The Green Spotlight
sustainability solutions :::: green practices, policies, products, resources
Book Suggestions (2022)
These are a few recently published books that you may want to consider reading and/or giving to others as a gift:
The Climate Book: The Facts and the Solutions, by Greta Thunberg
Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future, by Elizabeth Kolbert (also the author of The Sixth Extinction)
An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us, by Ed Yong (also the author of I Contain Multitudes)
Water Always Wins: Thriving in an Age of Drought and Deluge, by Erica Gies
Call Us What We Carry (poems), by Amanda Gorman
The Flag, The Cross, and the Station Wagon: A Graying American Looks Back at His Suburban Boyhood and Wonders What the Hell Happened, by Bill McKibben
Midnight in Washington: How We Almost Lost Our Democracy and Still Could, by Adam Schiff
The Storm is Upon Us: How QAnon Became a Movement, Cult, and Conspiracy Theory of Everything, by Mike Rothschild
Beyond Belief: How Pentecostal Christianity is Taking Over the World, by Elle Hardy
Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention—And How to Think Deeply Again, by Johann Hari
Another book I would recommend is the following [disclosure: it was written by a family member]. It came out a few years ago, but it imparts important and timely lessons on the folly of violence (and the value of non-violent dissent) that all social movements and activists can benefit from:
Looking for Revolution, Finding Murder: The Crimes and Transformation of Katherine Ann Power, by Janet Landman
Also check out the books published by New Society Publishers and Chelsea Green Publishing and Island Press, for a wide selection of titles on green/sustainability topics.
Please buy books from independent bookstores to keep them in business (you can find the ones closest to you on IndieBound.org)—or from Powell’s Books, Barnes & Noble, or Better World Books—rather than from Amazon. There are numerous good reasons not to buy anything (but especially books) from Amazon. (And remember, when you pay the lowest possible price for books, the authors, publishers, and warehouse workers are all likely to receive a lot less for their work.) Also, when buying online, avoid choosing one- or two-day shipping unless it’s actually necessary; overnight/airplane-based rush shipping has an enormous environmental footprint as well as a serious cost to worker safety and sanity.
Consider buying gift certificates from local, independent bookstores for your family or friends.
For online audio books, check out Libro.fm, which also helps support your local independent bookstore.
Do you have some favorite books or authors to recommend? Please mention them in the Comments.
New Books (2020)
Books on Sustainability Topics
Books (and films) about animals (the books section is near the end of the post)
Recent Films
Better Gift Giving
[Click here to comment]
Films and TV, Books, TED Talks, and Other Educational Resources: An Index of Posts
While almost all of our posts can be used to inform or educate yourself or others, here are some of our posts that provide some direct resources for learning (for adults or children/youth). Many of the resources in these listings are also very entertaining:
Films and TV Programs
Recent Films and TV: 2016-2021
Green-Themed Films of 2015
Films on Green Topics, 2012-2014
Films with Green Themes: Energy, fuel, climate, food, farming, health, etc. (2006-2011)
Films (and books) about animals (scroll down towards the end of that post)
Fuel-Focused Films and Climactic Climate Cinema
Recommended Film: The Cove
Books (and films) about animals (scroll down towards the end of that post)
TED Talks (videos)
Selected TED Talks to Watch (Part III)
More TED Talks to Watch (Part II)
TED Talks to Watch (Part I)
Green Curricula and Environmental Learning Activities
Reputable, Fact-Based News and Information Sources (media)
Youth Organizations Making Waves and Effecting Change
What are some of your favorite, recommended educational resources on environmental topics? Let us know in the Comments.
The Green Spotlight’s Social Media Pages
Each day, we post one or two morsels of illuminating information or inspiration on The Green Spotlight’s Facebook Page. If you have a Facebook account, we hope you’ll click on the page’s Like button (if you haven’t already “Liked” or “Followed” the page) and also Share the page or some of its posts with some friends.
Please visit the Page to get a sense of the various topics that it covers. To make sure that Facebook will continue to show you our posts on your Facebook homepage/newsfeed, visit our page regularly and give a thumbs-up to (“Like”) your favorite posts.
We also have a Twitter page, and these topic-specific Twitter lists, which you can follow. Thanks for being a part of our online communities!
These are a few recently published non-fiction books that you may want to consider reading and/or giving to others as a gift:
Under the Sky We Make: How to Be Human in a Warming World, by Kimberly Nicholas, PhD
Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World, by Katherine Hayhoe
The Power of Tranquility in a Very Noisy World, by Bernie Krause (author of The Great Animal Orchestra)
Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest, by Suzanne Simard
100% Clean Renewable Energy and Storage for Everything, by Mark Z. Jacobson
Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation, by Paul Hawken
Our Time is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America, by Stacey Abrams
Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take, by Paul Polman and Andrew Winston
The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity, by David Graeber and David Wengrow
And here are two novels (fiction with wisdom on the climate) to read:
Bewilderment, by Richard Powers
The Ministry for the Future, by Kim Stanley Robinson
Recent Films, 2016 – 2021
These are just a few of the many films—with environmental themes—that have come out in the last few years (between 2016 and 2021). The listing also includes a few TV programs. These films and shows (mostly documentaries) touch on all sorts of topics, e.g., food, soil, agriculture/farming, indigenous people, climate change, social and environmental movements, animals, trees and forests, energy, and inspiring leaders and scientists. We’ll continue to add more films to this listing throughout 2021, as we learn of others. We have also posted listings of earlier films (from before 2016); scroll to the bottom of this post to find links to those.
Click on each of the links below (or go to IMDB.com) to see previews/trailers, reviews, and descriptions of each film. Also, educators should note that many of these films are available for free to teachers, and their websites often have educational resources for teachers/students to use.
