Petitions + Emailing a RepresentativeThis week, I signed petitions, pledges, and emailed our state senator. I've been wanting to write to a government official for some time and this week I finally gained the courage to do so.
Petitions are used to influence decisions, to protest something, or to get something changed. They are an easy and accessible way to gain support for a cause. In total, I signed 67 environmental petitions through the following 12 environmental organizations: National Wildlife Federation, National Resources Defense Council, Greenpeace International, World Wildlife Fund, Oceana, The Nature Conservancy, Defend the Atlanta Forest, Protect the Arctic, Environmental Defense Fund, The Climate Reality Project, Earth Day Network, Fossil Fuel Treaty. The petitions addressed various topics such as: Banning plastics, protecting endangered species, tackling fossil fuels, protecting air, protecting water, protecting land/forests, banning PFAS, workers rights, and more. Doing something as simple as signing a petition might seem useless, but if a bunch of people do the same, then it will work. It's about collective action. I also sent an email to North Carolina senator Ted Budd. I used Earth Day Network's "Letter to an Official Template," and filled in my personal information as needed. The template is part of Earth Day Network's Climate and Environmental Literacy Campaign, and was written to inform government officials on the importance of climate literacy in our education system and to persuade them to be a part of the campaign and take action towards including climate education in our schools. Click here to see the response I received from Ted Budd's office. I hope that in the future petitions won't be needed, because we shouldn't have to go out of our way to get governments to protect Earth, and I hope that United State's schools will teach children about climate change and how to protect the environment. It is one of the most important things we need to know in order to make change and save our planet.
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DonatingThis week, I donated to 3 environmental organizations. I wanted to help make an impact in a way that I couldn't do by myself at home.
At first, I was going to donate to just 1 organization, but then I thought 3 would be better. From there, I was going to pick 3 organizations that I knew of, (Greenpeace, Sierra Club, Earthjustice,) but then I thought "why not choose local organizations?" So, I started researching North Carolina environmental organizations. I decided that since I would be donating to 3 organizations, I should choose one that focuses on the mountains, one that focuses on the Piedmont, and one that focuses on the coast, since those are North Carolina's geographical regions. I ended up choosing to donate to Appalachian Voices, Piedmont Land Conservancy, and the North Carolina Coastal Federation. I visited each website, informed myself on what they do, and donated $10 to each. Appalachian Voices works to protect the land, air and water of Central and Southern Appalachia and advance a just transition to a generative and equitable clean energy economy. To achieve this, we work to end harmful fossil fuel practices such as mountaintop removal, coal mining, and construction of unnecessary fracked-gas pipelines. -appvoices.org Piedmont Land Conservancy protects the Piedmont's natural lands, farms, and waters for present and future generations. We protect important land resources through conservation easements, acquisition and stewardship of previously protected lands. -piedmontland.org North Carolina Coastal Federation works alongside coastal communities to protect and restore the unique North Carolina coast. Through efforts for clean coastal waters, living shorelines, thriving oysters, effective coastal management, and marine debris removal, the Federation and North Carolina's coastal communities continue to work together for a healthy coast! -nccoast.org In total, I donated $30 and helped support 3 NC organizations that work to protect and conserve our state's air, water, and land. Monarch WaystationThis week, I got my garden registered as a Monarch Waystation. I already have my garden listed as a Certified Wildlife Habitat, and this was the next step I wanted to complete.
The Monarch Waystation program was created by Monarch Watch, a nonprofit education, conservation, and research program based at the University of Kansas that focuses on the monarch butterfly, it's habitat, and the fall migration (monarchwatch.org). Monarch Waystations are habitats that provide food, shelter, and a place to reproduce and lay eggs for monarch butterflies. The monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus, is a butterfly species native to North and South America. It is a large, orange butterfly with dark veins and white spots at the edges. On July 21st, 2022, the migratory monarch butterfly was placed on the ICUN Red List of Threatened Species as endangered. In the last two decades, monarch butterfly populations have decreased by 85%. They are threatened by climate change, pesticides, and habitat loss as a result of urban development and farming. The monarch butterfly will only lay it's eggs on one plant, milkweed. The larvae, once hatched, will spend their days feeding on the milkweed leaves until it is time to form a chrysalis. Once the adult butterfly emerges from the chrysalis, it will either live 2-6 weeks, or migrate to Mexico and live up to 9 months, depending on the time of the year. Milkweed plants are disappearing across the country, and so are the monarchs. Last year, I bought and planted several milkweed plants in my garden. At the end of the summer, a monarch butterfly laid its eggs on the milkweed, and I got to watch the caterpillars grow and eventually turn into butterflies. This week, I registered my garden as a Monarch Waystation. I had to visit the Monarch Watch website, where I then filled out an application and paid an application fee to get my garden certified. I also purchased a metal garden sign to identify my garden as an official Waystation. The profits will be used to help support Monarch Watch's conservation efforts. Picking up LitterThis week, I picked up trash everyday Monday - Sunday. I usually pick up trash every week, but I've been putting it off lately.
I went to 7 different locations; 5 near my home and 2 different parks. To pick up the trash, I used my reusable trash bag and gloves from 4Ocean, and a trash grabber I had from Amazon. Once I had a full bag, I returned home and transferred the trash into a biodegradable trash bag that would go into our garbage bin. The 4Ocean bag is much more durable and can hold more trash than a regular trash bag, which is why I purchased it. The gloves provide safety and sanitation, and the trash grabber allows me to not bend over as much. Based on what I picked up, cigarette butts were at the top. This is also the case worldwide, with cigarettes being the most littered item, 4.5 trillion each year to be exact. Cigarettes are 98% plastic, and can take up to 1000 years to decompose. Aside from the air and land pollution, cigarettes also leach toxic chemicals into water like arsenic, lead, & copper, which harms aquatic life. Following in the footsteps of cigarette butts, the second-most littered item I found was cigarette box wrappers. Notable mentions include: plastic bags, plastic straws, straw wrappers, plastic bottles, lottery cards, food wrappers, napkins, receipts, and more. In the end, I ended up with 4 full trash bags. I spent about 45 minutes on average each day picking up litter, and by doing so I prevented tons of trash from entering rivers and oceans, and helped create a cleaner, safer, and healthier environment for wildlife as well as humans. It is sad seeing so much trash outside but it is also rewarding knowing the impact I'm making. |
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