Coverage by The Guardian and the WSJ.
Category Archives: Nature
Redford in A Walk in the Woods: hiking the Appalachian Trail
I guess this film is not going to be a blockbuster but reviewers say A Walk in the Woods shows beautiful views of protected forest. It helps deliver Redford’s basic message to America: protect our natural treasures, because they’re worth protecting … and by the way, it stars Redford and Nick Nolte.
New York Times reviewer Manohla Dargis shares,
It’s a story about men and friendship, buoyed by (author) Mr. Bryson’s light self-amusement (he refers to his pre-walk years of “waddlesome sloth”) and smooth storytelling that encompasses bite-size histories, expansive lists, blue notes and zoological asides on loons, mountain lions and especially bears. It’s a pleasurable read and Mr. Bryson’s writing does what Ken Kwapis’s filmmaking can’t do, which is take you on the trail so that you too trudge, struggle and soar while observing flora and fauna and man’s inhumanity to each.
Released 02 Sept. Check out more reviews.
Can the 1 Billion Oyster Project clean New York Harbor? We’ll soon know.
Students of the New York Harbor School’s Professional Diving and Vessel Operations Programs work together to create a billion oyster reef and monitor how it impacts the harbor. The school’s ambitious 1 Billion Oyster Project goal is to introduce 1 billion oysters into New York Harbor, where they will clean the water and create much needed habitat for the restoration of harbor health and a variety of aquatic species.
The program is also going to give huge numbers of students an appreciation for the water that surrounds their city and prepare many for specialized careers that would otherwise be inaccessible to them. Aquatic Program Director Pete Malinowski, explains:
The port employs 300,000 people and only 12% of them went to public school in New York City, so there’s a fundamental disconnect between young people in the city and the water.
The school is situated on Governor’s Island, but Wall Street Journal producer Jeff Bush visited the teams on the water, at the site of an oyster reef they are monitoring. The school’s Co-Founder and President, Murray Fisher, told Bush that as each adult oyster, “filters a gallon of water an hour,” with a billion oysters, “the standing volume of water in New York Harbor could be filtered every 3 days.”
Mark Kurlansky’s book The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell tells about the rise and fall of New York Harbor’s health in relationship to the oyster. According to Kurlansky, all we needed to do to sustain the health of New York Harbor was, continue throwing discarded oyster shells back into the water – because the breakdown of their shells will feed the growth of living oysters. Maybe we’ll be smarter this time around, taking our cue from the success of communities like Olympia, WA.
Maliownski teaches that being a keystone species, oysters “grow on top of each other and build their own habitat.” Oysters attach to each other to create large reefs which in turn, become environments for other species of aquatic life. “In NY Harbor they were the backbone of aquatic life,” Malinowski remarks.
Hopefully, the time is coming soon when they will be again.
ECJ Green Drinks Paterson Area & Brunch for Bees Event
August Environment & Climate Justice Green Drinks Paterson Area
27 August 2015 at 12 noon
Sultan Restaurant
429 Crooks Ave, Paterson, New Jersey 07011
Everyone is welcome 🙂 and there’s never a meeting charge.
Mayor información – More information:
ejgreendrinks.org | 201-477-8711
ABOUT GREEN DRINKS
Green Drinks are gatherings where we discuss Environmental Justice, climate change and sustainable living issues in English and Spanish!
A lot of knowledge is shared around the table each month along with tasty food and good conversation. Come spend a couple interesting hours with the friendliest bunch of EJ nuts you’ll ever meet.
Please support our host venue by eating or drinking something while we chat.
AUGUST DISCUSSION AGENDA
- Brunch for the Bees – what are we eating and drinking that bees pollinate? What foods and drink don’t need pollinators?
- Delta incinerator company is trying to locate facility in Paterson. It needs to be stopped.
- The Wei Family is setting up a community garden. How can you help?
- Buying a home or property in Paterson as a community collective initiative to Occupy the City
- Pres. Obama’s Clean Power Plan
ORGANIZERS
Kimi Wei, Ivan Gomez Wei, Ariel Lopez Wei, Joseph Dunsay and Sally Gellert
SEPT 2015 NJECJ GREEN DRINKS SCHEDULE
Newark cancelled this month due to Labor Day
Hackensack WED 16 SEPT 7-9 PM
Paterson date TBA
(more at http://ejgreendrinks.org/)
Watch jaguar play, swim and even eat underwater
Who knew that a jaguar could hold his breath a super long time under water, swim like a champ and even eat stuff while he’s swimming around? It’s marvellous to watch.
Video by Vince Pinto
Hudson River Ramble activities: bike, hike, boat, play, sightsee
16 years of fall activities bring thousands out to enjoy the Hudson River Ramble and Hudson Valley in southern New York State. Take a look at through the activity choices in the website and Guidebook and head out to enjoy the culture and natural beauty of this region. There’s truly something for everyone.
Every September, participation continues to grow. ‘Ramblers’ come not only from the Hudson Valley region and New York State, but from other regions of the country as well to discover the riches our Valley has to offer. Whether you are interested in a challenging hike, bike ride or paddle, an inspiring walk through the grounds and homes of some of the Valley’s most notable artists, authors, and Great Americans, a trip back in time to experience the significant role the region played in the Revolutionary War, or a family-fun festival or river exploration event, the Hudson River Valley Ramble truly offers something for everyone!
ECJ Green Drinks Paterson Area & Brunch for Bees Event – August 2015
ABOUT GREEN DRINKS
Green Drinks are gatherings where we discuss Environmental Justice, climate change and sustainable living issues in English and Spanish! A lot of knowledge is shared around the table each month along with tasty food and good conversation. Come spend a couple interesting hours with the friendliest bunch of EJ nuts you’ll ever meet. All are welcome.