Dark Waters (feature movie, based on a true story re. PFAS and DuPont)
Percy vs Goliath (feature movie, based on a true story re. a farmer and Monsanto)
The Condor & the Eagle
The Biggest Little Farm
The Serengeti Rules
Climate Solutions 101 (Project Drawdown’s 6-part video series)
Living in the Future’s Past
Being the Change: A New Kind of Climate Documentary
Inside the Megafire
The Story of Plastic
A Plastic Ocean
RiverBlue
Power Struggle
Life Off Grid
Hard Nox (from the Dirty Money TV series)
The Beekeeper (short film)
You’ve Been Trumped Too
Love and Bananas: An Elephant Story
My Octopus Teacher
Artifishal: The Fight to Save Wild Salmon
Trees and Plants:
Intelligent Trees
Fantastic Fungi
The Call of the Forest: The Forgotten Wisdom of Trees
The Secret World of Trees (TV series)
Inspiring People:
End of the Line: The Women of Standing Rock
I Am Greta: A Force of Nature
Jane Goodall: The Hope
David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet
For other media on inspiring environmental leaders, check out the short videos about Goldman Prize winners.
Also check out Ecoflix [NEW] and WaterBear: new streaming platforms dedicated to environmental films and media. And take a look at The Years Project videos and shows, as well as PBS shows such as Our Planet, Nature, Earth: A New Wild, and NOVA, and BBC shows such as A Perfect Planet and Planet Earth.
Are there other relevant, recent (or forthcoming) films or TV programs that you’ve seen and would recommend to others? If so, please mention those in the Comments section below.
Green Film Festivals
These are a few of the annual film fests that I’m aware of; this is not an exhaustive list. Please let everyone know about other green film festivals by contributing a Comment. Many of the festivals’ websites feature video clips and a some even stream entire films (short and full-length films), and they list many additional, new, independent films, beyond what I’ve listed above, including some brand new ones that haven’t been screened widely yet.
Environmental Film Festival, Washington, DC
One Earth Film Festival, Chicago area, IL
Wild and Scenic Film Festival, Nevada City, CA (and other locations around the country: bring it to your town!)
Mountainfilm Festival, Telluride, CO
Environmental Film Festival at Yale, New Haven, CT
San Francisco Green Film Festival, San Francisco, CA
Planet in Focus environmental film festival, Toronto, Canada
UK Green Film Festival, UK
See the Green Film Network to find film festivals in many countries.
Our previous film posts:
Films with Green Themes: Energy, fuel, climate, food, farming, health, etc.(2006-2011)
Make It Count: How to Protect Your Vote and Everyone Else’s
The survival of our democracy—and the survival of a habitable environment and climate—depends on having free and fair elections. This post includes some tips and recommendations of specific ways to help preserve the integrity and security of the election: to make sure that your vote and other people’s votes are counted. (Scroll down to see all of our tips, especially item #4 re. mail-in voting vs. voting in person.)
To get started, I hereby offer up the following resources and tools for getting clear, accurate, official information on the voting options and rules in your state/county (beware of disinformation that’s being spread, particularly on social media, and be aware that each state and county has somewhat different voting rules and options). Further down, I have also listed groups that are involved in helping to counter voter suppression (and disinformation and intimidation) tactics and protect the election (from election fraud, tampering, cyber hacking, manipulation, foreign “interference,” or errors; individual voter fraud is almost non-existent and is readily detected, so it is not a major threat).
Please review, use, and share some of these resources and tools:
The Best Way to Vote in Every State: A comprehensive guide to making sure your ballot gets counted, no matter where in America you live (Slate)
Plan Your Vote. Everything you need to know about mail-in and early in-person voting (state by state) (NBC)
State/County Voting Requirements and Information directory (U.S. Vote Foundation)
State by State Voting Information Links (The Green Spotlight)
How to Prevent Your Mail Ballot from Being Rejected (Washington Post)
State Laws on Early Voting (National Conference of State Legislatures)
[Note: 41 states have some form of Early Voting in place. Only 9 states—Alabama, Connecticut, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina—do not offer pre-Election Day, in-person Early voting options.]
Tips to Mitigate Threats to Our Votes and Voter Registrations Before November (Jennifer Cohn, Protect Our Votes)
Four Ways to Safely Cast Your Ballot Without USPS (Democracy Docket)
Orgs/websites for voting information:
Election Protection (hotline: 866-OUR-V OTE, 866-687-8683)
When We All Vote
League of Women Voters of the U.S.
VoteRiders
U.S. Vote Foundation
Vote Save America
and/or contact your county’s Elections office/department/board/registrar (or your Secretary of State’s elections division) for official, local, up-to-date voting and ballot information.
Orgs/websites re. election protection/integrity/security (including legal action) efforts and safeguards (please click on/follow/share a few, and pick one or two to support/volunteer/join!):
Protect the Vote (Election Protection)
WorkElections / Power the Polls / Poll Hero
Scrutineers
Protect Our Votes
Protect Our Election
Secure Our Vote
Safe Voting Now
Voter Protection Corps
Fair Fight
National Election Defense Coalition
Audit USA
Let America Vote
We the Action (volunteer opportunities for legal professionals)
NAACP Legal Defense Fund
Verified Voting
More Than a Vote
Unhack the Vote
Also follow and share our:
list of Voting / Elections accounts on Twitter and our Twitter posts
TIPS & RECOMMENDATIONS:
Register early (don’t put it off until your state’s deadline), and re-check your registration periodically, including just over than a month before each election to make sure your name hasn’t been purged and to give you enough time to fix any problems. Make sure your registration has your current address and all of the other information is also correct and has not been altered (name, party preference, etc.). Save a screen shot of your registration and bring that or your registration confirmation card/postcard with you as proof (just in case they say you’re not listed on the voting rolls), if you’re voting in-person.If you move more than a month before the election, re-register to vote right away with your new address. If you have to move within the month before the election, find out if your state allows last-minute or Same-Day Registration during Early Voting or on Election Day; or if you’re moving near-by, ask your County elections office if you are still allowed to vote at the poll location for your old address or what your other options are.
