Daily Archives: 04/22/2012
Mobilize the Earth: …Earth Day Network April 22nd
Earth Day Network, organizers are working around the clock with partners all over the world to Mobilize the Earth™ on April 22nd.
Inspiring stories are pouring in every day. Keep reading for highlights from the last couple of weeks and to learn how you can get involved.
In This Issue:
Mobilize the Earth Video Released
Earth Day Momentum Building Around the World
Harlem Globetrotters Help A Billion Acts of Green ®
MobilizeU Student Competition Only 8 Days Away
Libraries Mobilize for Earth Day
Mobilize the Earth Video Released:
Watch this new video to learn why we’re mobilizing the earth for Earth Day 2012. Then, share it with your friends. Post it on Facebook. Post it on your blog. Tweet about it. Email it to your colleagues. Let’s make sure everyone sees this video and gets inspired to join the mobilization on April 22nd.
Earth Day Momentum Building Around the World:
People all over the world are already mobilizing for Earth Day 2012. You can start an Earth Day event or join one nearby!
Rally. March. Demonstrate. Petition. Educate. Every action counts, and no action is too small. Earth Day Network is here to aggregate and amplify your voices.
Remember to carry the message “Mobilize the Earth” and send us a photo of your action. Here are some inspiring examples:
- Costa Rica and Panama – Earth Day Network partner Animal Neotropical is mobilizing for a weeklong Earth Day campaign in Costa Rica and Panama. They are organizing volunteers to travel to schools, homes and community centers throughout the two countries to distribute educational pamphlets about threatened and endangered species in the region. Local radio and television stations will be covering the campaign.
- Calgary, Canada (and elsewhere!) – Earth Day Network partner Greenskate is mobilizing skateboarders for Earth Day 2012 – and not just in Calgary, their hometown, but in over 50 cities around the globe. Skaters will take to the streets in Argentina, Canada, Germany, Italy, Romania and Spain on April 21st and 22nd, cruising around cities and cleaning up trash along the way. Is there a cooler method of green transportation than skateboarding? We think not.
- Kenya – In Kenya, Earth Day Network partner 4-H Million Trees Project has mobilized to plant one million trees for Earth Day in different Kenyan villages as part of A Billion Act of Green. To date, 350,000 trees have been planted by more than 41,000 youth and children as part of the 4HMT-KENYA campaign. These efforts are the start of the “Green Village” project, where communities will adopt solar cookers, solar lighting, permaculture, apiculture and other green methods.
- Arkansas, USA - The city of Fayetteville, Arkansas, is mobilizing for Earth Day 2012 in a big way. The city has partnered with Earth Day Network to hold “40 Days and 40 Nights” of celebrations in honor of Earth Day. From April 5th to May 14th, 40 Days and 40 Nights will feature over 100 events, engaging residents and local businesses.
- Erode, India – Here we have a great example of the difference an individual can make. Nirmal K. has already mobilized 60 people in his hometown of Erode, India, to hold a community cleanup and Mobilize the Earth educational event for Earth Day. He plans to expand this group of 60 people into a team that continues environmental education efforts beyond Earth Day.
Harlem Globetrotters Help A Billion Acts of Green®:
Earth Day Network has teamed up with the world famous Harlem Globetrotters to promote A Billion Acts of Green and Earth Day 2012! The Globetrotters filmed a public service announcement to encourage all of their fans to participate in the campaign, and they’ll be playing it at their games between now and Earth Day. Check it out!
Over 750,000 acts of green have already been committed. Pledge your act and help us make this campaign a slam dunk for Earth Day 2012!
MobilizeU Student Competition Only 8 Days Away:
MobilizeU is an international movement of student environmental activists organizing for Earth Day 2012. And its international collegiate competition to generate the most acts of green is only 8 days away. The movement has been growing by leaps and bounds. We now have an astounding 148 universities on board from 6 continents, 28 countries and 33 U.S. states. You can now also see how global the MobilizeU Movement has become though our School Coordinators. Click here to get involved in this exciting youth movement!
Libraries Mobilize for Earth Day:
Over 150 public libraries around the world are mobilizing for Earth Day through Earth Day Network’s Reading for the Earth™ campaign, and that number is growing every day. Libraries from D.C. to Hong Kong, Denver to Sydney are signing up to take action to get young people to pledge to read books about the environment and participate in Earth Day activities. Even the Library of Congress (U.S.) and organizations like the American Library Association are on board. Click here to learn how you can get involved.
- The Earth Day Network Team
Hold Big Oil Accountable —Sierra Club
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Stand Up To Big Oil!  |
It has been two years to the day since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, nineteen months since the oil stopped gushing into the Gulf, and six months since BP announced their cleanup phase “finished.”1
Now BP and Big Oil are back to business as usual in the Gulf and their sights are set on even riskier drilling projects. Big Oil wants to drill on every coast they can to maintain their record profits. Meanwhile, Gulf communities and coastlines are still suffering from their negligence.
It’s time for local communities to take charge.
Tell President Obama: We, the people, should be in control of our coasts, not Big Oil.
After the tragedy began, we learned that BP’s disaster response plan which had been approved by regulatory agencies was an error-filled copy-and-paste job riddled with “leftovers” from other plans, including a strategy to protect the Gulf’s (non-existent) walrus population.2
The Gulf Coast has now paid the price for a broken system that allows Big Oil to make its own rules. We need to stand up for the Gulf Coast and communities all across the country that are at risk from Big Oil’s dangerous and reckless approach to offshore drilling.
