Tag: Virginia

Albedo, Biodiversity, Climate Action, Climate Change, Climate Disasters, climate justice

What Is Your Community’s Climate Action Plan?

Washington (ONGC) Analysis | June 27, 2022 by Noreen Wise, Founder & CEO of Our New Green Culture, and author; Image Credit: AdobeStock

The following is the requested feedback to Fairfax County’s draft Resilient Fairfax Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan, put forth for public comment from May 16, 2022 through June 15, 2022.

With so many lives at stake, as well as the survivability of the human species, it’s vitally important for every single one of us to voice our positions, and our objections when something seems amiss with our local community/county’s climate action plans, including its timeline. Everything we do and don’t do in 2022-2024 will be hyper-analyzed in the future. The IPCC, the UN, many global leaders and thousands of scientists have repeatedly warned about the urgency to act immediately. Yet so few local governments are following through.

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circular economy, Climate Action, sustainability

Virginia Green Initiative, Inc. Is Making Positive Impact on Reducing Corporate CO2 Emissions

Washington (ONGC) Analysis | April 11, 2022 by Noreen Wise, Founder & CEO of Our New Green Culture, and author; Image Credit: AdobeStock

Following the most recent and alarming IPCC Report on climate change, released February 28, 2022, four days after Russia invaded Ukraine, it’s become essential that we drill down on what US companies are doing to curb their greenhouse gas emissions and boost their sustainability efforts.

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circular economy, clean energy, Climate Action, Climate Change, Environment, resilience

System Change NOT Climate Change | Leaders in Energy

Washington (GGM) Analysis | September 29, 2021 by author and climate journalist Noreen Wise

Can you feel it in the air all around you? The sensory clues that we pick up on just before the season changes. A shift in temperature. A new scent wafting through the air. Displays of seasonal delights appearing in the produce section of the grocery store. We recognize these subtle clues, make a mental note, and slowly begin to shift gears. 

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Albedo, Climate Change, Environment

School Buses with White Roofs Lower the Heat | Albedo Effect

Washington (ONGC) Analysis | September 22, 2021 by author and climate journalist Noreen Wise

Many decision makers in our towns, local businesses and corporate office parks are aware of the albedo effect and apply the principles. We can see this with our own eyes as we drive through our communities. Large sports arenas and convention centers glow in the sun with their white exteriors, walls and roofs.

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Climate Change, Eco, Environment, EPA, Ethics, Wildlife

Golf Courses and the “Good Life” May Kill You

Washington (ONGC) Analysis | June 12, 2021, by Michael Wells

You do not need to be a character in a Lifetime movie to be poisoned by arsenic. Same goes for some other deadly chemical. Just spend time on a golf course or near one. Contrary to what golf affocinadios claim, golf courses are not good for the environment even though many of the courses look like a cross between Xanadu and Shangri La. Pesticides, herbicides, rodenticides and other chemicals abound on golf courses, according to Fred Siegel’s book Environmental Hazards: Are you Exposed?, and they seep into the soil and run off onto property nearby.

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circular economy, Climate Action, Nature, soil, sustainability

Don’t Release Carbon from Your Soil When Gardening

Washington (ONGC) Analysis | June 9, 2021 by Catherine Zacuto, M. Ed.

What can be done about climate change? A lot! Many of us are busy making significant changes in our everyday habits to become more sustainable and lower our carbon footprints. However, there are a few tricks that have yet to be applied on a grand scale, and now’s the time. If you compost, you are part of a growing wave of people concerned about soil health. Because soil stores a significant amount of carbon, keeping it there is vital in the fight against climate change. This is especially significant in agriculture, with its vast acreage. Soil, not to be confused with dirt, is an ecosystem in itself, with millions of microbes and insects which are responsible for plant growth. Maintaining a natural, undisturbed  balance in the soil’s ecosystem leads to a higher level of carbon storage as well as strong, healthy crops. “No-till” farms help make this happen. They are an arrow in our quiver of weapons to fight climate change.

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Climate Change, Eco, Nature, soil

Composting | A Major Climate Solution

Washington (ONGC) Analysis | May 19, 2021 by Catherine Zacuto, M. Ed.

Perspective is everything. Composting can seem like a daunting task or a simple way to make our soil healthy. The benefits of composting for the climate and the environment may persuade you to get on board, to learn something new, and to contribute to a growing movement to give back.

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Environment, Nature, trees

Fairfax Student Reveals Native Shrub Carbon Storage Champions

Washington (GGM) Analysis | May 14, 2021 by author & climate journalist Noreen Wise

The planet will keep revolving around the sun, no matter how destructive and irresponsible humans are. But we humans won’t. Humans are mammals. Mammals rely on our habitat to survive. And mammals eventually become extinct when our habitat disappears. Eighty mammals have gone extinct in the past five centuries.

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Climate Action, COVID-19, Environment, Nature

Trees for Love | Planting Seedlings to Remember Those We Lost to Covid

Washington (ONGC) Analysis | May 14, 2021 by author and climate journalist Noreen Wise

Back on October 24, 2020, when covid was ramping up for another major assault, both physical and economic, we hosted a free distribution of native redbud and button bush seedlings, at Parking Lot P at George Mason University in Fairfax Virginia. The campaign was called Trees for Love and the seedlings were being planted to remember those we lost to covid in our communities. Fairfax ReLeaf supplied the seedlings. The Fairfax Tree Commission was the essential liaison that made this all possible, enabling the free seedling distribution to come to fruition by connecting these various organizations. 

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circular economy, Climate Action, Nature, soil, sustainability

We All Need to Plant Our Own Vegetables for Climate

Washington (GGM) Analysis | May 9, 2021 by author Noreen Wise

It’s a brand new day, filled with so much hope. We have a new administration, expressing a multitude of positive and inspirational words of wisdom and transformative goals, as well as outlining the steps forward that will lead us toward the achievement of these goals. It all begins with each of us participating. 

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