In honor of Earth Day, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently hosted a poster contest for students in the 4th to 12th grades.
The art contest theme, “How do you take care of your environment?” invited students to illustrate how they can create a greener future.
The finalists ‘ art was sent to the Tallahassee office, where staff selected a state winner for each age group.
Earth Day is observed in many countries, so more than a decade ago, the United Nations decided to designate April 22 as International Mother Earth Day.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, founded in 1970, every day is Earth Day at the agency set up to ensure Americans have clean air, land, and water.
In March 2008, Texas A&M University created the Office of Sustainability to enhance the university’s sustainability efforts.
Texas A&M’s progress was detailed in its 2022 Sustainability Highlights Report.
Key highlights include: 51% of sponsored researchers on campus are engaged in sustainability-related research; and 71% of waste was diverted from landfills through recycling, composting, and donation and reuse.
On Saturday, April 20, over 100 Recycling Ambassadors participated in a community event at Discovery Green for Earth Day to demonstrate support for the University of Houston-Downtown and its Center for Urban Agriculture and Sustainability.The UHD volunteers received complimentary 50th UHD Anniversary/Earth Day Houston t-shirts to recognize their close relationship with the city of Houston over the past five decades.
The GO ZERO event was a zero-waste event, meaning no trash was generated.
The volunteers from the second-largest university in Houston taught attendees how to sort their waste into reusable, recyclable, or compostable categories.
They worked in two-hour shifts and helped ensure that the event was eco-friendly.
Earth Day Houston partnered with UHD, the Center for Urban Agriculture and Sustainability, and the UHD Sustainability Council to hold the event.
The volunteers also weighed and recorded any food waste and compostable food accessories to be transported to a composting facility and used as valuable plant nutrients.
Recyclables were sent to a Materials Recycling Facility, and trash went to the landfill. A zero-waste event is one where 90% of the material generated at the event, by weight, is diverted for recycling and composting.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, Latinos are critical to the fight against climate change, given the impact environmental degradation has on more than 28 million Latinos who live in Texas, California, and Florida.
These states are experiencing significant impacts from droughts, heat waves, and sea level rise.
Almost 40% of Latinos live within 30 miles of a power plant, which exposes them to higher levels of pollution.
Even worse, the Centers for Disease Control reports that Latino children have higher levels of mercury in their bodies and are more likely to die from asthma.
Extreme weather affects not only health but also jobs.
In 2014, California’s drought led to the loss of over 17,000 jobs in the agriculture sector, a key source of employment for Latinos.
The WWF urged Latinos, the second-largest US community, to come together and demand that leaders take action to protect valuable natural resources and well-being.
Polls show that Latinos strongly support the transition to clean energy, want more vigorous efforts to reduce pollution, and would like to see the US take a leading role in the global fight against climate change.
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