New Growth

A drop in the bucket may not seem like much until its water helps a plant grow.

This year, I had the opportunity to make a contribution to a budding sustainability effort at the University of South Dakota. I've already blogged about one of the initiatives from the university's Sustainability Club here, but there's been a lot more going on, and Earth Week showcases some of the fruits of our labor.

Many people at the university and in the city of Vermillion came together around the idea of sustainability. As the Sustainability Club worked to bring recycling back to campus, the Sustainability Program locked up world-renown author Frances Moore Lappé for an Earth Day lecture, and members of the community worked to build a full week of events around the author's appearance.

The schedule of events kicked off today with a showing of A Fierce Green Fire and a discussion of Lappé's books. Earth Day features a bike-to-campus event, a sustainability fair for students, and Lappé's visit. However, the slate of events doesn't end there. To see the full schedule, click here.

It's been great to contribute to the celebration of sustainability (my environmental communication students and I helped promote the events), but it's been even more fun to see the excitement for environmental issues take root here. Ideas for future efforts have already sprouted.

Drip, drop, drip, drop.

A Moment of Wonder

Encounters with wildlife give us a rush. We hurry to record and share them, and they fill us with an urge to learn more about nature.

In fact, the experiences we have with wildlife are so powerful, we often fail to capture and express the full impact they have on us. When it comes to recording, sharing, and learning, however, social media contain great potential, and the National Wildlife Federation has collaborated with the maker of an app called WildObs to make the most of our meetings with wildlife.

WildObs allows us to put wildlife at the center of our lives. Using the app, we can chronicle the wildlife experiences we've had. In addition, we can connect with others who love interacting with nature, and we can contribute to citizen science through the NWF's Wildlife Watch program. For more information about the app, which can be used on iPhones and Android smart phones and is also available on Flickr, click here.

Each moment of interaction with wildlife provides opportunity and inspiration to connect more with nature. To make the impacts of the moment last, we need an outlet for our experience, and WildObs offers such a tool.

WildObs may not be the beginning of a beautiful friendship with nature, but it's a great next step.

Following in Your Paw Prints

That's one small step for wolf, one giant trek for humankind.

Western culture has an odd relationship with the wolf. Often, the closer the two are in proximity, the further apart they seem in understanding. However, a wolf from Oregon has started an adventure that may put wolves and Americans on the same path.

In late 2011, wolf OR-7 left Oregon and became the first of his species to stand within the California border since 1924. The event represented a potential first step toward the permanent return of wolves to the state. Now, a group of people plans to retrace OR-7's trail with the hope of drawing attention to wolf issues and bridging the divide between humans and wolves.

The Wolf OR-7 Expedition, a five-member team of individuals with backgrounds ranging from science to media production, plans to document the territory the wolf passed through on its way to California. In addition, the project seeks to raise awareness of ways humans and wolves can coexist. For more information about the project, click here.

We've got a long way to go before the myths and misgivings we have about wolves disappear, but one wolf in Oregon and the Wolf OR-7 Expedition are showing us the way.

Going to the Wall

Art imitates death too.

An artist known only as ATM uses graffiti to challenge a system that has brought bird species to the edge of extinction in England. TreeHugger shares some of the artist's work and the story behind it here.

To me, the choice of using graffiti serves to highlight the desperation of the birds' situation. While a painting could have received attention, it likely would not have communicated the full spirit of the problem. ATM's work makes a statement literally on the social structure that threatens the birds, and considering the nature of extinction, anything less would have been insufficient.

The story of ATM and England's declining birds provides a microcosm for the environmental issues we face as a planet. With extinction rates soaring and a climate system saturated by carbon dioxide, it's no longer enough to just paint pictures of what's happening. We have to go further and make fundamental changes to human society. For example, today's report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change showed the need for major, urgent action to address global warming.

Our backs are against the wall, from which ATM's birds stare down at us.

Food Fight the Power

Ron Finley wants people to grab pitchforks and take a stand for a better, healthier, more equal social system.

Finley may only want the pitchforks for gardening, but his work has every characteristic of a revolution. It's just that this revolution begins with food.

In a recent interview with the Sierra Club, Finley called himself a "gangsta gardener." He helps marginalized communities empower themselves through food. The gardens he works to set up put residents in charge of growing their own produce and provide healthy alternatives to the food that's been most accessible to these communities in the past. To visit Finley's Web site and learn more about his projects, click here.

For Finley, the problems of nutrition and health stem from our social structures and institutions. People around the world have recognized the same issues and looked to Finley's work as a strategy for taking back the power of produce.

Do the right thing now means grow the right thing.

In the Flow

The Nature Conservancy's latest campaign wades deep into water.

Using an interactive Web site, the organization immerses us in the issues and interconnections that swirl around water. Dubbed "Liquid Courage," the campaign shows the cool possibilities of combining environmental advocacy with social media. Along the way, it reveals the bigger picture about water.

