Ready to fry up a mess of frog legs? Missouri’s frogging season begins June 30 at sunset. The season runs through Oct. 31, and those with a fishing permit or small-game hunting permit may frog for bullfrogs and green frogs.
The daily limit is eight frogs of both species combined and the possession limit is 16 frogs of both species combined. Only the daily limit may be possessed on waters and bank of waters where frogging.
MDC notes that daily limits end at midnight. Froggers who catch their daily limits before midnight and want to return for more frogging after midnight must remove the daily limit of previously caught frogs from the waters or banks before returning.
The public can go frogging with a fishing or small-game hunting permit, but children 15 and under and residents 65-years and older are not required to have a permit.
Ways To Catch A Frog
Those using a fishing permit may take frogs by hand, hand net, atlatl, gig, bow, trotline, throwline, limb line, bank line, jug line, snagging, snaring, grabbing, or pole and line. Youth fishing without a permit are limited to using a pole-and-line, gig, bow, crossbow, snaring, grabbing, and snagging.
With a small-game hunting permit, frogs may be harvested using a .22-caliber or smaller rimfire rifle or pistol, pellet gun, atlatl, bow, crossbow, or by hand or hand net. The use of artificial light is permitted when frogging.
Cooking A Frog
The fun doesn’t have to end after catching frogs….
The mostextreme heat waveever recorded in the Pacific Northwest continues to shatter records for another day. Millions of people are currently under excessive heat warnings — many of them sweltering through triple-digit temperatures without air conditioning in a region that usually enjoys mild summers.
Behind the misery is a weather phenomenon known as aheat dome.
Today in London, hundreds of concerned citizens are not at work. They’re in the streets, demanding the United Kingdom transition to a plant-based food system.
On Monday, Animal Rebellion successfully occupied and held Smithfield Meat Market, the UK’s oldest and largest meat market, kicking off two full weeks of action around the city to disrupt the global animal agriculture industry and bring awareness to its role at the heart of the climate crisis.
Inside the market’s iconic central hall along Grand Avenue, Animal Rebellion opened a Plant-Based Market for 2025, a nod to the movement’s vision of a plant-based future.
At Marsham Street, outside the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Rebels displaced by authorities at Smithfield on Tuesday set up camp for the night. DEFRA is the chief government body supporting the animal farming industry, making it a key strategic site for the Rebellion.
People young and old from all walks of life are rallying around the Rebellion’s cry, making the case that they are, in fact, standing on the right side of history.
In September, Animal Rebellion organizers persuaded officials at Smithfield Meat Market that their vision for a plant-based future to tackle climate change was “so compelling” that the market welcomed the Rebels, who did not take the invitation lightly.
“We’re not at Smithfield to disrupt ordinary people from their work,” said Alex Lockwood, a spokesperson for Animal Rebellion. They were there to send a message.
The message is clear: We cannot end the climate emergency without first ending the animal emergency.
According to industry leading experts Helen Harwatt from Harvard University and the authors of the UK’s Royal Society of Arts Manufactures and Commerce report on Food and Farming, without a switch to locally grown beans, grains, fruits and vegetables, the UK will not meet its climate change targets and avoid climate catastrophe.
“The writing is on the wall for the animal agriculture industry,” said Lockwood.
The problem is, greenhouse gas emissions from animal agriculture are chronically underreported and have been for years. Since 2006, researchers and policymakers around the world have relied on inconsistent data and estimates, ranging from 14.5-51 percent of total GHG emissions.
New research suggests that the livestock industry is responsible for at least 37 percent of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This new number more than doubles the United Nations’ latest estimate of 14.5 percent, taking into account more than 94 different studies and key data points left out of other analyses, like the foregone carbon absorption from clearing land for livestock and feed production. As the demand for conventional meat continues to rise, emissions from the animal farming industry will drive global temperatures even higher.
Livestock occupies about 45 percent of the global surface area. At the current rates of deforestation, the Amazon will not be the only ancient forest burned so the world can eat beef. In the years to come, vital habitats will be increasingly exploited to meet the global demand for meat, which the FAO projects will rise by 73 percent between 2010 and 2050.
