A man makes his way through flood waters on a bike in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York, October 29, 2012. (Reuters/Keith Bedford)

A little over a week ago, the NYS 2100 Committee, formed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to recommend a post-Sandy course of action, released its report. As Eric Jaffe noted here at the time, the document drew some criticism for the vague and all-encompassing nature of its recommendations. If you’re looking for more specific solutions to improve resiliency, disaster preparedness, and climate change mitigation in New York City, you can turn instead to a report from ioby, a nonprofit fundraising organization dedicated to environmental issues.

The people at ioby polled a group of more than 380 people immediately after the storm to get their thoughts on how the city could be better prepared for similar events in the future. Participants, who weren’t constrained by the political considerations that a government group faces, included “engineers, architects, energy experts, policymakers, artists, lawyers, business owners, nurses, activists, planners, academics, media and more.” The results were released last week.

So what do the people on the ground in New York’s neighborhoods want to see? They came up with some “big ideas,” including updating the region’s electrical grid; making flood insurance more expensive to discourage building in vulnerable areas; expanding protected wetland areas to create a bigger buffer zone for storm surge; building floating boardwalks along coastlines. (Yes, the oft-discussed oyster reefs are in here, too.)

But it’s their smaller ideas – many of them clearly born of practical experience – that are the most intriguing. A lot of them are cheap and relatively easy to implement. Here are a few of the group’s nuts and bolts suggestions:

-Secure out/indoor pulley systems to deliver food, water and medicine to residents living in the top floors of tall buildings in lower Manhattan.

-Offer emergency training in Russian in Coney Island.

-Install rainwater harvest systems in Red Hook.

-Establish bike “brigades” that can deliver supplies to areas where roads have been washed out during and after an emergency. (Portland, Oregon, is already researching how best to incorporate cargo bikes into its disaster preparedness plans.)

-Distribute solar-powered water heaters after an emergency.

-Educate youth about extreme weather events and vulnerability.

-Create “buddy” programs to account for everyone in an apartment building during and after an emergency.

Several of the recommendations — such as the cultivation of alternative energy sources and an increase in the number of urban gardens — don’t apply only to emergency situations. And maybe that’s the most important message the ioby group is sending. The conclusion of the report puts it this way:

There was a clear sense that resilience during an emergency is closely intertwined with the longer-term strength of communities. That what is good during an emergency is also good for everyday life. For example, the distribution of food from urban farms was discussed as a way to help feed citizens after an emergency. But it was equally discussed as a service to people that live in food deserts that do not have regular access to healthy food, thus reducing poverty—and vulnerability—across the NYC Metro Area.

In other words, we don’t need a disaster to benefit from being a more connected, resilient community. New York, are you listening?

2012 was Pura Vida Ride’s first year as a member of 1% for the Planet.  For us as a company, joining 1% FTP and committing our money to the environment was putting into action our core beliefs as individuals and as a company.

As we discussed where to put our money, the one requirement that floated to the surface was that we reinvest in Costa Rica and keep our donations local.  As a result we found 6 qualified non-profit organizations in Costa Rica that are approved 1% for the Planet nonprofit partners.  Rather than us as a company deciding who should receive our donation, we opened it up to our fans, friends, and community to decide.  We engaged all of the organizations and their fan bases in a vote to see who should receive the money.

Using Facebook as a social media platform, we put the question to the people over a two-week period.  The voting was fierce across the board but two non-profits quickly floated to the top and were neck and neck up until an hour before the voting ended.

We had almost 21,000 people exposed to the voting effort, and 1,909 combined votes amongst all of the organizations.  The exposure for each of these organizations was astounding and everyone benefitted from igniting their support base and educating everyone else’s support base about their mission and work in Costa Rica.

At the close of voting, La Paz Community School won with 816 votes, followed closely by Nectandra Institute with 814 votes.

La Paz Community School is non-profit, preschool through high school offering experiential bilingual education to the culturally diverse youth of Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

La Paz Community School offers an authentic learning experience in a rural, ecologically and ethnically diverse region of the world.  Growing from 50 to 215 students in under six years, La Paz represents a microcosm of sustainable globalization where half of the students come from 25 countries around the world to join together with local Costa Rican youth to learn how to be creative, multilingual, environmentally conscious stewards of their community and beyond.

A dynamic scholarship program includes 25% of the student population and ensures a diverse and talented population.  Through paradigm challenging intercultural discourse with members of the school, community, and world, La Paz students are equipped to fundamentally transform the world into a better, more sustainable place for all to live.

In short, this experience was rewarding on so many levels for us, and we are thrilled to continue this tradition of giving 1% back to the planet!

So why does Giving Tuesday matter?

