Biden’s New Environmental Justice Executive Order, 2023 National Seaweed Symposium, The Climate Daily Reforestation Campaign!

PRESIDENT BIDEN SIGNS ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE EXECUTIVE ORDER

President signed an executive order over the weekend, further embedding environmental justice into the work of federal agencies to achieve real, measurable progress that communities can count on. The new Executive Order, titled, “Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All.” Dana Johnson, Senior Director of Strategy and Federal Policy for WE ACT for Environmental Justice, said, “This historic announcement addresses what WE ACT has been fighting for 35 years: environmental justice is central to civil rights and environmental laws.”

The new EO makes clear that the pursuit of environmental justice is a duty of all executive branch agencies and should be incorporated into their missions. It also affirms that environmental justice is central to the implementation of our bedrock civil rights and environmental laws. Better protect overburdened communities from pollution and environmental harms. The Executive Order directs agencies to consider measures to address and prevent disproportionate and adverse environmental and health impacts on communities, including the cumulative impacts of pollution and other burdens like climate change. Additionally, it requires agencies to notify nearby communities in the event of a release of toxic substances from a federal facility, and to hold a public meeting to share information on resulting health risks and necessary precautions.

Strengthen engagement with communities and mobilize federal agencies to confront existing and legacy barriers and injustices. Promote the latest science, data, and research, including on cumulative impacts. It Order directs agencies to identify and address gaps in science, data, and research related to environmental justice, to advance the analysis of cumulative impacts, and to make information on environmental and health concerns more publicly accessible to communities. 

Building on previous ones, this Executive Order adds agencies to the White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council to further a whole-of-government strategy to address current and historic environmental injustice. 

DEEPER DIVE: WhiteHouse.gov, WeAct, WHEAJC

THE 2023 NATIONAL SEAWEED SYMPOSIUM

Hey now, if you’re in the U.S., specifically in New England for the next week and you’ve got nothing to do and $225 extra dollars in your pocket, head on up to Portland, Maine for the 2023 National Seaweed Symposium. It’s going on from April 24-27th at the Westin Portland Harborview in Portland, Maine!

It’s hosted by the Maine Sea Grant. What’s a Maine Sea Grant? Well, In 1963, Dr. Athelstan Spilhaus, oceanographer, inventor, and writer, grandly envisioned “a cooperative effort among academic, federal, state, and commercial institutions which would draw upon the intellectual strength of the great American universities to unlock the secrets and develop the great potential of the oceans.” He proposed a system of Sea Grant colleges to do for fisheries and other marine resources what Land Grant had done for agriculture and the ‘mechanic arts’ a century earlier.

In 1971, the University of Maine received the first “sea grant” of $100,300. the University of Maine received full National Sea Grant College status in 2004. 

The National Seaweed Symposium is a convening of key industry, regulatory, academic, and professional leaders in and contributors to the US seaweed sector. Hosted by the National Sea Grant Network’s Seaweed Hub, this 3-day conference will feature targeted presentations, unique field trips, and engaging networking sessions, providing attendees with usable knowledge and meaningful professional connections to advance innovation, emerging research, and collaboration in the domestic seaweed sector. 

Why does seaweed matter to us? It’s a triple threat. It’s nutrient dense food, it sequesters carbon, and it’s also a great fertilizer replacement for petroleum-based products. The Symposium will occur during Maine Seaweed Week, the largest seaweed food and drink festival in the US, offering additional opportunities for participants to experience Maine’s seaweed and local food industries. Check out the links in the Deeper Dive section of this story at theclimate.org/episodes to register.

DEEPER DIVE: National Seaweed Symposium Registration, NBC News, Seaweed Cultivation

THE CLIMATE DAILY 50/100 REFORESTATION CAMPAIGN!

Earth Day has come and gone, but Earth Month still lives on! (Yeessss…) Thank you to the more than dozen listeners of The Climate Daily who donated to The Climate Champions 50/100 campaign! There’s still work to do to get us to 10,000 trees. That’s why we’re extending the campaign through the end of the month–to give more of you the chance to become climate champions.

What’s a climate champion, you ask? A climate champion proves that a small group of people can make a massive impact on the planet in a short amount of time. How? Our company, The Climate, is partnering with over 30 international tree-planting organizations–ALONG WITH our climate champions– to re-plant, and regrow forests all over the world, by planting ten thousand trees at a time. 

Why? Because science says the best way to combat climate change is to restore nature. And the fastest way to restore nature is to plant and grow a trillion trees, and the fastest way to plant and grow a trillion trees is to replant and regrow forests. The fastest way to do that is to plant ten thousand trees at a time, 

So, we’re looking for folks to donate $50 or $100 one time, to help us plant 10,000 trees at a time, in one of seven regions around the planet (Which our tree planting partners will do. They’re the tree-planting professionals.) Please visit champions.theclimate.org/climate hyphen champions/50or100. Click on the donate button and join our team of climate champions today. 

 Again, visit champions.theclimate.org/climate hyphen champions/50or100. Click on the donate button and join our team of climate champions today. And if you want to start your own team of climate champions, reach out to us at info@34.203.12.8. Well help you put together your own small group of climate champions to make a massive impact on the planet in a short amount of time. (Planting 10 thousand trees–a 20-acre forest!) 

Wouldn’t it be great to be the change you want to see in the world? Go to champions.theclimate.org/climate hyphen champions/50or100and become part of something special. Become a climate champion.  Thank you!!

DEEPER DIVE: 50/100 Campaign, Trillion Tree Project