By then, scientists believe it may be too late. All over the world, we are already seeing the onset of a climate emergency. Roughly 84 of the world’s 100 fastest-growing cities face “extreme” risks from rising temperatures and weather brought on by climate change.
The 20 warmest years on record have all been in the past 22 years, with 2015-2018 topping the charts. Studies show that temperatures will rise quicker in developing countries, especially those concentrated around the equator, creating massive food shortages and putting billions of lives on the brink.
As global temperatures continue to rise, taps will run dry, and more than half of all animal species on Earth will become extinct.
Steven Hall, a meat trader whose father and grandfather worked at Smithfield, said although he was not vegan he agreed with the protest, the Rebels reported.
“To be honest, I think good on [Animal Rebellion],” said Hall. “I’ve got two kids myself and I want the world to be safe for them in the future.”
The Smithfield protest is special. It marks a change of seasons for animal advocates who have long been dismissed as extremist thugs, hippies, loud, angry, left-of-center criminals, terrorists, even “uncooperative crusties.”https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=matthewzampa&dnt=true&embedId=twitter-widget-3&features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3R3ZWV0X2VtYmVkX2NsaWNrYWJpbGl0eV8xMjEwMiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJjb250cm9sIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1181364268194762752&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fsentientmedia.org%2Fafter-800-years-of-slaughter-uks-largest-meat-market-goes-plant-based%2F&sessionId=8410232e95f1c793d2b10703607cadc519a42bcb&siteScreenName=sentient_media&theme=light&widgetsVersion=82e1070%3A1619632193066&width=550px
In August, Animal Rebellion joined famed climate strikers Extinction Rebellion (XR) precisely because fighting climate change presents a profound opportunity to end the animal agriculture and fishing industries and halt mass extinction at the same time.
The global protest movement, broadly referred to as the Rebel Alliance, already has chapters in 50 countries and includes a number of supporting groups – Doctors for XR, Lawyers for XR, XR Faith, and the like – joining in solidarity with Extinction Rebellion.
During a two-week long action in London this April, Extinction Rebellion protesters shut down roads and bridges around Parliament and covered the steps of the Treasury building in fake blood.
“[We] saw unprecedented numbers of people willing to be arrested in the name of protecting our planet for future generations,” said Tim Crosland, director of climate campaign group Plan B and a legal adviser to Extinction Rebellion.
“Since then our movement has grown immeasurably and this time it won’t just be us taking to the streets,” said Crosland. “This time we will be bringing our friends and our allies: doctors; farmers; academics; international solidarity communities; disability groups; faith communities; those standing up for animal life.”
Through repeated, urgent action, following the model for mass civil disobedience put forth by the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, Extinction Rebellion is in the process of launching a “movement of movements.” Their unique approach to social change means that all parties involved in Extinction Rebellion protests call for the same demands from the government. So far, it’s proving to be a winning strategy.
Animal Rebellion has quickly become a centering force for animal and environmental advocates, who have historically been at odds with animal agriculture’s contribution to the climate crisis. The Rebellion’s organizers believe targeting sites of animal exploitation and meat production is an urgent next step in the fight to tackle the climate crisis – and they expect world governments to do the same.
“The way we change the world is by making ourselves visible,” said Monbiot. “By coming out in large numbers and saying, ‘We need system change.’”
The Rebels have three demands. First, governments must declare a climate and ecological emergency, then halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025. Finally, the Rebellion is calling for world governments to create a Citizens’ Assembly to lead discussions and decisions on climate and ecological justice.
But overhauling the modern food system is no small task. People are inevitably going to be angry when their way of life is challenged or inconvenienced in any way.
Monbiot points out that research suggests for a peaceful mass movement like Animal Rebellion to succeed, only 3.5 percent of the population needs to mobilize.
Three-and-a-half percent is more than you’d think. In the UK, 3.5 percent of the population is about 2.3 million people. In the United States, a successful movement would need to mobilize 11.4 million people. In Canada, 1.3 million; California: 1.4 million; Mexico: 4.5 million; Austria: 307,000. But in small countries like Iceland, the number of humans needed to spark a successful transition to a plant-based food system is low – just 12,000.