It provides an opportunity for nonprofit organizations to engage consumers, businesses, and potential donors in conversation and raise awareness for current initiatives. Several 1% for the Planet partners were involved this year including The Trustees of Reservations and Essex County Greenbelt Association. Both organizations used social media channels, including Twitter, Facebook, and blogs, to share the message of Giving Tuesday.

We think Giving Tuesday is a great addition to the shopping-centric holiday weekend. At 1% for the Planet, our members choose to give back on an annual basis and support nonprofit organizations all year round. Not only does this holiday provide a day where these nonprofit partners can have meaningful engagement with their audience via social media and other channels, but more importantly: it gets the conversation going and inspires other individuals and businesses to think about giving as we head into this holiday season.

With that in mind, we have a challenge for you: continue the spirit of Giving Tuesday through the holiday season. Throughout the month of December we have been highlighting members on our Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest channels. We’re proud of our members and the commitment they make every year when they pledge to donate 1% of their sales.

If you have a minute before you brave the cold (‘cold’ is spot on for where we are), check out our members and see what businesses are near you. From chocolates to jewelry, and everything in between – our members offer great products that you can feel good about giving as gifts. Supporting a 1% for the Planet member in your area is a double feel good: you’re supporting your local economy and a business that gives back 1% of their sales to environmental causes. So, when you’re looking for that perfect gift, remember to carry on the spirit of Giving Tuesday!

Don’t forget to share your pictures with us on Twitter & Instagram, using the hashtag #LoveYourMother, so we can see which 1% FTP network affiliates you are supporting this holiday season!

And now, before we sign off for the holidays, Rebecca and I wanted to extend a huge thank you to our California network for a remarkable past few weeks.  Thank you to Shaper Studios and to Klean Kanteen for most recently hosting 1% network gatherings.

Down south in San Diego, we brought together folks from The San Diego River Park Foundation, Fathom Change, Squeeze Play (thanks for the bounty of produce Brad, Alicia and Kristin!), Drips Water, San Diego Coastkeeper, and Van Eck Enterprises.  Derrik showed the group around Shaper Studios, where he and co-owner, Chris Clark, help customers create DIY surfboards, or as Derrik says, “the surfboard version of build-a-bear.”  If you’re in need of a new board anytime soon, be sure to check them out!

Up north in Chico, Rebecca and I walked into the Klean Kanteen headquarters to find co-owner, Michelle, skipping on – obviously – a skipper.  Work becomes a bit more fun when you’ve got Just Jump It adjacent to your offices!  Jeff and Caroleigh gave us a great tour around their facilities where we got to peer in at what they said was “just a sampling” of their co-branded water bottles — shelves upon shelves full, and take a stop in to see their packing and shipping warehouse (photo below), which is quite the operation during this holiday time!  We were then joined by member companies YourCableStore.com, California Solar Electric Company, and nonprofit partner Bridging the Gap, for a more in depth discussion about 1% partnerships and opportunities.  Thank you guys for making the trip to join us!

We’re really looking forward to working with our California network in the coming new year to put these thoughts and ideas into action.  The feedback we’ve acquired from these gatherings has been enormously helpful and will be the backbone of our 2013 business plan.  If thoughts arise in the meantime – comments, suggestions, questions – please do send them my way (brittany@onepercentfortheplanet.org)!

It’s been our pleasure having had the opportunity to meet face-to-face with so many of the people behind our network these past few months!  Thank you for teaching Rebecca and myself so much about this vast landscape – all the way from San Diego to Chico! We’re very much looking forward to continuing the conversation.  Happy Holidays!

Photo credit: Tom Meredith/USFWS

What region comes to mind?  It’s northwestern New Hampshire and Maine; and it’s how large-scale habitat protection happens.  Northern New England has been flagged as an invaluable ecological unit for adaptation to climate change so habitat protection is essential here.  We can all benefit from supporting a local, grassroots approach to conservation in the Northeast corner of the US.

The Upper Androscoggin Watershed and High Peaks Region in New Hampshire and Maine exemplify what happens when private landowners and government work together for the ultimate benefit of the community and the planet.

This area has:

- Approximately 2 million acres
- Over 100 “Great Ponds” (i.e. greater than ten acres),
- Over 450 miles of named rivers
- Over 3,000 miles of perennial and intermittent streams
- Numerous mountains over 2,700 feet in elevation, the refugia zone for spruce fir forest during past climate warming events
- Large blocks of core conservation lands, building blocks for landscape scale conservation

It’s a valuable forested area and habitat that successfully demonstrates multiple use around conservation, outdoor recreation, sustainably forestry and healthy communities.

The region’s qualities have been recognized in numerous public vetted processes, e.g. the Department of Interior ‘America’s Great Outdoors’ Initiatives and the Nature Conservancy’s “Resilient Sites for Terrestrial Conservation in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Region”.

