BlueGreen

22/04/2025

𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝟱𝟱 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆.

If Senator Ga***rd Nelson of Wisconsin were with us today, might he give essentially the speech as the one he delivered to students on the University of Wisconsin—Madison campus on the eve of the first Earth Day in 1970? Fifty-five years ago, Nelson stated:

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭, 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭, 𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘯. 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦? 𝘠𝘦𝘴. 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨? 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.”

In his essay Earth Day at 55: A Look Back to 1970, A Look around Today (https://bluergreener.world/earth-day-at-55-a-look-back-to-1970-a-look-around-today/), BlueGreen’s Editor-in-Chief Gale A. Kirking recollects the first Earth Day, discusses environmental progress and failures since that time, and explains why the burning in our cars of ethanol from corn is one of the great failures of his Earth Day Generation.

Ga***rd Nelson, the founder of Earth Day, speaks to a crowd in Milwaukee on April 21, 1970.

21/04/2025

𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗗𝗮𝘆.

Tomorrow, April 22, 2025, Earth Day turns 55. The environmental movement has come a long way since 1970, but there is still so very much to be done. We at BlueGreen suggest you view this Earth Action Day video and share it with friends, neighbors, and family. For a look back to the first Earth Day in 1970 and the five and a half decades since, read at our website Earth Day at 55: A Look Back to 1970, A Look around Today (https://bluergreener.world/earth-day-at-55-a-look-back-to-1970-a-look-around-today/).

Fifty-five years after the first Earth Day, and as the world reaches a tipping point, our leaders have chosen this moment to roll back environmental and heal...

20/04/2025

18/04/2025

𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗧𝘂𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗔𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗹 𝟮𝟮 𝗶𝘀 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗗𝗮𝘆.

On this 55th Earth Day, we encourage you to do something special to honor the only planet we have. Perhaps most importantly, talk about Earth Day with your friends, neighbors, and family members. Remind them of the importance of protecting our environment and caring for all living things inhabiting our world. Our voices and our actions are important.

In anticipation of Earth Day, we at BlueGreen suggest you view and share Living in the Future’s Past, an award-winning environmental film, narrated and produced by Jeff Bridges, directed by Susan Kucera. For a look back to the first Earth Day in 1970 and to consider both how far we have come and how very far we have still to go, read at our website 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘋𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘵 55: 𝘈 𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 1970, 𝘈 𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 (https://bluergreener.world/earth-day-at-55-a-look-back-to-1970-a-look-around-today/).

Living in the Future's Past - This film upends our way of thinking and provides original insights into our subconscious motivations, the unintended consequen...

17/04/2025

𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝟱𝟱: 𝗔 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝟭𝟵𝟳𝟬, 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆

“Ecology” was a new word in the public discourse when the first Earth Day events were held 55 years ago on April 22nd, but it quickly came into broad use and an emerging environmental movement gained momentum through the 1970s. Soon what had started as “teach-ins” on American college campuses to raise environmental awareness became an annual, global event continuing to this day. Nevertheless, in some respects, the Earth Day Generation and succeeding generations have failed to deliver on the movement’s potential.

“𝘐’𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘋𝘢𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵, 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦,” writes Gale A. Kirking, our Editor-in-Chief, who remembers that first Earth Day as a 12-year-old. “𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 55 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘣𝘪𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘋𝘢𝘺 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯’𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮-𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺, 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘭 22𝘯𝘥.

“𝘞𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩, 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘋𝘢𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.”

In his essay Earth Day at 55: A Look Back to 1970, A Look Around Today, Kirking points out that terrestrial insect populations have declined by an estimated 40% since 1970 and bird populations within the U.S. have shrunk by an estimated 29% since the first Earth Day.

Kirking, who has a lifelong association with farming, is especially critical of false narratives representing ethanol from corn and “biodiesel” from rapeseed as “sustainable” and “renewable” energy sources. Pointing out that an estimated 40% of U.S. corn production is wasted by its conversion to auto fuel, he writes about what he terms “the idiocy of rural energy production.”