“Humans are ultra social mammals,” he explains. “Once we perceive that the status quo has changed, we flip suddenly from support for one state of being to support for another.”
When Rebels took to the streets last month, stopping traffic outside the White House, the Arche de Triomphe, and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in New Delhi, Monbiot’s call to arms started to look a little less daunting.
In one week this September, 6 million people marched for the climate in cities around the world. London offices expect to see thousands more ditch work and join the Rebellion in the weeks to come.
“The more people that join, the more effective we will be,” said Monbiot.
A hunter-gatherer who lived more than 5,000 years ago is the earliest known person to have died with the plague, researchers have revealed.
Stone-age communities in westernEuropeexperienced a huge population decline about 5,500 years ago, an event that is thought to have subsequently enabled a huge migration of people from the east.
The Pacific north-west, known for its moderate climate, is experiencinga recordheatwave. The temperatures have driven crowds to the region’s beaches, pools and air-conditioned hotels, as residents in a region with few air-conditioned households try desperately to get some relief.
Here’s what you need to know:
What’s going on?
A heatwave has engulfedthe region, with both Portland and Seattle breaking record high temperatures (Portland hit 112F, while Seattle hit 104F) over the weekend. Seattle has reached 100F for three consecutive days – a first for the typically overcast city. Washington state surpassed its all-time high for June, with at least one part of the state reaching 115F on…
California’s historic farm animal protection law, Proposition 12, bans the sale of products that come from farm animals in extreme confinement, like pigs in gestation crates. The HSUS
Proposition 12 bans the extreme confinement of egg-laying chickens, mother pigs and baby calves used in the veal industry. The law also prohibits the sale in California of eggs, pork and veal from facilities that confine animals in cruel cages. The Humane Society of the United States led the campaign to pass Proposition 12, which was approved by California voters in a landslide vote in 2018.
The Supreme Court’s outright rejection of the North American Meat Institute’s appeal from its losses in the lower courts is consistent with a long line of prior court rulings, and it reinforces the long-held position of the HSUS and the Humane Society Legislative Fund that states have the right to pass laws protecting animals, public health and safety. This decision is critically important to all of our sales bans enacted to protect animals and consumers—from banning the sale of puppy mill puppies in pet shops to banning the sale of cosmetics tested on animals.
Along with a group of allied organizations, the HSUS intervened in the lawsuit on the side of the State of California to defend Proposition 12. The HSUS was represented in this case by lawyers at Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila and at Molo Lamken, as well as lawyers with the HSUS’s Animal Protection Law department.
The Humane Society Legislative Fund is also working with congressional allies to encourage the Biden Administration to support and defend California and other States’ right to set humane standards to protect farm animals, wildlife and other animals. Last month, Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., led a letter signed by 27 legislators urging Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Attorney General Merrick Garland to withdraw briefs filed by the Trump Administration in support of industry challenges to the California law. Reps. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., and Jason Crow, D-Colo., made a similar appeal, and Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Wash., is mobilizing an additional letter from legislators representing other states with cage-free sales laws.
Now the case will go back to the lower court, where we will continue the fight. But it is our hope that rather than continuing frivolous lawsuits and wasting money, the meat industry will focus on eliminating the cruel caging of animals.
The extreme confinement of farm animals that Proposition 12 outlaws in California produces animal cruelty and suffering unequaled in any sector. Egg-laying chickens, mother pigs and baby calves are confined in cages so small they can barely move. These sensitive, inquisitive animals are virtually immobilized in filthy conditions for nearly their entire lives. Extreme confinement of farm animals also increases public health risks and has been listed as a top driver of zoonotic disease emergence by numerous scientists and even a United Nations report.
Our public policy work and corporate social responsibility campaigns have transformed the landscape of farm animal protection in recent years. Along with HSUS-championed laws against the extreme confinement of farm animals and sales of cruel products, more than 200 of the largest food companies have decided to adopt cage-free policies and convert to cage-free systems.
Today’s news demonstrates loud and clear that the future is cage-free.
Sara Amundson is president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund.