An effort between the Appalachian Mountain Club, The Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust, and The Trust for Public Land is the collaborative that drives this plan.  The goal is to build on and connect large continuous blocks of land. They do this by:

- Identifying contiguous blocks of land to protect key parcels
- Reaching out to the communities to garner input and ideally public support
- Brokering land transactions – identify new land funding, financing and ownership mechanisms
- Balancing land protection with economic development through sustainable forestry and outdoor recreation 

Successes to date:

- 31,000 acres contiguous to the Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge protected
- Over $20 million raised since 2005
- $5 million Maine Land Protection Bond passed in November 2012

Challenges to completing the project:

- Local misunderstandings that land protection reduces local taxes
- Lack of knowledge that fiber supplies and forestry jobs today are influenced by past intensive harvesting above sustainable rates and mechanization in the industry, not by land protection that permits sustainable forestry.
- Lower land prices in tight economic times are opportunities for conservation, but funding is difficult to achieve
- Partial dismantling of the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC)

Call to Action

This initiative has targeted an additional 50,000 acres, requiring more than $20 million in acquisition costs that need to be raised to make it happen.

Currently almost one-third of this area has conservation protection. For the area’s full potential to be met, additional buffer land protection to and connectivity between the Mahoosucs, Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge, the Rangeley Lakes region protected lands and western Maine High Peaks region is needed.

Please consider donating directly to, joining and supporting the partner organizations doing this vital work:

Appalachian Mountain Club: The oldest US conservation and recreation organization with a focus on the northeastern US. It has been a leader in Northern Forest protection through its research, ability to mobilize outdoor enthusiast and to pull different interest groups together, and advocacy.

The Trust for Public Land: A national organization that makes land transactions happen.  They have brokered protection of more than 200,000 acres in this region alone.

Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust: Maine based, works with state and federal government, conservation organizations, corporations and individuals to protect the unique character of northwestern Maine.

Contact Heather Clish, AMC’s Director of Conservation & Recreation Policy, hclish@outdoors.org, 617-391-6580 with any further questions.

]]> http://onepercentfortheplanet.org/blog/2012/12/wide-open-spaces-unpolluted-skies-conservation-land-sustainable-communities/feed/ 0 http://onepercentfortheplanet.org/blog/2012/12/loveyourmother/ http://onepercentfortheplanet.org/blog/2012/12/loveyourmother/#comments Mon, 10 Dec 2012 22:37:36 +0000 pauline http://onepercentfortheplanet.org/blog/?p=6616

We want to see which 1% for the Planet network affiliates you are supporting this holiday season!

Whether it’s a bracelet for your daughter, coffee and tea for your parents or some energy bars for your active friends- we hope you consider purchasing these items from our members. By supporting 1% FTP members, you are indirectly giving back to our nonprofit partners who are working to save Mother Earth. If you’re more interested in supporting a nonprofit directly, use our database to search for the right one and make a donation in honor of a loved one!

So when you receive that Patagonia fleece you’ve always wanted, or a POP Paddleboard that you can’t wait to use- take a picture of it! Post these pics on Instagram & Twitter and tag us using “#LoveYourMother” for a chance to win a 4-pack of Klean Kanteen steel pints!

Happy holidays from all of us at 1% for the Planet!

Don’t miss the Boston premiere of Jeremy Jones’ Further!

1% FTP member and award winning producer, Teton Gravity Research is pleased to announce the production of Further, the second installment in the Jeremy Jones trilogy, Deeper, Further, Higher presented by O’Neill, Clif Bar, Jones Snowboards and others. Further will explore some of the world’s most remote terrain while continuing Jones’ mission to camp deep in the backcountry and on the summits of unridden lines to access nearly vertical spines and wide open powder fields.

Jeremy Jones founded one of our largest nonprofit partners, Protect Our Winters, who works “to engage and mobilize the winter sports community to lead the fight against climate change.” Not only is Jones an amazing snowboarder and advocate, but he was recently nominated as National Geographic’s Adventurer of the Year- so make sure to show your support and vote for him! Staff from TGR will be at the film and there will be awesome opportunities to win some swag.

The film will be shown in the IMAX theater at the New England Aquarium at both 7PM & 9PM on Thursday & Friday nights! Hope you can attend- and if not, click here to find another showing!

The South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) began the film festival in 2003 with the goal to show environmentally focused films that not only informed audiences, but also inspired and motivated viewers to take action. Every year the California-based festival hits the road with a selection of short films, providing the opportunity for organizations all around the country to host a festival, show a selection of films, and inspire a local audience.