“𝘈𝘯𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘭 ‘𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦’ 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘪𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 – 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵. 𝘚𝘰𝘪𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦,” Kirking writes.

Kirking explains why solar panels are as much as 80 times (some analyses indicate even 100 times) more efficient in capturing the sun’s energy than is ethanol production from corn. He calls for public policy to encourage solar power generation in combination with agriculture while paying farmers to provide such ecosystem services as soil preservation, rainwater runoff control, carbon sequestration, habitat conservation, and watershed protection.

𝘛𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘋𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 2025, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘣𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘋𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘵 55.

https://bluergreener.world/earth-day-at-55-a-look-back-to-1970-a-look-around-today/

16/04/2025

𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗗𝗮𝘆? 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝟭𝟬 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀.

Earth Day is April 22nd and a good occasion for each of us to do something meaningful to honor our planet. We provide here 10 ideas with that goal in mind. The possibilities are, of course, endless. We encourage you to share these ideas with others and in the Comments to add your own suggestions for Earth Day.

In a special essay, Earth Day at 55: A Look Back to 1970, A Look Around Today (https://bluergreener.world/earth-day-at-55-a-look-back-to-1970-a-look-around-today/), Editor-in-Chief Gale A. Kirking recalls that first Earth Day as a 6th-grader growing up on a little farm in a small community just a few miles from where it all really began. While revisiting the emerging environmental movement’s great progress in the 1970s, he points out, too, certain failures of his consumption-driven Earth Day Generation to keep that momentum alive.

Earth Day at 55 takes us back to the eve of that first Earth Day, when the event’s founder, Senator Ga***rd Nelson, of Wisconsin, addressed students at the University of Wisconsin—Madison, declaring:

“𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺, 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘺, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘳. 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦, 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦, 𝘣𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥...

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭, 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭, 𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘯. 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦? 𝘠𝘦𝘴. 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨? 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.”

That was 1970, but the same speech could have been made in 2025.

Kirking’s essay recollects the social, cultural, political, and environmental milieu wherein Earth Day took root. Opposition to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War was nearing a deadly climax on and off U.S. college campuses. Woodstock had just happened, and Flower Power was a thing. Richard Nixon was widely vilified and yet he signed a spate of environmental laws and initiatives, including to create the Environmental Protection Agency. At that time, Lake Erie was commonly referred to as “dead” and the bald eagle population had been decimated by the pesticide DDT.

𝘛𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘋𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 2025, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘣𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘋𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘵 55.

https://bluergreener.world/earth-day-at-55-a-look-back-to-1970-a-look-around-today/

04/04/2025

𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀

The Czech Republic is crisscrossed with incredible hiking trails, but most visitors don’t notice the behind-the-scenes work that lets them roam the forests and mountains. Well-maintained trails benefit both people and nature, providing safe access while protecting fragile ecosystems. Local organizations, volunteers, and enthusiasts work to keep these trails available.

In the Jizera Mountains, the Ivan Dejmal Foundation for Nature Protection (Nadace Ivana Dejmala pro ochranu přírody) and volunteers from the Jizera Mountains and Ještěd Mountain Club (Jizersko-ještědský horský spolek) lead conservation and trail maintenance efforts. “Visitors belong in the mountains and forests. They should have access to them, and it’s necessary for them to see what we’re protecting and restoring,” says Ondřej Petrovský, director of the Foundation. Volunteers like Michal Vinař, of the Mountain Club, maintain trails in their spare time. “We enjoy it, we are out in the fresh air, doing something beneficial for nature and people,” he relates.

The Jizera Mountains cover 417 km2 near the Polish border and feature an intricate web of trails. Locals have a good relationship with these mountains, but, even with a caring community, the trails aren’t immune to wear and tear. “If 1 or even 20 hikers pass through a forest, you can't tell anything at all. But when dozens, even hundreds of them pass by every day, you can see the toll it takes on nature,” Petrovský remarks. Ongoing care is essential, but not so simple as that might seem.

