Event - GRI Global Conference 2016

The fifth GRI Global Conference will take place on May 18 - 20, 2016 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Up to 1,500 sustainability leaders from around the globe will be present to exchange leading-edge knowledge on best practices, innovations and trends that are empowering sustainable decisions and changing the world. GRI is  the globally accepted standard for enabling business, governments and other organizations to understand and communicate their impacts on critical sustainability issues.

Canadian Thanksgiving is at Odds with Columbus Day

Although they co-occur, in many respects Columbus Day and Canadian Thanksgiving are diametrically opposed to each other. While Canadian Thanksgiving is a harvest festival celebrating nature's bounty, Columbus Day marks the start of our systematic destruction of the natural world.

Monday October 12th is Canadian Thanksgiving a time to be grateful, it is also Columbus day in most parts of the new world. It is hard to reconcile the start of our exploitation of the new world and the expression of gratitude for the bountiful harvests nature provides. 

Best Practice in Sustainability Reporting and Sustainability Communications

Ethical Corporation has recently published its complimentary Annual Review on CR Reporting and Sustainability Communications. Ethical Corporation helps thousands of businesses all around the globe to be more responsible. They work with NGO's, think-tanks, academia, governments and consultancies. Their work not only benefits the wider world, it also makes good business sense for the organizations that they serve. Their efforts include work in CSR, compliance, risk and governance communities.

New GRI Sustainability Reporting Tools and Resources

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a leader in sustainability reporting and they continue to provide resources to help companies to track their performance. GRI's latest contribution is another helpful installment in this rapidly growing field. This fast moving and increasingly complex realm has seen the proliferation of a number of tools and resources to help companies rise to the challenge.

Reflections on Columbus Day and Canadian Thanksgiving

Monday October 13th is Columbus day in most parts of the new world, in Canada it is Thanksgiving. Columbus day and Canadian Thanksgiving offer us an opportunity to reflect and be grateful for the bounty of life in the new world. It is also propitious that we should think about our impact on the natural world at this time of year. Since 1970, Columbus day has been celebrated on the second Monday in October. As of 1959, this day is also Thanksgiving in Canada. Columbus day marks the start of our habitation of the new world and Thanksgiving is a time where we express our gratitude for the bountiful harvests nature provides.

2013 Year End Review: US Environmental Success Stories

In 2013, concerned people, organizations and companies in the U.S. and around the world helped move environmental causes forward. From new legislation to the protection of habitats and ecosystems, here is a sampling of U.S. environmental achievements in 2013.

A new study showed that a solid majority of Americans accept the reality of global warming and are calling for action on climate change.

Video - NRDC Environmental Victories in 2013

This NRDC video shows what people can achieve when they work together. NRDC Members helped to secure many environmental successes in 2013, this video summarizes some of those victories.

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Video - Thank You for Taking Action to Save the Climate!
Video - Gratitude for Nature (2011): Documentary Filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg Tedx
Video - Nature's Beauty: Life is a Gift and the Only Appropriate Response is Gratefulness

Video - Gratitude for Nature (2012): Documentary Filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg Tedx

Nature's beauty inspires gratitude. In this video Louie Schwartzberg addresses flowers and the fate of the bees which are so dependent on flowers. In the same way that the bees are dependent on flowers for their sustenance we are dependent on the bees to pollinate our crops.

Video - Gratitude for Nature (2011): Documentary Filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg Tedx

Nature's beauty is the focus of the work of filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg. He is an award-winning cinematographer, director and producer who captures breathtaking images that celebrate life — revealing connections, universal rhythms, patterns and beauty. His stunning time-lapse photography, accompanied by powerful words from Benedictine monk Brother David Steindl-Rast, serves as a meditation on being grateful for every day.

Video - Thank You for Taking Action to Save the Climate!

While it may seem like a daunting task, people all over the world are working hard to save the climate from the ravages of global warming. People who have lived through climate disasters are giving thanks, people who are deeply concerned about the fate of our climate are giving thanks. This profusion of gratitude goes out to all those who do not succumb to hopelessness and strive to protect our planet from climate change.

Neatherlands Seeks Release of the Arctic 30 Through ITLOS

On Wednesday, November 6, the Netherlands brought a case before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) seeking the release of the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise and its Crew. In her petition for the release of the Arctic 30, Dutch representative Liesbeth Lijnzaadsaid said Russia had "violated the human rights" of the activists after detaining them for seven weeks "without grounds."

