University of Maryland’s Student Government Association offers Earth Month Celebrations plus, Atlantic City/Fairfield Ct Earth Month Celebrations, too. Get ready for some NYU Earth Month festivities, and we highlight the must-see North Dakota Environmental Rights Film Festival!
Mark Schulz, flossing his terrapin pride, emailed us what the University of Maryland’s student government’s Student Sustainability Committee is hosting all April for Earth Month. In addition to our @WeTheClimate on the major socials, you can be like Mark and hit us up old-school, via email at details@34.203.12.8 if you’d like.
The University of Maryland SGA’s Student Sustainability Committee is launching a series of events throughout the month of April to celebrate Earth Month and bring attention to environmental issues. On Earth Day, the kickoff event will provide a rundown of plans for the day, as well as some resources for asynchronous sustainability activities you can do anytime during the day.
Then Thursday night, join the crowd for a Teleparty viewing of The Lorax. Teleparty is a plugin feature of Netflix, and The Lorax is about the lengths a boy will go to get a girl the thing she most desires—a Truffala tree. The Lorax is a cautionary tale of how important respect for the environment and all living creatures will help us preserve the planet for ourselves and future generations.
Then on Friday the 23rd, Join UMD’s chapter of the American Ecological Engineering Society in learning about the various ways environmental tech can be utilized to improve sustainability. For linked information, go to theclimate.org/episodes. There you’ll find the transcript for today’s show and at the bottom, our Deeper Dive, where you’ll find links to the virtual events.
DEEPER DIVE: UMD/SGA Earth Day Kickoff Zoomer, SGA/TheLorax, UMD/SGA/AEES Zoomer
Listeners continue to let us know about Earth Month activities in their community. Thank you, Sharon Carlisle of Atlantic City for sharing this bit o’ news: According to Sharon, the Atlantic County Utilities Authority’s Annual Earth Day Celebration has gone virtual. Their website confirms that the annual event is online, and that each day offers online tours, videos, presentations, demonstrations, and activities for kids, students, and adults.
There are virtual garden walks’ virtual eco-challenges involving social media and posting your pictures of how you protect the planet at #ACUAEarthMonth, and a link to Earth Month videos. As their calendar says, “Tune in for free eco-entertainment all month long.”
And staying on the same coast but up the road a bit, Frank Tormello of Fairfield, CT let it be known that his alma mater, Housatonic Community College, is also celebrating Earth Month virtually. Offerings include a virtual discussion with Robin Avant, Dean of Academic Affairs on “The What, When and Why of Growing Edible Gardens.” Another video discussion on “The Future of Food” hosted by Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist, Professor Janet Yarrow screens all month. Another real treat is the screening of the 2018 documentary, “The Biggest Little Farm” beginning on Earth Day, April 22nd and running through the 24th.
“The Biggest Little Farm” chronicles the eight-year quest of John and Molly Chester as they trade city living for 200 acres of barren farmland and a dream to harvest in harmony with nature.
DEEPER DIVE: The Press of AC, ACUA, Housatonic.edu, HamletHub
Margaret Sankheiser, from the lower east side of Manhattan shouted at us that NYU—New York University has been running a very comprehensive series of virtual events for Earth Month as part of its Celebration of the Environment. Some events are open to the public while others are only for folks affiliated with NYU. Some choice “open to the public” offerings include: Climate Justice Work in American Cities:
April 20 | 12:00-1:00pm ET
How can cities foster a just transition to a clean and carbon-neutral future that recognizes and redresses both the disproportionate burdens and benefits of the fossil fuel economy? Join us to explore what is currently being done – and pathways to do more – in prioritizing climate action that advances the health and well-being of communities of color, low-income communities, and other historically marginalized communities.
Engaged Media: Student Climate Projects: April 22 | 6:30pm ET
After researching media used for raising awareness on ecological topics, student teams present their final project: climate initiatives based on local and individual action. The four topics: Food Waste (video), Plastics Around the World (animation by 4 students in 3 countries), Say No to Single-use Plastic (posters + screensaver), Mask4Earth (poster design to reduce medical mask waste):
The Upending of the Energy Landscape: Disruption is the New Normal: April 27 | 12:00-1:00pm ET
This panel explores the energy transition and will discuss how the geopolitics of energy is experiencing a new stage of discontinuity, the impact of stricter climate policies, and new calls for action around environmental justice in the energy transition to cleaner energy exposing both new risks and opportunities for producers and consumers of global energy.
DEEPER DIVE: NYU
Here’s a fascinating Film Festival that, had we not produced The Climate Daily podcast and gotten so many thousands of folks to listen to it from all over the country, I would have NEVER known about. It’s the North Dakota Environmental Rights Film Festival, and it’s in its inaugural year. Thank you to Lacey in Rugby, ND. The festival is sponsored by The Human Family, a non-partisan, non-profit organization founded to change communities through art.
There are 44 movies, film shorts and animated videos offered by the North Dakota Environmental Rights Film Festival between April 11 and the 25th. Unlike some of the other virtual community events we mentioned here on The Climate Daily which are free to enjoy, there is a price to admission to this festival.
There are two ways to enjoy. You can buy a ticket for one of 10 “Blocks” of curated films for just $15. Each block has a minimum of 3 films in its collection, and once the content becomes available to you, you have seven days to start watching.
For $45, you can purchase an all-access pass. That provides the buyer access to all of the festival’s online program blocks and to individual films. But wait! There’s more. You also get access to filmmaker Q&As and panel discussions. All films are available to stream now through midnight April 25th.
DEEPER DIVE: NDERFF, The Human Family
