March Update for SALVEASERRA

By Roberto Lamego - Project Director , March 23, 2009 01:04 PM

Dear donors and project friends,

First of all I want to thank all donors for the donations that makes this project "Trees and Education Protect Rainforest in Brazil" possible. As you know, our objectives are to teach and educate farmers, students, local citizens and communities to preserve and restore the Atlantic Rainforest in Brazil, with the use of sustainable forest farming methods. With this we hope they will adopt new attitudes and practices towards the environment and nature.

Walk in Nature: Every year the Serra da Concordia Wildlife Sanctuary is opened to the community for a non-competitive walking event called “Walk in the Nature” that is sponsored by SALVEASERRA, our NGO and ANDABRASIL, the Brazilian local representative of IML Walking Association, a non-political, non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote walking as a worthwhile and healthy ecological recreation, and to foster understanding and goodwill by encouraging participation at walking events in countries through a program of incentive awards. This is accomplished by promoting national and local one day non-competitive walking events.

This is the fourth time the 12 kilometers Serra da Concordia Circuit takes place and we had 128 walkers this time. It takes about 2 hours to arrive to our base. To enrich the day, a lecture about the importance of the preservation of the forests and its importance and relation with the water, was once more empathized to our visitors. Please see attached photos.

Ongoing projects: We are about to reopen this year school groups visiting program to the Concordia Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary where students follow the environmental education course called “A Day in the Forest” and the new SALVEASERRA CARAVAN project is starting with its mission of taking the information, self-consciousness and knowledge we want to spread directly were it is needed in the fields, upcountry to farmers, families and communities. More news soon.

Please also see at: http://www.globalgiving.com/pr/2300/proj2239a.html, for more information of the Vegetable Gardens donation program.

Thank you all for your support and donations.
Roberto Lamego

You can donate to SALVEASERRA at GlobalGiving. You can also help raise funds for SALVEASERRA at no cost to you by downloading the How to Make a Difference Toolbar. Or if you would rather wear your support for reforestation efforts check out the We Add Up Plant Trees tee. I will donate 10% of every purchase is to SALVEASERRA.

Earth Hour: Media Hype or Effective Awareness Building?

Image via Wikipedia

I enjoyed my Earth Hour at home with a warm bath and some pleasant conversation with my husband. It was surprisingly relaxing to spend an evening without lights, tv or computer, but did it really make a difference?

In the long run, spending an hour in the dark once a year is unlikely to significantly reduce my carbon footprint, or impact climate change in a meaningful way. So does this mean its all just media hype?

Of course not! Earth Hour is about building awareness about climate change and how each of us can make choices that can help to reduce our impact on the planet. Its about how collectively we are powerful. Its about making us think about the things we do.

Earth Hour was a reminder for me about how much I take for granted. Lights that turn on at the flick of a switch, television, my computer, constant hot water, a hot drink in minutes, smoke free cooking (well most of the time!) . . .

For a quarter of humanity this is sheer luxury. Some 1.6 billion people live without electricity. In developing countries some 2.5 billion people are forced to rely on wood, charcoal and animal dung to meet their energy needs for cooking. Indoor air pollution resulting from the use of solid fuels claims the lives of 1.5 million people each year, more than half of them below the age of five: that is 4000 deaths a day.

Earth Hour made me think about the way my family and I consume resources as we go about our daily lives. There is a huge global disparity between the haves and the have-nots:

The 12 percent of the world’s population that lives in North America and Western Europe accounts for 60 percent of private consumption spending, while the one-third living in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa accounts for only 3.2 percent (The State of Consumption)

By choosing to consume less - whether it be electricity, chocolate bars or petrol - we do something to even things up. By choosing to consume less and donating even a portion of the savings we make to charities that address global poverty we are doing even more.

What did Earth Hour mean to you?

World Water Day 2009

The 22nd of March is World Water Day. An international event to draw attention to the importance of freshwater and to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

In 2009, the theme of World Water Day is Transboundry Water. The lakes, rivers and underground aquifers that cross borders and link us together.

With every country seeking to satisfy its water needs from limited water resources, some foresee a future filled with conflict. But history shows that cooperation, not conflict, is the most common response to transboundary water management issues.

