Lake Erie Now Has a Bill of Rights

Climate success stories from around the web — February, 2019.

Gotta Fight for the Right…

The Lake Erie watershed will be entitled to environmental rights to “exist, flourish and naturally evolve” thanks to residents and activists in Toledo, Ohio.

Greta Thunberg, photo by Anders Hellberg

Get Out of the New Road If You Can’t Lend a Hand

Youth climate strikes have taken off all over the world, spurred on by leaders like Greta Thunberg. Strikes have taken place in Belgium (one march brought out 100,000 protesters), Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands (one protest involved 12,000 people in the streets), the U.K., Australia, France, Ireland, Uganda, Thailand, and Poland. A confrontation between U.S. students and a tone-deaf Dianne Feinstein went viral and inspired more people to take action. Responding directly to Greta Thunberg, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker made a commitment that ”every fourth euro spent within the EU budget will go towards action to mitigate climate change.” Get ready for a global day of action on March 15th.

The Importance of Imports

Over the next 10 years, France is committing to stop imports of goods linked to deforestation (palm oil, soy, beef, etc). This is great news since a new analysis shows that reforestation has the potential to outstrip any other method for combating climate change.

Coal? Who Needs It

Germany will close all coal power plants by 2040 in a new commitment to renewable energy. Renewables are already the leading source of power in Germany, accounting for 41% of the country’s electricity last year.

Fly Away Butterfly

The number of monarch butterflies spending their winter in Mexico is up 144% this year after many years of declines. We can do even more to help monarchs make their yearly migration. Here are some ideas!

About Patrick Metzger

Patrick is the founder of TheNewClimate.com, ThePatterning.com, and TheNextMix.com. He is a writer, product leader, and musician. He grew up in Chattanooga, TN and now lives in Beacon, NY.