October 25, 2009 at 9:36 pm (Environmental Justice, Food for the Poor, Global Warming, Hunger, Poverty, World Food Day, haiti relief, operation green leaves, reforestation, sustainable development, trees)
Tags: All Nite Function for Haiti, Miami-Dade College
Miami-Dade College’s Center for Community Involvement asked me to be their Key Note Speaker for an “All Nighter for Haiti” on October 16th, which was “World Food Day.” The goal was to raise $20,000 for several projects with the objective of improving the lives of those living in specific poverty ridden communities in Haiti. The funds were being raised specifically for Food For The Poor Inc.’s 3 special projects.
The first one was a feeding project for the poor in Cite Soleil, the second was a Tilapia farming project for personal consumption as well as economic sustainability. Food for the Poor’ s partner for this project is the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund. The 3rd was a Tree Planting Project called “Green Day Tree Planting Project. Students would plant trees One Friday a month. Species of trees would be planted for nutrition and a source of income in the chosen community.
The poverty and hunger situation in Haiti is currently out of control and tragic. The U.N. Development Report list Haiti asn number 148 out of 179 countries that have not been able to provide the basic needs for their people to improve their standard of living.
It is a fact that evironmental degradation is directly linked to poverty, so I beleive that addressing the environmental problems in Haiti is a starting point. Operation Green Leaves understood this from the start. It is specifically for that reasons that when the founders of OGL wanted to do something to help with the abject poverty that they witnessed in Haiti in the early 90’s, they decided that the best way was to address the environmental problems. I hope that the authorities in Charge in Haiti, will one day understand that to rebuilding and create a sustainable Haiti they will have to make the ecological restoration in Haiti a priority. Currently it is obviously not.
I am please that some friends of Haiti like Food for the Poor, the Center for Community Involvement of Miami Dade Community College took some action last Oct. 16h.
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October 19, 2009 at 9:46 pm (Around the Americas, Climate Change, Global Warming, Sea Level rise, operation green leaves)
Tags: nadine patrice, operation green leaves
October 24th is the International Day of Climate Change Action. 350.org is leading the movement and has inspired people and organizations worldwide to take some kind of action on that day to show their commitmet to finding solutions to the Climate Change Crisis.
350 currently is the most important number on the planet. Florida will face some of the most extreme effects of a 2 degree celsius temperature change. The scary fact is that as of September 2009 we are at 387 ppm. Scientist now know that this will result in a temperature rise of 2 degrees celcius by the middle of the Century. The good news is that it is not too late we can take action to stop this downward spiral by making a commitment to be part of the solution. The first thing is to make sure you understand the crisis and get accurate information and find out what you can do. So this October 24th Join Operation Green Leaves, The Biscayne Nature Center and the the around the Americas Project at Bicentenial Park in Miami (across from the American Airlines Arena) from 12:00 Noon to 4:oo PM.
AroundtheAmericas.org
Today the Around The Americas Project’s 65ft steel-hulled Sailboat arrived in Miami and I was delighted and excited to watch it come in because I know how important the message and information they have collected on their voyage to share with our community. The “Ocean Watch left Seatle 20 weeks ago. The scientific expedition includes a 1st leg of the icy Northwest Passage. Their plan is to make 31 stops in over 12 countries over a 13 month period spreading a strong environmental message designed to draw attention to the health of the worlds ocean and the impact of Global Climate Change on local environment & Eco-system. So you can’t affort to miss this event on Saturday October 24th. You will have the opportunity to meet the crew and visit the ship as well. Other activities will include a drum circle and a group photo at 2:00 PM.
For more information visit: www.oglhaiti.com, www.350.org, www.rsmas.miami.edu, and www.aroundtheamericas.org.
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October 15, 2009 at 12:02 pm (blogtalkradio, eco-tourism, operation green leaves, reforestation, sustainable development, trees)
Tags: blogtalkradio, blogtalkradioguy, Haiti reforestation, nadine patrice, operation green leaves
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June 25, 2009 at 9:47 am (Environmental Justice, Everglades Restoration)
Tags: environmental justice conference
On Saturday June 20th, under the leadership of Al Callaway, an Environmental Justice Conference was organized at the Broward County main library in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The Conference was sponsored by Operation Green Leaves Inc., the South Florida Community Partners, EarthWise Productions, Inc., Florida Atlantic University, the Wilderness Society and the South Florida Times.
The main topic of discussion at the conference was the Recovery Stimulus Act funding for Everglades Restoration – $360 million. The Opening speaker and host was Audrey Peterman of EarthWise Productions. I was on a panel.
Participating agencies represented on various panels included the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District. Frank Peterman, Regional Director of the Wilderness Society spoke about the importance of maintaining our National Park system.
The main message was that the under-served communities and the poor and disadvantage communities must be included in and be positively impacted by the Recovery Stimulus Act funding for Eveglades Restoration. The General public must be educated on the subjects. The attendees which included a number of Community activists, community based organizations and other agencies were encourage to bring the message back home to their communities.
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One of several panel discussions
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Frank Peterman, Regional Director, The Wilderness Society, Speaker at the conference
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Audrey Peterman, President of EarthWise Production Inc., Host of conference
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Curtis Mozie and Antonia Frazer, members of the South Florida Community partners
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