The scientific evidence is irrefutable — anthropogenic activities are accelerating the rate at which our planet is warming. Burning fossil fuels, industrialized animal agriculture, and deforestation are causing a ripple effect around the globe resulting in heatwaves, forest fires, melting ice caps, insect infestations, crop loss, and animal extinctions.
Collectively, we have the power to slow the effects of a changing climate, but we have to work together…and quickly.
What is Climate Change and Why Should We Care?
Climate change is the long-term alteration of temperature and normal weather patterns exacerbated by global warming. Global warming is an increase in the planet’s overall temperature caused by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These GHGs stem mostly from anthropogenic actions like industrialized agriculture and burning fossil fuels.
Though the effects of climate change might not seem apparent where you live, forests are burning, icecaps are melting, and ecosystems are dwindling around the world as we speak.
But how does that affect humans? Disrupted weather patterns due to increasing temperatures impact how plants grow. Some crops might drown as a result of increased rainfall while others are parched by sweltering temperatures and droughts. Warmer temperatures also make plants vulnerable to invasive bugs and diseases which can kill off scores of crops at one time.
This means “staple” crops like coffee, corn, and wheat could be in danger.
In addition to food shortages, a changing climate also threatens global water supplies. Increased temperatures promote evaporation and disrupt water patterns, which interfere with the water cycles that regulate the planet’s water sources – including our drinking water.
Wetlands are disappearing as a result of climate change, which is killing off the wildlife living within them or using them as a means of fishing or drinking. Some areas, like the Aral Sea in central Asia, are drying up and salinating due to man-made pollution and power generation.
If plant and animal habitats continue to disappear, massive extinctions will continue to occur. Delicate ecosystems will crumble and life as we know it would be forever changed. Plants, animals, and insects help regulate carbon, manage populations, and pollinate our food sources.
In order to preserve essential plant and animal species and ultimately life on Earth, we must acknowledge our mistakes and take action as soon as possible. The following are 10 simple steps each of us can incorporate into our daily lives to curb the effects of climate change and keep them from getting worse.
10 Simple Steps to Fight Climate Change
1: Get Informed
In order to combat climate change as effectively as possible, you should first understand what it is and what causes it.
There are a plethora of reputable online resources available from documentaries to books or even podcasts if you are always on-the-go.
Knowing the facts about the most urgent facets of climate change will help you educate others in a more effective way. As mentioned above, climate change is the alteration of Earth’s temperature and weather patterns, mostly influenced by human activities.
Transportation, animal agriculture, and dirty energy sources are among the top human-induced contributors of greenhouse gases which promote global warming and climate change. Though these contributors are ubiquitous around the world, we can make simple adjustments to our lifestyles to hinder their damaging effects.
2. Eat Fewer Animal Products
Animal agriculture is a leading cause of deforestation and GHG emissions that exacerbate climate change.
Beef production is a major contributor to climate change due to its heavy resource use and methane emissions. This is largely due to the fact that there are nearly one billion beef cattle on the planet, but the dairy industry is just as guilty. Beef cattle are slaughtered at just under 2-years-old, but dairy cows can live for 8-12 years depending on the quality of their care. That means 8-12 years of nearly 270 million dairy cows eating, drinking, and releasing methane into the atmosphere globally.
In addition to high GHG emissions, the meat and dairy industries are thirsty businesses. It takes an estimated 2,500 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef. In American alone, people are expected to consume over 200 pounds of beef and poultry each year per person. If that number continues to climb – like it is projected to – the climate crisis will only get worse.
Cow’s milk production requires significantly more resources and produces higher emissions than any kind of plant-based milk. Even compared to almond milk, which is the most resource-heavy dairy-free option, cow’s milk still has the biggest environmental impact.
Worrying about climate change with a burger in one hand and a milkshake in the other is counterproductive. One of the most meaningful changes you can make is to switch to plant-based meat and dairy alternatives (which are just as delicious).