The Arctic 30 have been detained in Russia since September 18, when the ship was boarded in international waters and the entire crew seized after a peaceful protest against Arctic oil drilling.

Russia did not attend the tribunal and said it does not recognize the case. Russia claims the activists posed a security threat. After initially charging the 30 with piracy, the charge was reduced to hooliganism which carries a jail sentence of up to 7 years.

30 Days of Climate Action on Tumblr

We are at the tipping point of catastrophic climate change, it's time for everyone to act. People are inspired by the Arctic 30 and are taking action in their own lives to stand up for the planet.

Find out how you can participate in "Ideas for Action." Share what you did and what inspired you under "Post your climate action."

Breaking News: Russia Drops Piracy Charges Against Greenpeace Activists

Russian federal investigators have dropped piracy charges against the people involved in the Greenpeace protest over Arctic oil drilling. However, the 30 people will face the lesser charge of hooliganism. Under Russian law the piracy charge comes with a 12 year prison sentence while hooliganism has a seven year maximum sentence.

The charges arise from a peaceful protest against a Gazprom oil platform in the Pechora Sea on September 19. 

Russian Greenpeace spokesman Vladimir Chuprov said in a statement, "we will contest the trumped-up charge of hooliganism as strongly as we contested the piracy allegations....They are both fantasy charges that bear no relation to reality."

Greenpeace Crew Arrested in the Arctic by Russian Agents

Balaclava clad, machine gun toting, Russian FSB agents, rappelled down ropes from helicopters to detain 30 peaceful Greenpeace activists after their ship, the icebreaker Arctic Sunrise was boarded on September 19. In addition to arresting the ship's crew, the agents did substantial damage to communications equipment. The ship has been impounded and crew members have been incarcerated and are being denied access to legal or consular assistance.

Video - Greenpeace Confronting Russia's Arctic Oil Exploration

Greenpeace ship seeking to expose Arctic drilling is confronted by Russian military while in international waters. Who wins in the struggle to protect the Arctic: state-backed Russian oil giants? Or common sense?

Help the Town of Lac-Mégantic Quebec

Exactly two weeks ago, on July 5th 2013, a freight train hauling 72 tank cars of crude oil derailed and exploded in the middle of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. The toll on this small town of 6,000 has been devastating, 42 are now confirmed dead and many others are still missing. The twisted wreckage burned for two days and weeks later workers are still unable to locate and recover all of the bodies. Many buildings in the downtown core have been decimated including the library and irreplaceable archives. An unknown quantity of oil has contaminated the Chaudière River.

This is the deadliest rail disaster in Canada in more than a century. As the mourning continues, the cleanup begins and the people of this town need our help.

New Water Quality Runoff Tool from the USDA

A new online tool gives farmers and ranchers a better understanding of the quality of water flowing off their fields and into waterways. The new tool is called the Water Quality Index for Agricultural Runoff (WQIag) and was developed by scientists at USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

A Large and Growing Chorus is Calling for an End to Fossil Fuel Subsidies

As we move past the threshold of 400 parts per million of atmospheric CO2, fossil fuel subsidies appear even more unconscionable. These subsidies could be used to finance energy efficiency and renewable energy. In addition ending subsidies could   decrease carbon pollution by 13 percent.

A number of prominent organizations including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the United Nations (UN) are calling for an end to fossil fuel subsidies.

In March, 2013, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released a report that called for an end to fossil fuel subsidies. The IMF report titled, Energy Subsidy Reform: Lessons and Implications, indicates that these subsidies account for almost nine percent of all annual country budgets, amounting to a staggering $1.9 trillion.

Republicans Oppose the PTC but Support Oil Subsidies

It is not surprising that many Republicans who oppose the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for renewable energy, support fossil fuel subsidies. Although the PTC was extended through 2013, some Republicans have vowed to continue their push to kill it. Conservatives are well known for their love of free markets and distrust of government subsidies, unless of course it involves fossil fuels. Some Republicans in Congress have made it clear that they will seek amendments that erode the PTC.

Republicans including the 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney, wanted to let the PTC expire. Romney and other Republicans who oppose the PTC say it costs too much and props up businesses with government subsidies.

Romney spokesman Ryan Williams said in an email that Romney "believes the government should stop playing venture capitalist and doling out open-ended subsidies, and instead encourage private sector innovation and market competition.” This is part of the same conservative philosophy that advocates for unbridled free markets and supports deregulation.

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.