Earth Day 2016 – Paris Agreement Signed
April 22nd was an exceptionally important Earth Day, now in its 47th year. Leaders from 175 countries signed the Paris climate agreement. This action at the United Nations in New York represented a critical step. With their signatures, the leaders committed to strategies and timeframes that will slow the accumulation of greenhouse gases.
The ratification process continues. It is dangerously slow, but awareness and determination over these past 46 years have at least led to agreement.
Several ecoPreserve team members participated in Orlando International Airport’s (OIA) Earth Day reaching out to the 100,000 visitors that pass through daily at the airport. The Airport Green Team (GOAA Green) took a fun approach with educational games, prizes, and special guest appearances from the Bag Monster.
Chanel Jelovchan, one of ecoPreserve’s Sustainability Specialists, brought attention to the issue of plastic bag waste. Her Bag Monster costume demonstrates the impact each person can have. The costume consists of over 600 plastic bags representing the number of bags the average American uses each year.
Another Sustainability Specialist, Sarah Hamoui, and Jessica Wright, Project Manager, challenged passersby in a matching game called How Long Until I’m Gone. Participants matched pictures of different objects with the years the object needs to decompose.
Our card stand was popular even with those who passed by the game. Clothespins attached unusual but quite practical recipes to the rack.
These recipes weren’t for food, but nonetheless essential in and around the home:
- Laundry detergent
- Room fragrance sprays
- Gentle, natural household cleaners
- Ecofriendly fertilizer
- Non-polluting weed killer
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