6 Environmentalists You Need to Know

I was so excited to attend the Goldman Environmental Prize Ceremony this year in San Francisco! The ceremony took place at the historic War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco.

This year was the 30th anniversary of the award.

And, my gosh, the room was just electric. I dare you to watch the event and not be moved. Seriously, you can’t do it. There’s honestly nothing more motivating than being surrounded by people who have come together to celebrate some of the most inspiring, committed, and dedicated individuals who have tirelessly worked to make our world a better place.

The Goldman Environmental Prize sponsored this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own for more information please see my disclosure policy.

what’s the goldman environmental organization?

The Goldman Environmental Prize Ceremony was created in 1989 back when there were only a few environmental NGOs let alone a meaningful award recognizing activists.

San Francisco philanthropists Rhoda and Richard Goldman wanted to create an award to celebrate the individuals among us who are fighting for a better world. Environmental issues are directly tied to human rights, public health, environmental justice, and sustainable development.

This award isn’t just for recognizing the amazing work being done for the environment, but also the work being done in their communities.

And, beyond just highlighting individuals, the Prize inspires individuals around the world to make sure that each of us takes responsibility and harness the power we have!

what’s the goldman environmental prize?

This year, 2019, is the 30th anniversary for the Goldman Environmental Prize Ceremony. There have been 194 prize winners from 89 countries!

It is the most prestigious award you can win as an environmentalist. The Prize honors grassroots environmental heroes from the world’s six inhabited continents.

There are six winners one from Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands & Island Nations, North America, and South & Central America. A bit further down in the post I’ll talk about each of the 2019 winners and the amazing things they’ve accomplished.

The Prize recognizes grassroots activists for significant and sustained efforts to protect our environment with a focus on positive change in their local communities and often at substantial personal risk.

what do they win?

Recipients of the Prize receive financial support to pursue their cause and win a bronze award called the Ouroboros.

Ouroboros is the Greek word for “tail devourer” and is one of the oldest mythical symbols of a serpent eating its tail to represent an eternal cycle of renewal.

Of course, on top that, they receive international recognition and visibility for their cause, and participate in a 10-day tour of Washington, D.C. and San Francisco which includes two Prize ceremonies, media interviews, funder briefings, and meetings with political and environmental leaders.

who’s who?

1. Alberto Curamil
South and Central America / Chile

Alberto Curamil, an indigenous Mapuche, organized the people of Araucanía to stop the construction of two hydroelectric projects on the sacred Cautín River in central Chile.

These projects would have removed hundreds of millions of gallons of water from the river each day which would have harmed a critical ecosystem and exacerbated drought conditions in the region.

In August 2018, Curamil was arrested and remains in jail today. Colleagues believe that he was arrested because of his environmental activism.

His Daughter accepted the award in his place and gave a very powerful and moving speech. Please post to social media asking the Chilean government to free #AlbertoCuramil.

Learn More About Alberto Curamil

2. Linda Garcia
North America / United States

Linda Garcia prevented North America’s largest oil terminal from being built essentially halting the flow of 11 million gallons of crude oil per day from North Dakota to Washington.

In February 2018, she organized Fruit Valley residents to stop the construction of the Tesoro Savage oil export terminal in Vancouver, Washington. She safeguarded residents from harmful air pollution and protected the environment of the Columbia River Gorge.

Learn More About Linda Garcia

3. Jacqueline Evans
Islands and Island Nations / Cook Islands

Conservationist Jacqueline Evans led a five-year grassroots campaign to protect the Cook Islands’ stunning marine biodiversity.

Because of her tireless and persistent organizing, in July 2017, the Cook Islands enacted new legislation called Marae Moana which means sacred ocean.

The law sustainably manages and conserves all 763,000 square miles of the country’s ocean territory, including the designation of marine protected areas (MPAs) 50 nautical miles around the islands, protecting 125,000 square miles of ocean from large-scale commercial fishing and seabed mining.

This is the first Prize for the Cook Islands.

Learn More About Jacqueline Evans

4. Ana Colovic Lesoska
Europe / North Macedonia

Ana Colovic Lesoska led a seven-year campaign to cut off international funding for two large hydropower plants planned for inside Mavrovo National Park which is North Macedonia’s oldest and largest national park.

This park is also the habitat for the nearly-extinct Balkan lynx.

In 2015, the World Bank withdrew its financing for one of the hydropower projects. Shortly after, in 2017, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development canceled its loan for the other.

Without any funding the North Macedonian government halted all development.

This is the first Prize for North Macedonia.

Learn More About Ana Colovic Lesoska

5. Bayarjargal Agvaantseren
Asia / Mongolia

Bayarjargal Agvaantseren created a 1.8 million-acre nature reserve, Tost Tosonbumba, in the South Gobi Desert which is a critical habitat for the vulnerable snow leopard.

