President Obama's Earth Day Address: Action on Climate Change Cannot Wait (Video)

On Earth Day April 22 President Obama visited the Florida Everglades for Earth Day and spoke about the urgent need for action on climate change. The President called on Congress to support the Land and Water Conservation Fund. He spoke about the importance of providing access to nature and announced that he will be providing free access to America's national parks.

Responding to Grist's Anti-Earth Day Rants

Each year Grist likes to condescendingly whine about all the things they hate about Earth Day. This year in an article titled, Why Earth Day Doesn't Matter Anymore, they argue that the day has "lost its relevance." This could not be further from the truth. As we head towards a global climate agreement at the end of the year in Paris popular support for environmental action has never been more important. While Grist does provide a lot of great content, their anti-Earth-Day diatribes create divisions that are harmful to the growth of the environmental movement.

In their own self-righteous style they are speaking to their readership and offering what they deem to be poignant commentary (their audience is largely composed of deep greens who relish showering disdain on those who are not quite as ecologically pure). However, their righteous indignation and highfalutin derision is unproductive.

Earth Day Review of American Environmental Attitudes

A review of polling results reveals the sad truth about US attitudes on climate change. Despite the plethora of science and media coverage American attitudes on climate change are the same today as they were in 1989. Americans claim they want greener products and services and they also claim that they want corporations to be greener, however this is not reflected in their actual buying behavior.

The Importance of Science and Nature on Earth Day

One scientist and sustainability expert suggests we should go outside and play so that we can connect with nature on Earth Day.

Meg Lowman, is the Chief of Science and Sustainability at the California Academy of Sciences. She pioneered the science of canopy ecology which earned her the monikers, “Real-Life Lorax,” "Canopy Meg" and “Einstein of the treetops.” She is also a biologist, educator, and ecologist. Her personal mantra is “no child left indoors.”

Earth Day Activities and Actions in the US and Canada

Earth Day activities include a full slate of sustainability-conscious events and conservation efforts. This includes contests, awards, petitions, marches, parties, lectures, discussion groups, bike rides, tree planting, trash collection, film screenings and art projects.

While Earth Day is officially celebrated on April 22, there have been a number of actions that have taken place in the month of April and throughout the year. As part of an annual program called "One Billion Acts of Green," there have been well over one billion pledges and the goal is two billion.

Earth Day Activities and Actions in the US

In the US there are a range of activities promoted on Earth Day. One of these projects is called the Canopy Project. This initiative work with tree planting organizations around the world to ensure our trees are reaching people who need them most. The Canopy Project is an official partner of the United Nations Environment Programme’s Billion Trees Campaign

Earth Day 2015: The Marriage of Economic Growth and Sustainability

Each year Earth Day celebrated on April 22 and 2015 marks the 45th anniversary of this international environmental protection event. Earth Day is the largest civic observance in the world today. All around our planet a billion people will participate in thousands of events. Almost 2 billion "acts of green" will take place on and around the day to demonstrate support for a healthier environment and a sustainable life. Earth Day was first celebrated in the US in 1970 and now more than 192 countries are involved. The inaugural event saw 20 million Americans showing their support for the environment. The movement contributed to the creation of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts.

Ocean Frontiers the Movie

At a time when conservation is equated with job destruction and our nation is paralyzed by a code of no-compromise, a new film called Ocean Frontiers is returning common sense to these troubled times.

Ocean Frontiers takes a balanced, bipartisan approach to both the problems we face in managing our oceans and the solutions at hand. The film features on-the-ground reporting from places across the country that are at the forefront of implementing promising new approaches to ocean and coastal management.

Industrial shippers and whale biologists, pig farmers and wetland ecologists, sport and commercial fishermen, reef snorkelers and many more–are embarking on a new course of cooperation, in defense of the seas that sustain us.

Ocean Frontiers shows unlikely allies coming together and crafting solutions for the good of ecosystems and industry, while not sugarcoating the conflicts or the sometimes-difficult road to the end result. The film shows the groups as true partners in the process.

NATIONAL OCEAN POLICY

On July 19th 2010, President Obama established our nation’s first National Ocean Policy in order to protect, maintain and restore our ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes natural resources for present and future generations. The National Ocean Policy was formed through a multi-year process that included stakeholders from commercial and recreational fishing, shipping and ports, energy developers, conservationists, scientists, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Homeland Security and other ocean users with diverse interests.

OCEAN FRONTIERS

The stories in Ocean Frontiers help audiences understand key principles of ecosystem-based management and coastal and marine spatial planning, which are the cornerstones of the National Ocean Policy. These complex concepts come to life and are easy to grasp through the stories and people featured in Ocean Frontiers.

OCEAN FRONTIERS OUTREACH

A broad range of organizations, agencies, businesses, and ocean user groups are partnering to host screenings across the country to build support and take action for a new era in ocean stewardship. Find a screening where you live or host a screening.

Production of Ocean Frontiers was made possible by: The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment, National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, and The Lazar Foundation.

For more information click here.

Related Articles
The State of Our Oceans: We are Headed Towards a Marine Mass Extinction
Seven Ways to Save the Seas
The Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup Day
World Oceans Day 2012
World Oceans Day in America (2012)
Urgent Appeal to Save our Oceans

On June 8 Make a Promise for the Ocean

World Oceans Day is June 8th and this is our planet’s biggest celebration of the ocean. The world is increasingly waking up to the fundamental importance and absolute beauty of the oceans. There are many ways that you can show your support for World Oceans Day.