Trail maintenance involves manual labor and planning. The Foundation handles planning and members of the Mountain Club get their hands dirty. “Everything has to be done manually. All materials are carried in by hand, and everything is built on-site,” notes Petrovský.

One could argue that if trails are restored and maintained there will be more visitors and that could negatively affect nature. While restorations improve access, they do not necessarily attract more visitors to sensitive areas. Moreover, trailheads to some routes that should no longer be used are covered over by planting new vegetation to discourage people from going there. “It’s not like in a city where everyone gathers in one place to see a monument,” Petrovský explains. “Here, nature spreads visitors out naturally.”

Trail maintenance isn’t easy. Volunteers sometimes must climb a mountain to areas inaccessible by vehicle, but it’s rewarding work. Every repaired step or boardwalk is a testament to the collective effort of volunteers and donors. We all play a role in preserving these landscapes, whether through financial contributions, volunteering, or responsible hiking.

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To learn more about trail maintenance and hiking the Jizera Mountains, please go to our website to read the full story. Is an organization doing similar things near you? Tell us about it in the comments.
https://bluergreener.world/great-trails-dont-maintain-themselves/

24/01/2025

𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗱

There are architects, builders, and end-customers today who care about the origins of wood used in their projects. No reputable builder wants to use material sold as “urban wood” only later to discover it originated from an Amazon rain forest cleared to grow soybeans.

Jennifer Alger, an energetic organizer and promoter in developing the business of rescuing and marketing urban, salvaged, and reclaimed wood, sees opportunity to strengthen the movement through product certification, tracking wood products’ origins and chains of custody, and facilitating online markets in these products.

Jennifer’s family-owned West Forest Products is a California-based member of the Urban Wood Network and proponent of USRW Certified Urban Woods. Following on to our recent BlueGreen Minute introducing urban wood and which admittedly had a Midwestern U.S. perspective (“Urban lumber prolongs trees’ value to the community”), we spoke to Jennifer about the origins of the urban wood movement in the West, how it joined up with similarly minded folks in the Midwest and East, and prospects for cooperation and technology to make the whole effort work better.

𝘛𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.

Jim Evans, founder of Far West and Jennifer’s father, was involved with urban wood years before anybody had thought to give it a name. As a girl, Jennifer had watched him repurpose urban trees not necessarily out of altruistic motivation but because that’s how he fed his family during winter.

The business has changed considerably since then. Contributing to the transformation are public concerns about overstuffed landfills, a change in milling technology, new attitudes, and, somewhat indirectly, the emerald ash borer crisis out east.

To this day, ash borer has not made its way to California. The main impetus there to do something more sensible with urban trees needing to be cut was a law mandating that communities reduce landfilling of waste wood.

“At that time in California our landfills already were maxing out,” Jennifer relates, “and you know that meant they also were emitting carbon... Well, it turns out that a lot of what was going into landfills was saw logs… Companies like ours were already happily milling that wood. We just weren’t calling it urban.”

“Our business had morphed a lot over the years to where almost everything we were doing was urban, salvaged, or reclaimed,” she explains. “And by the late 1990s I was reading that we’re literally helping the environment. Wood is in fact the most natural resource. It’s amazing. It’s not just sustainable, it’s also regenerative. And the wood that we were using in particular, we weren’t harvesting it for its timber value. We were using wood that would have gone into the waste stream, that would have emitted carbon.”

06/12/2024

𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲̇𝗹𝗶𝘀 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱: 𝗔 𝗯𝗶𝗿𝗱-𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗲

What could a boardwalk, educational signboards, and an observation tower have to do with wetlands conservation and promoting biodiversity? Well, in a situation where public awareness and human intervention are important for conserving a valuable natural area and its biodiversity, these elements providing nature lovers opportunity to observe with minimal disturbance arguably can play an important role. “Paramėlis Island” is a case in point. This area of raised bog wetland in southern Lithuania is not an island at all. It is a unique but smallish patch of wetland of great current and potential biodiversity adopted by the Paramėlis Nature Restoration Fund (https://www.paramelis.org/en/).

