Food Not Lawns

I discovered this new website today and couldn't wait to share it with you. Here’s what it’s all about:

“Food Not Lawns was founded in Eugene, Oregon in 1999 by a small group of activists who had been cooking Food Not Bombs (free meals in the park) for several years and decided to start gardening too. Soon we started hearing about other chapters and realized we had spawned a powerful, inspiring part of the growing sustainability movement. With the publication of Heather Flores' book, "Food Not Lawns, How to Turn your Yard into a Garden and Your Neighborhood into a Community," by Chelsea Green Publishing Company in 2006, new local FNL chapters starting popping up all over. Now we are a global community of avant gardeners, working together to grow and share food, seeds, medicine, and knowledge.”

Connect with Food Not Lawns here: http://www.foodnotlawns.com/index.html

Climate Refugees

In a recent Internet search on ‘climate refugees’ I came across the website for the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) which is a non-profit organization based in the UK working to protect the environment and defend human rights. The world is going to need more organizations like EJF as we’re going to be hearing a lot more about climate refugees in the near future.

Since becoming a water advocate, I have been interested in research on climate refugees, and have observed that developing countries are already faced with this challenge, while the developed countries are just beginning to see signs of what the future holds.  

The recent news covering the effects of Hurricane Sandy in the Northeast United States and the intense storms causing flooding in San Francisco, CA are just two stories to grab headlines. This week Dubai was also hit with flooding after heavy rains.  It’s time to start paying attention to how climate change and severe weather is affecting people around the world.

The EJF website features a short film in which a climate refugee in Bangladesh explains what happened to her family.

Click to view video: Home Truths: Taslima Begum

Sources: 

Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF)

http://www.ejfoundation.org/climate

Heavy Rain Causes Flooding in UAE

http://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/blogs/the-971-report/heavy-rain-causes-flooding-in-uae-102304850.html

Words To Live By

Via Mother Nature Network
http://pinterest.com/mothernaturenet/

America Recyles Day

 



America Recycles Day is a national program of Keep America Beautiful, and is the only nationally-recognized day and community-driven awareness event dedicated to promoting and celebrating recycling in the U.S. Since its inception in 1997, communities across the country have participated in America Recycles Day on November 15 to educate, promote environmental citizenship, and encourage action. To learn more, visit http://americarecyclesday.org.


Organized by:

 

Undertaking Water Advocacy

The world needs more water advocates! Whether you’re ready to tackle the task full time, or just thinking of ways to make a difference, WaterAid’s The Advocacy Sourcebook is an excellent place to start.

The guidebook was intended for use in the water and sanitation sectors, but can be used for any type of advocacy work. It helps you clearly identify issues, define your message, and create an action plan.

The Advocacy Sourcebook is divided into sections to help you:

understand what advocacy is

                        know why we do advocacy

start developing your advocacy plans

                        make advocacy happen

choose some advocacy tools

Download The Advocacy Sourcebook

WaterAid is the leading charity for clean, safe water and sanitation in the world's poorest countries. Click here to visit WaterAid

 

What's In Your Water Post Sandy?

East Village, NYC - Photo by Eric Ambel
http://www.facebook.com/#!/eric.ambel

While many NYC residents are still waiting for help after the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, others are beginning to wonder if the city's tap water is safe to drink.

One news source reported, "Raw sewage, industrial chemicals and floating debris filled flooded waterways around New York City on Tuesday" (Huffington Post). The idea of sewage mixed in with clean water supplies is indeed troubling, but one area in Brooklyn is of greatest concern.

The US Environmental Agency added the Gowanus canal in Brooklyn to its "Superfund List" in 2011. We can only imagine what the flooding in Brooklyn has done to the canal and where the water has traveled since the hurricane hit. Water from the canal is said to be sitting in some basements in Brooklyn. While city officials and residents struggle with pumping out the water and getting power restored to the area, the issue of the canal and area drinking water will continue to be a concern.

Hurricane Sandy has drawn attention to Climate Change and water issues in the US  - something that was greatly needed.

Before making landfall in the US, Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc across the Caribbean causing untold damage. Coverage of the storm's destruction in the Caribbean can be found at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/a-look-at-caribbean-deaths-and-damage-from-hurricane-sandy/2012/10/29/7a595424-21e0-11e2-92f8-7f9c4daf276a_story.html

Source:   Huffington Post