The festival also played host to a celebration. The film selection was inspired by the 40^th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, a passage that made a significant impact on the regulation of water quality. To commemorate the anniversary, the festival featured 10 award-winning and water-inspired short films. Among the chosen films were The Craziest Idea, One Plastic Beach, and Seasons: Winter, which we highly recommend checking out. You could really feel the emotion in the room as everyone watched the awe-inspiring films together.

Attendees also enjoyed food from The Skinny Pancake, delicious Vermont beers, and a silent auction, featuring some amazing items that were generously donated from Vermont businesses and 1% for the Planet members, Tonewood Maple, Kurt Budliger Photography, Osmium, and Refleece.

We were thrilled by the member and partner support the festival received in the days leading up to the event. The 1% FTP Network was in action, as members and partners came together to celebrate the Clean Water Act while creating an engaging and fun environment for the general public to learn more about VNRC, the beneficiary of this year’s event.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to those who attended – we hope you had as much fun as we did! If you’re interested in learning more about the Wild & Scenic Film Festival and want to find out when they’re headed to your neck of the woods, check out the schedule HERE.

1% for the Planet Players in the Game:

Member participants included: Patagonia, Clif Bar, Sugarbush Resort via Timbers Restaurant, The Skinny Pancake, Tonewood Maple, Kurt Budliger Photography, Osmium, Klean Kanteen, Refleece, Felt Soul Media

Member Partner: Mother Jones

Non-Profit Partners include: Vermont Natural Resource Council, Northeast Wilderness Trust, 350 Vermont, South Yuba River Citizens League, American Rivers, American Whitewater, Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center 

Thanks to Michelle Searer and Alicia De Martini from PMG, our newest Media Partner, for their assistance with writing this post!

By the Numbers:

In just a year we’ve added 23 new members, who will donate an additional $700,000 to environmental causes this year alone. That brings us to more than $5M in giving to date from our Canadian partners. Boom. There’s a lot to be excited about.

In the last 12 months we’ve welcomed wonderful new member companies to the network, including Frogbox, Nature’s Path, and Salt Spring Coffee. They were joined at Power Plant by stalwart members Ascenta, MEC, Saul Good and Sunwolf and nonprofit partners like CPAWS, LOCO BC and West Coast Environmental Law.

The evening featured presentations from movers and shakers in the Canadian sustainability world who highlighted ways that business can be a part of the solution to pressing environmental challenges in Canada.

The night was chock full of great conversation, connections and good times; we left inspired by the Canadian team, knowing this is a group that will create enormous positive change for the planet.

Thanks to all who made it possible, keep up the great work, and we’ll see you in town again soon!

And if you couldn’t make it, check out our speakers in action at these links!

Melody Badgett (1% for the Planet)

Michael Ableman (SOLEfood Farms)

Kris Holm (1% Ambassador and Mountain Unicyclist)

This first-time “Special Edition” of Power Plant was focused exclusively on 1% for the Planet, a global movement of more than 1,000 member companies in 45 countries that donate one percent of annual sales directly to approved environmental organizations worldwide. Representatives from 1% for the Planet were on hand to mix and mingle with the sold-out crowd of 185 people, Power Plant’s largest event to date.

After an hour of purposeful connecting in the foyer (while snacking on delicious appetizers and sipping local wine and beer), the group moved into the theatre’s auditorium, where Melody Badgett, Senior Vice President of 1% for the Planet, kicked off the presentations by giving a high energy overview of the benefits businesses gain from joining 1% for the Planet.

Each presenter followed the Power Plant format, giving a three-minute and 20 second presentation accompanied by 10 slides appearing on screen for exactly 20 seconds each, lending a snappy tone to the presentation portion of the evening.

Other speakers included:

-Devon Page, Executive Director of Ecojustice, a charity made up of some of Canada’s leading lawyers and scientists who work to fulfill their mission of using the law and to protect and restore Canada’s environment. Devon talked about Ecojustice’s conservation work, funded in part by 1% for the Planet member Mountain Equipment Co-op, consisting of law suits representing animals such as the caribou and the orca, fighting against the federal government for not following their own regulations around species protection.

-Monica Pearson, a biologist who discussed her work conserving Oregon spotted frog habitats in the Fraser Valley through the BC Conservation Foundation, a non-profit supported by 1% for the Planet member Frogbox. She pointed out that 67 animal species in the Fraser Valley are currently under threat of extinction, and how the work she and her colleagues are doing in riparian restoration is making a difference in stopping that momentum.

-Michael Ableman, an acclaimed farmer, author and founder of SOLEfood Farm, who spoke about this innovative social enterprise that provides urban agriculture employment and training opportunities for Vancouver’s inner-city residents.

-Kris Holm, a mountain unicyclist, who spoke about what inspired him to make his business the first Canadian company, and internationally the first cycling brand, to become a member of 1% for the Planet. Kris is also a 1% for the Planet Ambassador.