Action | Environment.org

The government of Hawaiʻi and a group of young people have reached a historic settlement that requires the state to decarbonize its transportation network. The agreement is the first of its kind in the nation and comes two years after 13 Hawaiian youth sued the state Department of Transportation for failing to protect their “constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment.”

The settlement, announced last Thursday, requires the department to develop a plan and zero out greenhouse gas emissions from all transportation sectors by 2045. The agency is also required to create a new unit tasked with climate change mitigation, align budgetary investments with its clean energy goals, and plant at least 1,000 trees a year to increase carbon absorption from the atmosphere.

“It’s historic that the state government has come to the table and negotiated such a …

Misestimations as a barrier to climate action

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| Climate

Nature Climate Change, Published online: 21 June 2024; doi:10.1038/s41558-024-02045-8

Effective climate action requires understanding of the contribution of individual actions, firms and industries to greenhouse gas emissions. Now a study illustrates widespread misestimations of emission impacts and reveals underlying psychological processes.
Nature Climate Change…

Take Action: This Farm Bill Should Center Conservation, Not Consolidation

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| Sustainability

This week, farmers, consumers, and advocates across the country are making calls to Congress with a central message: pass a farm bill for all farmers that centers conservation, not consolidation. Farm bill negotiations may be heating up once again after a standstill that has left members of Congress divided about what to prioritize. Now is the time to act.

Take Action!

This week is the Farm Bill for All Farmers Week of Action: Conservation Not Consolidation.

Farm safety net subsidies reward an industrial farming model that contributes to climate change, soil erosion, and farmland consolidation in agriculture. Increasing commodity subsidies to benefit a few farmers at the expense of popular nutrition and conservation programs would be an expensive investment that exacerbates these problems.

Make your voice heard! Tell Congress our tax dollars should fund programs that keep families fed …

Globally representative evidence on the actual and perceived support for climate action

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| Climate

Nature Climate Change, Published online: 09 February 2024; doi:10.1038/s41558-024-01925-3

Global support and cooperation are necessary for successful climate action. Large-scale representative survey results show that most of the population around the world is willing to support climate action, while a perception gap exists regarding other citizens’ intention to act.
Nature Climate Change…

There’s still a chance for America to reach net-zero, but it requires drastic action

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| Pollution

The United States could meet its climate targets by 2050 by reaching net-zero emissions — the state in which the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere is balanced by the amount removed — but only if lawmakers take immediate action. To reach net-zero, the U.S. will need to focus on making electric vehicles more accessible to consumers, decarbonizing buildings, and increasing the use of clean energy. That’s according to a new rep o rt from ICF Climate Center, a global advisory and technology services provider.

“Through a combination of new investment, incentives, policies, and mandates, it’s possible to put the U.S. on a path toward a net-zero economy,” wrote the authors of the report. “Transitioning to a net-zero economy would be costly and complex, but by navigating this intricate web, the U.S. could weave a future that sidesteps …

RRS Helps Develop Climate Action Plan for Washtenaw County, Michigan

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| Recycling

County goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035

Ann Arbor, Mich., April 11, 2023 – Resource Recycling Systems Inc. (RRS) led the development of a Climate Action Plan, Resilient Washtenaw, for Washtenaw county, Michigan. The plan was a collaboration between RRS and other consultants who worked together to create a roadmap to help the county reach their carbon neutrality goals by 2035. Partner consultants include Michigan-based Wade Trim, EcoWorks, Elevate, Center for Neighborhood Technology, as well as independent consultants.

Washtenaw County is the first county in Michigan to adopt a climate action plan. The plan outlines actions to be taken by government operations, and county-wide along with timing, goals and metrics, costs, and anticipated level of global greenhouse gas (GHGs) that each action can reduce.

The RRS team developed a multi-faceted community engagement process that provided a detailed greenhouse gas …

Release: Farmers Take Action on Climate Crisis, Urging Policymakers to Pay Attention

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| Sustainability

For Immediate Release

Contact: Laura Zaks

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

lzaks@sustainableagriculture.net

Release: Farmers Take Action on Climate Crisis, Urging Policymakers to Pay Attention

Washington, DC, January 19, 2023 – Coined “Farmers for Climate Action: Rally for Resilience,” a grassroots alliance of farmers, farmworkers and farmer allies will be heading to Washington D.C. during the week of March 6, 2023, with a singular ask for policymakers: make climate change policy a priority in the 2023 Farm Bill.

Led by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), Farm Aid, and supported by an alliance of organizations, the event aims to bring a mass mobilization of producers to the Capitol, reminiscent of the 1979 Tractorcade. With the next Farm Bill on the docket for the 118th Congress, farmers, ranchers, and advocates want legislators to address the severe challenges facing the farming community due to …

Council of the Great Lakes Region Releases Circular Economy Strategy and Action Plan

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| Recycling

Plan Provides Roadmap for Forging a Future Without Plastic Waste and Litter

Ann Arbor, Mich., December 7, 2022 – Resource Recycling Systems Inc. (RRS) is excited to recognize the release of a five-year Circular Economy Strategy and Action Plan, which was developed by the Council of the Great Lakes Region (CGLR) as part its Circular Great Lakes Initiative, with extensive research support and advice from RRS. CGLR’s goal is to bring a broad coalition, diverse perspectives and interests together to forge a future without waste and litter in the bi-national Great Lakes region, starting with plastics.

Nearly 5 million pieces of plastic litter were collected along the Great Lakes’ shoreline between 2015 and 2020 according to the gap analysis RRS performed to develop the Action Plan. Furthermore, the analysis of materials management best practices found that in order to achieve …