50/00 Climate Champions Campaign, World Sea Turtle Day, June 17 is World Day to Combat Desertification & Drought and World Croc Day!

WORLD SEA TURTLE DAY, 2023

Today, June 16th is World Sea Turtle Day. Not to be confused with May 23rd, which is World Turtle Day. Speaking of which, Did you know that World Sea Turtle day is celebrated on the birthday of Dr. Archie Carr, often called the godfather of sea turtle conservation?  Dr. Carr was the founding scientific director of the Sea Turtle Conservancy, a role he filled until his death in 1987. Through his research, teaching and writing, Dr. Carr was responsible for accumulating and distributing much of what is known today about the biology and life cycle of sea turtles. He is credited by many for bringing the first international attention to the plight of marine turtles. 

This is why World Sea Turtle Day matters to us: Turtles and tortoises thrived for 200 million years, but now because of climate change and habitat destruction, and other human activities, they’re rapidly disappearing. About 61% of turtles worldwide are threatened or already extinct. According to experts, turtles are the most threatened of the major groups of vertebrates, more so than birds, mammals and fish.

There’s some really great information about Sea Turtles at seaturtleweek.org (yes, somebody is trying to make a week of it, bless their hearts), and in the Deeper Dive links at the end of the transcript for this story. Just go to TheClimate.org/episodes and find today’s show.

DEEPER DIVE: Sea Turtle Week, Sea Turtle Conservancy, Marine Bio

WORLD DAY TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION AND DROUGHT, 2023

The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is a United Nations observance celebrated each year on 17 June.[1] Its purpose is to raise awareness of the presence of desertification and drought, highlighting methods of preventing desertification and recovering from drought. Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas. It is caused primarily by human activities and climatic variations. Desertification does not refer to the expansion of existing deserts. It occurs because dryland ecosystems, which cover over one third of the world’s land area, are extremely vulnerable to overexploitation and inappropriate land use. Poverty, political instability, deforestation, overgrazing and bad irrigation practices can all undermine the productivity of the land.

This day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly on January 30, 1995. Each year’s global celebration has a unique, novel emphasis that had not been developed previously. Last year’s theme was  Food. Feed.Fibre. – the links between consumption and land. So far, the 2021 theme is not up on the UN-Desertification Day website, but there are some compelling stories to watch there.  

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development declares that “we are determined to protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on climate change, so that it can support the needs of the present and future generations”. Specifically, SDG Goal 15: Life on Land states the resolve of the United Nations and the SDG signatory nations to halt and reverse land degradation.

DEEPER DIVE: UN, Wikipedia, Desertification Day Stories

WORLD CROC DAY (6/17/23)

June 17th is also World Croc Day. No, I don’t mean footwear. World Croc Day is “a global awareness campaign to highlight the plight of endangered crocodiles and alligators around the world.”  World Croc Day was organized by the Crocodile Research Coalition in conjunction with the Belize Zoo back in 2017. The hope is the day will encourage people to get involved in helping them. During past celebrations, events have been held at the zoo and the day has been marked around the world.

 Do you know the difference between crocodiles and alligators? Umm, one has a bigger snout? Crocodiles live near lakes, rivers, and wetlands in the tropical regions of Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Australia. There are thirteen species, which range in size. The smallest, the dwarf crocodile, reaches about 5.6 feet in length and weighs between 13 or 15 pounds; the largest, the saltwater crocodile, may reach over 20 feet in length and weigh over 2000 pounds.

Alligators take their name from the Spanish words for “the lizard”: el lagarto. Although there once were more, there now are just two species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator. The Chinese alligator is threatened and is thus where particular attention is focused today. American alligators can grow over 11 feet and a weight of almost 1,000 pounds, while Chinese alligators grow to between 4.6 and 4.9 feet and only weigh around 50 pounds.

Spend June 17th celebrating, raising awareness about, and helping alligators and crocodiles. You could put your support behind organizations such as the Crocodile Research Coalition or the Crocodile Specialist Group.  

DEEPER DIVE: FaceBook, AWFSZoo, Drishtiias

HELP US CLOSE OUT THE CLIMATE’S 50/100 MASSIVE TREE REFORESTATION CAMPAIGN

What is the cure for cleaning toxic smoke from the atmosphere? Plant more trees! Thanks to 33 of you, and our tree-planting partner, 1TreePlanted, we at The Climate have already begun planting our first 10,000 tree forest. Surf on over to theclimate.org and click on Feather River Restoration Project to see the work being done by 1TreePlanted.org to reforest that California forest. Help us plant our second 10,000 tree forest by donating to the 50/100 campaign.

As of today, Thursday, June 15, we only have 160 trees to go. Visit theclimate.org and at the top of the page, click on the words, “Climate Champions” and donate $50 or $100—and plant 45 or 90 trees. Become a climate champion today. Now that forests are burning ON A MASSIVE SCALE, planting trees matters more than ever. Go to theclimate.org and at the top of the page, click on the words, “Climate Champions” and donate $50 or $100—and plant 45 or 90 trees. Become a climate champion today. And thanks.

DEEPER DIVE: WMO Report,  50/100 Campaign, Trillion Tree Project