Rather than simply sharing information, the Web site engaged me. It asked me to scroll down to begin the experience. Then, as it provided details about water, the site offered me opportunities to share what I was learning through social media. Additionally, after asking for information about where I live, it made the experience personal and brought the environment home for me by showing where my water comes from. It all progressed more like a conversation than a visit to a Web site.

The Nature Conservancy also uses Liquid Courage to connect our daily activities to water. By showing how much water we use to make things like clothes, the site gives us a sense of the whole system and our constant interaction with the environment. To tap into Liquid Courage for yourself, click here.

It's exciting to see the potential technology adds to current environmental campaigns. Advocates and organizations now have the ability to bring people into issues and connect them with the environment in ways that traditional communication formats never allowed.

Navigating today's environment-related communication is tricky, but environmental groups are jumping right in.

Big as a Whale

You cannot mistake the feeling of tide-turning moments.

The environmental movement tests patience, hope, and tenacity. We go long periods with little or no change in the system. While small victories have value, a lack of major changes can discourage. However, when something big happens, you know it and realize no other feeling tops it. This week, one of those events occurred.

In 1986, the International Whaling Commission declared a moratorium on commercial whaling. Despite the moratorium, Japan has continued whaling, claiming it does so for research purposes. Four years ago, Australia took Japan to court over its "scientific" whaling in Antarctic waters. The International Court of Justice ruled last Monday in favor of Australia, declaring that Japan's whaling was not scientific and violated international law.

The moment I heard the news, I knew it was one of those events that change the world in major ways. After years of stonewalling from Japan, the court decision pulled a key pillar from the system that keeps whaling alive. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an organization that dedicates much of its time to ending whaling, also saw the significance of the ruling. Check out what Sea Shepherd had to say: 

The court ruling doesn't end all whaling. In fact, it only applies to Antarctic waters. However, its effects will reach around the world. According to this report from The Guardian, one Japanese online retailer that had been selling whale meat has already ended the practice. Clearly, the tide has turned in favor of the whales.

Environmental victories do happen, and there's no question this one's really, really big.

Putting Fur in its Place

It's time to trade in the fur trade.

Wearing fur is no longer cool, and it hasn't been necessary for years. With plenty of synthetic options to keep us warm and a social stigma hanging over fur clothing, now's the perfect time to say goodbye to fur forever.

Moving away from fur raises one very important question though: What do we do with the fur clothing that already exists? An effort called Cuddle Coats provides the answer. Cuddle Coats accepts donated fur clothing and passes it on to animal sanctuaries and rehabilitation centers, which use them to help care for animals. For more information on Cuddle Coats, click here.

Of all the places for an animal's fur to be (other than on the animal), Cuddle Coats is probably the best option I have heard. We can both end our use of fur and return it to help animals that actually need fur.

That's a pretty good trade.

An Idea Comes to Life

My big idea last week was suggesting to some people that they make a video starring plastic bottles.

As odd as that idea might seem, the Sustainability Club at the University of South Dakota (USD) used it to create a cool video raising awareness about proper recycling habits at the university. Check it out below:

Face Your Waste from Vermy Green on Vimeo.

The video addresses a problem the university has had with trash being thrown in recycling bins. Obviously, trash contaminates recycling programs. Another common problem at USD has been people throwing recyclables in the trash, creating unnecessary waste.

The Sustainability Club came up with the plan of putting eyes and arms on plastic bottles that held signs encouraging people to recycle. As a faculty consultant to the club, my suggestion was to introduce the bottle characters through a video. That's pretty much all the credit I can claim though. The club took the idea and ran with it, bringing to life the bottles as well as a renewed emphasis on recycling at the university.

Without a doubt, plastic bottles as stars in recycling initiatives is an idea whose time has come at USD.

A Reader's Companion

Once upon a time, a cat helped a boy read in exchange for friendship. You'll find this story in the nonfiction section.

In this case, once upon a time is now, and the boy, 10-year-old Sean Rodriguez of Pennsylvania, improves his reading skills by reading to cats at the Animal Rescue League (ARL) of Berks County. The cats benefit because the interaction helps socialize them to humans before they are adopted.

If you think the story can't get any better, you're wrong. Kristi Rodriguez, Sean's mother, works for the ARL, and after seeing her son's success, she helped turn the experience into a program called Book Buddies. Now, area children in grades 1-8 can practice reading with cat friends. The animals find much needed companionship, and the children receive the benefit of having an attentive, judgment-free audience. For more information about Book Buddies, click here.

I believe in the powers of reading, pets, and caring, and I also believe we need happy endings that aren't fairytales. Discovering ARL's Book Buddies program pleasantly reminded me that the pure goodness we find in some stories comes from real-world inspiration.

The great thing about heartwarming nonfiction is that we can keep many of those stories going forever.