Choosing a burger made from beans instead of beef will mitigate environmental threats while consequently reducing cruelty and improving your health.Play00:00-03:32MuteSettingsEnter fullscreenhttps://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/2jtDZXbN-_c?autoplay=0&controls=0&disablekb=1&playsinline=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=auto&widget_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fsentientmedia.org%2Fwhat-can-i-do-about-climate-change%2F&noCookie=true&rel=0&showinfo=0&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&enablejsapi=1&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fsentientmedia.org&widgetid=1Play
3. Plant a Garden or Eat Local Produce
Cultivating your own produce is not only a satisfying accomplishment, but it helps curb transportation emissions, allows you to regulate chemical use, and reduces packaging waste.
Intensively farmed produce puts animals at risk, too. When buying produce from large farming operations, small animals like mice and rabbits are often injured or killed in the cultivation process by traps, poison, or heavy machinery. Once these crops are harvested, they travel hundreds of miles by boats, planes, or trucks to reach store shelves, increasing GHG emissions along the way.
When growing your own fruits and vegetables, you are in control. You can choose to only use organic fertilizers and natural insect repellents, which will reduce harmful chemical runoff. Large farming operations use chemical and animal fertilizers to grow their crops faster and larger, but excess nitrogen and phosphorous are often washed into local water supplies. This causes eutrophication, which results in excessive plant life that diminishes oxygen levels in the water. Reduced oxygen levels kill the plants and other aquatic life that our biodiverse systems depend on.
Planting your own garden will also reduce your consumption of GMOs, which stands for Genetically Modified Organisms, or crops modified by scientists to improve size, taste, appearance, or resistance to pests or herbicides.
Growing your own food will ultimately save you money at the grocery store, reduce harmful chemicals in our soil and water, and ensure wildlife will not be harmed by large machinery or inhumane traps.
If you cannot plant your own garden, purchasing local produce, preferably organic produce, is another earth-friendly solution. Local fruits and vegetables often hold nutrients better than ones that have traveled across the country since they start losing nutrients after they are harvested.
Buying local and organic means you are also supporting small farm owners and the local economy while enjoying fresh fruits and veggies that have not been ripened by gas or covered in wax.
Purchasing produce, milk, and meat that is sourced from across the country, or worse – across the globe, requires significant amounts of energy to transport products to our grocery stores. Greenhouse gases from fossil fuels are tirelessly pumped into the atmosphere by planes, ships, and vehicles to stock store shelves each day. If you are purchasing meat and dairy products, these GHGs do not include the excessive resources used to grow feed crops, raise and slaughter millions of animals, or process them.
4. Reduce Food Waste
Food waste is an epidemic around the world. With a projected population of 9.6 billion by 2050, reduction plans must be set in place immediately.
Roughly one-third of food produced globally is never eaten due to spoilage during transportation or because it is discarded by businesses or consumers. Around 28 percent of agricultural land is used for wasted food which equals around 3.5 billion acres. Land, energy, and packaging materials are being wasted and destructive GHGs are being produced futilely.
Around 50 percent of global food waste consists of meat, dairy, and fish, meaning that millions of lives were forcibly taken and resources used only to be discarded. Of the 263 million tonnes of meat produced globally, more than 20 percent is wasted – the equivalent of 75 million cows.
In Europe alone, 29 million tonnes of dairy products are thrown away annually, and the equivalent of nearly 3 billion fish are lost each year due to overcatching and food waste.
Considering that meat and dairy are two of the most resource-intensive protein sources, reducing consumption and food waste will reduce land, water, and energy use as well as decrease greenhouse gas emissions. Cutting back on seafood will reduce overfishing and bycatch, which take the lives of billions of sea creatures and land mammals every year.
Scientists estimate up to 14 percent of agricultural emissions by 2050 could be avoided by reducing food waste through reformed food management and distribution plans.
5. Shop Smarter
By now, you probably understand how you can reduce your carbon footprint by adjusting your dietary choices, but you can also make a positive difference by choosing eco-friendly consumer goods like clothing, cars, and furniture.
Many unethical and environmentally harmful materials exist today, but there are just as many sustainable alternatives. Natural and biodegradable fabrics like hemp, cotton, and bamboo can be rendered to make soft, durable clothing and household items. You can also visit your local thrift store which keeps products out of landfills and reduces the demand for new items which require additional resources.