Join us via Thunderclap, or just make a post about World Oceans Day on social media and tag one friend. If they repost and tag a friend, ~ the wave ~ will spread across the globe. Click here to do the wave!

World Oceans Day is holding an Ocean Promise drive. Promise to do ONE thing for the ocean, and send us a photo or post on social media with the tag #WorldOceansDay.

A New Environmental Movement Breeds Hope for the Future

Something is happening to the environmental movement that is giving us reason to hope that we may succeed in changing our current trajectory. On Sunday February 17th, 35,000 people came together to demand action in the face of a growing climate crisis. Part of this burgeoning climate activism is attributable to people's first hand exposure to extreme weather. Droughts, hurricanes, snowstorms and wildfires are forcing people to recognize that our climate is changing and they are increasingly coming to the understanding that we must act now.

Blog Action Day 2012: The Power of We

In 2012, Blog Action Day takes place on October 15. This year the theme is the Power of We. According the Blog Action Day organizers, Community, Equality, Transparency/Anti-Corruption and Freedom, and People Power are sub-themes of the event. Blog Action Day is the one day of the year where thousands of people come together to focus on one important global topic, and help raise awareness.

Founded in 2007, Blog Action Day brings together bloggers, vloggers, podcasters, data producers and social media users. Hundreds of thousands of people take part in Blog Action Day from a hundred countries all over the planet. They will cover a wide range of interests in dozens of languages. On this day everyone comes together to address one important global topic all on the same day.

The Growth of Sustainability as Revealed by 3 MIT Reports

According to three reports published in the MIT Sloan Management Review, businesses continue prioritize sustainability to be more competitive, improve their brands and be more profitable. The first study cited indicates that businesses are still investing in sustainability despite a sluggish economy. The second shows they are doing so to gain a competitive advantage and enhance their brands. And the third demonstrates that an increasing number of businesses are deriving a profit from integrating sustainability into their corporate strategies. 

Data Shows that Sustainability Pays

A large amount of data is now available as investors are increasingly demanding more transparency and greater corporate responsibility. A large and growing pool of data indicates that sustainability is a profitable endeavor. According to an article in the Harvard Business Review by Gerrit Heyns, a partner at Osmosis Investment Management in London, England, companies that invest in sustainability do better financially. According to the data cited by Heyns, sustainability focused companies outperform the market.

Climate Protection and Environmental Sustainability (Course)

From Monday September 24 to Sunday December 9, 2012, an online course will take place that involves a systems engineering approach to develop and implement a Strategic Plan for climate protection and sustainable practices. This is an elective course in the Certificate Program in Environmental Management and an elective course in the Certificate Program in Sustainable Business Management.

In the "Climate Protection and Environmental Sustainability" (ENGRCEE X468) course participants will explore the forces driving sustainability change, the application of sustainable practices. They will also be guided through an analysis to develop a vision and plan for implementation.

STIHL Tour des Trees 2012 Fundraising Event in Oregon

The STIHL Tour des Trees is a cycling fundraising event that will take place in Oregon on Aug. 5 to Aug. 11, 2012. Participants cycle more than 500-miles visiting historical trees and planting new ones for future generations. Participants in this year's event will cycle and plant trees along the Columbia River Gorge, vineyards, the high desert and Mt. Hood.

Pictures from Climate Impacts Day

Strong Body of Evidence for a Changing Climate

Each year the temperature is getting warmer and the weather is getting more extreme. Storms are more frequent and more ferocious including increasing numbers of deadly tornadoes and floods. The extreme heat is also causing droughts, forest fires and insect infestations. Extreme weather in on the increase in places where they are habitually prone, but unusual climatic events are also showing up in unexpected places. Even in places that have not been hit with extreme weather there is evidence of climate change. Here is a quick review of some of the research evidence indicating that climate change is driving the increased number of extreme weather events.

Bill McKibben on Connect the Dots Events

Today is Climate Impacts Day and as 350.org founder Bill McKibben said earlier today, "5/5 is no normal day — it’s the day that people around the world are coming together to Connect the Dots about climate change."

Interactive Map Reveals Warmer Spring

Here is an interactive map that enables you to see exactly how the weather has gotten warmer in the US this spring.  Eastern North America has had an early spring with record breaking temperatures stretching for thousands of kilometers. When we put the climate data together we see that over the past several decades, with the exception of the Southeast, spring weather has indeed been arriving earlier.

100 Global Activities for Climate Impacts Day

May 5th, 2012 (5/5/12) is a 350.org event known as Climate Impacts Day. This is an opportunity for people to "connect the dots" between extreme weather and climate change. Activities are taking place all around the world to show the various ways that climate change has impacted their lives. Here is a summary of more than one hundred activities from Africa, the Pacific, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, Europe and North America:

The World “Connects the Dots” Between Extreme Weather & Climate Change

Powerful photos and videos are already streaming in from across the globe for “Climate Impacts Day. People from at over 1,000 events in more than 100 countries are “connecting the dots” between climate change and extreme weather. The events are part of a global effort called “Climate Impacts Day” organized by the international climate campaign 350.org. The events are powerful evidence of how the string of weather disasters over the last year is increasing public concern about global warming. Photos and videos that have already come in include: