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2 | EARTH DAY 2015 | history

Earth Day 45

very year, Earth Day brings together kindred spirits to celebrate all there is to love about the environment. This year’s edition is focused on combining that reverence with swift action. Earth Day 45: It’s Our Turn to Lead is the theme of the 2015 iteration. Coordinators are hoping it becomes the most exciting year in environmental history. At the forefront of the focus is the potential for a binding climate change treaty that activists are pushing to be passed and signed into law.

When and What Is Earth Day? Earth Day is celebrated around the world on April 22, although many events are routinely organized the weekends before or after. Some communities even observe Earth Week or Earth Month, coor-

dinating a lengthy series of environmentfocused events throughout April. Earth Day at its core is a way for environmental activists, political leaders and the public to join forces to build the base of support for meaningful programs. It is the largest civic event in the world, celebrated simultaneously around the globe; more than a billion people participate in the Earth Day Network’s offering of events.

educating youth on Earth-friendly actions are all great ways to make a positive impact on the environment. If’ you’re planning to host your own Earth Day event, be sure to register it at www.earthyday.org/2015. Doing so will increase visibility for your activities and help alert those searching for a way to get involved.

You can choose to participate as a visitor or even offer your services for a day of volunteering. There are also numerous ways to become kinder to your surroundings by If you’re looking for a way to get involved making thoughtful changes to your daily routine. Installing solar panels on your in environmental stewardship, attending roof, altering a few habits or committing to an Earth Day event is a great way to start.

Getting Involved

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activities | EARTH DAY 2015 | 3

The Canopy Project

hrough various programs and initiatives, the Earth Day Network has impacted the environment in many ways. Its most farreaching effort may be The Canopy Project.

The project is aimed at protecting natural lands and preserving the environment by focusing on large-scale forestry. In 2012, the network committed to plant 10 million trees over the next five years in impoverished areas of the world.

The Need for Trees With the reality of increasingly unpredictable weather patterns and more frequent and violent storms and floods, the tree cover needed to prevent devastating soil erosion has never been more important, according to the Earth Day Network.

Trees also have a positive effect on the earth by filtering the air and helping to stave off the impact of climate change. Workers within The Canopy Project plant trees that help some of the world’s most impoverished communities reverse the impact of land degradation and provide food, energy and income opportunities.

Major Achievements Over the past three years, The Canopy Project, has planted over 1.5 million trees in 18 countries. In the United States, projCONTINUED ON PAGE 5

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4 | EARTH DAY 2015 | lifestyle

Sustainable Travel

o you’ve chosen a 2015 Earth Day event to attend. What about the other 364 days of the year? There are likely other aspects of your life that could use some fine-tuning to help lessen your impact on the environment.

Let’s take travel for instance. How many miles are you driving per day? 50? 100? 200? The pollutants released by vehicles can greatly increase air pollution levels and greenhouse gas emissions that have been linked to a variety of health effects, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports, including premature mortality, cardiac symptoms and diminished lung function.

go green In order to curb the damaging impact of our current transportation choices, activists urge you to adopt a more sustainable method of travel. Doing so can help generate income and employment for travel destinations while protecting local ecosystems.

WHAT YOU CAN DO Incorporate some small steps, such as combining trips or using public transit, to make a difference. The CDC recommends the following steps you can take to improve the health of our environment, as well as encourage your friends and family members to take, as well. Try to incorporate a few of these

recommendations into your daily life. You’ll be a traveling sustainably in no time.

Commute Alternatives • Walking and bicycling • Public transportation • Carpools • Van pools • Telework and alternate work schedules

Green Travel Tips • Use public transportation in your destination city. • Purchase electronic tickets. • Inquire about hotel van service and forgo renting a car. • Use Internet map services instead of printing maps. • Participate in hotel linen reuse programs. • Settle your accounts via the hotel’s electronic checkout program.

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education | EARTH DAY 2015 | 5

Green Schools

e all know that environmental activism knows no geographical boundaries. There are major issues to be dealt with across the world. Likewise, activism also can be practiced by people of all ages.

Thanks to local leaders, national legislators and the Earth Day Network, a green schools movement has swept over the United States educational landscape in recent years. First championed for during the 20052006 school year, the network’s green schools programing has since recruited an extensive list of schools combining traditional education approaches with energyfocused innovations in building science and economy support. Students within schools that were built to be more environmentally friendly are made more aware of the impact their actions can have on the Earth.

A True Partnership Schools participating in green programming are focused on enhancing student learning and health while also increasing the quality of their communities. Annually, the Earth Day Network’s green school programs directly reach more than 30,000 educators and provide expert guidance throughout notable publications.

