All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

What more can you do for climate change? – Darcy Hitchcock

The antidote for climate despair is action. This podcast lays out things you can do at home and also things you can do to change the system. It’s not an either or. We all need to be doing both.

Individual actions have a larger impact than you know. Jon Foley with Project Drawdown said, “I think a lot of people are surprised that your personal actions do matter a lot, not just in terms of the material impact of how much carbon was actually prevented from going in the atmosphere, but also that it speaks volumes to other people culturally, economically, politically, socially, in so many ways. Every day that we show that we’re doing a climate solution by maybe eating differently, by retrofitting our house or changing our cars or how we get around, we’re sending signals to the world around us every single day. We’re all kind of micro influencers.”

Now is better than new. Jon Foley with Project Drawdown said, “Now is better than new. And time always is more important than tech because time is the most important variable when it comes to solving climate change.” Climate change is a cumulative problem. It’s a function of all the greenhouse gases we’ve added to the atmosphere over hundreds of years. So reducing your emissions today will have a greater impact than waiting for a more perfect/cheaper/convenient technology five years from now. “Every year we wait, waiting for a technological breakthrough, waiting for the silver bullet, the shiny tech object that will save us all, we lose a year of effectiveness. In fact, every year we wait for a climate solution, you can discount its effectiveness on stopping climate change by about 7%.”

Source: What more can you do for climate change? – Darcy Hitchcock

Solutions to plastic pollution (documentary) – Darcy Hitchcock

April 22 is Earth Day. The theme this year internationally is Planet vs Plastics. The problem seems overwhelming but this documentary, Plastic Earth, (available on Amazon and Apple TV as well as showings around the country) explains how we solve it. It covers ten innovations from around the world. You’ll learn a lot not only about solutions for ocean plastics and recycling, but also how to address microplastics and toxic additives.

Here’s the trailer.

Source: Solutions to plastic pollution (documentary) – Darcy Hitchcock

Angkor, Cambodia – Angkor, Kambodža – Myrela

Riječ Angkor, koja u zapadnom svijetu evocira slike grandioznih hramova, bujnih i zlokobnih šuma i neriješene arheološke misterije, označava oblast u Kambodži u kojoj se više od petsto godina nalazilo političko središte kmerskog carstva. Smještena u prostranom basenu, s juga omeđenom velikim jezerom Tonle Sap, a sa sjevera planinama Kulen, oblast Angkora nalazi se 328 kilometara sjeverno od Pnom Pena, današnje prijestonice. Razdoblje Angkora (802-1432), najslavniji dio kmerske istorije, počinje ritualnom ceremonijom dodjeljivanja titule devaradže (nebeskog kralja) Džajavarmanu I (802-850), a završava se premještanjem prijestonice prvo u Basan, na istočnoj obali rijeke Mekong, zatim u Pnom Pen, u južnoj Kambodži. Poslije perioda zatočeništva na kraljevskom dvoru u Indoneziji, budući kralj Džajavarman vratio se 790. godine u Kambodžu, gdje je učvrstio svoju vlast nizom vojnih pohoda. Za prijestonicu prvo je izabrao grad Indrapura, ali početkom IX vijeka premjestio ju je u oblast planine Kulen, četrdeset kilometara sjeveroistočno od Angkor Toma (tom inače znači zidinama opasan grad). Kralj Džajavarman je tu sebe proglasio devaradžom i tako uveo novi vjerski obred zasnovan na kultu „nebeskog kralja“…

Source: Angkor, Cambodia – Angkor, Kambodža – Myrela

Autoridades colombianas anuncian un acuerdo para frenar delitos ambientales en la Amazonía – Stigmatis News

Fotografía de archivo de una zona de selva amazónica deforestada, en San José del Guaviare (Colombia). EFE/Mauricio Dueñas

“No podemos seguir permitiendo que a la luz del día y a la vista de todos estas grandes operaciones de deforestación continúen sin que los responsables sean llevados a la justicia”, ha dicho la ministra en un comunicado compartido por su oficina…

Source: Autoridades colombianas anuncian un acuerdo para frenar delitos ambientales en la Amazonía – Stigmatis News

Every Day is Earth Day 🌎 | From Behind the Pen

Image Credit: NASA (2023 collection)

A couple of weeks ago we were so enamored by the solar eclipse that occurred and is predicted to occur over America, projected August 23, 2044. This totality is expected to occur in Europe in 2026. But can you imagine if people, the citizens of this world had the same type of excitement and admiration every day for embracing and protecting Mother Earth?

