waterloop’s Post

🌍✉️ This Earth Day, PCRG is taking action for a greener, more equitable future! 🌿 We're advocating for change by urging the EPA and Pennsylvania DEP to prioritize environmental justice and safe drinking water for all. We’re calling for: 🔍 Consideration of equity implications in the proposed Lead and Copper Rule Improvements. 💰 Financial responsibility to ensure communities aren't burdened unfairly. 🚫 Banning partial service line replacement for more comprehensive solutions. 🔄 Modeling after Michigan's approach to prioritize environmental justice. Let's empower communities and ensure meaningful involvement in decision-making processes. Together, we can make a difference! #EarthDay #EnvironmentalJustice #SafeDrinkingWater 🌎💧

One of many reasons to support the Chesapeake Bay Trust: effective and efficient funding of environmental literacy and environmental stewardship! Watch the short video below to get a peak into how the Trust is changing the health of the Chesapeake Bay and the region's communities by investing in our youth!

I'm so excited to see the emphasis on #greensolutions to #climatemitigation and the recognition that disparities in tree canopy quantity and quality are an #environmentaljustice and #socialjustice issue. Purchasing and planting trees is only the beginning. Sustaining these Cooling Corridors also means: -building a seed supply and #plantnursery industry that can produce #native and regionally adapted saplings to fuel regional #biodiversity initiatives, -investing in #arborists, #urbanforesters, #treewardens, and #horticulturists who ultimately dictate the quality and quantity of our urban tree canopies, and - working with #architects #landscapearchitects, #gardendesigners, #landscapemanagers, and other professionals to develop a new native design aesthetic and technical specs to support long-lived canopies that age gracefully while minimizing long-term maintenance costs. We can do it!

It's gone! Florida Department of Environmental Protection's priorities are raising concerns as they shift focus towards converting parks into Golf Courses instead of supporting the successful Green Schools Program. The departure of the program's leader, reportedly due to restrictions on mentioning "climate change" in state documents, has left the future of the program uncertain. The Florida Green Schools Designation Program, which initiated a significant environmental movement in Florida's schools, has been instrumental in helping schools "reduce environmental impacts and costs." Florida DEP has taken down the website. Green schools not only enhance learning outcomes but also cultivate healthier environments for both students and staff while reducing operational costs. Stay tuned for a letter-writing campaign to bring back this program. #EnvironmentalProtection #GreenSchools #Florida #ClimateChange #Education #Sustainability #RonDeSantis.

🌱 Exciting news out of Michigan! The state is making significant strides in environmental justice by applying for federal funding aimed at tackling health and environmental disparities in underrepresented communities. Here's a closer look at what this means and why it's essential. Michigan is competing for valuable grants from the EPA's Environmental Justice Small Grants program and the Brownfields Program. These initiatives are crucial as they specifically target communities in Detroit, Flint, Muskegon, Grand Rapids, and Saginaw—areas that have long faced the brunt of pollution and health issues. 🔍 The Environmental Justice Small Grants seek to empower communities with up to $200,000 for local projects. These projects focus on addressing dire public health and environmental challenges that disproportionately impact low-income and minority groups. 🏗️ Likewise, the Brownfields Program is about transformation—revitalizing contaminated lands into productive properties, with Michigan aiming for up to $600,000 in grants. Both programs aim not just at cleanup but also at fostering education, outreach, and community planning to ensure sustainable futures. 🤔 Have you witnessed similar initiatives in your area? How effective do you think these programs are in addressing environmental justice? 💬 Let's discuss how strategic funding and community involvement can turn the tides toward healthier and more equitable environments. #EnvironmentalJustice #CommunityDevelopment #Sustainability #EPA #Michigan 📢 Share your thoughts and experiences! Let’s learn from each other on how best to advocate for and implement these crucial environmental justice initiatives. https://lnkd.in/gMgTPVc8

''This initiative transcended a simple tree-planting exercise. By actively involving students from both schools, the NSF fostered a sense of environmental responsibility and ownership among the younger generation..'' Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eeaQ68Y2 #MakeTheWorldBetter

Over the last year, Appalachian Voices has been working with five coalfield communities in Virginia, with help from US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to tackle environmental and economic challenges through community-led projects that are rooted in local leadership. In each community, the projects include reinvigorating a special place. 🌄 Read about these places in New Economy Program Coordinator Kara Dotten's latest blog: https://lnkd.in/e2UEPWKF

“Environmental cleanup projects often require presenting complex environmental data to diverse groups of stakeholders, and it’s our job to be effective communicators.” As a lifelong Girl Scout and now troop leader, Amanda McNally, P.E., has applied this sense of purpose to environmental projects, volunteer efforts, and professional relationships. Learn more: https://hubs.ly/Q033m12c0

We can't get enough of the long-form content that Church Falls, VA Councilmember Justine Underhill is creating. If you want to understand the history of some of our biggest challenges today, watch her series. Her latest video tackles green vs grey environmentalism. What topic would you like to see covered in this depth? https://lnkd.in/gegsqKf9

EPA Research Updates Brownfields are underused properties where expansion, reuse, or redevelopment is complicated due to the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Cleaning up these sites offers several benefits to the community, but there are also concerns that some residents may be impacted in unforeseen ways. EPA researchers collected and analyzed neighborhood-level data in four neighborhood areas with brownfields and explored the impacts of brownfields cleanup and reuse. Last week, EPA and Chickasaw Nation signed a memorandum of understanding to work together on important environmental research. One aspect was the establishment of a Chickasaw Nation hydrologist and other technical positions as guest researchers and scientists in the EPA’s Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Center in Ada, Oklahoma. This will enable Tribal and federal researchers to work side by side to develop a more robust understanding of threats to the Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer, the primary drinking water source for tens of thousands of area residents.