Greener School Buildings “Greening” a school doesn’t have to CANOPY PROJECT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

ects to restore urban canopies have been completed in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Atlanta, Baltimore, Cleveland and Chicago. On a global basis, the Earth Day Network stepped up its efforts in Haiti, where earthquakes caused landslides on deforested hillsides. The network planted 500,000 trees to curb some of the devastation. Additionally, in three high-poverty districts in central Uganda, the network

solely mean adopting environmentallyfocused curriculum. A recent study by the U.S. Green Building Council found that 55 million students spend their days in schools that are too often unhealthy and that restrict their ability to learn. While many green schools are popping planted 350,000 trees through The Canopy Project. The trees helped deliver food, fuel, fencing, and soil stability to local farmers, and also provided fuel wood, animal fodder, construction materials and intercropping. In one district, families planted trees for timber and to create living fences to protect their land from being seized by corrupt farmers. Efforts like these are in the works across the world as The Canopy Project looks to leave a plant-filled footprint on the environment.

up throughout the country, these highperformance buildings are generally most costly to erect. The council’s national review of 30 green schools demonstrated that green schools cost less than 2 percent more than conventional schools (about $3 per square foot) but provide financial benefits that are 20 times as large.

Green schools also can provide a range of additional benefits, including reductions in teacher sick days, social inequalities, maintenance costs and uninsured risks, while boosting things such as state competitiveness and educational enrichment, the council’s report states.

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6 | EARTH DAY 2015 | WINDS OF CHANGE

Plastics Recycling

hampoo and conditioner bottles are essential to our everyday grooming routines. But what about after the bottle runs dry?

If you ask an environmental activist, he will likely mention pollution, waste and environmental degradation. Plastics play an important role in almost every aspect of our lives, from beverage containers to furniture. The largest amount of plastics is found in containers and packaging such as shampoo and conditioner bottles. Nondurable goods such as diapers, trash bags and utensils also contain plastic. Measuring the recycling rate of the different types of plastics can be difficult, but the overall rate is only about 9 percent, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA also reports that plastics make up almost 13 percent of the municipal solid waste stream, a dramatic

increase from less than 1 percent in the 1960s.

About Recycling According to the American Chemistry Council, about 1,800 United States businesses handle or reclaim post-consumer plastics. Plastics set out for recycling first go a material recovery facility, where they are sorted by type and baled for delivery to a reclaiming facility. Once there, they are sorted again for any trash or dirt before being washed and ground into small flakes. Flakes are then dried, melted, filtered and formed into pellets that are shipped to

product manufacturing pants where they are made into new plastic products. This relatively simple process is waiting to re-purpose your old plastics, but obviously it can’t happen without your help.

By the Numbers Here are some facts about plastics, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. • 32 million tons of plastic waste was

generated in 2012, representing 12.7 percent of total municipal solid waste • In 2012, the United States generated almost 14 million tons of plastics as containers and packaging, about 11 million tons as durable goods such as appliances, and almost 7 million tons as nondurable goods, such as plates and cups • In 2012, the category of plastics which includes bags, sacks and wraps was recycled at about 12 percent.

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Rethink home yard projects to protect Puget Sound. See our new guide about rain gardens, cisterns, permeable paving and much more. www.CleanWaterKitsap.org

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Here are a few things we do to help our environment: • Use vegetable oil in our chainsaws to lube the bar so we don't spread petroleum based bar oil. • Always recommend the use of an oil water separator in all catch basins that could potentially collect oil laden runoff off from roadways. • We like to work with WSDFW to address beach erosion by using large logs and root balls that can provide good bank protection and provide wildlife habitat enhancements.

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• Make use of specialized GPS equipment on some of our machines which boosts production and saves fuel. • We are experts at providing silt and erosion control for commercial and residential properties by using the sites natural topography to provide good water quality.

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8 | EARTH DAY 2015 | DOING YOUR PART

50 Square Miles and Counting… Thank you to our partners. With your help we have put 6,680 acres of land into conservation since the last Earth Day, preserving special places and maintaining working forests. That brings our total to 50 square miles since 1998. Stay tuned for more good news in 2015!

Photo by Don Willott

North Kitsap Heritage Park Addition – 365 Acres Kitsap County Kitsap County, Forterra and the Kitsap Forest and Bay Coalition

Mount St Helens – 3,100 Acres Skamania County Columbia Land Trust and Skamania County

Dosewallips River Corridor – 315 Acres Jefferson County Washington State Parks

Mount Jupiter – 2,900 Acres Jefferson County The Trust for Public Land and the U.S. Navy

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