In April 2016, she persuaded the Mongolian government to cancel ALL 37 mining licenses within the reserve.

This was an unprecedented victory for the snow leopard. All mining operations are illegal, and as of June 2018 there are no active mines within the reserve.

Learn More About Bayarjargal Agvaantseren

6. Alfred Brownell
Africa / Liberia

Alfred Brownell, an environmental lawyer and activist, stopped the clear-cutting of Liberia’s tropical forests by palm oil plantation developers.

He was able to protect 513,500 acres of primary forest that constitute one of the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots. This enabled the indigenous communities to continue their stewardship of the forest.

For his safety, he is living in temporary exile in the United States.

Learn More About Alfred Brownell

my favorite part:

Even though the award is focused on recognizing amazing individuals, the whole goal of the ceremony and the Prize is to inspire everyone to take extraordinary actions to protect our Earth.

It’s so easy to forget that all movements are started with JUST ONE PERSON. People often underestimate individual action, but the fact of the matter is individual action where everything starts.

I hope that you’re feeling inspired by these amazing people to go out and create change in your town!

Want to learn more? Follow the Goldman Environmental Prize @GoldmanPrize and you can view a livestream of tonight’s ceremony.

3 Easy Ways to Go Zero Waste and Cut Your Trash by 80%

Going zero waste isn’t rocket science. It’s also not about producing ZERO waste. You can read more about this tricky term in my post What is Zero Waste? What is the Circular Economy?

Zero waste is an industrial term. You can still get your business certified zero waste / closed loop / circular economy (they all mean the same thing!) and what it means is a 90% diversion from landfill.

The fact of the matter is that it’s impossible to go completely zero waste because we don’t live in a circular economy but rather a linear one.

I’m not going to bore you with all the facts, but if you’re intrigued be sure to check the blog post out above!

No, no rather you’re here to learn how you can cut 80% of your waste just by doing three simple things! And, we’ll get there in one mome.

Because, first I’d like to introduce you to our sponsor! This post was sponsored by Arbor Teas. All thoughts and opinions are my own for more information please see my disclosure policy.

Y’all. You know I love Arbor Teas and I’m going to hit all the high points with a bullet blitz! BULLET BLITZ

• Only tea brand to offer loose leaf tea in backyard compostable packaging!
• They package in cellulose making the switch from canisters reduced the carbon footprint of their packages by 60% (AMAZING!)
• They package all of their teas in a solar powered building
• All of their shipments are offset carbon neutral
• They source their teas from organic, biodynamic, and regenerative farms.
• They have plastic free matcha. I repeat PLASTIC FREE MATCHA.
• They are just genuinely the nicest people on the face of the planet.
• And, their teas are just freaking amazing!

As I write this blog post, the sun is shining, the birds are chirping, my apple tree is in bloom, I’m drinking their Organic English Breakfast Tea with a few drops of CBD oil and it feels like a perfect morning.

I have performed several waste audits in people’s homes. My parents love me when I come to visit. I always check their local waste management website and go through their trash and recycling to make sure they’re doing everything correctly. (Friends and family just love me.)

They’re typically always doing pretty well probably because they know I’m coming.

But, if that’s what it takes to get perfectly sorted bins - then SO BE IT.

But, while performing these waste audits I’ve seen several recurring themes. While I tend to view zero waste as more of a choose your own adventure because everyone creates different types of trash there are some universal heavy hitters.

RELATED: How to Perform a Waste Audit

1. organic material:

Did you see this one coming? 60% of the average American family’s trash is full of organic matter. This is one of those disconnect areas. I think most people know that they SHOULD compost, but they don’t because they don’t have the time or energy to learn more about composting in their area.

I’m going to make it so simple for you! If you can just block out 30 minutes in your schedule, sit down and read both of these blog posts, you will be able to find a composting solution for you - I just know it!

• how to compost in an apartment

• the ultimate guide to backyard composting

Composting is not as scary as it sounds and it is so important. Organic material (food scraps, newsprint, hair, nail clippings, organic cotton tampons etc) can’t breakdown in landfills because they’re not aerated properly.

16% of all methane emissions in the US come from landfills and methane is around 30% more powerful than CO2.

When we talk about climate change this has to do with gasses that warm our atmosphere. The most common one we hear about is carbon (CO2) but the fact is there are a lot of other more powerful gasses that can stay in our atmosphere much longer even for thousands of years like hydrofluorocarbons.

You can read more about this in the blog post on Where to Buy Carbon Offsets.