Ask President Obama put power back in the people’s hands. We need Regional Citizens’ Advisory Councils to give locals a powerful say in communities where drilling occurs and we should start with the Gulf Coast.
Community members who live and work along the Gulf Coast understand best the long-lasting impacts of BP’s oil and are fighting to hold BP accountable. They should be the ones our “experts” listen to — people like:
- Marylee Orr, a native Louisianan and founder of Louisiana Environmental Action Network, who has been working with communities across the Gulf Coast suffering from the effects of oil exposure;
- Phuong Ngyen, a Vietnamese fisherman from Buras, Louisiana, who has been going out for weeks, returning with a catch that will hardly feed his family; or
- Rip Kirby, a Florida geologist who is using UV lights to find toxic tar material that is concentrating along Gulf beaches.
Give citizens like Marylee, Phuong, and Rip a voice in protecting their communities and holding BP and Big Oil accountable.
Tell President Obama to create a Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council for the Gulf Coast and wherever offshore drilling is happening or proposed.
Thanks for all you do to protect the environment,
Jill Mastrototaro
Gulf Coast Campaign Director Sierra Club
P.S. After you take action, be sure to forward this alert to your friends and colleagues!
Photo credit: U.S. Coast Guard
[1] BP Press Release. November 9, 2011.
[2] “BP’s gulf oil spill response plan lists the walrus as a local species. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is furious,” The Christian Science Monitor. June 9, 2010.
Fundraising … 2012 Gap
DSCC Has Record Breaking Quarter Thanks to Strong Grassroots Support
The first three months of 2012 showed the incredible enthusiasm of Democratic supporters. The DSCC set a first quarter fundraising record by raising almost 20% more than our Republican counterparts.
You played a big role in our success; 97% of the gifts came from grassroots donors.
Thank you for your continuing support!
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Top Action
Critical Vote on Protecting Women Just Days Away
In what is just the latest in a series of Republican attacks on women, Senate Republicans are trying to eliminate the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
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Twice before, VAWA was reauthorized with widespread, bipartisan support from both houses of Congress. But now, Republicans have grown so radical they won’t even commit to protecting women from violence.
Join Democrats and demand Senate Republicans stop trying to eliminate VAWA!
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Enthusiasm Gap Felt in Senate Races Around the Country
The enthusiasm gap between Democrats and Republicans is stretching to Senate races as well. According to Politico, “In the dozen most competitive contests across the country, Democrats once again collected more cash during the first three months of the year than Republicans, who are expected to wage an aggressive battle for the Senate majority.”
Among the strongest performers this quarter were Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Baldwin, Debbie Stabenow, and Claire McCaskill.
Official Google blog – Planting some green this Earth Day
| Planting some green this Earth Day
Posted: 22 Apr 2012 08:40 AM PDT Cross-posted on the Lat Long and Google Green blogs
Since 1970, people all over the world have recognized April 22 as Earth Day, an opportunity to appreciate and generate awareness about the natural environment. Here at Google we strive to do our part to make sure our planet is healthy for years to come. From investing in renewable energy to building products that help people be greener in their own lives, we’re building a better web that’s better for the environment. Today, we’re celebrating Earth Day in a variety of ways. The coming of spring inspired us to grow our annual Earth Day doodle right in our backyard. We planted seeds on a balcony at our Mountain View headquarters and watched them grow into what you see today. We’re also partnering with Friends of the Urban Forest to help make San Francisco schools a little greener. To help you start a garden of your own, we’ve put together an Earth Day resource page. Explore community gardens and farmers’ markets on our interactive map, get discounted seeds to plant flowers, herbs and vegetables in your own backyard and connect with other gardenersfor planting tips and inspiration.  We hope you find these resources useful and enjoy gardening as much as we do. On our Mountain View, Calif. campus, we have community gardens where Googlers can grow and harvest their choice of herbs and vegetables. Company-wide, we focus on getting organic, locally-grown produce for our cafes. We purchase food directly from farms near our campuses, and learn about how our suppliers raise, farm and harvest their food—all to ensure that we’re eating sustainablyand being good to the environment.  We hope this Earth Day you are inspired to add a little green to the planet. Earth Day may only be a single day, but the actions we take can last for years to come. |
| Exploring Jerusalem’s Old City streets with Street View
Posted: 22 Apr 2012 01:30 AM PDT Every year, 3.5 million people come to Israel to visit ancient sites that are holy to billions of people, to walk among the unique stoneof Jerusalem, or to relax on the beaches of the Mediterranean.
To help you explore Israel’s history and present, we’ve launched imagery of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv-Jaffa and Haifa on Street View. You can explore the narrow streets of Jerusalem’s Old City and each of its four quarters, walk along the Via Dolorosa and see the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, visit the Western Wall and the Mount of Olives. You can stop by the Biblical Zoo, then visit the Israel Museum and the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum—and explore more with the Art Project and the Yad Vashem photo archive. Or you can stroll through Tel Aviv’s bohemian Neve Tzedek neighborhood and the ancient port of Jaffa, and take a virtual trip to some of Tel Aviv’s scenic beaches or to Haifa’s Baha’i Gardens. We hope you’ll use Street View to discover, explore and more. Some are already using the new imagery to help others—for example, Access Israel, an organization working to make Israel more accessible for people with disabilities, has embedded Street View in its accessibility mapping project of Israeli cities (note: in Hebrew). |