Earth Day reminds us to honor and celebrate ‘our’ planet through the importance of environmental conservation and sustainability, encouraging us to come together and take action for a healthier planet and brighter future.  Today, as millions of people worldwide are celebrating Earth Day, my opinion piece about this day will not come from a scientific angle but a spiritual thought.

While my mind is perplexed about climate change deniers, I think many of us, especially poets who garner much of our inspiration from nature, know otherwise. We see the changes occurring. I love the amazing world of our universe, and our home galaxy, the Milky Way. I am blown away that there are between 100 and 200 billion galaxies in the observable universe, and between 800 billion and 3.2 trillion planets.

Planet Earth is like a huge house with many family members inhabiting its space. What affects many, who many don’t think will affect them, actually does. But when I think about the effects and after-effects of such things as war (the bombings, the mass destruction, the chemical warfare), air pollution (creating the increase in chronic health issues, water, and air quality), littering (air, sea, and land creating dangerous scenarios for marine life and soil contamination), and deforestation (causing homelessness and migratory displacement for wildlife, as well as, over-population problems for many towns and cities), the cause and effect is alarming and mindblowing.

Free environment industry industrial smoke illustration

Image Credit: Mohamed_hassan

On the spiritual side, however, I think about those who want citizenship on the moon, mars, or in outer space. I applaud their curiosity to understand the worlds beyond, but exploration is one thing and habitation is another. While I am intrigued with the art and science of what’s beyond our planetary borders, if we can’t take care of the planet God designed for us to live in, and we are careless and wreckless with how we take care of Mother Earth, then what makes us think that we can be successful living beyond our planetary border so intrusively? “To much is given, much is required,” but somehow so many are looking past or ignoring the requirements of what we have been given while seeking more, more, more without any thought of compassion or empathy. If we don’t take care of what we already have, how do we expect to acquire more?

Without changing our patterns of behavior, the domino effect with be catastrophic. Seasons seem to be confused about their appointed time. Many of our trees that typically begin producing buds in March or April, began budding in late January or early February. Butterflies and bumble bees started showing up weeks ago. While the earth and universe have their natural course of life and evolution, humans have also contributed to the pains and unusual behavior nature is experiencing these days due to years of abuse and neglect.

If we continue to ignore the needs of Mother Earth, it is with certainty that Mother Earth will stop meeting ours. For more information about the Earth Day initiatives, click here.

Free pollution environment plastic illustration

Image Credit: TheDigitalArtist

Image Credit: Yuri_B

Earth Day is every day!

Source: Every Day is Earth Day 🌎 | From Behind the Pen

Gaza doctors save baby from womb of mother killed in Israeli airstrike | Israel-Gaza war | The Guardian

Doctors in Gaza have saved a baby from the womb of her mother as she lay dying from head injuries sustained in an in Israeli airstrike. The girl was delivered via an emergency caesarean section at a hospital in Rafah.

The woman, Sabreen al-Sakani, was 30 weeks pregnant when her family home was hit by an airstrike. Her husband, Shoukri, and their three-year-old daughter, Malak, also died.

“We managed to save the baby,” Ahmad Fawzi al-Muqayyad, a doctor at the Kuwaiti hospital in Rafah, told Sky News. “The mother was in a very critical condition. Her brain was exposed, so we saved one of the two…”

Source: Gaza doctors save baby from womb of mother killed in Israeli airstrike | Israel-Gaza war | The Guardian