ECO Friendly Living USA

U.S. Rep Rashida Tlaib talks to reporters, April 22, 2019 | Ken Coleman
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) and a coalition of community groups are demanding that the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) improve its public participation process so that residents’ concerns are taken into account before decisions are made in the environmental permitting process. 
Tlaib, along with members of groups, including the Clear the Air Coalition and Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, held a virtual press conference Thursday to discuss what steps they believe EGLE should take to better engage with the community. Speakers agreed that EGLE should inform the public about permit details much sooner.
The press conference was held ahead of EGLE’s Monday deadline for the public to provide input on the updated draft versions of its Public Participation Policy and its Language Access Plan. According to a release from EGLE, all comments received from the public will be considered and reviewed before the publication and release of the final policy and plan. 
“We’re here because, while it seems common sense that the agency charged with protecting people’s health would and should care about what those people have to say, that’s not currently the case,” Kim Hunter from the Clear the Air Coalition said. “We’re here because, when it comes to key decisions about our environment and how corporations can operate in our communities, EGLE’s public interaction process is skewed to favor polluters, and that must change.”
Residents who attend EGLE hearings to give public comment during the permitting process feel that the hearings are “performative,” Tlaib said. She said it’s “unacceptable” that the public is brought in at the end of the process, when they have “almost no power” to change EGLE’s decisions. 
“A corporate polluter has a huge head start with months of back and forth with EGLE, and we have to rebalance the scales and make public participation and community input actually matter,” Tlaib said.
The frustration that residents feel with EGLE’s current process has “major consequences,” said Tlaib. She said the process disempowers residents and discourages them from participating in the future.
“My residents live with the impacts of these decisions, so they should be able to help make them, not be brought in to vent their concerns after a decision is as good as made,” she said.
Amy Schulz, a professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health, said a recent study has found that those who have engaged in a public participation process that didn’t offer opportunities to influence environmental decisions experienced a loss of trust in government institutions. 
“There is a growing body of science that details the harms that are caused when government entities fail to provide meaningful mechanisms for taxpayers, property owners and residents affected by environmental decisions to inform and influence those decisions,” Schulz said. “In other words, public participation that is performative, that does not offer meaningful opportunities to the decisions that are made, is harmful to public health and erodes trust in government regulatory bodies such as EGLE.”
Theresa Landrum, a Southwest Detroit resident, said she has attended hundreds of hearings over the years to voice her concerns. She said it has been a challenge for her and others to understand the permitting process and the hundreds of pages of documents that have “highly technical, legal and scientific jargon.” 
Landrum said there’s also many residents who need these documents translated in order to review them. 
“We need for the documents to be put in simple, plain language so that we can understand,” she said. 
According to the draft of EGLE’s Language Access Plan, the department will take “reasonable steps to ensure that vital documents are translated or interpreted” for individuals affected who do not speak English as their primary language.
Landrum said she and other residents have suggested that EGLE hold webinars or tutorials to help break down long reports. That way, they can better understand what’s outlined in the permits and can make valid comments about them. 
According to the EGLE Public Participation Policy draft, EGLE will “facilitate public understanding of the process, including notice of pending decisions, the factors that EGLE considers in reaching a decision, the technical information that EGLE considers in the decision-making process, and the basis of a decision when it is made.”
Nick Leonard from the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center said he has spent “more hours than I can count” in public hearings. He said EGLE often urges commenters to limit the scope of their comments, which has made community members feel like they aren’t heard.
“If they’re serious about their commitment to make Michigan a leader in promoting environmental justice, they have to do a lot more than what’s provided in their current draft of their public participation policy,” Leonard said. “Michigan’s environmental laws and regulations exist to protect us — the health of people — not to ensure that industry receives timely service for their permits to pollute.”
Leonard said it seems that EGLE doesn’t try to engage with the public at all when one of their decisions is considered controversial.
“When EGLE sought EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] permission to ignore high ozone days on the east side of Detroit in 2022, they never once came to Detroit for a single public hearing or public meeting,” he said.
Public comment periods are “an essential component of transparent and equitable public participation, allowing the agency to gather input from the community and affected parties before making final decisions on agency actions,” the draft of the EGLE Public Participation Policy says.
EGLE will review all written and verbal comments received after the public comment period and will communicate how those comments were considered in the process, the draft said. 
EGLE says environmental review panels should be axed, cites delays and drains on resources

