown. “We’re the first to ban these bags, and we won’t be the last.”

While opponents of the legislation (namely, the plastics lobby) point to a charge for paper bags that would "burden" lower class families, the fact is many stores have been giving a credit ranging from five to ten cents per reusable bags brought by customers.

Personally, I have several reusable bags in my trunk at all time. The reusable bags hold more, and more securely. I'd much rather carry two strong bags than 10 half-empty plastic bags.

An then there's the obvious - it's better for the environment.

Period.

NYC: Over 300,000 take part in The People's Climate March"

Ahead of this week's United Nations Climate Summit, over 300,000 people from around the world marched through Manhattan to bring awareness to the growing concerns for man's affect on the environment.

Among those attending the march were U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, former U.S. vice president Al Gore, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, and actors Mark Ruffalo and Leonardo DiCaprio.

The next time someone tells you "no one cares about climate change," show them this picture.

Big majority of America support limits on greenhouse gases

In a rare case of liberal and conservative agreement, a new Washington Post/ABC News poll shows strong support for federal limits to green house gas emissions.

AND, the poll shows that folks are willing to pay a bit more for a cleaner environment.

A surprisingly solid 70% of Americans feel the government should be involved in limiting the amount of greenhouse gases released into the environment by existing power plants.

Fifty-seven percent of Republicans, 76 percent among independents and 79 percent of Democrats support state-level limits on greenhouse gas emissions.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced new standards today which would lead to a 30% cut in carbon emissions by 2030.

More at the Washington Post.

Try holding your breath

"If you really think that the environment is less important than the economy, try holding your breath while you count your money." - Dr. Guy McPherson

Happy Earth Day 2012!

Earth Day inspires and brings out different actions in each of us.

I wanted to share with you some favorite suggestions for Earth Day “to dos.” You may want to adopt some of these ideas and put them on your list of favorite family activities – for Earth Day or any day:

• Get your “glee on” out in Nature – Get outside, sing a song, do a dance, have a picnic, BBQ, go camping, walk on the beach or take a hike. Whatever gets you there, gather your family and spend some time outdoors. Talk to you kids, introduce them to nature better yet, let them introduce nature to you! Remind yourself and the kids in your life of the treasures nature has given us, and why we need to fight so very hard to protect them.

• Memory Lane Walk Down the Red Carpet “Favorite Earth Day Movies”– Watch, enjoy, lose yourself in the moment and learn something too. Movies for everyone: The Lorax, Chimpanzee, Avatar, Planet Earth, Wall-E and March of the Penguins. Documentary movies for older kids and adults: Queen of the Sun-What are the Bees Telling Us? Tapped, Gasland, Bag It, An Inconvenient Truth, Revenge of the Electric Car, Moby Duck – Learn something important., and have fun at the same time.

• Spring Cleaning and Letting the Sun Shine In – Open the windows wide and get the kids to help you clean them. You’d be surprised to see what a difference a little water and vinegar, or even just a crumbled piece of newspaper can do to “shine up” and “clean up” your windows! Pack up winter clothes, in particular those that don’t fit anymore and give them to a local charity. Got other items you don’t need but someone else might use, consider selling them on Green eBay or giving them away at Craigslist, or Free Cycle! Get your kids to help you change the air filters in your air conditioner (maximum energy efficiency). Also, make sure there are no leaky faucets in or outside your house. Change your light bulbs to energy efficient CFLs or LEDs, and consider putting your outside lights on timers. Saving energy not only reduces power plant pollution but it can also save you money too.

• Get “Down and Dirty” – plant a tree, or better yet plan a garden with the kids in your life. Vegetable, herb, or flower – the garden can be as big or small as you have room for…Herbs grow great on window sills, and corn, pumpkins and beans are fun and easy to cultivate and very cool to watch grow! Have you heard of a rain garden? This is a “trending topic” all on it’s own and a great way to plan for and mitigate storm water run off that some of us are having to get used to as heavy rain events are becoming a more frequent occurrence of our changing climate. Consider getting a rain barrel too!
(source)

Olivia Newton-John and husband honored with Stroud Award

Olivia Newton-John and husband, John Easterling, were awarded the Stroud Award of Freshwater Excellence by the Stroud Water Research Center at its annual "Water's Edge" gala at Longwood Gardens in the suburbs of Philadelphia on Tuesday evening, October 11, 2011.

The Stroud Award of Freshwater Excellence™, also known as the SAFE Water Award™, is awarded for outstanding achievement to those who contribute broadly to the conservation and protection of fresh water.

Olivia Newton-John and John Easterling, also known as "Amazon John," are both staunch supporters of rainforest conservation and known for work in conserving the Amazon River watershed -- the largest in the world.

For more info, click here.