Make sure you have the required ID (if any is required in your state). Go to VoteRiders.org or go to your Secretary of State’s elections website or your County’s elections/voter registrar site to find out whether/what ID is required to vote. If you need help obtaining or paying for the correct ID before the election, contact VoteRiders or Spread the Vote for assistance ASAP.
Ask your County elections office/Registrar of Voters whether your County provides Hand-Marked Paper Ballots on Election Day as well as during Early Voting (preferably as the default option, instead of touchscreen/computer voting machines or ballot-marking devices, but at least as an option that you can request instead of the machines), as well as paper pollbooks (lists of voters) as a backup in case their electronic pollbooks malfunction/fail (e.g., Internet connection or power goes out) or are hacked into and tampered with. Ask/demand that your County and State provide: Hand Marked Paper Ballots, paper pollbooks (at least as backup), and no modem/Internet (i.e. hackable) connections for voting machines or ballot scanners; also tell them they must save all ballots and digital ballot images to allow for audits or recounts. Ask them if they will have plenty of local polling places open throughout your County/State so people won’t have to travel far from their neighborhood to vote. Not everyone has a car. (Providing large, centralized voting “centers” is not a good replacement for having many, neighborhood-based polling places. Also, county-wide voting centers will not have paper pollbooks on hand, which can cause serious problems if the e-pollbooks fail.) For more info on these issues, follow @jennycohn1 on Twitter or see ProtectOurVotes.com.
IF your County provides Hand-Marked Paper Ballots (as regular ballots, not just “provisional,” and they are also provided during Early Voting): I’d generally recommend voting in person (preferably during the Early Voting period to avoid lines and any unexpected issues on Election Day), particularly IF you are young and healthy and you feel confident that your daily schedule will allow you to go vote in person. (Also see #8, 9, and 10 below for more on voting in person.) On the other hand…
IF your County/precinct (only) uses computerized voting machines (e.g. hackable BMDs or DREs), or IF you are elderly or at high risk if you get COVID, or IF you anticipate extremely long lines in your precinct or not having the time to go vote in person for any reason (work, childcare, etc.): it would be better to request a mail-in/absentee ballot if your state allows that [no-excuse absentee voting is currently allowed in two-thirds of the states]. Please follow these steps:
1) Apply for your absentee ballot as soon as you are allowed to (don’t wait until the deadline); find info on how to do so on your Secretary of State’s elections site;
2) When you receive the actual ballot, be sure to read and follow the instructions on it very carefully to make sure you fill it out correctly; sign it where requested (which might be on the return envelope) with your typical signature (the same way you signed when registering to vote or on your driver’s license, for potential “signature matching” issues in some states) so they won’t have any cause to reject it (the GOP will be looking for any excuse to challenge/reject mail-in ballots); unfortunately, rejections of mail-in ballots are frighteningly common, especially for inexperienced voters (please contact your County if you have any questions about their instructions, which are sometimes confusing). Note: If you make a mistake on your ballot, contact your county elections office to find out how/where you can bring your “spoiled” ballot in to have it voided and get a new one (or bring the spoiled ballot to your polling place and have them replace it with a clean ballot).
3) Return your completed ballot as early as possible, ideally dropping it off directly at your County’s elections office or another designated ballot drop-off location/box within your County (since USPS mail service could be significantly delayed and it might not get post-marked or delivered in time). If you mail it, mail it at least two weeks before the election and with as much postage on the envelope as is required. [Note: Some states will not accept ballots that are mailed via non-USPS services such as UPS or FedEx.]
4) Look up whether your state/county offers a way to track your ballot and confirm that it has been received and accepted/counted. Track its status if you can. If you find out or are notified that it has been rejected, please go in to “cure” (fix) your ballot if you are allowed to (some areas allow this). Be aware that most places will not start counting any mail-in ballots until Election Day, and some ballots will not be received or counted until after Election Day.
If you don’t receive your mail-in ballot at least two weeks before the election, report that to your County’s elections office (and Secretary of State), and if it doesn’t arrive in time, go vote in person instead, ideally during Early Voting. If it arrives within the last 10-14 days before the election, do not send the completed ballot back by mail, due to postal delays; drop it off at a designated location instead.
Sign up to be a paid poll worker or “election judge” (for Early Voting and/or for Election Day), as there is a shortage of poll workers in many areas due to COVID (in the past many poll workers have been seniors, but they have good reason to sit this one out due to COVID risks). If there aren’t enough poll workers, counties will close poll locations. See WorkElections.com, Power the Polls, or Poll Hero, or contact your County’s elections office directly to find out how to apply. Be sure to wear a face mask and a face shield when working at the polls.
Or sign up to be a poll monitor/observer/watcher, to help prevent and report any voter suppression or intimidation, correct or report poll workers who may be providing false information, or other problems at the polls; or to observe the counting of absentee ballots. The Republican Party and Trump campaign plan to deploy an “Army” of “poll watchers” (and intimidators, though that is not legal) and they will be looking for any excuse to challenge and reject ballots, so we need to have plenty of poll monitors and count monitors of our own. Contact your state or local Democratic Party, the Biden campaign, or a local candidate/campaign to sign up to be a poll observer. #WatchTheVote
Alternatively, volunteer with Election Protection / Common Cause’s Protect The Vote program. People with legal experience can contact We the Action for call center and/or field program opportunities.
Or “consider volunteering with ProtectOurVotes.com to photograph precinct totals (as shown on precinct poll tapes posted outside many polling places when the polls close) and compare them to the county-reported totals for those precincts. If the two don’t match, this suggests that a potentially serious problem occurred with the tabulation and may support an election challenge.” #PhotoFinish
You could also volunteer with the Scrutineers. To be involved in additional vote protection efforts on election night and beyond (e.g. taking periodic screenshots of election tally results from state or county websites as votes are counted), see item #21 here, and follow @jennycohn1 on Twitter for other suggestions.