Simone Sagovac from the Southwest Detroit Community Benefits Coalition said that the public deserves to know whether or not companies have followed regulations before they’re granted another permit. She also believes EGLE should restore in-person public meetings.
“It isn’t a fair process or a good process without a fair playing field to start,” Sagovac said. “EGLE engages with companies from the start when a permit application is submitted, but the affected community doesn’t learn about the permit details until the very end of the process when the public hearings are held. We need information sooner and EGLE needs to hear from the affected community sooner.” 
According to the Public Participation Policy draft, meetings should be in a convenient location for community members, such as libraries, schools and community centers. If meetings are held online, the meetings must offer an option for the public to participate.
Some of the different types of meetings outlined in the draft include informational meetings, open houses, listening sessions and public hearings.
In the draft, EGLE said it’s committed to continuous improvement of public participation. They will establish a “cross-division/cross-office public participation working group” to ensure implementation of the policy across all activities.
“This policy serves as a guide for the department to engage in public participation and will be regularly revisited to ensure it stays current,” the draft says.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
by Katie O’Brien Kelley, Michigan Advance
March 29, 2024
by Katie O’Brien Kelley, Michigan Advance
March 29, 2024
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) and a coalition of community groups are demanding that the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) improve its public participation process so that residents’ concerns are taken into account before decisions are made in the environmental permitting process. 
Tlaib, along with members of groups, including the Clear the Air Coalition and Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, held a virtual press conference Thursday to discuss what steps they believe EGLE should take to better engage with the community. Speakers agreed that EGLE should inform the public about permit details much sooner.
The press conference was held ahead of EGLE’s Monday deadline for the public to provide input on the updated draft versions of its Public Participation Policy and its Language Access Plan. According to a release from EGLE, all comments received from the public will be considered and reviewed before the publication and release of the final policy and plan. 
“We’re here because, while it seems common sense that the agency charged with protecting people’s health would and should care about what those people have to say, that’s not currently the case,” Kim Hunter from the Clear the Air Coalition said. “We’re here because, when it comes to key decisions about our environment and how corporations can operate in our communities, EGLE’s public interaction process is skewed to favor polluters, and that must change.”
Residents who attend EGLE hearings to give public comment during the permitting process feel that the hearings are “performative,” Tlaib said. She said it’s “unacceptable” that the public is brought in at the end of the process, when they have “almost no power” to change EGLE’s decisions. 
“A corporate polluter has a huge head start with months of back and forth with EGLE, and we have to rebalance the scales and make public participation and community input actually matter,” Tlaib said.
The frustration that residents feel with EGLE’s current process has “major consequences,” said Tlaib. She said the process disempowers residents and discourages them from participating in the future.
“My residents live with the impacts of these decisions, so they should be able to help make them, not be brought in to vent their concerns after a decision is as good as made,” she said.
Amy Schulz, a professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health, said a recent study has found that those who have engaged in a public participation process that didn’t offer opportunities to influence environmental decisions experienced a loss of trust in government institutions. 
“There is a growing body of science that details the harms that are caused when government entities fail to provide meaningful mechanisms for taxpayers, property owners and residents affected by environmental decisions to inform and influence those decisions,” Schulz said. “In other words, public participation that is performative, that does not offer meaningful opportunities to the decisions that are made, is harmful to public health and erodes trust in government regulatory bodies such as EGLE.”
Theresa Landrum, a Southwest Detroit resident, said she has attended hundreds of hearings over the years to voice her concerns. She said it has been a challenge for her and others to understand the permitting process and the hundreds of pages of documents that have “highly technical, legal and scientific jargon.” 
Landrum said there’s also many residents who need these documents translated in order to review them. 
“We need for the documents to be put in simple, plain language so that we can understand,” she said. 
According to the draft of EGLE’s Language Access Plan, the department will take “reasonable steps to ensure that vital documents are translated or interpreted” for individuals affected who do not speak English as their primary language.
Landrum said she and other residents have suggested that EGLE hold webinars or tutorials to help break down long reports. That way, they can better understand what’s outlined in the permits and can make valid comments about them. 
According to the EGLE Public Participation Policy draft, EGLE will “facilitate public understanding of the process, including notice of pending decisions, the factors that EGLE considers in reaching a decision, the technical information that EGLE considers in the decision-making process, and the basis of a decision when it is made.”
Nick Leonard from the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center said he has spent “more hours than I can count” in public hearings. He said EGLE often urges commenters to limit the scope of their comments, which has made community members feel like they aren’t heard.
“If they’re serious about their commitment to make Michigan a leader in promoting environmental justice, they have to do a lot more than what’s provided in their current draft of their public participation policy,” Leonard said. “Michigan’s environmental laws and regulations exist to protect us — the health of people — not to ensure that industry receives timely service for their permits to pollute.”
Leonard said it seems that EGLE doesn’t try to engage with the public at all when one of their decisions is considered controversial.
“When EGLE sought EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] permission to ignore high ozone days on the east side of Detroit in 2022, they never once came to Detroit for a single public hearing or public meeting,” he said.
Public comment periods are “an essential component of transparent and equitable public participation, allowing the agency to gather input from the community and affected parties before making final decisions on agency actions,” the draft of the EGLE Public Participation Policy says.
EGLE will review all written and verbal comments received after the public comment period and will communicate how those comments were considered in the process, the draft said. 
EGLE says environmental review panels should be axed, cites delays and drains on resources

