Jersey City Girl Scout Troop Boycotts Cookie Sales Protesting Unsustainable Palm Oil Usage, John Akomfrah’s “Purple” Now at DC’s Hirshorn, The Climate Daily Reforestation Campaign!

JERSEY CITY, NJ GIRL SCOUT TROOP’S 3RD YEAR BOYCOTTING COOKIE SALES IN PROTEST OVER UNSUSTAINABLE PALM OIL USAGE    

Three years ago, The Jersey City Council unanimously passed a resolution supporting a local Girl Scout troop’s boycott of Girl Scout Cookies.  Girl Scout Cookies contain palm oil, a product which is often produced with child labor. The resolution also called for the Girl Scouts of America, the national organization, to seek an alternative to palm oil.

It all began when two dozen members of Troop 12026 decided in January of 2021 not to sell Girl Scout cookies after one of their troops discovered how non-sustainable palm oil is made. Gina Verdibello, Troop 12026’s leader, said her 21-member troop, girls who range in age from 10 to 15, decided to boycott the cookie program after they learned of an Associated Press story linking child labor to the palm oil that is used to make Girl Scout cookies. 

The troop then held a protest at Jersey City city hall, which resulted in a resolution of support by America’s “Wall Street West.” The boycott meant the troop would lose more than $1,000 in cookie sales that usually would have funded troop activities. Yet they did it anyway. Last year, they repeated their boycott. Troop leader Verdibello said she knows of at least a dozen other troops that opted not to sell because of the palm oil issue.

2023 is the third year in a row that Girl Scout Troop 12026 is boycotting the sale of Girl Scout cookies. Why does this GS Cookie boycott matter to us? In the words of some of the girls, “We’re raised to do the right thing. If we don’t do that, what’s the point?” Despite missing out on money from cookie sales, the troop has continued to fund activities with donations from people who heard about their boycott.

Somebody even put together a petition on change.org, asking the girl scouts to stop using palm oil in their cookies. Check out the link in the Deeper Dive section of this story @34.203.12.8/episodes to add your name, or surf on over to change.org and type girl scout cookies in the search bar. So far almost 30,000 people have signed on. Talk about girl power!!! 

DEEPER DIVE: AP, NJ.COM, Change.org

JOHN AKOMFRAH’S “PURPLE” NOW AT DC’S HIRSHORN GALLERY OF ART

If you’re in Washington, DC anytime between now and January 7, 2024, make sure you check out the newest exhibition of climate change art at the Hirshorn. It’s called “Purple,” and it’s by acclaimed British eco-artist, John Akomfrah. According to the Hirshorn’s website, “John Akomfrah: Purple introduces the artist’s largest ever video installation, an immersive six-channel work, to Washington D.C. for the first time.” 

The exhibition is an enveloping, hour-long symphony of image and sound, Purple weaves together original film with archival footage against a hypnotic score to address themes related to climate change. Surveying a variety of disappearing landscapes, including parts of Alaska, Greenland, the Tahitian Peninsula and the South Pacific’s volcanic Marquesas Islands, Akomfrah conveys the interconnected relationship between the built and natural worlds in the Anthropocene. 

Akomfrah’s striking images of these vulnerable environments mingle with historical recordings of coal mines, polluted lakes and factory labor, set against a resonant soundtrack of original music, archival recordings and spoken word. These elements come together to form a moving meditation on the impact of human progress on the Earth. Purple plays across six large screens arranged in an arc, perfectly mirroring the Hirshhorn’s curved architecture. Why purple? It’s the color of mourning in Akomfrah’s native country of Ghana. All aspects of the exhibit are purple—the carpet in a deep shade of purple, blanketing the floors and walls of the exhibition space, lending an inviting if somber mood and reminding viewers of the losses brought about by environmental devastation.  

Akomfrah is a London-based artist and filmmaker whose works are characterized by their investigations into memory, post-colonialism, temporality, and aesthetics. His works often explore the experiences of migrant diasporas globally. Before opening in D.C., Purple was shown in London, Madrid and Lisbon.

DEEPER DIVE: HIRSHORN, Akomfrah, Wikipedia

THE CLIMATE DAILY’S 50/100 REFORESTATION CAMPAIGN

Remember how in January we at The Climate Daily launched our first ever Climate Champions Massive Tree Reforestation campaign? Well in honor of upcoming Earth Day 2023, we’re launching The Climate Champions 50/100 campaign! 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, 

And the fastest and most fun way to plant ten thousand trees at a time is to fundraise with friends, climate champions. 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