Michigan Environmental Council’s Post

The Environmental Affairs Committee in City of Gaithersburg wants everyone to get involved in advancing environmental initiatives. What are the community's priorities for 2024? Find out in this new article from the Gaithersburg Post: https://lnkd.in/eND3YruH

Traditionally, at the end of the year we take the time to look back and celebrate our victories. Not this year. This year, I am asking you to look forward with me, to think big about what we can achieve next, together. We are thinking big about the South’s environmental future and taking action to build it by: ▪️Ensuring billions of dollars in new federal funding accelerates deployment of clean energy investments in our region. ▪️Preparing our communities to be resilient in the face of a changing climate. ▪️Cleaning up air pollution that threatens communities across the South. ▪️Taking legal action against polluters to stop toxic forever chemicals at the source and trailblazing a national model for addressing this health threat. ▪️Building a network of community partners to stand against environmental injustices. ▪️Protecting wetlands at risk and building a region-wide strategy that draws on our expertise in state clean water laws. ▪️Defending imperiled wildlife by pushing back against the threats of disappearing habitat, climate change, and weakened species protections. Our work always starts somewhere in the South, in one of the places you love or a community you call home, but it doesn’t stop here. We’ve learned over nearly 40 years that when we defend southern communities and wild places, we pioneer solutions that benefit the whole region and lead the way for the nation. We can make big ideas a reality with your help: https://selc.link/47LFDx8

Evidently, there is nothing unlawful about older Floridians damaging ecosystems for future Floridians. If we had explicitly stated constitutional environmental rights, like Montanans have, things would likely be much different. Florida’s new “Don’t say climate change” highlights need for constitutional environmental rights we don’t have. Learn why we must act now to preserve our waters right now. Then take action. Sign the petition, volunteer, or make a donation to protect our waters and secure a healthier future for all Floridians. https://lnkd.in/e9YNvdSA https://lnkd.in/e4b3a63a

National Association of Wetland Managers Membership Monday. They are a Go-To non-profit organization to join to keep up with the latest state wetland policies, management, and protection nationwide. Student membership rates are a steal of a deal! Check them out if you want to learn more! #wetlands #NAWM #wetlandmanagement #wetlandregulation #wetlandpolicy

This new study showing a pathway to improving Australia's natural environment is right on target. Australia massively underspends on the environment and every five years we get a state of environment report reflecting that neglect. Spending money on the environment works and it is affordable. It's just that the two major political parties are quick to slash spending on the environment. Solution: vote for the candidates with the best environmental policies.

Did you know that the U.S. now has an Ocean Justice Strategy (OJS)? A big step in the right direction. Here is a great explainer in addition to reading the OJS itself.

We are absolutely thrilled to share that our partners at the Midwest Environmental Justice Network and RE-AMP Network, in partnership with The Minneapolis Foundation and NDN Collective, were just awarded $50 million in grants from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)! The grants will provide funding to environmental justice (EJ) projects in the Midwest, which includes Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin, and 35 federally-recognized tribal nations. What a way to close out 2023 and an incredible win for Midwest EJ communities! One of our strongest beliefs as an organization is that those closest to the problem are best equipped to solve it. Too often EJ organizations are left out of receiving federal funding and not included in critical funding decisions. These grants will empower local EJ leaders to make recommendations about how and where funding is allocated and ensure that federal dollars are flowing directly to communities that are on the frontlines of climate equity issues. This is a historic collaboration between these organizations, and this award is a result of their partnership, on-the-ground knowledge of the issues, and steadfast commitment to achieving environmental justice for all communities. We’re proud to support their work through our Builders Initiative team and happy to celebrate this win alongside them! Read the press release from our partners: https://lnkd.in/gzknF_2T And check out the EPA’s official announcement here: https://lnkd.in/esbcCJGf #environmentaljustice #climateequity #climatejustice #EPA

It's here!!! ✊🏿✊🏽✊🏻In 2024, we look back on 60 years of the Civil Rights Act and the Wilderness Act. These two historical bills changed the course of this nation in dramatic ways but were never intentionally combined in virtue - a perilous flaw of the conservation movement in that era. 60 years later, the ATB4All 2024 Policy Agenda defines conservation priorities that improve public health for all, secure equitable access to conservation funding for tribes and frontline communities, and increase equal access to nature for everyone. The 2024 Policy Agenda includes a progress report on action, risks, and backsliding on 2023 Policy Agenda priorities. Some highlights include: 🟢 More than $141 million in funding from the America the Beautiful Challenge Grants in 2023 with 40% of funds going to Tribal communities. 🟡 Extremist attacks on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) continue in pursuit of so-called "permitting form" and the guise of supporting renewable energy. These are diversion tactics meant to weaken the environmental bill of rights for communities. 🔴 The Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge (TX) was approved for Border Wall expansion, waiving critical environmental laws like the Endangered Species Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Air Act. Read more: https://lnkd.in/epe5csMi

🌳 Episode 3 Drop: Serena Mendizabal - A fusion of environmental stewardship & Indigenous wisdom from the Six Nations of the Grand River. Her story is a call to action: empower young leaders for a just, sustainable future. 🌎💡 👀 Watch her journey & learn more (link below)! #IndigenousWisdom #SustainableFuture #YouthLeadership #YouthAction

Granting nature personhood (i.e., legal rights, just like we did for companies) can be a powerful way to redress some of the mass-scale degradation we see across ecosystems today. The very ecosystems that sustain our lives and businesses. Kudos to Mere Takoko & Hinemoana Halo Ocean Fund, to Ralph Chami & Blue Green Future team, and to the indigenous leaders of New Zealand, Tahiti, Tonga and the Cook Islands, who just signed a treaty granting whales legal personhood. The goal is to mandate vessels to use anti-collision devices to decrease the likelihood of hitting a whale, as boat strikes are one of the leading causes of whale deaths, together with climate change, fisheries entanglement, and noise pollution. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/esuUWENh This is part of a broader 5-year action plan with Iwi/Māori partners to direct blue bond financing and investment into eligible projects across Aotearoa’s high seas and coastal waters, looking to develop markets for the services of natural capital and provide valuations of natural assets based on their carbon sequestration and other co-benefits. Read more about whales' ecosystem services here: https://lnkd.in/eHgTrvRU The move to give whales legal status builds on previous steps to protect nature via legislation, like Ecuador's 2008 law giving nature the right to exist, flourish and evolve, New Zealand's 2019 Te Awa Tupua Act granting the Whanganui River system legal personhood, and a Costa Rican suburb granting legal personhood to its trees, plants and bees in 2020. Protecting nature, reversing nature loss, and regenerating nature (from soil to ecosystems) has become mission critical as we cross one planetary boundary after another at breakneck speed (check the rapid development in just 15 years here: https://lnkd.in/ensguFPQ). Valuing nature, giving it legal status, and nature-based financial covers to protect it are key tools to get there. It's worth highlighting the tireless work orgs like ClientEarth do to legally represent nature (and do please consider donating if you like their work). The work orgs like The Nature Conservancy do, convening blended finance to value and protect nature (check out Swiss Re's NbS here https://lnkd.in/eTjYfrGc). Also the professionals across industries working to quantify our impact on nature and ecosystems, create frameworks and regulations to hold us accountable, and solutions to transition. And last but not least, kudos to every consumer making better choices and every citizen voting for governments that put our long-term wellbeing at the forefront of their policymaking too. #nature #legalpersonhood #whales #whaletreaty #HinemoanaHaloOceanFund #ecosystems #oceans #rivers #bees #biodiversity #planetaryboundaries #bluefinance #blendedfinance