Volunteer for or donate to voter outreach/education/registration, and Get Out the Vote (GOTV) efforts (such as texting voters from your computer), through your state or local Democratic Party, a battleground state’s Dem. Party (e.g., PA, AZ, NC, WI, FL, GA, IA, KS, MI, OH, MT, TX, NV, MN, ME, VA, NH, CO; SC, KY, AL, MS), a specific campaign, or a group such as: Mobilize.US, MoveOn, Swing Left, NextGen America, Indivisible, Democrats Abroad, LastElection.org, Sierra Club, Progressive Turnout Project, When We All Vote, Fair Fight, March for Our Lives, Voto Latino, NALEO, Rock the Vote, Black Voters Matter, More than a Vote, Overseas Vote, Nonprofit Vote, DSCC, DLCC, DCCC, NDRC, or All on the Line, among many others. Also, remind all of your friends to vote!
If voting in person, bring your completed sample ballot with you (which should be sent to you in the mail, or you can download one online) to work off of when filling out your real ballot. Also bring a mask, some water/snacks (maybe some to share too), and perhaps a portable chair/stool if there could be long lines. Offer to drive someone to the polls with you (a senior, young person, neighbor, or someone else who might not have a car). Request a paper ballot that you can mark with a pen. And Jenny Cohn says, “If you must use a touchscreen, compare the human readable text on the paper printout (if any) to your completed sample ballot to ensure the machine didn’t drop or flip your votes. Very few voters will notice such dropping or flipping — especially for down-ballot races — without doing this comparison.” Make sure no races, candidates, or other items are missing.
If you encounter any problems or irregularities (or questions) prior to or during voting, contact the Election Protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683 — save that number in your phone and share it with others; it’s 1-888-VE-Y-VOTA for help in Spanish). If problems are not immediately or adequately resolved, you should also report the issues to your County Elections office, your Secretary of State’s elections division, your state Democratic Party, the DNC, local or national media, on social media; and/or to legal groups such as Democracy Docket, the ACLU, and you can also send/post a note to @jennycohn1 on Twitter. Do not give up on voting without first at least contacting Election Protection for assistance, and do not vote a provisional ballot unless you confirm with Election Protection that that is the only way you will be able to vote. If there are long lines, please stay in line. Anyone who is in line at the time that polls “close” must be allowed to vote.
Keep your ballot receipt/stub (if provided), and look up whether your state/county offers a way to track your ballot and confirm that it has been received and accepted/counted. Track its status if you can. (Some states allow you track your ballots through BallotTrax.) And if it isn’t accepted/counted, report that (see the list of groups in the previous item). In highly populated cities, counties, and states, it could take several weeks for all votes (particularly mail-in and overseas/military ballots, some of which won’t arrive until after Election Day) to be counted. Do not expect final or certified election results immediately after the election. Patience is a virtue. Accuracy is more important than instant gratification. (It is wildly irresponsible for any news media to “call” races prematurely, before almost all votes have actually been counted, including mail-in ballots. Please remind media and others about this on social media.) If the reported results differ significantly from recent polls and exit polls, support recount and audit efforts. We must insist on election transparency, security, integrity, and verifiability, especially at a time when Russian operatives are again actively working to manipulate our election like they did last time.
Avoid sending anything non-crucial (or ordering anything to be shipped) through the US Postal Service (except your mail-in ballot, if you can’t drop it off instead) for the three to four weeks preceding the election, up through the day after the election (from at least Oct. 13 – Nov. 4)—to try to enable the USPS to process all of the ballot mail.
For additional info and tips, see our previous voting posts:
Get-Out-The-Vote (voter outreach) and Election Security Opportunities
State by State Voting Information
Voting and Election Tips and Resources for an even more comprehensive list of links and voting rights/advocacy groups
I will be adding some more information and links to this post in the coming days and weeks. So please check back again! And please use and share some of this info with friends. We need all hands on deck to protect and save our democracy.
Vote like your life depends on it and everyone’s future depends on it. Vote for democracy, basic decency, health, sanity, justice, facts and rationality, equality, stability, security, fairness, ethics, and a livable environment.
In solidarity. Thank you.
Animal Protection, Rescue, and Advocacy: Organizations and resources
I have noticed that animal protection and animal rights are issues that unite people of many different backgrounds and political stripes (even more so than a love of nature or a desire to protect the environment). Most people recognize that we humans are animals too, and many people understand that all living beings have inherent value and should have the right to live and thrive.
Personally, I believe that other species have as much of a right to exist, live, and thrive as humans do. I do not feel that my life has greater importance or value than the lives of other creatures. I also do not believe that other animals are here for us; they are here with us (and many species were here long before us), and they are not ours to use, abuse, commodify, cage, or exploit. Since they cannot speak for themselves or defend themselves against people (and our various types of weapons and threats), I do think it is our responsibility to try to protect them from other humans who do them harm.
Animals of all kinds—wild and domestic—face a wide variety of threats (to their survival, health, and well-being) from humans, including:
cruelty, abuse, domestic violence, neglect, exploitation and captivity (for human entertainment), factory farming, inhumane slaughter, over-hunting, poaching, trapping, trafficking, poisoning (e.g., rat poison and pesticides/herbicides; water, soil, and air pollution; plastic waste/pollution; intentional poisoning e.g. cyanide poisoning of elephants’ watering holes), widespread habitat destruction (e.g. from deforestation, development, agribusiness e.g. cattle grazing and crop plantations, mining, and road-building), medical research, animal testing (for products e.g. cosmetics), injury or death from vehicles or buildings (e.g., getting hit by cars or planes, birds flying into windows), and the overarching problem that affects all species including our own: climate change (extreme and volatile temperatures, drought; loss of food sources; extreme storms/hurricanes, flooding, fires, etc.)