When it comes time to furnish your home, retailers and Etsy sellers are offering stylish furniture pieces and homegoods items made from repurposed materials like wood, metal, and plastics.
Now, let’s tackle an extremely common material sourced from one of the most polluting animals on the planet: leather.
Leather is used for jackets, purses, wallets, car interiors, and shoes. Thousands of years ago, leather was a useful fabric source and rendered without harmful chemicals, but today’s leather industry is dumping cocktails of hazardous liquids into waterways around the world.
Formaldehyde, anthracene, and arsenic are just a few toxic carcinogens used in the leather tanning process. These substances are incredibly harmful to humans working with them and even more so to the aquatic creatures living within the waterways they are dumped into.
Fortunately, animal-free leather options exist. Clothing and accessory companies are now using pineapple leaves, mushrooms, tree bark, and even agave plants to create eco-friendly leather alternatives.
Car companies like Tesla are embracing sustainable materials by incorporating animal-free leather interiors. Additionally, Audi currently has two concept cars that even include carpeting made of repurposed materials like plastic bottles and fishing nets.
Aside from sustainable vehicle interiors, we can also make shop smarter by purchasing cars with eco-friendly engines. If you cannot afford or do not have access to completely electric vehicles (which do not require resource-heavy fossil fuels to run), hybrids are also a good choice.
6. Reduce Transportation Emissions
The transportation sector is a leading producer of greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. Fossil fuels are effective at powering cars, planes, and trains, but they come at a massive environmental cost.
When we burn fossil fuels, GHGs like methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide are released into the atmosphere. These gases are exceptional planet warmers naturally, so excess amounts from factories, aircraft, and the 1 billion vehicles on the road today are creating more heat than our planet can regulate.
Excess carbon dioxide in the air leads to ocean acidification, which threatens coral reefs and the 25 percent of fish species that depend on them throughout their lives. This also impacts humans since over half the air we breathe comes from marine plants and phytoplankton in the ocean.
If cars and planes are so bad for the environment, how can we travel while treading lightly on the planet?
There are plenty of ways to get where you need to go without expelling exorbitant amounts of planet-warming GHGs. If feasible, walking or riding a bike are both climate-friendly methods of transportation. If traveling a bit farther, riding a motorcycle, carpooling, using public transportation, and/or purchasing a hybrid or electric vehicle can reduce your carbon footprint significantly.
If your city does not have adequate eco-friendly forms of public transit in place, consider petitioning or speaking at city hall in favor of incorporating sustainable transportation methods like Eco-Rapid Transit.
7. Start a Climate Conversation
Climate change is a popular topic in the news, but that does not mean it is easy to talk about with friends and family. Debatable topics, especially those deeply rooted in religion or cultural norms, should be addressed respectfully and empathetically.
Most people have been living a certain way their entire lives – eating the same foods, creating the same types of waste, and believing what they have been taught is normal. Though the status quo might be comfortable, it is in need of reform, and we must oblige for the sake of the planet and its inhabitants.
As famed computer scientist Grace Hopper once said, “The most dangerous phrase in the language is, ‘We’ve always done it this way.’” If something is uncomfortable to discuss, it is probably worth talking about.
Understanding the facts about climate change and its links to our everyday habits is the first step in taking meaningful action.
8. Get Politically Active
Using your right to vote for candidates with meaningful environmental policies is one of the most empowering and effective ways to tackle the climate crisis. Search for candidates with clear, sustainable plans to reduce carbon emissions, invest in clean energy, and protect our planet’s biodiversity.
Urge representatives to better monitor chemical use and runoff from agriculture, adopt more effective recycling programs, and improve public transit systems.
Even if you aren’t able to vote, advocating for the importance of reform or even the introduction of new environmental policies can persuade others to vote in favor of the planet, too. As we’ve seen with recent climate strikes, humans love banning together for the greater good. Joining these movements and getting this information into the public eye puts pressure on the government to make meaningful changes.
Click here to learn how to connect with your federal, state, and local elected officials.
9. Show Your Support
Talking about the climate crisis and enlightening others on how they can help is great, but it is just as important to put your money where your mouth is. Your dollar has the power to shift consumer markets toward sustainable, plant-based foods and eco-friendly products.