Simone Sagovac from the Southwest Detroit Community Benefits Coalition said that the public deserves to know whether or not companies have followed regulations before they’re granted another permit. She also believes EGLE should restore in-person public meetings.
“It isn’t a fair process or a good process without a fair playing field to start,” Sagovac said. “EGLE engages with companies from the start when a permit application is submitted, but the affected community doesn’t learn about the permit details until the very end of the process when the public hearings are held. We need information sooner and EGLE needs to hear from the affected community sooner.” 
According to the Public Participation Policy draft, meetings should be in a convenient location for community members, such as libraries, schools and community centers. If meetings are held online, the meetings must offer an option for the public to participate.
Some of the different types of meetings outlined in the draft include informational meetings, open houses, listening sessions and public hearings.
In the draft, EGLE said it’s committed to continuous improvement of public participation. They will establish a “cross-division/cross-office public participation working group” to ensure implementation of the policy across all activities.
“This policy serves as a guide for the department to engage in public participation and will be regularly revisited to ensure it stays current,” the draft says.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan J. Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and Twitter.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. AP and Getty images may not be republished. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.
Katie O’Brien Kelley is a Michigan State University graduate with degrees in journalism and theatre. She was previously a reporter, editor and podcast coordinator at The State News — Michigan State’s award-winning student paper. As a reporter there, she covered the university’s administration, including its mishandling of reports against former doctor Larry Nassar’s abuse, as well as academics and student experiences. She was also previously an intern at the Lansing City Pulse.
DEMOCRACY TOOLKIT
© Michigan Advance, 2024
Corporate media aren’t cutting it. The Michigan Advance is a nonprofit outlet featuring hard-hitting reporting on politics and policy and the best progressive commentary in the state.
We’re part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
DEIJ Policy | Ethics Policy | Privacy Policy
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website.

source

By their very nature, people who garden are some of the most environmentally conscious. Studies have found a connection between spending more time outside and wanting to help mitigate climate change and protect the environment. For those who are so inclined, making a real difference can start right in your own backyard.
To become a more conscious member of your local ecosystem, you don’t need to totally change the way you garden. According to experts, small shifts can go a long way, and they don’t all have to happen at once. Make your home a haven for flora and fauna by adding these new habits throughout the year.
Though it may feel like your garden is on pause during the colder months, there’s plenty you can be doing to help it thrive. Mary Phillips, head of Garden for Wildlife programs at the National Wildlife Federation, says winter is a great time to start composting. Turning your kitchen scraps into compost not only means sending less to the landfill; it can also have a significant benefit for the nutrient profile of your garden.
“Composting is super purposeful, and you will eventually get some really good soil,” Phillips says. You can choose to compost directly in your garden (an important facet of the “no-till” gardening approach), or in a designated pile or composter. It’s fairly simple to make your own bin by drilling holes in a garbage can — just be sure to do a little research on what you should and shouldn’t compost, and mix the contents every now and then.
If you want to support native wildlife populations, Phillips says, “the really important thing, which is especially challenging in the winter months, is water.” Birds, small mammals and other wildlife that remain active through the winter all need access to water, but many sources freeze.
“You can help by installing a heated bird bath,” Phillips says. “Or, if you have a regular bird bath, just change the water regularly and try adding some hot water when temperatures drop below freezing.”
The easiest way to have a positive impact, says Uli Lorimer, director of horticulture for the Native Plant Trust, is to “stop using fertilizers and pesticides.” These chemicals harm beneficial insects and soil microbes, and eventually make their way into local waterways, hurting fish and other aquatic species. If you adopt no other habit on this list, Lorimer says, just stay away from the spray.
But that’s not the only way you can do more by doing less. “A lot of folks hear about ‘No Mow May,’” Lorimer says, “and that’s fine but one month is not enough. Instead, we want to move away from the putting green idea — that your lawn has to be a perfect green carpet.”
It’s still okay to use your lawn mower, but look for places where you can let things get a little more wild. “If there are weird little corners or narrow strips that are hard to mow,” Lorimer suggests, “consider transitioning those to a no-mow alternative ground cover like a native sedge.”
While every gardener should be using as many ecosystem-appropriate plants as possible, Lorimer says it’s not necessary to tear out everything that’s nonnative. He points to research that suggests a “crucial threshold” of 70 percent native plants “will support the greatest insect diversity and therefore also the greatest bird diversity.” That 70 percent can be a longer-term goal, Lorimer adds. “It’s something to work toward, whether you do it over five years or 10 years,” he says. “Welcoming any native or regionally appropriate plant is a step in the right direction.”
To help you find those plants, Phillips suggests the National Wildlife Federation’s online native plant finder tool. “You just put your Zip code in and get lists of native plants that support high numbers of wildlife,” she says.
Lorimer offers one more tip for those who want to go native: “When you go to the nursery, it’s important to ask the right questions,” he says. Try to find out whether a plant was grown locally, and whether its grower used pesticides, particularly neonicotinoids. “It’s one of the cruelest ironies,” he says, “when you’ve made the decision to seek out pollinator-friendly plants, but they’re grown with a chemical that will poison the creatures you’d like to support.”
Tell The Post: Have you renovated your bathroom in the past year?
In many homes, the least environmentally friendly appliance is the dryer. Generating enough heat to dry your clothes requires a lot of energy, and multiple loads a week can quickly increase a family’s carbon footprint. Plus, when dryer lint makes its way into the environment, it releases microfibers into ecosystems like marine habitats, where they can damage the tissues of some species.
Luckily, there’s a simple, old-fashioned solution, especially in the sunny summer months: a clothesline. Line-drying might take longer, but it’s a simple fix with a big impact. And you can’t beat that fresh scent (which is scientifically proven to be a thing).
Another simple backyard change involves your lighting: Phillips says we all need much less of it. “Light pollution is a really big thing,” she says. Too much artificial light can confuse birds, disrupting their migration paths and leading them to fly into buildings. “I recommend not having as much light outside, or only having lights on during designated hours. And if you must have lights on, switch to very yellow bulbs, which are not as distracting to birds.”
In the fall, many gardeners clear old growth and cut down plants that have finished producing. To really help the local wildlife, consider leaving a bit of mess.
“Creating little areas in your yard with some brush, and maybe some stumps and dead trees offers amazing shelter for a variety of wildlife,” Phillips says.
You may have heard advice to “leave the leaves.” Lorimer clarifies that you can provide benefits to all the small creatures who depend on leaf litter while still cleaning up your landscaping. “It’s okay to use a rake to move the leaves off the lawn,” he says. “But then, use them to mulch your shrubs and trees; don’t bag them up and haul them away. You’ll be missing a lot of wonderful creatures from your garden next year if you’ve blown them all away into a bag or put them through a shredder.”
And when it comes to those native plants, their ecosystem services continue year-round. Leaving some stalks standing provides valuable hibernation habitat for many insect species.
Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t give things a trim. “I think not cutting anything is just too wild for most people,” Lorimer says. “So compromise: You can still make it look neat and more manicured. Just be intentional about what you leave behind.”
Kate Morgan is a freelance writer in Richland, Pa.