Between 1970-2012 (in just over 40 years), humans have wiped out about 60% of the earth’s mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians, according to WWF’s Living Planet report of 2018. (As the human population has increased, wildlife populations have decreased, by similar degrees. Over that same time period (1970-2012), the world population of humans almost doubled, growing by approx. 3.5 billion people to more than 7 billion people. In 2020, we’re now approaching 8 billion.) The WWF study also found that freshwater wildlife populations have decreased by 83%, and extreme deforestation in South and Central America has led to a wildlife decline of 89% in that region. During the past 12,000 years of human civilization, humans have killed almost half of the trees on earth; around 15 billion trees are cut down each year (source). When we destroy animals’ habitat, we are destroying living beings and biodiversity. This not only creates a bleaker world in which to live; we are also destroying our own cousins and our shared life support systems.
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. …I hold that the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man.”
– Mahatma Gandhi
Below is a listing of some of the many organizations that advocate for animals. They include animal rights, welfare/protection, conservation, rescue and rehabilitation, and refuge/sanctuary groups. Some are focused primarily on wildlife (including threatened or endangered species, or biodiversity), while others are focused on domesticated / companion animals (e.g. pets) or farmed animals. And a few do work that addresses all of the above. I have mostly included groups with a national (U.S.) or international scope, but there are many local and regional community-based groups for animals (in particular rescue groups that serve a local area), as well. I encourage you to do an online search to identify and support the ones in your region. Also follow our Twitter list of animal protection groups.
Organizations are listed below under the categories: General/Broad-based; Biodiversity; Farm Animals (and Humane Eating); Wild Animal Sanctuaries; Anti-Poaching and -Trafficking; Species-Specific (elephants, wolves, marine animals, primates, donkeys); Disaster Response/Rescue; Anti- Animal-Testing/Research/Experiments; Petitions; Books, Films, Audio, Videos; and Other Resources. And at the end, you will see More Quotations and Related Posts.
Note: This listing is not comprehensive. Also, I cannot vouch for the effectiveness or integrity of every group listed here (i.e., being listed does not necessarily constitute an endorsement). I will periodically add more links to the listing as I learn about other interesting groups. Please feel free to recommend additional groups in the Comments section.
General / broad-based animal rights and welfare groups
International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF)
Nonhuman Rights Project
SPCA International (Global Animal Rescue)
(+ search for your local Humane Society and local ASPCA)
International Animal Rescue
Animal Welfare Institute
Animal Ethics
In Defense of Animals
The Animal Rescue Site
Biodiversity groups
These groups focus on broad issues that affect wild animal populations, such as habitat conservation, wildlife and endangered species protection, biodiversity, rewilding, and climate.
Biodiversity for a Livable Climate
E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation / Half-Earth Project
Rewilding Institute
WildAid
Endangered Species Coalition
WildEarth Guardians
Lawrence Anthony Earth Organization
National Audubon Society
Faunawatch
Racing Extinction: Actions/Resources
CITES: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)
Goldman Prize recipients/projects focused on wildlife protection
Also see the Anti-poaching category below.
And see the land/habitat conservation groups listed in our post Sustainable Land Use and Land Stewardship.
Organizations that work to protect and preserve wilderness (including intact forests and other wild lands) are thereby also preserving habitat for wildlife.
Farm animal groups and rescues/sanctuaries
The Humane Society’s Farm Animals programs
ALDF’s Farmed Animals work
There are many animal rescues and sanctuaries all over the country and the world. The following list is just a small selection of them that provide safe places for farm(ed) animals. Do a search to find the ones in your area, and see if you can go on a tour, or donate / sponsor (“adopt”) an animal:
Gentle Barn, MO, TN, and CA
Farm Sanctuary, NY and CA
Hope Animal Sanctuary, MS
Barn Sanctuary, MI
Wild Earth Farm and Sanctuary, KY
Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary, OR
Animal Place, CA
Rancho Compasión, a farmed animal sanctuary, CA
Goatlandia Farm Animal Sanctuary, CA
Humane eating/meat standards:
Humane Eating Project (and app)
Vegetarian, vegan, and farm animal advocacy organizations
Consumer’s guide to animal welfare food labels
“Animal Welfare Approved” certification by AGW (A Greener World)
Global Animal Partnership’s “Animal Welfare Certified” labelling program (only choose products that achieve their step 5 or 5+)
“Certified Humane” pasture-raised eggs
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Some would (maybe rightly) argue that there is no such thing as “humanely” raising or slaughtering (or hunting) animals for meat. I have included vegetarian/vegan resources here, as well as information about the various “humane” standards and certifications for meat producers. While I believe the choice to be vegan or vegetarian is admirable and ideal, the reality is that most humans have been and continue to be carnivores (omnivores), and I don’t think that people can be shamed out of meat-eating. Non-dogmatically-presented information and education can help, and more people are moving towards a low-meat, more humanely-raised-meat, or no-meat (or dairy) diet, but those are choices that each person comes to based on their own personal convictions and experiences.
Wild/large animal sanctuaries
Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) sanctuaries, CA
Wild Animal Sanctuary, CO and TX
Orphaned Wildlife Center, NY
Thula Thula Game Reserve, South Africa
There are many others. To find others, check out this listing of accredited sanctuaries.
Also see the sanctuaries for specific species, e.g., elephants, wolves, donkeys, etc., listed under “Species-specific groups,” below.
Anti-poaching, -trafficking, -wildlife-crime groups
International Anti-Poaching Foundation (IAPF)
Earth League International
The Thin Green Line Foundation / Born Free USA
Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit
Big Life Foundation
Species-specific groups
The following is a small selection of the many groups that focus on particular species:
Elephants:
Save the Elephants
The Elephant Project
Elephant Aid International
Elephant Crisis Fund
ElephantVoices
Amboseli Trust for Elephants (Kenya)
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (Kenya)
Global Sanctuary for Elephants (and their Elephant Sanctuary Brazil)
The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee
Performing Animal Welfare Society – PAWS
(Also see the Anti-Poaching groups listed above, which help protect elephants as well as other animals. And see the films Love and Bananas, and Last Days of Ivory.)
