Reining in my irrational exuberance, plus a bipartisan group offers recommendations for how President Biden help save the Amazon. Dr. Mamie Parker to lead Student Conservation Association, and Crayola’s ColorCycle Incitative Recycles Any Marker Free of Charge.
A few episodes ago, I got pretty excited about section 5 of President Joe Biden’s “Executive Order on Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis.”
Yeah you did…
So excited that I read the entire text of Section 5 of that executive order on the podcast, as my story…
I strongly suggested he not do that….
…because I wanted to make sure our listeners had the entire section SOMEWHERE for them to reference when in the future, they looked back fondly on the progress the USA mad on climate change and say, “I remember when….” I guess you could say my irrational exuberance was showing.
A what?
Irrational exuberance. It’s a phrase Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan coined back in 1996. But hey young’un, you probably too young, don’t know anything about that.
OK, Boomer.
Okay yourself, Gen Z
Hey! Get it right. I’m Generation Green New Deal. Thank you.
All right, Green New Deal. Listen the point is, we got some feedback from you fine listeners, and some of it was, hey now—don’t lead us into the weeds, but if you do, don’t lead us in and then abandon us there. I got it.
Why section 5 matters to Americans is the Biden Administration is acknowledging that establishing a way to measure the impact of carbon on Americans is a great way to establish strategies to fight climate change. This old guy, Peter Drucker is credited with coining the phrase, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” So the Biden team is now going to measure the Social Cost of Carbon (SCC); the Social Cost of Nitrous Oxide (SCN); and the Social cost of methane (SCM) in a way that makes economic, social, agricultural and human health sense. And then they are going to tell us what the numbers are, what they mean, and what their plan is for reversing those numbers in the fight against climate change.
DEEPER DIVE: WhiteHouse.gov
Former United States officials are working across the aisle to propose policy recommendations for how President Biden can help save the Amazon rainforest. Reported by Mongabay, the bipartisan group, known as Climate Principals, could help the Biden administration deliver its campaign promise to fund $20 billion in protections of the Amazon.
Most recently, Climate Principals submitted its Amazon Protection Plan to U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry. The plan details four key pillars to best protect the Amazon rainforest.
Summarized by Mongabay, the pillars include, “mobilizing funding for conservation from private and public sources, building forest-friendly policies into trade agreements, requiring companies disclose and manage deforestation risk in their supply chains and portfolio investments, and strengthening international diplomacy around forest conservation.”
In a press release, a Climate Principals spokesperson said the plan aims to take “urgently needed action to protect the Amazon rainforest.”
DEEPER DIVE: Mongabay
In 2020, The Student Conservation Association (SCA), a national leader in youth service and stewardship, announced its board of directors had unanimously elected Dr. Mamie Parker as vice chairwoman of the board. Why this matters now is Dr. Parker is about to become chairwoman of the SCA this year.
Dr. Parker, a biologist by training, was the first African-American to achieve the rank of regional director at the US Fish and Wildlife Service. She retired from there in 2007 as assistant director for USFWS.
Dr. Parker pioneered the Career Discovery Internship Program, a program between the Student Conservation Association and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. It’s a diversity initiative designed to bring students of underrepresented communities out into the natural world. At 63 years and counting, the SCA is America’s oldest and largest youth conservation organization. Its mission is to conserve land and transform lives by empowering young people of all backgrounds to plan, act and lead while they protect and restore America’s natural and cultural resources.
In response to her impending promotion, Dr. Parker said, “I have dedicated my professional life to protecting our natural resources and helping others become their best selves,” Dr. Parker says. “I have seen first-hand the extraordinary impact of SCA volunteers on our refuges, and know that SCA experiences foster leadership and stewardship, qualities that are both timely and timeless. I am very excited by this opportunity.”
DEEPER DIVE: SCA.org
Crayola Company’s recycling program, ColorCycle, announced their commitment to ensuring all plastic markers stay out of landfills. The American manufacturing company will collect all used plastic markers — not just ones made by Crayola Company – and recycle or repurpose them. Teachers will be provided with prepaid FedEx labels so schools can return the markers free of charge.
Reported by Green Matters, ColorCycle is one of Crayola Company’s “green” initiatives designed to teach students about the importance of environmental sustainability and their part in protecting the planet. Right now, only K-12 schools in the United States are eligible, but Crayola Company plans to expand the initiative to daycares, preschools, and even consumers.
But Crayola’s green initiative doesn’t stop there. The company’s headquarters is built on a 30,000-panel solar farm powering crayon manufacturing process. The company also uses reforested wood for color pencils and recycled plastic for markers.
“At Crayola we believe being “responsible” means doing what is right,” Crayola Company says on their “green initiative” page. “We work hard to make a difference by complying with, and even exceeding, industry standards and our own sustainability goals.”
DEEPER DIVE: Green Matters, Crayola Company