source

Filed under:
Immerse yourself in nature — with respect for the environment and the culture that supports it.
If you love nature, you may have tried to plan a vacation where you get to be immersed in it. Maybe you’ve explored a coral reef or visited an elephant sanctuary, or you dream of doing so one day. These activities can fall under the umbrella of ecotourism — a kind of nature-based travel that aims to protect and empower the environment, animals, and local communities — when planning vacations.
Tourism is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world, accounting for 22 million new jobs last year, with a large part of that growth stemming from a post-lockdown itch for travel. As people return to packing as much stuff as humanly possible into a carry-on, ecotourism, too, will likely skyrocket to a market value of $299 billion by 2026. In the last 10 years, travelers have become more environmentally conscious and socially responsible, looking for travel experiences that reflect their morals.
Still, the question for many well-meaning tourists remains: Is ethical ecotourism even possible?
There are a few things that complicate ecotourism’s narrative, like the carbon emissions produced by flights, or the challenges of ensuring that a significant degree of profits actually do go to local communities, protecting wildlife, and cultural heritage. Nature-based travel, too, can risk losing the plot, from sanctuaries that operate like petting zoos to the development of tropical coasts into even the most nature-forward resorts.
“It really boils down to an attitude, and an ethic about how we approach the natural world,” says David Fennell, a geography and tourism studies professor at Brock University in Ontario, Canada, and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Ecotourism. “Just by virtue of going to a national park doesn’t mean you’re an ecotourist, you have to have that attitude. And you have to tap into that ethic about what is important [to] not just yourself as a tourist, but about conservation and animal welfare.”
As a tourist, choosing where to go is an important decision, one that can help or hurt the environment and communities where you are visiting. There are some situations that are too good to be truly as effective as they claim, and accreditations, though helpful, may not tell the whole story. Understandably, trying to figure out what’s best for the environment, for communities, and for yourself can be overwhelming. It may be that ecotourism is a state of mind rather than a destination. Here are some ways to think about your next adventure to ensure your ethics align.
An alternative to mass tourism — or when thousands of people visit a destination day in and day out (think the resort-ification of Ibiza, in which people partied so hard that legislation was passed in 2022 to change the destination’s wasteful image) — ecotourism is meant to get you off the beaten trail and into a mindset of reciprocity with the site you are visiting.
As with many sustainability-oriented services, ecotourism got its start in the ’70s. It officially became a dictionary entry in 1982, where it is defined as supporting conservation efforts, especially in often threatened natural environments. Since then though, the definition and intent have evolved to include bolstering local communities.
In the literature on ecotourism, travel can be distinguished into “hard paths” and “soft paths,” based on how many aspects of your trip follow the ethical north star of ecotourism and how demanding the trip will be of you. For example, if your trip features a strong environmental commitment and will be physically active, you’re likely on the hard path of ecotourism. If your trip is aimed at physical comfort with only a moderate nod to environmental commitment, you may be on a soft path. But taking it as an ethos means you can be an ecotourist anywhere, especially locally.
You might be wondering if a hike on a busy trail or swimming with manatees is ecotourism. Although both of those examples are nature-based tourism as they interface with the natural world, they’re not necessarily ecotourism, since both of these activities can put these destinations at risk if done in excess. Hiking a spot to death or droves of tourists putting Florida’s manatees at risk put pressure on the ecology of those places. In the 1980s, mass tourism began to wreck some of the world’s most sensitive ecosystems, such as the Riviera Maya in Mexico, where near-constant development has led to local forests being cleared.
Wildlife tourism runs the gamut from cruel breeding and hunting of lions to we-really-shouldn’t-have-cetaceans-in-captivity dolphin shows to cool, ethical birdwatching. Ecotourism including wildlife can be ethical as long as the animals you are engaging with are not manipulated or not free to disengage in interaction with tourists. “Anytime you have an animal that’s held in a captive environment, that you’re manipulating, the animal is not free to disengage that interaction, based on its own will,” says Fennell.
If you’re interested in going on adventures that are a little more sport-oriented, such as kayaking or diving, then this might be also considered nature-based tourism, since activities like climbing, sailing, camping, and snorkeling are less directly connected to ecological benefits. An example of nature tourism would be surfing lessons off Australia’s Coffs coast: You’re in nature having fun, but vibes are about all you’re contributing to the scene.
Ecotourism also has an educational component: You’re meant to learn about nature, culture, and threats to the area you’re in. Paul Rosolie — founder and Wildlife Director of Junglekeepers, a program that uses donations and tourist money to buy tracts of the Amazon along the Las Piedras River, in the Madre de Dios region of Peru — highlighted how ecotourism has brought people to the front lines of conservation.