This Impact Focus explores whether tourism can support wetlands restoration, environmental education, forest conservation, and biodiversity. Clicking in the first comment to this post will take you to the full article about Paramėlis Island, the work of volunteers and supporters to preserve it, and some pretty nice nature photography.

Lying along Lithuania’s border with Belarus is the country’s largest expanse of raised bog wetlands, most of which are within the Čepkeliai Nature Reserve that is completely closed to tourists. Paramėlis Island lies just outside this reserve. Its large meadow needs human assistance for its restoration and continuous care. Because it is not within the Čepkeliai reserve, Paramėlis Island appeals to bird-watchers, some of whom are among Paramėlis NRF’s contributors.

Close by, too, is Dzūkija National Park, Lithuania’s largest protected area. Unlike Čepkeliai Nature Reserve, Dzūkija is partially open to the public. Paramėlis Island is itself accessible only by a single narrow road.

With support from VGP Foundation (https://www.vgp-foundation.eu/en/) and Germany’s Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (https://en.nabu.de/), Paramėlis NRF recently completed an educational boardwalk leading through floodplain swamp forest to an observation tower on the forest’s edge. It overlooks open meadow visited by the Great Snipe, one of Europe’s rarest birds. The article previously was published in the company magazine 𝘝𝘎𝘗 𝘓𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯³.

This Impact Focus explores whether tourism can support wetlands restoration, environmental education, forest conservation, and biodiversity.

03/12/2024

𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗼𝘅𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗲-𝘄𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲’𝘀 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆

Czechs, like people across much of the planet, are continuously buying, accumulating, and discarding lots of electric appliances and devices. In this part of the world, the manufacturers and importers who originate all that gadgetry want it back when the buyers are done with it. Really, they do! That is because a) it is worth money to them, and b) there is really no such thing as an end-user in a truly circular economy.

And that’s where the big fire-engine red steel box down the street or at the local recycling center fits in. When Czechs (and increasingly their Slovak and Polish neighbors, too) toss their old phones, hair dryers, power tools, laptops, or toasters into a Red Container, they can have a clear conscience, knowing that these devices will be properly recycled rather than to end up in a landfill or incinerator. ASEKOL, the nonprofit company that owns and empties the red boxes on behalf of its manufacturer and importer clients is committed to responsible repair, reuse, or, most usually, recycling.

In the Czech Republic, as in much of Europe, so-called waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE), also known as “e-waste” is subject by law to extended producer responsibility (EPR). The basic principle of EPR is that whoever is responsible for bringing electrical and electronic goods into a national market also is accountable for getting those materials back into the circular economy at the so-called “post-consumer stage of the product lifecycle” and keeping them out of landfills, oceans, and incinerators. Through ASEKOL, e-waste equivalent to at least 65% of what its clients sell each year in the Czech Republic is now being collected and certifiably reprocessed.

𝘛𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘺𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘉𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.

When ASEKOL placed its first red boxes in the Czech Republic during 2007, it launched a project that was unique by European standards. The Red Container population has grown steadily and now numbers almost 4,000 all across the country. ASEKOL’s boxes are now spreading into Poland and Slovakia. The collection containers constitute an important element of ASEKOL’s expanding efforts, but there is a lot more to this endeavor than just setting boxes around. Moreover, EPR is expanding to other forms of waste. Read the full article to learn more and share it with others. Maybe you will inspire – or even instigate – something similar in your own community.

12/11/2024

𝗦𝘂𝗻, 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲

Renewable energy skeptics like to point out that the sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow. There is no point in arguing with that truism, of course, but another natural fact is that gravity never fails us, and it is exactly gravity that can leverage the benefits of solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources. Pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) harnesses gravity to turn an elevated water reservoir into a truly massive storage battery.

