For those of you who regularly read my blogs and Twitter posts, you know that this year, my mission is all about Climate Change. Very soon, I’ll be officially unveiling my initiative for Stage 2 of the Pacific crossing – which I am so excited to share with you when the time is right – but not yet. Today, I have some very exciting news to tell you: I am pleased and honoured to announce an exciting partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). They have created a campaign called Climate Heroes, and yours truly has been named one of them.
The concept is born out of the UN-wide call for the world to UNite to Combat Climate Change in the lead up to the critical negotiations taking place this December in Copenhagen.
According to the UNEP team, “the Climate Heroes platform supports a select group who are undertaking exceptional personal feats, high-profile expeditions and other innovative acts of environmental activism to demonstrate their commitment and to raise awareness for one simple idea: Your planet needs You! These projects highlight environmental “hot topics” like CO2 output, plastic usage and tree planting.
“The ultimate goal of the collaboration between UNEP and the Climate Heroes is to build interest, inspiration and momentum to motivate action. Participating under the global banner, UNite to Combat Climate Change, their acts, and the attention they generate, will give voice to the movement of individuals and organizations across the globe who care about the state of our planet and want to see real change and real commitment. This commitment should be demonstrated by governments with a ratification of the proposals set forth in Copenhagen. The call to action for this outcome is called Seal the Deal.”
Ultimately, this is a call for each of us to do what we can: from adopting the simplest habits, like taking a reusable grocery bag to the store or a reusable mug to the coffee shop. Part of why I’m so thrilled to be partnering with UNEP is because I’m a firm believer in the accumulation of individual choices and actions. Through our united efforts, we can all be Climate Heroes and together, we can make a world of difference!
UNEP World Environment Day…the 30 day countdown begins now!
Commemorated yearly on 5 June, World Environment Day is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action.
On World Environment Day, UNEP endeavors to:
• Give a human face to environmental issues
• Empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development
• Promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues
• Advocate partnerships which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future
So this year, in honor of World Environment Day, UNEP is joining the Twitter revolution! They are pledging to plant a tree for every follower that they reach until 5 June, with a goal of at least 100,000 people. Tree planting is an important way to help recapture CO2 emissions – Prince Charles is a big fan of this method, and so am I!
You know how much I love to Twitter… So, let’s all pull together in this effort. It’s easy: just visit www.twitter.com/UNEPandYou and add them to your Twitter feed. Spread the word to your friends and family and help us blow that goal of 100,000 followers out of the water!
To reward you for your efforts, for the next 30 days Team Roz will be Tweeting “Do Something Tips” – ideas and suggestions for ways you can take simple actions right now to green your daily routine, reduce the amount of waste you generate and the amount of carbon you emit.
So, come on…join us! And spread the word…
Other Stuff:
Tonight I went to an event run by Jack Johnson's Kokua Hawaii Foundation at a local school here on Hawaii's North Shore. It included a screening of the film "Message in the Waves", featuring various local Hawaiian heroes - and some shocking footage of plastic pollution killing animals and polluting the oceans.
But it ended on an upbeat note, with Jack Johnson singing "Reduce Reuse Recycle" - leading the way and telling us all what we can do to stop the problem at source. It's not rocket science - so here's something we can all do starting now. On my one-hour walk this morning I was able to pick up about 10 pieces of rubbish and put them where they do the least damage - in the bin. It all helps...
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=8272e897-f263-4617-b3fa-7b8e84a357e2)
Roz Savage - Climate Heroine: luv it!
ReplyDeleteI think the eco-friendliest approach to shopping bags depends upon where you live.
ReplyDeleteI ask for paper bags, which I use for our garbage, which goes into a sanitary landfill, where the carbon is effectively sequestered.
What do cloth-shopping-bag-people do with their garbage? (cloth garbage bags?)