Regina's Reflections

Earthday, EVERYDAY!

Although the world celebrates Earth DAY, given the urgency in this area, we propose it be observed ALL MONTH. Among the initiatives established for observation of Earth Day are the following:

The Global Cleanup: Volunteers picking up litter not disposed of properly by fellow citizens, as in while jogging pick up garbage left by others.

The Canopy Project: Working with global partners to reforest areas in need of rehabilitation. To further reduce methane, Biden must reform the agricultural industry. This would reduce methane gases released from livestock as well as emissions of greenhouse gases caused by deforestation for fields and pastures

Improving Your “Foodprint”: BBC Climate Change Food Calculator shows how your food intake compares to emissions of driving, heating a home.

Eat Lower Carbon compares carbon footprint of different meals

Food Carbon Emissions Calculator calculating your “foodprint” accounting for transport, waste, and quantity purchased.

The Meat Calculator Amounts of water and carbon dioxide saved by reducing your meat consumption.

Climate and Environmental Literacy: Every school in the world must have compulsory, assessed climate and environmental education with a strong civic engagement component. (Assuming schools are open)

While all are laudable goals, requiring world wide support to truly support global climate and environmental improvements, there is one simple, healthy change every human can do right now…. Quite simply:

Stop Eating Animals: Veganism is a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as possible, all forms of exploitation of and cruelty to animals for food clothing or any other purpose. (WTVOX)

Switching now to a vegan diet requites nothing more than smarter grocery shopping and slightly different eating. The number of vegans worldwide is increasing annually. Regardless of classification criteria, reasons, or types, the number of vegans in the world is on the rise. There are significant pro-veganism movements in Western countries, Eastern Europe, Australia, and Israel. Moreover, as cultures and landscapes change for the better, veganism has started to gain momentum in Latin America, Asia, and Africa as well. Finally, if the movement maintains the current rate of growth, over the next ten years, at least 1 in 10 people will be vegan.

https://wtvox.com/lifestyle/2019-the-world-of-vegan-but-how-many-vegans-are-in-the-world/

Eating a vegan diet could be the “single biggest way” to reduce your environmental impact on earth, a new study suggests. Researchers at the University of Oxford found that cutting meat and dairy products from your diet could reduce an individual’s carbon footprint from food by up to 73%. . If everyone stopped eating these foods, they found that global farmland use could be reduced by 75 per cent, an area equivalent to the size of the US, China, Australia and the EU combined. Not only would this result in a significant drop in greenhouse gas emissions, it would also free up wild land lost to agriculture, one of the primary causes for mass wildlife extinction.

Why veganism is easier than you think and how to get started: The new study, published in the journal Science, is one of the most comprehensive analyses to date, looking into the detrimental effects farming can have on the environment and included data on nearly 40,000 farms in 119 countries. The findings reveal that meat and dairy production is responsible for 60 per cent of agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions, while the products themselves providing just 18 per cent of calories and 37 per cent of protein levels around the world.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/veganism-environmental-impact-planet-reduced-plant-based-diet-humans-study-a8378631.html

Finally, The U.S. has a serious weight problem. Looking specifically at obesity (a BMI over 30), researchers found that vegans had the lowest percentage of people who were obese -- 9.4 percent -- while meat-eaters had the highest percentage of obese people 33.3 percent.

https://jandonline.org/article/s2212-2672(13)01113-1/abstract