2. food packaging:

I try not to harp on food packaging because I know this is a really hard one for a lot of people. In fact, a lot of people don’t want to go zero waste because they don’t have bulk stores available which I think is really sad because remember… it’s not about being perfect it’s just about doing the best you can!

Or in true blog motto, “It’s not about perfection; it’s about making better choices.”

Of course, if you have bulk bins and package free food near you, definitely try and opt for that! You can read more in my blog post The Ultimate Guide to Zero Waste Grocery Shopping.

If you don’t have any bulk bins or zero waste stores near you then be sure to check out my post How to Shop Without Bulk Bins and 15 Ways to Be Zero Waste Without a Bulk Store (because zero waste is so much more than package-free food!)

However, since most of us go grocery shopping once a week, it would stand to reason that one of the biggest sources of trash that we would produce would come from food and food related packaging.

I’m not going to tell you just to shop package free, I’m going to recommend that you switch to a whole food, plant based diet.

What I like about this recommendation is that it’s not going to deprive you of anything per-se. Maybe you just really want a pop-tart one day or you really want to celebrate a big occasion with a steak.

This isn’t going to cut you off from any food groups but is going to move you to a 90% whole, fresh food, diet made up of mostly plants i.e. fruits, veggies, and grains which is inherently healthier and one that just naturally reduces the amount of packaging that you’ll acquire.

Plus, eating this way also creates a drastic improvement in your carbon footprint!

So, you’ve heard all of the health gurus say it time and time again - shop the perimeter of the grocery store.

And, try to make a few of your own staples like homemade nut milk and peanut butter. Throw in a few hours of meal prep on the weekend and you’ve got yourself EASY plant based meals ready to serve up and eat in a matter of minutes.

This week I baked 5 sweet potatoes, made a big batch of mango, banana smoothies (yes you can freeze a week’s worth of smoothies!) and made a huge batch of vegetarian chili that is just OMG.

And, now I’ve got breakfast and lunch taken care of for the week with just by spending an hour in the kitchen knocking things out.

If you’re still feeling lost on ditching food packaging then check out the zero waste grocery store challenge at Grocery Outlet and Target that I ran with several other friends!

3. paper towels:

Idk what it is about paper towels, but this swap is an area that people just want to fight me on. It’s honestly absurd the amount of paper towels the average family goes through most of which are entirely unnecessary.

Like when people use paper towels to dry their hands. *CRINGE*

So, I’ve created a handy blog post for you called 6 Tips for Breaking Up With Paper Towels, there’s also a video if you prefer video content!

Well, that’s it! With tree simple and easy swaps you should be well on your way to cutting out 80% of your trash.

Also a big shout out to the sponsor of this post - Arbor Teas!!

Have you done a waste audit? I’d love to know the bulk of what you find in your trash can.

How to Build an Eco-Friendly Emergency Kit

I have witnessed some crazy wildfires in California over the last two years. The Atlas and Patrick fires both burned less than 15 miles from my home in 2017.

As someone who's lost everything to fire before, it was an incredibly uneasy and tense time.

Growing up my biggest fear was always fire. I think it's a common fear among children, but every night I would pack a backpack full of my favorite things and hang it on my doorknob. After doing this for several weeks, my mom asked me, "Why do you do pack a backpack before bed?"

And, I responded with rock-solid toddler logic, "In case there's a fire." While there was no need to be afraid of any immediate fire, 19 years later my house did burn down.

Thankfully no one was hurt, but I lost almost everything I had.

The fires in California are starting to feel like regular occurrences, and it's got me thinking about being prepared for an emergency.

Maybe there'll be a big earthquake? Maybe there'll be a fire? Perhaps I won’t be affected by any of these things, I don’t know, but I want to try and be prepared.

Since I write a blog about being eco-friendly, I thought it'd be fun to try and round up some zero waste items for building up your emergency preparedness kit!

Obviously, it will be pretty impossible to have an entirely zero waste emergency kit, but I’ve tried my best to round up some of the reusable and recyclable products I’m stocking.

According to ready.gov here's a list of what you need in your emergency kit:

• Water

• Food

• Radio

• Flashlight

• First aid kit

• Extra batteries

• Whistle to signal for help

• Dust mask to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place

• Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation

• Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities

• Manual can opener for food

• Local maps

• Cell phone with chargers and a backup battery

water:

Bottled water is ideal in times of emergency because natural disasters can contaminate the water supply. It’s recommended that you have a gallon of water per person in your household for three days because you can’t always count on your water being potable.

After seeing a lot of people evacuate their homes, I think it’s best to have a large source of water in case you’re stuck at home, but also individual bottles so you can grab and go.

individual:

I’ve been looking for individual bottles to put inside of my emergency backpack and am so glad I discovered PATHWATER they donate 5% of their profits to non-profit organizations that fight to end plastic waste. One of the first things I look for when supporting companies, is that they give back.

