State of Climate Emergency
Climate change is the biggest and most immediate threat to us, our country, and our planet. This climate catastrophe is occurring today. It's already causing serious harm.
This week, members of Congress, led by Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Earl Blumenauer, and Senator Bernie Sanders, have introduced a resolution declaring climate change a national emergency. This action could prompt the federal government to take the climate crisis far more seriously than it has in past years. By calling for an emergency, the White House will be forced to make a definitive plan and get it done. By confronting society with the dangers of climate change, we need to recognize the enormity of this crisis in order to effectively fight it.
Sign the petition to urge congress to get serious in the fight against climate change. In doing this, you will join the fight to rid congress of climate-denying people in power, and finally get the U.S. on the path toward getting serious about climate change.
|
|
While dams provide important services to us, such as water supplies or hydroelectric power, they also seriously affect the environment and can even harm our safety. Dams and levees are one of the most damaging to river and wetland ecosystems.
So the Nature Conservancy is fighting back.
In 1999 the federal government decided that the benefits of a free flowing Kennebec River in Augusta, Maine outweighed the benefits of the existing dam. Fish species such as surgeon, shad, salmon, eels, and herring have been found in abundance for the first time since 1837, when the dam on the Kennebec was built.
The efforts for restoration of the Kennebec have continued since then. A dam on the Sebasticook River, an upstream tributary, was removed in 2008. These two dam removals and added fish passages restored access to over 130 miles of river, enabling sea-run fish migration and reproduction.
In 2018, the largest alewife run with over 5 million migratory alweives took place on the Sebasticook River. Communities have seen improved fish populations and water quality, in turn improving fishing and boating on the river.
Dam removal is important for restoring natural river ecosystems, biodiversity, and health of downstream environments. Dam removal can help improve safety, food and water supplies, livelihoods, recreation and overall community well-being. By allowing our rivers to flow the way they have for thousands of years again, nature can return again. Almost 1,200 dams have been removed in the US since 1999, yet still only 2% of our rivers are free flowing.
|
On this week's program, Jessie and Morgan host two guests to discuss issues of food access from different perspectives.
Erica Satin Hernandez, Coordinator at Shape-Up Somerville, speaks with interns Morgan and Jessie this week on the radio show about many of the wonderful initiatives in the works to offer healthy options to residents of Somerville. Erica discusses her trajectory through the food security world, and talks about the intersectional nature of tackling community health initiatives. This weekend is the first weekend of Shape-Up's Mobile Market, a traveling farmers market put on by the city aimed at offering fresh produce in an accessible way. The Mobile Market, in addition to being accessible in its location (which moves 4x a week) is also fully available to all people in the city receiving nutritional assistance. For more information on Shape-Up's programs,
visit their site here.
Charlotte Mondale is a senior at Tufts who just finished a 5 month long semester examining the dynamics of food security and food systems in four different continents. Charlotte sat down with Morgan and Jessie to discuss the relationship between the environment and climate change, food justice, the role of colonization, agriculture policy, and global governance structures on food security. We discussed the erasure native foods and how globalization affects availability of certain crops. Do you believe that GMOs are harmful or beneficial? Tune in to hear more about the debate between climate change, food and economic security, and GMOs.
|
 |
|
Choose from more than 100 radio broadcast episodes, also free on iTunes
Join ORI's Fan page on Facebook.
We've surpassed 6,000 likes. When you and friends like us, it helps us get the word out and makes it easier for others to donate.
Wear with pride ORI logo items.
|
|
|
|
|