Wolves:
International Wolf Center (MN)
The Wolf Conservation Center (NY)
U.S. Wolf Refuge (NV)
Wolf Patrol (Great Lakes / Midwest)|
White Wolf Sanctuary (OR)
Project Coyote
Keep Michigan Wolves Protected (MI)
Marine animals:
Marine Mammal Center (CA)
Oiled Wildlife Care Network
Find other marine animal rescue groups here (a listing). And see the films The Cove and Blackfish.
Primates:
Jane Goodall Institute
Virunga National Park (Congo, Mountain gorillas)
Organizations saving endangered orangutans
Donkeys:
Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue (TX and nationwide) + Donkey Rescue International
Longhopes Donkey Shelter (CO)
Oregon Donkey Sanctuary Northwest (OR)
Rancho Burro Donkey Sanctuary (CA)
The Donkey Sanctuary (UK)
Big cats:
Snow Leopard Conservancy
Disaster response/rescue groups
International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)’s disaster response
ASPCA‘s disaster preparedness and response
Humane Society‘s disaster relief and preparedness
HALTER Project
Disaster Pet Rescue AID: Missing and Found Pets (Facebook page)
UC Davis Veterinary Emergency Response Team (VERT)
Do an online search to find out if there’s some type of Animal Disaster Response group, such as an Animal Response Team (e.g., “State Animal Response Team” (SART) or “Community/County Animal Response Team” (CART)) established in your state, county, or city/town. If there isn’t one, consider organizing people to start one in your area, to help rescue pets, horses, livestock, and other animals during disasters.
Anti- animal testing/research/experiments groups
Cruelty-Free International (focused on ending animal experiments)
Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (at Johns Hopkins)
Leaping Bunny cruelty-free label (for products that are not tested on animals)
Many of the organizations listed in the first section and in other sections of this post create their own petitions or letters that you can sign on to. Sign up for some organizations’ mailing lists, and check their websites’ Action-related sections.
Also see these websites:
Care2 Animal Rights petitions
Care2 Wildlife petitions
TheAnimalRescueSite petitions
TheRainforestSite petitions
And you can also check these other petition sites, which sometimes have animal-related petitions.
Books, Films, Audio, Videos, Podcast
Our Wild Calling: How connecting with animals can transform our lives—and save theirs, by Richard Louv
Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel, by Carl Safina
An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us, by Ed Yong
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, by Elizabeth Kolbert
The Great Animal Orchestra, by Bernie Krause
Sy Montgomery’s books, including Tamed and Untamed; The Soul of an Octopus; How to Be a Good Creature; etc.
Jane Goodall’s books
Animal Wise: How We Know Animals Think and Feel, by Virginia Morrel
In Defense of Animals: The Second Wave, edited by Peter Singer
Peter Singer’s books: The Ethics of What We Eat, and Animal Liberation
Righteous Porkchop: Finding a Life and Good Food Beyond Factory Farms, by Nicolette Hahn Niman
Feral: Rewilding the Land, the Sea, and Human Life, by George Monbiot
Half-Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life, by Edward O. Wilson
Other books on animal rights
Racing Extinction
Speciesism
Unlocking the Cage
The Ghosts in Our Machine
Last Days of Ivory
Audio (natural/animal sounds):
The Great Animal Orchestra exhibition
Wild Sanctuary’s wildlife (natural soundscape) recordings
Videos / social media:
The Dodo (and their Twitter page and Facebook page)
Beastie Bonds
Find wildlife rescue/rehabilitation centers in your state or county (and here’s another directory) — places that help treat orphaned, sick, or injured wildlife
Find domestic animal rescues/shelters for pet adoption near you
Dog Food Advisor (including pet food Recall alerts)
Dog Food Analysis
House Rabbit Society
Also see/follow our Twitter list of animal protection groups.
A side note: While many (and possibly even most) people support animal rights and protections, most of us do not support or condone the extreme and often counter-productive (alienating or off-putting) approach and tactics of PETA. That group does not represent all or even most animal rights supporters and activists.
“We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.”
“What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, men would die from the great loneliness of spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected.”
– widely attributed to Chief Seattle (but it actually seems to have been written or adapted by the screenwriter for the 1972 film Home)
“Our task must be to widen our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”
“We are forever responsible for that which we have tamed.”
– Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Flea and Tick Treatments that Won’t Poison Your Pet
Sustainable Land Use and Land Stewardship
Re-Tree the World
The Most Effective Climate Strategies
Climate Solutions, Tips, and Resources
Sustainable Agriculture, Farming, Food-Related Resources
Law Groups and Legal Frameworks for the Common Good
A Few Good, Green Groups: Sustainability Organizations
Natural Mosquito Control
Get Ready, Be Ready: Tips for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response
Our Tinderbox World: Wildfire Prevention and Risk Reduction
TED Talks to Watch (Part III)
Here are a few TED Talks that I’d recommend watching, in addition to the talks that I posted in the past (see Part I and Part II).