The other upside to this bottle is that it’s meant to be refilled!! It’s like a reusable/disposable water bottle hybrid which I think would be great in case of an emergency. They sell the bottles at 7-Eleven and Safeway.

in bulk:

As far as larger sources of water at home, I’ll be buying several of the large 5 gallon bottles that can be refilled. Since I don’t have space for a bulky water cooler, I’m looking into buying a spout that will attach to the bottles.

food:

I feel fortunate where I currently live; we have a wood burning stove that’s the primary source of heat for the house. The top of the furnace has burners on it so you could cook in the home without electricity or gas.

Living a zero waste lifestyle, I have a lot of dried foods like oatmeal, beans, rice, etc. so we’d be able to make food for a couple of weeks.

While we don’t usually eat canned food, I definitely have a stockpile in case! I also kept my manual can opener from my PZW days!

The problem is if I had to evacuate, there’s no way I could bring a lot of that food with me because it would be too heavy. I’ve opted for some higher calorie energy bars like Clif Bars that can be sent back through a TerraCycle program.

In the same vein, it would be pretty easy for Nala if we were stuck at home. If we had to travel, I have grabbed a bag of freeze dried food from Open Farm (our pet food of choice) because they’re also partnered with Terracycle.

small electronics:

I have a portable hand crank radio and flashlight which eliminates the need for batteries! Not only is this good from an environmental perspective, but it’s also practical. If your batteries die and you don’t have replacements, what are you going to do?

If you can hand crank and power the device, you don’t have to worry about running out of power.

first aid kit:

I have a small first aid kit in my emergency backpack which is designed for travel. But, if you’re looking to build a more extensive eco-friendly first aid kit be sure to check out the blog post!

dust masks:

During the fires the air quality was terrible. It was raining ash on more than one occasion, and everyone recommended N95 masks which were, OF COURSE, sold out everywhere. Getting your hands on a mask was tough. Thankfully, my boss in 2017 had gotten some for everyone in the office, and I was smart and saved them.

Technically the N95 masks are disposable one-time use masks, but we kept reusing ours because it was better than nothing. I saw a few people walking around with some intense looking masks. They looked a little like Bane from Batman. After researching those masks, I found they were reusable!

I bought two of those, they’re vogmasks, for our backpack, so we don’t have to worry about purchasing disposable ones anymore.

While it’s great that this is environmentally friendly, I also chose this for health reasons. If we have to evacuate, having one mask we can reuse over and over means less weight in the backpack and one less thing to worry about.

disposables:

I think in an emergency having a pack of wet wipes is a great idea. I’ve opted for some biodegradable wipes. I don’t know much about wet wipes, so I’m not entirely sure they are the most eco choice, but I do know that no matter what - you shouldn’t flush them!

But,  I also have duct tape, a few trash bags, and zip ties. None of these things are zero waste but could be important. (Zero waste is an idea or a goal your health and well-being ALWAYS come first)

I bought 500 trash bags at Costco a year before I went zero waste, and I still have SO many leftover. I use them mostly for litter cleanups. I think it’s pretty hilarious that people always call me out for having plastic trash bags when I pick up litter… but they are the most effective way of holding trash. And, I have about 457 left so I might as well use them for good!

I also have a pack of pads and tampons from my PZW days that I’ve put in my emergency backpack. If I had to evacuate, I can’t foresee an instance where I’d be able to rinse and dry my Thinx.

My pads and tampons are generic since it’s what I had before I went zero waste, but if you’re buying some new try and opt for organic. I also think a cup would be a pretty good option since they don't require a lot of water to clean.

clothing:

We have a pair of plastic ponchos, and I’m pulling together a few items of clothing for both Justin and me. Having a few pairs of undies, socks, thick leggings, and a pullover would be ideal. Wool is my preferred fabric of choice (except for the undies) because it’s a high-performance natural fiber that helps to regulate body heat. I’m scouring thrift stores for these items, but haven’t managed to buy everything I need.

emergency binder:

I’m also working to pull together an emergency binder that has a copy of our important documents like health insurance, drivers licenses, passports, marriage license, cash, etc.

From what I’ve read, it’s also a great idea to put this info on a thumb drive and store it in a safety deposit box, so that’s something I need to do too.

My kit isn’t perfect yet; I’m about half-way there. I’m not going to lie planning for all of this is a little overwhelming. I’m certainly not going overboard by any stretch of the imagination, but still, it’s a bit anxiety-inducing to think about. In the end, I’d rather be prepared than not prepared in case something does happen.

Have you made an emergency kit? Have you considered trying to make it more eco-friendly?