Please support our host venue by eating or drinking something while we chat.
AUGUST DISCUSSION AGENDA
- Brunch for the Bees – what are we eating and drinking that bees pollinate? And what foods and drink don’t need them?
- A company is trying to locate a waste and sewage sludge in Paterson. It needs to be stopped.
- The Wei Family is starting up a community garden in Paterson. How can you help?
- A collective is forming to buy a Paterson home or property as a community based initiative to Occupy the City.
- Pres. Obama’s Clean Power Plan
TO JOIN GREEN EVENTS MAILING LIST visit http://j.mp/joingd
SEPT 2015 NJECJ GREEN DRINKS SCHEDULE
(More info at http://ejgreendrinks.org)
Newark cancelled due to Labor Day 7-9 PM
Hackensack this month on WED 16 SEPT 7-9 PM
Paterson DATE TBA (Check this page)
ORGANIZERS
Kimi Wei, Ivan Gomez Wei, Ari Lopez Wei, Joseph Dunsay and Sally Gellert
Green Drinks NJ Environment & Climate Justice Discussions
Mayor información en español e inglés en http://ejgreendrinks.org
Questions | Preguntas – Kimi 862-203-8814
Visit the Pinelands – new map improves access for visitors
A detailed official map of the roads and features of Wharton State Forest was never available to the public before now. The public access plan and map will allow the state to better protect Wharton State Forest by designating certain areas for non-motorized recreation only. See the online map or look for printed maps and brochures at historic Batsto Village and the Atsion Recreation Area.
Over the years more and more roads have been unintentionally created due to illegal off-roading through the state forest. The Motorized Access Plan delineates the 225 miles of sand and unimproved roads intended for motor vehicle use while leaving other access areas for emergency vehicles, wildlife, and low-impact recreation. The MAP achieves balance and provides a guide to users of the state forest so visitors can identify safe areas to drive, bike, walk and boat.
Support DEP’s Motorized Access Plan to limit Pinelands ORV damage
The Pinelands Preservation Alliance supports the DEP’s Motorized Access Plan to protect the natural resources and recreational opportunities in Wharton State Forest. Learn more about ORV damage on their website, including news coverage by NBC10 about the plan and an interactive map of damage done in the Pinelands by irresponsible off road vehicle use.
Take Action Today
Please let your legislators know that you support this Motorized Access Plan by calling or emailing them today. It is very important that they hear from you and that they support this effort by the NJ DEP to better protect New Jersey’s natural resources and encourage all types of recreation in Wharton State Forest.
Find your state legislators with this easy tool or send an email using PPA’s Take Action tool.
More on Pine Barrens damage from ORVs at Pine Barrens Under Siege.
Want to become a Palm Oil Action Leader and help stop cookies from destroying our world?
I know it seems crazy, but the way some our favorite foods are grown and manufactured is doing fantastic harm to our world. Conflict palm oil is one product that harms the environment and is widely used in mass produced baked goods including crackers and GirlScout cookies … so the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) is putting together a coalition of leaders who will learn to lead a movement to protect rainforests, the ecosystems they are home to, the air they clean and orangutans. Maybe you’d like to sign on.
CONFLICT PALM OIL: Are your cookies causing orangutan extinction?
We may not be able to see it, but Conflict Palm Oil has become ubiquitous in our everyday lives. It is found in roughly half the packaged products sold in US grocery stores, including favorite snack foods like ice cream, cookies, crackers, chocolate products, cereals, doughnuts and potato chips. In fact, palm oil is likely present in some form in nearly every room of your home.
Demand for palm oil is skyrocketing worldwide. The recent spike in use by the US snack food industry is due in large part to Conflict Palm Oil being used as a replacement for controversial trans fats. The oil is extracted from the fruit of oil palms native to Africa, now grown primarily in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Conflict Palm Oil production is now one of the world’s leading causes of rainforest destruction. Unchecked expansion is pushing new plantations deep into the heart of some of the world’s most culturally and biologically diverse ecosystems. Irreplaceable wildlife species like the Sumatran Rhino, Sumatran Elephant and the Sumatran and Borneo orangutan are being driven to the brink of extinction.
But Conflict Palm Oil is not only a local problem. The clearing of rainforests and carbon-rich peatlands for new plantations is releasing globally significant carbon pollution, making Conflict Palm Oil a major driver of human induced climate change.
If this issue concerns you, maybe you’d like join RAN’s Palm Oil Action Team and learn how to take the lead in stopping rainforest destruction by the snack food industry.
Palm Oil Action Leaders: Building a Movement to Cut Conflict P…
Ever wonder how you can fight deforestation, human rights abuses, child and forced labor, and the extinction of iconic species like the orangutan in YOUR community? RAN's Palm Oil Action Team organizes in their communities and online, around the world, to pressure the biggest corporations on the world to cut Conflict Palm Oil. The Snack Food 20 corporations would hate it – and we would love it – if you joined the Palm Oil Action Team. Check out the video of some of our local leaders, then get involved at http://a.ran.org/a2N
Posted by Rainforest Action Network on Tuesday, 4 August 2015
An animal friend speaking through sign language to tell about his home needing protection from conflict palm oil destruction is Strawberry the Orangutan. There are only about 60,000 wild orangutans left.
Help for pollinators – from the simple to the sublime
National Pollinator Week (June 15-21) just ended but nobody’s going to mind if you keep supporting beautiful bees and butterflies all year round. Your kids will actually thank you one day.
For inspiration, check out the probono project With Honey In My Heart is leading to transform a paved San Francisco street into a pollinator sanctuary but remember – the power to save our pollinators lies within easy reach of most of us.