A Healthy Economy Should Be Designed to Thrive, Not Grow / Kate Raworth
How to Turn Climate Anxiety into Action / Renee Lertzman
The Shocking Danger of Mountaintop Removal (Coal Mining)—and Why It Must End / Michael Hendryx
A Climate Change Solution that’s Right Under Our Feet (Soil) / Asmeret Asefa Berhe
How Empowering Women and Girls Can Help Stop Global Warming / Katherine Wilkinson
This Could Be Why You’re Depressed or Anxious / Johann Hari (author of Lost Connections)
TED Talks to Watch (Part I) [Ray Anderson, Bernie Krause, Janine Benyus, Amory Lovins, Sylvia Earle]
TED Talks to Watch (Part II) [Ron Finley, Mary Robinson, Mary Pipher, Stephen Ritz, Eben Bayer]
Other TED Talks on environmental topics
Other TED Talks on climate change
Sweat the Big Stuff: The Most Effective Climate Strategies
High-Impact Climate Actions and Choices that Make the Biggest Difference
If you’re not already aware of how dire the climate crisis is becoming (and how much worse it will get if our civilization continues on with “business as usual”), consider this past year’s news of extreme heatwaves, droughts, and massive fires across the Arctic, the Amazon, Australia, California, Africa, and elsewhere; and the increasingly catastrophic storms, hurricanes, and floods that have been happening throughout the world. Also take a look at the graph below of global carbon dioxide levels over time, and seek out more information on climate change from reputable sources (see the links list at the very bottom for several media outlets and non-profits), including articles like these:
“More than 11,000 scientists from around the world declare a ‘climate emergency’” (Washington Post)
“Climate crisis linked to at least 15 $1 Billion-plus disasters in 2019” (The Guardian)
“2019 capped world’s hottest decade in recorded history,” which points out that “the past five years each rank among the five hottest since record-keeping began. And 19 of the hottest 20 years have occurred during the past two decades.”
“World needs to prepare for millions of climate displaced” (Reuters)
What humanity chooses to do (or not do) in the next year or two—and over this decade—to lower greenhouse gas (carbon) emissions will determine how catastrophic things will get in the future and how quickly. The only way we will be able to slow and lessen the climate crisis enough to keep our world habitable and hospitable to life is to make big, bold, powerful, and effective changes rapidly and at scale. While smaller problems also matter and small, incremental changes and solutions are worthwhile and can really add up when many people take them on, it is crucial that we understand and focus on the biggest problems (i.e., planetary-wide crises) we all face, like climate change, and understand which choices, behaviors, actions, and policies have the greatest impact on accelerating vs. slowing climate change. Being aware and informed about which types of human activities are contributing the most to worsening climate destabilization empowers us to make the changes that will generate the most significant results. We’re not actually helpless, even though we may sometimes feel that way. Knowledge is power, and what we don’t know or understand could very well kill us (along with most of the rest of life on earth).
Several studies have been done recently that help identify the practices (at the societal level and at the individual/household level) that contribute to (or mitigate) climate change the most. Something that’s notable about the findings of these studies is that many climate solutions don’t cost much if any money, and many can even save quite a bit of money (whereas climate inaction is already costing all of us a LOT, and the cost of inaction is much higher than the cost of taking significant actions would be. See “Climate change’s giant impact on the economy,” New York Times.) In fact, many climate solutions simply involve making the decision NOT to do something (e.g., not cutting down trees, not wasting food, not eating much meat, not having many kids, not flying often, etc.) rather than actively doing something or having to pay for something.
“Project Drawdown is a world-class research organization that reviews, analyses, and identifies the most viable global climate solutions, and shares these findings with the world.” They organize their solutions into the following categories: a) Electricity Generation, b) Food, c) Women and Girls, d) Buildings and Cities, e) Land Use, f) Transport, and g) Materials.
Most of these solutions require some systemic, societal, institutional (e.g., government policy and industry-driven) changes, but it’s important to recognize that all of us as individuals and as communities can support and promote these types of broad-based changes, through our votes, policy advocacy, education and awareness building, and our own behaviors, habits, and lifestyle choices (which can not only reduce emissions, but also serve as role modeling and as examples and inspiration for others, helping to change the culture and shift consumer demand).
The Top 15 Highest-Impact Solutions identified by Project Drawdown are as follows (click each of the links below for descriptions, details, and cost/savings analyses). Many people are not yet aware that some of these strategies are so important:
Refrigerant Management (leak prevention and proper, careful disposal of HFCs in refrigerators and air conditioners; phase-out of HFC chemicals and and replacement with safer, climate-friendly alternatives)
Wind Turbines [onshore]
Plant-Rich Diet
Tropical Forests (preventing deforestation, and doing restoration and reforestation)
Educating Girls
Solar Farms (utility-scale solar power plants)
Silvopasture (integrating trees and pastures into a single system for raising livestock)
Rooftop Solar (distributed, small-scale solar PV systems <1MW)
Regenerative Agriculture (practices that enhance and sustain the health of the soil by restoring its carbon content, thereby sequestering carbon; e.g., organic production, cover crops, compost, crop rotation, no-till or reduced tillage, etc.)
Temperate Forests (protection/preservation and restoration)
Peatlands (protection/preservation, fire prevention, and restoration of bogs, which store a lot of carbon)
Tropical Staple Trees (planting perennial crop trees)
Afforestation (growing new forests on land that is not currently forested, especially degraded agricultural, pasture, or mining land; preferably a diversity of native and adapted tree species rather than mono-cropped plantations)
Policy-makers, industry/business and institution leaders, foundations and philanthropists, nonprofit organizations, and all of us as citizens should take these findings into account when deciding which climate strategies we should prioritize and amplify, and the types of projects and programs on which we should focus most of our time, energy, and money.
I recommend taking this short, interactive, online quiz on CNN’s website: “The most effective ways to curb climate change might surprise you.” The quiz is based on Project Drawdown’s findings, and it indicates which changes can be made by individuals/households, by industries, and/or by policymakers. (Note: Many of the changes can be made or influenced by more than one of those.)
Project Drawdown published its research conclusions in a book: Drawdown: The most comprehensive plan ever proposed to reverse global warming, edited by Paul Hawken.
