Since its inception, Earth Day has been an opportunity to advocate for a cleaner planet – but in 2022, climate change brings a higher level of concern for global environmental change.
Communities in Arizona and across the country went into effect April 23, calling for new investments in clean energy, green jobs, and environmental justice.
Environmental Defense Fund grassroots campaign coordinator Emma Benninghoff said they hoped to turn the energy from Earth Day demonstrations into a year-round campaign for climate action.
“I think we’re in a race to limit the harmful effects of climate change,” said Benninghoff. “Having hundreds of volunteers and activists together during Earth Week is an opportunity to really show broad support for climate action.”
Benninghoff said while the US House of Representatives has passed a $550 billion plan to invest in clean energy and transportation, more work is needed to get approval in the Senate.
He said thousands of people joined Earth Day activities in rallies across the country, including the event in Arizona.
“In Phoenix,” Benninghoff said, “we heard from elected officials, tribal leaders, community leaders, City Council members during the rally. It’s estimated that over 400 people were in attendance at the Arizona State Capitol.”
Benninghoff said Earth Day events in Phoenix and other cities featured elected officials, community leaders, students and social justice activists talking about the importance of climate advocacy.
“It is imperative for our nation and the world to overcome this crisis,” said Benninghoff. “I hear a lot on the ground that people understand the urgency of this issue and the impact of this crisis.”
Disclosure: The Environmental Defense Fund contributes to our funding for reporting on Energy Policy, Environment, Environmental Justice, Health Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.
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New Mexico will be one of the first states to receive assistance from the Rural Partner Network, a new government initiative that aims to reset the way Washington, DC, works with rural communities.
Billions of federal dollars are available to help rural communities repair and build infrastructure such as roads and bridges, clean drinking water systems, hospitals and schools.
Xochitl Torres Small, Under Secretary for Rural Development for the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), said field staff will provide immediate assistance to help local residents troubleshoot the grant application process.
“This helps connect the community to resources based on the specific needs of that community,” explains Torres Small. “To ensure rural communities have access to a wide range of federal opportunities and resources.”
USDA field staff plans to hire locals who know the area, and assign staff in Washington to represent each area. In addition to New Mexico and its tribal states, Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky and Mississippi are included in the pilot program.
Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture, said in offering assistance, they had identified communities that had been tackling protracted poverty for decades.
“People, when they think of poverty in the country, I think they immediately think of poverty in the cities,” Vilsack said. “But the reality is that there may be deeper and more persistent poverty in rural areas.”
Vilsack says he wants to change what he calls America’s “extraction economy,” and instead develop a “circular economy,” in which wealth is created and remains in rural areas.
“If you think about what we’ve done in rural America, we basically take things off the ground or off the ground or underground, and we transport them to other places where value and opportunity are added,” Vilsack observes.
This new initiative is a successor to the StrikeForce for Rural Growth and Opportunity program launched by the Obama administration and also led by Vilsack.
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Our original version incorrectly stated that the hellbender was federally endangered. It is “endangered” or listed as a “species of special concern” in many states. The Ozark Hellbender, a subspecies, is federally listed as endangered. The story has been corrected to reflect this.
Protecting rivers and streams in North Carolina is good for residents, wildlife, and even salamanders.
Recent work along Hog Lot Creek and Bates Branch repairs damage and improves habitat for the hellbender, North America’s largest salamander species. The project was made possible by the Resource Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring rivers, streams and wetlands.
Alan Walker, Resource Institute project manager, said the team had a specific goal in mind.
“It’s a hell-control initiative,” Walker explained. “What we’re trying to do is, apart from designing natural channels and working to stabilize the shores and restore natural channels through this range, is put in place some special habitat structures for hell controllers.”
The project team restored 3,000 feet of severely eroded watershed, including the addition of a large, flat rock — lifted from below — to create a cavity large enough for hellbenders to seek shelter, lay eggs, and make homes. The Resource Institute is working to identify additional sites for species restoration, which are “endangered” or listed as “species of special concern” in some states.
Morgan Harris, a private land biologist at the Conservation Management Institute at Virginia Tech, points out that while the project is designed to make homes for struggling species, the general principle is to repair damage caused by humans.
“The main thing that a lot of these projects do is reduce sedimentation that goes into rivers, when riverbanks erode,” said Harris. “And the most important thing to keep erosion under control is to make sure that we keep the trees and shrubs intact on the riverbanks.”
Harris added North Carolina is home to one of the best remaining populations of hellbenders, which can grow to two and a half feet in length.
Disclosure: The Resource Institute contributes to our fund for reporting on Endangered Species and Wildlife, Environment, Wilderness and Water. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.
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As the safety debate over pesticides and other chemicals frequently used for lawn and property maintenance continues, Oregon residents now have more choices than ever before. But are they aware of their rights?
Beaver State residents living in homeowners’ associations can now opt out of the previously mandated chemical spray.
Rep. Courtney Neron, D-Sherwood/Wilsonville, sponsors House Bill 2409, which goes into effect January 1.
He said more outreach was needed to ensure his constituents, and other Oregon residents, understood the changes.
“This allows homeowners to make an informed decision about whether or not they want pesticides applied to their property,” says Neron. “Including herbicides and insecticides, etc, as their HOA may require.”
Neron introduced the measure during the 2021 legislative session, and it was signed into law last May. He explains there is some confusion about what the law allows HOA residents to opt out of, noting that it doesn’t allow Oregon residents to forgo all landscaping care.
Homeowners now have more choice in what chemicals to spray or not spray on their properties, while still having to maintain their lawns in other ways they believe are safer for their health.
Neron added an information campaign may be needed to better spread the word.
“Going forward, the education campaign will still be useful for the public to understand their choices,” suggested Neron. “And potentially even understanding and having a little education about the common chemicals used.”
Jennifer Eisele, pesticide program manager for the nonprofit Beyond Toxics, which supports community-based environmental justice in Oregon, said more work needed to be done.
“There’s been a lot of homeowners we’ve heard of since this bill was passed,” Eisele said. “With a lot of concerns about implementation and ensuring that their homeowners association is aware of this bill and gives them the opportunity to opt out of landscape services.”
Eisele adds opting out doesn’t mean taking lawn work into your own hands, noting many Oregon companies offer landscaping services without the use of herbicides, insecticides and other harmful chemicals.
Disclosure: Beyond Toxics contributes to our fund for Environmental, Environmental Justice, Social Justice and Toxic reporting. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.
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