“This is the edge of human presence on this planet,” Rosolie said via voice memo deep in the Amazon. “The battle is playing out between the progress of roads and development and the last places where there are untouched ecosystems, Indigenous communities, communities of species yet to be discovered. You get to see incredibly pristine, pure wilderness where a few people have managed to make a living.”
Ecotourism should encourage ethical considerations, like respect for the environment and host communities. For example, ecotourism aims to be biocentric, meaning that the interest of the living beings you are hoping to protect is prioritized over your own drive for pleasure. There is also the risk of too much tourism causing gentrification and raising prices for locals — see what’s currently happening in Mexico City, or consider the (fictional, but still germane) plot of HBO’s The White Lotus. Ecotourism aims to reverse the exploitative relationships between tourists and locals.
Lastly, ecotourism should strive for sustainability. In the case of Junglekeepers, which offers base station visits and ranger-accompanied hikes to tourists, this means extending employment to former loggers in their ranger program. The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, where there are six ecolodges for tourists to book, has anti-poaching teams who work with the Kenya Wildlife Service to stop illegal poaching for ivory, bushmeat, and logging.
Just because ecotourism might have a broader application these days, it doesn’t necessarily mean all travel qualifies, especially since there are slews of companies and organizations attempting to make a quick buck off a catchy buzzword. Unfortunately, it’s hard to sift the wheat from the chaff. As ecotourism as a concept grows more and more popular, some experiences and excursions may not necessarily meet the intentions lined up above.
Tourism can be rife with greenwashing: vague and unsupported claims, and exaggerations about how much good a given entity is doing, like hotels highlighting their donations to ecological causes, but underpaying their staff. Some excursions put Indigenous peoples in precarious situations, and some force animals to perform or be ridden or petted in a forced and unnatural manner.
Milo Putnam — founder of Laro Ethical Wildlife Travels, a service that helps people plan eco-travel — warns, “Don’t be tricked by misused greenwashing buzzwords like ‘rescue,’ ‘sanctuary,’ or ‘eco-park.’ Companies know that tourists like these terms, which to these companies can mean more profits, even if it isn’t true. These terms are meaningless if not backed by actual ethical practices. Instead, look further to see if they are certified or accredited by a trusted organization.” (More on this below.)
Additionally, Fennell believes the most ethical ecotourists — the traveler and any organizations involved — should keep animals off the menu. Ecotourism’s biocentric approach should lead us to widen our moral consideration of animals and to care not only for charismatic megafauna like lions and elephants, but also for all creatures that make ecosystems function. “The global food system — mainly animal agriculture — is the primary driver of biodiversity loss,” Putnam added. “Choosing a more plant-based diet has a positive impact on wildlife around the world.”
Certifications may give a clue to how well a given destination is achieving ecotourism goals, but they may not always exist.
Putnam has compiled a tip list for planning animal-based adventures and points to the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries as a resource. The federation checks in to ensure that no captive breeding is taking place, that tourists do not have direct contact with wildlife, and that animals have appropriate housing and veterinary care.
There is no universal ecotourism certification, but the Global Sustainable Tourism Council has compiled a list of certifications around the world that emphasize the four “C’s”: conservation, community, culture, and commerce. These certifications are a good place to start and they cover Asia, Europe, Africa, North and South America, and Australia.
The land down under is at the top when it comes to vetting their tourism options. Australia’s ecotourism industry has some of the most sophisticated certifications including nature tourism, ecotourism, and advanced ecotourism. In this certification system, outback safari glamping in Karijini National Park counts as ecotourism, because it supports Indigenous peoples as it is owned and operated by the Gumala Aboriginal Corporation, which represents the interests of the Banjima, Yinhawangka, and Nyiyaparli peoples in Western Australia.
Everyone I spoke to underscored the importance of selecting an ethical destination for travel because the money you spend as a tourist can have a positive impact rather than an ambiguous impact or even detrimental effect on the places you’re visiting. As Rosolie puts it, “Finding the right place to go as a traveler is a very powerful decision to people who are devoting their whole lives to protecting a place.”
Will you help keep Vox free for all?
At Vox, we believe that clarity is power, and that power shouldn’t only be available to those who can afford to pay. That’s why we keep our work free. Millions rely on Vox’s clear, high-quality journalism to understand the forces shaping today’s world. Support our mission and help keep Vox free for all by making a financial contribution to Vox today.
$5/month
$10/month
$25/month
$50/month
We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via
Understand the world with a daily explainer plus the most compelling stories of the day.
Check your inbox for a welcome email.
Oops. Something went wrong. Please enter a valid email and try again.
Check your inbox for a welcome email.
Oops. Something went wrong. Please enter a valid email and try again.