In addition to Project Drawdown’s useful findings and recommendations, another recent scientific study (from 2017, by Seth Wynes and Kimberly Nicholas) has identified some of the highest-impact personal choices and actions each of us can make/take to reduce our own contribution to climate change:
“Climate Mitigation: Most Effective Individual Actions”
Their data showed that the following are the highest-impact decisions and actions; sadly, they also found that education and government recommendations (in the US, EU, Canada and Australia) have been failing to focus on most of these (and instead they often mention and prioritize lower-impact actions). We should all aim to achieve at least two or three of these, and ideally all of them:
Having a small family rather than a large one (i.e., having few or no kids). This decision makes a bigger impact than any other we can make as individuals, by orders of magnitude beyond the others. Researchers have found that each additional person (in a developed country) ends up contributing an average of 58.6 tons of CO2-equivalent (tCO2e) emissions to our atmosphere per year. [Note: The carbon footprint of U.S. households is about 5 times greater than the global average, as we Americans consume so much more than people in most other countries. (Source)]
Going car-free (or at least driving as little as possible, and ideally switching to an electric vehicle or a very-low-emissions, high-MPG hybrid vehicle)
Avoiding airplane travel (or flying as little as possible). [From a New York Times article: “In 2016, two climatologists published a paper in the prestigious journal Science showing a direct relationship between carbon emissions and the melting of Arctic sea ice.” They found that one passenger’s share of emissions on a 2,500-mile flight melts the equivalent of 32 square feet of Arctic summer sea ice. And cruise ships are even worse; “even the most efficient cruise ships emit 3 to 4 times more carbon dioxide per passenger-mile than a jet,” along with other serious air and water pollutants. And container/cargo ships use even filthier fuels.]
Buying/using green, clean energy (e.g., via your utility if they offer this, or by installing solar or wind). [A note from me: FIRST always use conservation and efficiency to minimize any over-use/waste of energy! One of the best ways to do this is to avoid living in a home that is too big for the size and needs of your family. It’s wasteful to have to heat or cool—and furnish—rooms or spaces that you don’t really use.]
Eating a plant-based diet (or reducing your meat consumption)
For more information on this study, see this article/analysis, as well as this concise Grist post and its infographic (shown above), which provides a good visual sense of the relative difference in impacts from each of the choices or actions/inactions. To learn about additional personal actions and decisions that can make a difference, beyond the five identified by the study above, check out the book Cooler Smarter: Practical Steps for Low-Carbon Living, Expert Advice from the Union of Concerned Scientists (Island Press, 2012).
For some of us, the five choices above don’t seem like big sacrifices to make, and in fact many can drastically improve our own lives (as well as everyone else’s). But in our highly individualistic and materialistic culture, many of us are taught that we can (and should) do whatever we want (any costs and harms to our community or society or public health be damned). We are too often conditioned to believe that we are inherently entitled to do anything we want (and buy anything that we can afford), and we are not often encouraged to think about whether or not we should do (or buy) those things. Americans, in particular, often tend to feel entitled to get as large and gas-guzzling a vehicle as we want, and many of us tend to drive and fly as often and as much as we want, and buy as much as we can, acting almost as if this is somehow our inherent, God-given right. Please question the assumptions, expectations, pressures, and social conditioning that you/we have been brought up with. These beliefs are not universal “human nature;” they are culturally taught. Consider the benefits of self-restraint and self-regulation. Think about the concept of “enough.” Think about: “Live simply so that others may simply live.” Consider your neighbors; consider vulnerable populations; consider other species; consider future generations. Consider and be considerate of the common good.
Lastly, always remember (and remind others) that almost any choice or change that you make or that society makes to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions will not only help stabilize the climate; it will also reduce air pollution (as well as water pollution and ocean warming) and thus improve and protect public health and well-being in other very direct and often immediate ways.
Climate and Energy-Related Solutions, Tips, and Resources
Municipalities, States, and Countries that are Achieving, Approaching, or Committed to 100% Renewable Energy [NEW: 2021]
Fossil Fuel Divestment, and Future-Friendly Investments
Tips for Saving Energy
Sustainable Agriculture, Farming, Gardening, and Food
See our Twitter list of Climate groups, scientists, and leaders
These are some organizations focused on the climate crisis and climate solutions:
Project Drawdown
Not Too Late [NEW]
Stop the Money Pipeline
The Solutions Project
World War Zero
The Climate Center
Climate-Safe California Rapid Decarbonization Campaign
Oil Change International
Climate Emergency Fund
Mighty Earth
Climate Justice Alliance
Indigenous Climate Action
Bold Alliance
Post Carbon Institute
Beyond Carbon
Grid Alternatives
People’s Climate
Climate Hawks Vote
Vote Solar
Rocky Mountain Institute
Outrider Foundation
Also see: “Youth Organizations Making Waves and Effecting Change”
And these are a few media / news and information sources that provide fact-based information on climate change:
Climate One
Climate Central
DeSmogBlog
End Climate Silence
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports
Society of Environmental Journalists
We send out brief, quarterly email bulletins (only one email every 3 months).
Upcoming Posts
Greener Products: An Index of Posts
Voting and Election Resources: An Index
Toxins’ and Air Pollution’s Links to Neurological Disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
green building/design
social and political action
sustainability (general)
M. Landman Communications & Consulting
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Topics of Future Posts
disaster-resistant structures & homes and disaster-relief shelters // anti-nuclear groups // anti-fracking groups // stormwater management and flood prevention // non-toxic household cleaning and personal care products // Buckminster Fuller // sustainable towns, cities, and regions // good vs. bad windmill design and placement // noise pollution // light pollution // biofuels // bio-plastics // non-toxic dry cleaning // stopping junk mail // hemp products // permaculture // ecological economics // healthy and organic mattresses and bedding // electronics, battery, and fluorescent bulb (hazardous waste) recycling // …and other eco tips
Grist magazine
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Greener Choices
GoodGuide
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GreenHomeGuide
Mother Earth Living magazine
Additional web links
Cool Organizations
Nuclear Info. and Resource Service
League of Conservation Voters
Beyond Nuclear
BlueGreen Alliance
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Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families
Good Websites on Other Topics
Foundation for Parkinson's Research
Animal Legal Defense Fund
Consumers Union (Consumer Reports)
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Media Matters for America
Global Lyme Alliance
TheGreenSpotlight.com
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