PHES depends upon water, gravity, and engineering. Conceptually, it is very simple: pump water up a hill or mountain when the sun is shining, then let it rush down through electricity-generating turbines at night or on rainy days. The battery that is the reservoir at the top of the hill is rechargeable indefinitely and involves no mined lithium or other chemistry.

Indeed, PHES is an obvious solution that is staring us in the face, writes Gale A. Kirking, our Editor-in-Chief at BlueGreen. He has learned that more than 90% of the grid-level electricity storage existing in the world today is provided by PHES. Although it is a good bet that most people have never even heard of the term, dozens of large-scale PHES operations already exist around the world today. Experts say that as more and more solar and other renewables come on line, PHES is the only approach to energy storage capable to provide the needed capacities.

𝘛𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘒𝘪𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨’𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘺 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.

Recently, Kirking climbed a mountain to see the human-made reservoir that fuels the Czech Republic’s most powerful hydroelectric plant. He also entered into the bowels of that mountain to see where this energy is generated.

Some very smart people view PHES in combination with renewable energy sources – and especially solar, which has essentially unlimited generating potential – as the shortest route to a civilization 100% powered renewably. “Energy storage is a solved problem,” recently declared Brazilian and Australian engineering professors Ricardo Rüther and Andrew Blakers. “The future of energy generation,” they say, “is solar photovoltaics with support from wind energy, and energy storage to balance the intermittency of wind and solar.”

An energetic proponent of renewable power but no fan of the current trend toward using lithium-ion batteries for primary grid-level storage, Kirking argues that smarter grids and well-engineered, large-scale storage like PHES offer a better solution than do tens or hundreds of millions of lithium-ion storage batteries placed in people’s homes. Sustainable energy, he is convinced, is first and foremost a large set of routine engineering problems just waiting to be worked out.

Kirking was a true believer in PHES before he went to the mountaintop. He came down off the mountain as a pumped storage evangelist.

30/10/2024

𝗨𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗻 𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘀.

Urban trees provide their highest value when living. That’s clear. But when trees in an urban setting need to be removed, the first tenet of the Urban Wood Network states that “they should be put to their highest and best uses to maximize their economic, environmental, and societal benefits for people in urban areas and beyond.”

In many municipalities across the United States and elsewhere, that increasingly means these trees become urban lumber, and that lumber is itself transformed locally into quality, carbon-sequestering wood furnishings and structures.

Urban wood has been described as “lumber with a zip code.” The accompanying article (available by clicking the link in the first comment) describes how lumber locally produced from a community’s sometimes cherished trees can create benefits for the environment, the community, and the local economy.

Like every other living thing, no tree can live forever. Nevertheless, a tree whose wood is used to create a quality building or furniture item may continue for many decades to sequester the carbon taken up throughout its life. If utilized in the community where the tree had grown, that wood also can contribute to energy savings, support local employment, memorialize local history, and foster public appreciation for local forest resources. Moreover, because urban lumber often is sold in one-of-a-kind slabs and other special cuts, it is sought after by creative and imaginative custom woodworkers.

The Urban Wood Network is an ever-growing collaborative network of public and private wood industry professionals, including urban foresters, tree removers, custom sawyers, furniture makers and others. The Network’s Midwestern origins trace back to meetings between these professions in Madison, Wisconsin and elsewhere during the early 2000s in response to the emerald ash borer crisis, which was destined to wipe out the entire ash tree population, thereby creating a huge supply of sawtimber.

Paul Morrison’s Madison-area business, The Wood Cycle, got its start just before that crisis emerged. Back then, Paul recalls, The Wood Cycle constituted “an entirely new breed of custom woodworking.” But today, he explains, urban lumber and woodworking operations like his represent “a business model that is emerging from coast to coast” and his firm “is just one business in a rapidly growing movement.”

To learn more about urban lumber, please click on the link in the first comment.