Over the last 60 years there have been more than 200 international water agreements and only 37 cases of reported violence between states over water. We need to continue to nurture the opportunities for cooperation that transboundary water management can provide.

So what's the big deal about fresh water?



Spread the word about World Water Day and the Global Water Crisis! You CAN make a difference!

3 of the Best Blogs to Help You Make a Difference

Image via Wikipedia

The blogosphere is a busy place, and there are plenty of great green blogs and websites out there. Here's a few I love and thoroughly recommend!

Twilight Earth

Twilight Earth is a fantastic blog "dedicated to saving the Environment through shared News, Discussion, Advocacy and Activism"

Its written by Adam Shake and Derek Markham.

Check put their fabulous article 'The Ties That Bind - Roadblocks that Keep us from Living Sustainably' and watch out every Sunday for their beautiful Photo Sunday articles!

Green Pepper

Great UK site by Paul Thomas covering eco-friendly living and environmental issues.

Read his review of the fascinating book Hungry Planet by photojournalist Peter Menzel and writer Faith Aluisio. Or his thought provoking series on Gifts that Really Matter. And every Friday he offers a Green News Round Up to keep you up to date with the weeks green news from around the web!

Global Stewardship Initiative

The Global Stewardship Initiative is all about "fostering environmental stewardship by connecting with nature and each other in appreciation of the earth's natural resources".

Its a great social networking site where people who care about the planet can connect, share ideas and take action to make a difference and act as stewards of our environment.

Check out the member blogs, photos and forum discussions and join in!


What are your favourite blogs and websites that inspire you to make a difference?

Global Search for Innovation in Farming & Rural Communities

Ashoka’s Changemakers have announced the launch of a global, online competition to seek out the most innovative solutions in farming and rural communities iaround the world. The competition is funded as part of a grant awarded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Today, three quarters of the world’s poorest people—the 1 billion who live on $1 a day or less—live in rural areas, and most rely on agriculture for their food and income. Many small farmers cannot grow enough food to sell or even eat. Ashoka is seeking innovative solutions that will offer these hundreds of millions of the people the opportunity to overcome hunger and poverty.

Over the next two months, you can nominate those who are making a difference in farming and rural communities, or you can submit your own project.

At the end of this period a panel of judges will choose 10 to 15 finalists and the global Changemakers community will then vote for three winners, who will each receive a USD $5000 award from Changemakers to fund their initiatives. The finalists and winners will receive media attention and are showcased on the Changemakers website.

This is an incredible opportunity for all entrants to showcase their project and gain increased access to a global network of innovators, supporters, and investors with the means to help them fund and/or scale their projects.

You can nominate a project or submit your entry here.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Changemakers Launches Competition for Agricultural Innovations (greenskeptic.blogspot.com)
• Fight Hunger with Agriculture (one.org)
• Goals of Gates Foundation as Inscrutable as Those of Microsoft (lockergnome.com)
• As children starve, world struggles for solution (cnn.com)

Take the Earth Hour to Earth Day Challenge

The cool folk at Cool People Care have issued the Earth Hour to Earth Day Challenge. Between Earth Hour on March 28th and Earth Day on April 22nd they're challenging us to do one thing each day that educates someone else as to the very green changes they could make in their life.

Are you up for it?

If you are I want to know. Leave me a comment and tell me what you're doing so I can help spread the word. I'll be posting my EH2ED update every day from the 28th March to 22nd April.

If you're stuck for ideas Cool People Care have a few to get you started:

• Post on your blog what you're doing to make it from Earth Hour to Earth Day
• Send a tweet to your followers that includes a link to an informative article about climate change. (Follow me on Twitter here)
  
• Join a Facebook eco-conscious cause or group each day, or use some of the great eco-conscious Facebook applications.
  
• Send daily text messages to your friends to reduce, reuse or recycle
• Upload pictures of the earth's beauty to your Flickr account
• Tell the world via YouTube about an environmental cause you care about
• Change your email signature, sending people to an informative Web site
  

What will YOU be doing?

Related articles by Zemanta

• Show Your Support for Decisive Action on Climate Change: Earth Hour 2009 (twilightearth.com)
• 3 Things You Can Do as We Count Down to Earth Hour 2009 (planetsave.com)