source

freebeat Announces Launch of Innovative 2-in-1 E-Bike Technology with Emphasis on Sustainability and Health  Yahoo Finance
source

Featured
Featured
Featured
Featured
Featured
Featured
Featured
Featured
Featured
Featured
A co-op in Ireland gives a Northeastern student an opportunity to do environment protection work abroad.
Northeastern University third-year student Maya Galante did not know what seagrass was before she started her co-op in Ireland in January. Since then, she’s spent time on the seacoast near Dublin, inspecting these flowering plants that grow in shallow, sandy coastlines underwater.
Galante helped the environmental group Coastwatch prepare its annual seagrass survey that examines whether human activities such as pollution have had an impact on these underwater plants or on the wildlife habitat. 
“We would meet up and we would go to one of those beaches to the north of Dublin where seagrass is found and map it out and record how it’s looking,” she says.
When she is not in the field, the environmental science and international affairs student creates data-based geographical maps or participates in meetings and events at Coastwatch that is a member of the international network of environmental groups, Coastwatch Europe, based in Dublin. 
Coastwatch works with local groups and individuals on protecting wetlands, raising public awareness of their value and teaching people practical ways to save them.
“Climate change is the most important issue in the world right now, and if I am not doing something to contribute to it, then what am I doing with my life?” she says. “I spend so much time out in the world and in nature appreciating it that I can’t sit idly by.” 
In late January, Coastwatch hosted a big event on seagrass protection, and Galante did a lot of planning for the event.
“That was something that I found out I was really good at and really interested in,” she says.
Her supervisor encouraged her as the only American on the team to prepare and give a presentation on the seagrass legislation in Massachusetts. Galante found out that Massachusetts has a good grasp on protecting seagrass, she says, which is something Ireland is still struggling with. 
“Hence why we were doing all this research and policy writing and brainstorming for Ireland,” Galante says.
The co-op also introduced Galante to the concept of citizen science, she says, when volunteer citizens help out with research, collecting data and surveying the areas they are passionate about. The results are subsequently presented to the government, she says, which is a big part of what Coastwatch does. 
“They have a stronger sense of if you are passionate or have a background in this specific idea, you have a stronger ability to take that and go to the government about your issues,” Galante says about Irish people.
When the Irish parliament, Dáil Éireann, held a hearing session for the new legislation that would regulate agricultural and wastewater runoff, Coastwatch presented information on how nitrates used in farming can affect wildlife and biodiversity on the coasts.
“I prepared all of the research for what the representatives for Coastwatch were going to bring to Parliament,” Galante says. “I was happy to provide what they needed and that my ideas were listened to.”
For Earth Day on April 22, Coastwatch is planning to sample the types of cutlery different food businesses offer to their customers. A number of single-use plastics such as cutlery are banned in Ireland following a European Union directive, but Coastwatch is not certain all retailers stopped using them, Galante says.
“I suggested to my boss that it would be a good idea to track down where the single-use plastic is coming in and how some of the places are getting that and how we can regulate that,” she says.
Representatives of the Environmental Protection Agency of Ireland confirmed that import of the single-use plastics was the problem, Galante says.
“If we hit it right at the beginning of [the cycle, when] it’s not allowed to even come into the country, then that would be great,” she says.
Her favorite part of the co-op, however, has been the opportunity to talk to different kinds of people, from colleagues to volunteers to representatives.
Galante says she is excited that she is able to have the combined environmental science and international affairs major at Northeastern.
She fell in love with Northeastern, she says, as soon as she and her mother got out of a subway train in the middle of the Boston campus.
“I was like, ‘OK, Mom, we don’t even have to go look at the other schools,’” she remembers saying to her mother.
Galante did her first co-op at an urban farm in Boston, where she was able to get dirty, sell produce and do administrative work.
Alëna Kuzub is a Northeastern Global News reporter. Email her at a.kuzub@northeastern.edu. Follow her on X/Twitter @AlenaKuzub.
© 2024 Northeastern University

source

TV personalities Gino D’Acampo and Fred Sirieix will attempt to travel sustainably around Europe for a new eco travel and cookery TV series.
Confronting the environmental impact of their travels, the series has a working title of Gino And Fred’s Emission Impossible.
First Dates maitre d’ Sirieix and TV chef D’Acampo previously embarked on a string of adventures with Gordon Ramsay for the popular series Gordon, Gino And Fred: Road Trip.
The announcement of this new show follows D’Acampo’s quitting of Gordon, Gino And Fred: Road Trip earlier this year, citing “stressful” contract discussions.
ITV says that in the new programme, Emission Impossible, eco-conscious Sirieix is “determined to re-educate, recycle and re-engineer his eco-sceptic sidekick (D’Acampo) in their own backyard.”
The duo will visit Austria, where capital city Vienna was ranked as the greenest city in the world in 2020, and will track down sustainable produce and immerse themselves in environmentally-friendly lifestyles.
The pair said: “We’re thrilled to be upcycled by ITV for another action-packed adventure and can’t wait to cook up some fantastic sustainable dishes whilst hopefully stirring up debate around these important issues.
“We might not come up with the recipe to save the planet but we hope to entertain, inform and inspire the audience to think about making changes in their own lives.”
Meanwhile, the last and potentially final series of Gordon, Gino And Fred: Road Trip will air later this year, which sees the trio head to Spain in search of the best seafood, wine and tapas.
The first series of the ITV show aired in 2018 and followed the three men on a European adventure, organising a special ceremony in each of their home countries – Italy, Scotland and France.
Source: Press Association