By spending money on ethically and sustainably sourced consumer goods, you are driving up the demand for these products. Purchasing these items from large grocers confirms the demand and persuades stores to stock more of these items, ultimately helping the planet, animals, and our health.
When new eco-friendly technologies emerge, invest in them. When cell-based meats or new vegan foods hit store shelves, purchase them. Share these items with your friends and family and watch as more people start to get involved too.
10. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Noel Guevara / Greenpeace
When you hear the word “reduce” associated with the 3 R’s, people might think this means to simply reduce the amounts of plastic, water, or electricity you use. Yes, this is advisable, but what about the resources you inadvertently use by consuming meat, dairy, and overly packaged products?
Recall your typical day. Breakfast might consist of yogurt or a cereal bar, lunch is probably a pre-packaged sandwich or microwavable meal, and dinner is some sort of meat lovers pizza wrapped in plastic or maybe pasta from a box. All of these items require energy for production and processing, glass or plastic for packaging, and fossil fuels to transport them to your local restaurant or grocery store.
Meat, especially beef, is an incredibly resource-intensive protein source. Producing meat requires land for the animals to occupy, plus land to grow crops for them to eat. Animals also need water – and so do the crops they consume. Less than 1 percent of freshwater on Earth is available for human consumption, but 70 percent of it is used to grow food and raise farm animals.
The average American produces nearly 5 pounds of solid waste per day. Less than one quarter of that solid waste gets recycled properly and the rest is buried or burned. As mentioned above, around 50 percent of global waste consists of resource-heavy animal products that spoil during transportation or are discarded by grocery stores, restaurants, and consumers.
The best waste management solution is to reduce the amount of waste you produce in the first place. When grocery shopping, only purchase what you need and will use. Plan out your meals in advance so you know exactly what you’ll need and how much. This will help reduce the risk of purchasing forgotten foods that will sit in a drawer and rot.
Bring reusable produce bags to store fruits and vegetables, glass jars for loose items like nuts and coffee, and stock up on reusable food storage containers to store leftovers instead of relying on meals encased in single-use plastics that cannot be recycled and clog up our waterways.
The global recycling system is in need of reform, but that does not mean we should stop recycling altogether. By understanding recycling regulations for your area and acting accordingly, you are keeping reusable materials out of the landfill, reducing GHG emissions, and saving wildlife from ingesting non-food items in the process. This is also an opportunity to speak up and urge elected officials to improve current recycling practices.
Conclusion
The climate crisis we are facing is definitely intimidating, but that is exactly why we should do everything in our power to mitigate its effects and prevent further agitation. The simple lifestyle changes we implement today will leave a lasting impact on the planet for years to come.
Reducing meat consumption and food waste, voting in favor of sustainability, and using our money to support eco-friendly businesses are just a few ways to make a meaningful difference. The planet gives us everything we need, so the least we can do is take care of it.
ByGABE CHERRY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGANJUNE 27, 2021
Satellites reveal ocean microplastic fluctuation in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and releases from the Yangtze River in China.
An estimated eight million tons of plastic trash enters the ocean each year, and most of it is battered by sun and waves into microplastics—tiny flecks that can ride currents hundreds or thousands of miles from their point of entry. The bits can harm sea life and marine ecosystems, and they’re extremely difficult to track and clean up.
Now, University of Michigan researchers have developed a new way to spot ocean microplastics across the globe and track them over time, providing a day-by-day timeline of where they enter the water, how they move, and where they tend to collect. The…
A paramedic shields his eyes while treating a man experiencing heat exposure during a heat wave, Saturday, June 26, 2021, in Salem, Oregon.
Power cables are melting. School districts are closing. Asphalt is too hot to touch. The heat waveroasting the Pacific Northwestis putting infrastructure at risk, and temperatures are expected to continue to rise on Monday. The failures show the staggering toll the climate crisis is already taking—and they’re a stark warning for the future if we don’t shore up roads, buildings, and other infrastructure central to modern life.
A region from California to British Columbia saw record-breaking temperatures over the weekend due to a sweltering heat dome. The heat is so rare that it’s expected just
