Melissa von Borstel
"BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE!"
POINTS TOTAL
- 0 TODAY
- 0 THIS WEEK
- 440 TOTAL
participant impact
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UP TO80advocacy actionscompleted
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UP TO108gallons of waterhave been saved
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UP TO180minutesspent exercising
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UP TO120minutesspent learning
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UP TO80public officials or leaderscontacted
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UP TO10treesplanted
Melissa's actions
Water
Conserve Toilet Water
I will save up to 12 gallons (45 L) of water a day by flushing only when necessary.
Nature
Support Local Pollinators
At least 30% of crops and 90% of flowering plants rely on pollinators to produce fruit. I will spend 60 minutes researching which plants support local native pollinators and plant some in my yard.
Nature
Plant Trees
I will plant 10 tree(s) in my community, public parks, or backyard.
Water
Ditch the Lawn
I will replace my lawn with a drought-tolerant landscape and save the water, money, and time I used to spend cutting the grass.
Nature
Advocate for Green Spaces
I will call or write 10 public official(s) each day to advocate for more green spaces around my town.
Water
Eco-friendly Gardening
I will plant native species, landscape with water-efficient plants, and use eco-friendly fertilizers.
Water
Mulch the Base of Trees and Plants
I will prevent water runoff and increase absorbency by mulching the base of plants and trees at my home or work.
Waste
Learn About & Practice Sustainable Fashion
I will spend 60 minutes learning about sustainable fashion and begin trying to practice it in my own life.
Waste
Launch a Recycling Program
I will start a recycling program at my workplace or school. If a recycling program exists, I will advocate for ways to improve and expand it.
Waste
Advocate For More Food Packaging Options
I will advocate for alternatives to single-use packaging at local grocery stores, markets, at work, or on campus.
Health
Reduce refined sugar
I will adopt a diet free of refined sugars, which eliminates sweetened beverages, candy, and processed foods.
Health
Exercise Daily
Exercise is a great stress blaster! I will exercise for 45 minute(s) each day.
Health
Eliminate Toxic Plastics
I will avoid buying toxic plastics - including polycarbonate, polystyrene and polyvinyl - and instead replace them with bioplastic or durable options.
Participant Feed
Reflection, encouragement, and relationship building are all important aspects of getting a new habit to stick.
Share thoughts, encourage others, and reinforce positive new habits on the Feed.
To get started, share “your why.” Why did you join the challenge and choose the actions you did?
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Melissa von Borstel 10/18/2019 1:43 PMThe Power of Planting Trees
We are now living in a world where the increasing amount of scientific evidence proving the existence of climate change is being overshadowed by the drastic effects that can be seen even in our immediate environment. From catastrophic droughts in the United States to flooding and snowfall in South Africa, extreme weather patterns are becoming more frequent and widespread. The United Nations, the World Economic Forum and many government institutions and multinational corporations are all implementing huge efforts to reduce their green house gas emissions, their carbon footprint and their dependency on fossil fuels. There is another, significant tool to help us reduce the anthropogenic emissions derived from fossil fuel energy production to the lowest possible levels while we continue to develop the technology needed for a cleaner and sustainable alternative: our forests.
Forests and woodlands cover 30.6% of the planet’s land area, 7% of which has been planted in reforestation efforts. Drastic efforts in many counties around the world have driven this impressive feat. Trees have the spectacular property of absorbing carbon dioxide, one of the Green House Gases, from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Today´s forests have sequestered 10% of all emissions produced in the first half of this century. Forests also provide oxygen, provide habitats for millions of species and are essential to more than 1.6 billion people who depend on them for basic sustenance including food, shelter and energy.
The human population created almost 36 gigatonnes of CO2 during 2014, 60% over the levels experienced in 1990. Still, deforestation is responsible for 15% of these emissions and that figure does not even factor the carbon that wont we sequestered by the millions of trees that were removed from the ecosystem. Deforestation claims 60,000 square miles, the size of Florida and double the area of Austria, every single year. Since 1990, 129 million hectares have been cut, burnt or otherwise degraded This amount is actually considered a (minor) achievement as the rate of deforestation has been reduced to almost half in the last 25 years. We must continue to pursue forest conservation and reforestation projects for mitigating the consequences of fast changing weather patterns.
Neem is a fast growing tree with a large surface biomass with thick foliage and able to resist less than optimal conditions. Its drought resistance properties together with its capacity to filter air and water pollution make it ideal for reforestation projects in degraded lands to avoid further desertification. It has better pest resistance than most trees and because of its bitter taste, many animals prefer not to eat it, improving the odds of survival, The neem tree has a carbon sequestration capacity of 12.27 ton per tree, per year. This is the second highest level of sequestration on the planet. The tree is also drought resistant and fast growing, making it an extraordinary solution for reforestation efforts. In addition, neem may live up to 200 years and is one of the most resilient, hardwearing and durable timbers on the planet. Neem is an obvious choice for a carbon sink strategy where a key element for effective sequestration is long term entrapment.
Planting trees is a significant tool in facing our generation’s environmental challenges. We are able to reduce carbon emissions, increase sequestration rates, maintain biodiversity, improve water and nutrient cycling and promote habitat regeneration simply protecting our forests and planting more trees. Rather than just placing limits on the practices that damage our environment, it is our responsibility to actively restore the ecosystem on which we rely upon.
https://neempedia.com/the-power-of-planting-trees/ -
Melissa von Borstel 10/04/2019 9:25 AM -
Melissa von Borstel 9/30/2019 8:53 AMI AM TAKING THIS CHALLENGE ON AS MY CO-WORKER HAS TAKEN IT ON WITH HER FAMILY AND I AM JOINING HER IN SUPPORT! -
Melissa von Borstel 9/25/2019 9:35 AMUN Climate Action Summit 2019
Global emissions are reaching record levels and show no sign of peaking. The last four years were the four hottest on record, and winter temperatures in the Arctic have risen by 3°C since 1990. Sea levels are rising, coral reefs are dying, and we are starting to see the life-threatening impact of climate change on health, through air pollution, heatwaves and risks to food security.
The impacts of climate change are being felt everywhere and are having very real consequences on people’s lives. Climate change is disrupting national economies, costing us dearly today and even more tomorrow. But there is a growing recognition that affordable, scalable solutions are available now that will enable us all to leapfrog to cleaner, more resilient economies.
The latest analysis shows that if we act now, we can reduce carbon emissions within 12 years and hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C and even, as asked by the latest science, to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
Thankfully, we have the Paris Agreement – a visionary, viable, forward-looking policy framework that sets out exactly what needs to be done to stop climate disruption and reverse its impact. But the agreement itself is meaningless without ambitious action.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres is calling on all leaders to come to New York on 23 September with concrete, realistic plans to enhance their nationally determined contributions by 2020, in line with reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent over the next decade, and to NET ZERO emissions by 2050.
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Melissa von Borstel 9/23/2019 10:19 AM"You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words," climate activist Greta Thunberg tells the UN. "We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you."