© RTÉ 2024. RTÉ.ie is the website of Raidió Teilifís Éireann, Ireland’s National Public Service Media. RTÉ is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Images Courtesy of Getty Images.

source

Students at the University of the Philippines main campus in Manila’s suburban Quezon City apply … [+] finishing touches to their environmentally friendly Christmas tree, 11 December 2007, made of native materials and recycled junk. The idea was part of their effort to address climate change as they put their junk into a creative purpose. AFP PHOTO/ROMEO GACAD (Photo credit should read ROMEO GACAD/AFP via Getty Images)
The festive season is upon us.
Christmas is a time for family gatherings, gift exchanges, and indulging in food and drink. It is also a time when we tend to forget about negative impacts our celebrations can have on the environment.
Climate change is a global emergency, and the science supports it. As temperatures continue to rise endangering the future of the planet, adjusting traditional holiday practices can go a long way in reducing our individual carbon footprints.
Here are some simple ideas for having a sustainable Christmas while still enjoying the spirit of the occasion.
One of the biggest questions asked around this time of year is about the Christmas tree. Whether to buy a fake or real one?
According to Carbon Trust, an organization that gives advice on decarbonization, the choice of sustainable trees depends on your reuse and disposal plans.
A fake tree contributes less to emissions than a real one if it is made from recyclable material and is used for a minimum of ten years, experts said.
With a real tree, Carbon Trust suggest buying ones that are locally grown to avoid the extra transportation emissions. Trees that don’t use fertilizers and are grown slowly are also preferred.
To dispose of it, chipping your tree and spreading it on to the garden is an option that lowers the carbon footprint by 80%.
As for the decorations, studies show that using light emitting diode or LED lights is the environmentally friendly way to go. LEDs use less energy and last longer.
If you are dressing up your tree with plastic ornaments, keep using the same ones forever.
Don’t want to end up on Santa’s naughty list? Fear not, there is still time to get on his good side and make it on to the nice column.
All you have to do is ask for an eco-friendly present this year.
Climate experts suggest choosing gifts that last a long time and are made from material that can be recycled properly. They also suggest avoiding wrappings made of foil, glitter, and plastic ribbons.
Alternatively, you can go really green and buy a carbon offset gift card. These vouchers are investments in projects that reduce climate emissions in your chosen area. The activity can range from planting trees to removing waste to the financing of a solar or wind power plant.
Plenty of choices are available online.
Collection of Christmas gift boxes in eco-friendly craft paper decorated by natural nuts and … [+] cinnamon sticks over beige paper background with fir tree branches, Eco xmas gift concept, Flat lay. (Photo by: Natasha Breen/REDA&CO/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
How we grow, transport, cook, eat, and dispose of food matters a lot when it comes to the health of the environment. Studies show that food systems are responsible for a third of the greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere.
To help reduce your own carbon footprint this Christmas, a few tweaks can be made to the food and drink selection.
UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization reckons that the livestock industry largely contributes to human induced climate change. So, how about making your dinner plant based instead of putting a lot of meat and poultry on the table.
If this is too drastic a change and you must have your Turkey, then you can reduce waste by eating the leftovers instead of throwing food away into the garbage bin.
For instance, the Soil Association has a number of zero-waste recipes that make a great meal for Boxing Day.
As for the wine, beer, or champagne, it is mostly about the glass bottle. Sustainable wine producers agree that lighter bottles are better for the environment.
When choosing a bottle, look for one that weighs less.
It’s no secret that flying is bad for the environment.
According to the International Energy Agency, aviation accounted for 2% of energy related Carbon Dioxide emissions globally in 2022. Though this may seem like a relatively small percentage, flying often makes up a significant portion of personal carbon footprints.
When wondering how to fly yourself from where you are to where you need to be, there are a few options you can think about before booking tickets.
Environmental group Atmosfair has a list of airlines that are better at keeping their CO2 emissions as low as possible. You can pick your flight from there.
Also, go economy. This is because there’s more space per seat in business class and each person accounts for a larger amount of the whole plane’s carbon emissions.
In the end, with a few basic swaps, a merry and sustainable Christmas awaits.

source

Government
For Immediate Release: Monday, April 1, 2024

Release ID: 24-148
Media Contact: Cindy Peña
Categories: Environment
Montgomery County’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is celebrating the first day of “Earth Month,” today, April 1, by launching a redesigned website consolidating the entire portfolio of DEP programs including sustainability, trash and recycling, watershed restoration, and water supply and wastewater. The website creates a one-stop resource and mobile-friendly experience for web visitors, representing a significant step in improving accessibility, navigation and information sharing.  
The month of April is nationally recognized as Earth Month. 
“This updated website demonstrates DEP’s ongoing commitment to improving service to our community. Our goal is to cater to all audiences, regardless of whether accessing information on their phones, computers or in different languages,” said DEP Director Jon Monger. “The new website provides clear, concise information in all areas of DEP, making it easier for people to learn more about our work, our programs and how every day actions can help us be better stewards of our environment. I invite everyone to visit our newly redesigned website and provide us with valuable feedback.”   

Improved features of the website include: 
DEP invites residents and businesses to explore the new website and provide feedback to help further enhance user experience. 
# # # 
Media Contact: Cindy Peña, mobile: 202-875-1563, celinda.pena@montgomerycounty.org 

from eSubscription

Sign up for a newsletter or update your subscription preferences.

source

Wanderlust Club
Right now, the world isn't travelling, but when it starts to: it's time to go green! Here, we highlight just a few of the excellent tour operators making it their mission to travel responsibly…
As written in our special Travel Green issue of Wanderlust magazine, your choices about who you travel with are often as important as how you travel.
Do your research and pick ethical tour operators who are also working to protect the planet. You want to be travelling with companies who respect people and nature. Smaller tours have less impact on the environment – and consider using local tour companies, too.
As well as ensuring they are carbon balanced, Steppes Travel run the Steppes Fund for Change.
Book any trip and £25 of your money goes towards funding women’s empowerment and wildlife conservation programmes, with another £25 going towards a UK tree-planting scheme and a nuclear fusion researcher at Oxford University.
Where do they go? Steppes Travel offer tailor-made trips, luxury holidays and safaris. There are a mix of over 100 destinations on offer, including Gabon, The Grenadines, Mauritius, Mexico, Namibia and the North Pole, just to name a few.
G Adventures set up the not-for-profit Planeterra Foundation in 2003 to help the communities affected by the social and environmental impacts of tourism, by empowering them to develop and conserve their own culture.
A Wanderlust partner, we’ve highlighted the positive impact of the Planeterra Foundation’s community work and their Ripple Score initiative.
Where do they go? G Adventures offers a mix of award-winning group tours, embracing authentic accommodation and local transportation on the ground. Just a few of the trips you can view (and book) via our Trip Finder include tailor-made Peruvian adventures, trips to the Serengeti, Zanzibar, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and the USA’s national parks.
Since 2001, Responsible Travel has been an agency representing eco-friendly tours and trips that focus on local culture and people, independent businesses and wildlife conservation. The organisation also campaigns for positive change through its ‘give back’ programme.
Where do they go? If there’s an eco adventure to be had, you’ll likely find it in one of Responsible Travels’ 6,000 tours. There are destinations in just about every content, from lesser-visited Pacific Ocean islands, eco-paradises in Central America, to the major European and USA hot spots.
Carbon neutral since 2010, Intrepid was the first global tour operator to end elephant rides. Now, with their not-for-profit Intrepid Foundation, they’re also investing into a project in Tasmania, Australia to help restore kelp forests (pictured top), among other things.
A Wanderlust partner, we’ve also highlighted their successful efforts to double their number of female tour guides.
Where do they go? Known for the small group trips, guided by local leaders, Intrepid can take you across all seven continents, with countries ranging from Morocco and Tanzania, Ecuador and Guatemala, to India, Central Asia and beyond.
Audley Travel work closely with local communities to ensure responsible travel is at the heart of what they go. The operator has an animal welfare and sustainability policy, and its charity of the year for 2020 to 2021 is Plastic Oceans UK.
Where do they go? Audley Travel arranges tailor-made getaways and excursions to over 80 countries, throughout Asia, Africa, Arabia, Latin America, Australasia, Canada, Alaska, the Arctic and Antarctica. Essentially, the world is your oyster.

Sign up for our newsletter today
and never miss out again

Get the very best of Wanderlust by signing up to our newsletters, full of travel inspiration, fun quizzes, exciting competitions and exclusive offers.

source

APPLY NOW
WIU Home > News

[Download Print-Quality Image]
MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – – “Aquatic Environmental Systems: An Interdisciplinary Approach for Scientists and Engineers,” written by WIU Professor Roger Viadero, Jr., was recently released by Talyor & Francis Publishing. The book addresses the pressing need for comprehensive materials that cater to students and practitioners with diverse backgrounds in environmental science.

In a field as broad as environmental science, it is crucial to provide resources that facilitate the growth of knowledge across various disciplines including biology, chemistry and engineering disciplines, among many others. Professor Viadero’s book offers a unique perspective by focusing on fundamental principles to help readers understand, describe and predict the complex interactions and movements of constituents within aquatic systems, including rivers, lakes, groundwater and the atmosphere.

He emphasizes the importance of developing a common vocabulary and employing a rigorous material balance-based approach to understand and describe the movements and interactions of living and nonliving components of aquatic ecosystems. It delves into key properties of water and the impact these unique characteristics have on aquatic environmental systems.

Key Features of “Aquatic Environmental Systems: An Interdisciplinary Approach for Scientists and Engineers” include:

Professor Viadero’s book is set to become an essential resource for students, researchers and professionals in the field of environmental science and engineering, offering a fresh perspective and a comprehensive approach to understanding aquatic environmental systems.

To learn more about the book, visit bit.ly/3GtHGdb. For more information on WIU’s Environmental Science program, visit wiu.edu/graduate_studies/programs_of_study/environsci_profile.php.
Posted By: Lexi Yoggerst (AJ-Yoggerst@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing