Tis the Season, For Giving!

The holiday season is upon us. Have you considered giving a charity gift card instead of a physical gift? There are actually two kinds; the first is a gift card that the recipient can spend on themselves but a portion of the face value is donated to a pre-selected charity, and the other is one where all (or most) of the face value is donated to charity but the cool cat who receives it gets to decide which charity (or charities) the funds are allotted to.

If you’re looking to buy the second kind, a comparison of five of them can help you decide which one to give. One of the best is called TisBest. It’s a local Pacific Northwest company, and the first charity gift card out there (they’ve been around since 2007). If you purchase a card before the end of the year, 100% of the face value goes to the designated charities! Don’t worry though, if you purchased before Nov 27 or after the end of the year, most of the face value (minus 3% + 1.95) still goes to the charities. You have the option to email the gift card or print it yourself on your home printer to be even greener. If you do choose to go plastic, they cost a little extra (1.95 extra, to be exact, but that covers the cost of the plastic card, a greeting card it’s sent in, and shipping!), and are made of 100% recycled materials. If you give one, you can also use it as a tax deduction. TisBest gift cards are only available in the US right now, so if that doesn’t meet your needs, find one that does.

Other charity gift cards include Charity on Top, Global Giving, The Good Card, and Charity Choice. Do your research, and spend wisely! Happy Holidays, and Will We Make It Out Alive?

Will We Make Out Alive? No.

Cat speaks out against climate change. Submitted as part of the 1 Minute to Save the World climate change short film competition http:www.1minutetosavetheworld.com

Did you miss the National Climate Assessment Report that came out on Black Friday? Coincidence…I think not…The assessment was compiled by over 300 scientist from the US government; Trump’s response to the report, “It’s fine” and “I don’t believe it.” Unfortunately, if you actually look at the report, that is not the outlook that it paints. Is it fire and brimstone…well basically…We are slated to experience the impacts of sea level rise, more natural disasters, increased forest fires, crappy air, messed up water cycle impacts and most likely we will not make it out alive. Meanwhile, while those things are all sucktastic, we, in the US, will also be dying younger (yes the annual US mortality rate just went down…again…for the 3rd year in a row!).

WHACK FACT: Jen the Magical Mapper is right on the edge of two age groups; one of which will make it out alive later in life and the other of which will die sooner…Guess that means she gets to choose her own adventure.

Their website does a nice job of summarizing the data based on regional areas. I am going to dive a little deeper into the forecasted impacts to the Pacific Northwest. Their key message for our region is that we will have water related impacts that will have “far reaching ecological and socioeconomic impacts” to our region. One of the biggest impacts will be the warming climate itself and the effects that has on our watersheds and the timing and amount of streamflow. We are already experiencing increased storm intensity and that is also predicted to continue.

Then there are all sorts of ripple conditions that will happen from this offset of our hydrologic cycle. This will include decreased water in the summer, making for tougher decisions when it comes to water rights and water use especially around irrigation for agricultural lands and consumption for people! Trees and plants that are stressed will be more susceptible to insects and disease.

For example, in snow dominated watersheds, we will see less snow pack (because it is warmer), which will result in increased river flows in the winter. Currently the snowpack lasts into the spring before becoming meltwater, which is slowly released into our rivers starting in late spring with the highest average flows in June or July. Under the climate forecasts, that same precipitation that currently comes down as snow in the winter will be rain through much of the year…by 2080, even under the mitigated emissions scenario, our peak flows will occur in February. This will result in much lower summer flows, which will also be warmer.

“Why do you always have to be so negative?”

— Jen The Magical Mapper

And one of the very important ecosystem functions of our large forests in the Pacific Northwest is to sequester carbon (that’s cause they “breath in” carbon dioxide and put the carbon in their tree bits). Oh, oh, oh, oh…staying alive…as in, as long as that tree is staying alive that carbon is all up in its tree bits and it not out in our atmosphere increasing greenhouse gases. So, when those trees are burned up in a forest fire or even when they are cut down or die they release the carbon that was stored up in there tree bits back into the carbon cycle where it can end up as a greenhouse gas in our atmosphere…FURTHER COMPOUNDING the impacts of climate change.

Meanwhile, warmer and lower flows in our rivers will impact all sorts of plants and animals that have spent at least the last 10,000 years (since the last ice age) perfecting their growing habits for our current climate conditions. Yes, adaptations can be made by natural organisms, but can they keep up with the accelerated rate? Under some scenarios, by 2080, we would see conversion of sub-alpine forests to other types of forests.

Our coastal areas will also see impacts both from sea level rise and from increased river flows during the winter season, and let’s not forget about the impacts of ocean acidification on our shellfish and the related industries. Our low lying coastal areas will see increased flooding in urban areas as stormwater systems overflow from the increased winter flows and at the same time they may be impacted by high tides that surge or push water from the marine areas into our existing pipes and conveyances, which typically are placed to prevent marine water from flowing back into the stormwater system. However, as the marine waters rise, they will follow the path of least resistance, which will backflow into the stormwater system and if the system gets enough flow will result in water pushing out of catch basins and manholes. Let’s not forget, this will be brackish water and is likely to have marine water species that get brought into our freshwater conveyances and then end up dying.

Of course, for those that do not think these impacts will affect humanity (they will, though!); there is also a 500 billion dollar price tag associated with the impacts of climate change. So, this is going to have a HUGE impact on our salmon, forests, rivers, agriculture and ultimately our health.

Remember not breathing for like two months last summer? Get ready for more of that! Asthma and breathing related diseased are expected to increase due to poorer air quality resulting from increased forest fires.

And those are just some of the highlights of the impacts to the Pacific Northwest. Check out the full report and all of the SCIENCE that went into.

One Positive Action Can Create A Movement!

This cat wants to cough up a hairball every time she sees a negative environmental story. Sure, we need the warnings, but hearing all of these negative stories can result in a feeling of impending doom that has the potential to lead to sleeping 20 hours a day instead of taking small steps (or any steps) toward saving the planet.

I much prefer positive stories. This is why I was excited to stumble across the idea of EcoTipping Points! There is an entire website devoted to positive actions taken by various communities.

WHACK FACT: EcoTipping Points represent small positive actions that can serve as the change, or tipping point, from destruction to restoration and sustainability of natural and societal systems.

There has been a lot of study on this idea, and the website gives over 100 real-life examples of projects that have turned ecosystems and communities around in a positive, sustainable way.

There are stories from around the world here, and a few of my favorites from the US/Canada/Pacific Northwest include:

Mosaic, which allows people to invest small amounts (starting at $25) in community-based solar projects and potentially receive large returns.

Whistler 2020, a community planning effort that is aiming to stop uncontrolled growth in Whistler, BC and become a sustainable community, which has resulted in awards and other communities wanting to follow in their footsteps.

Flexcar, a car-sharing company based in Portland, Oregon, which aims to reduce the total number of cars by increasing the productivity and use of existing cars (thus reducing the need for extra parking and road infrastructure, as well as resources needed to produce the cars themselves).

If more of these stories make their way into the world, maybe more people will be inspired to take small actions that just might be EcoTipping Points, and maybe we’ll make it out alive after all!

Are there potential projects in your own community where small efforts may lead to big sustainable changes? Learning from the success stories from other communities and understanding where their small actions resulted in change may help individuals understand how they too can start small and have impressive results. Share your ideas in the comments below and see if you can get started in finding your community’s own tipping point to sustainability!

Help the Southern Resident Orcas Make it Out Alive...Participate in the Puget Sound Orca Recovery Day - November 10!

Will the Southern Resident Orcas make it out alive? Not without our help. As the Governor’s Task Force continues to make decisions on proposed management and measures to help save our endangered Southern Resident Orcas, there are actions we can all take everyday to help save them.

In addition, you can participate in Puget Sound Orca Recovery Day by joining one of ten Puget Sound Conservation Districts this Saturday, November 10, 2018 at various locations throughout the Salish Sea. The main purposes of the day include attempts at either increasing the preferred food for the Southern Residents (chinook salmon) or decreasing pollution from entering Salish Sea. These service related events range from installing plants at a low impact development (LID) rain garden, to removing invasive species and helping restore salmon streams by replanting native vegetation.

Click on the links below to find a project near you!

Clallam Conservation District | King Conservation District | Mason Conservation District | Pierce Conservation District | Skagit Conservation District | Snohomish Conservation District | San Juan Islands Conservation District | Thurston Conservation District | Whatcom Conservation District | Whidbey Conservation District

Cool cats want to make good choices on their own property and they want to do their part to help the Southern Resident Orcas make it out alive! If you would like to learn more about actions you can take on your own property check out these fact sheets, which include a variety of information from small farming practices, to plantings for soil stabilization or how to attract bees with your landscaping!

WHACK FACT! LID - Low Impact Development is a form of development that attempts to more closely mimic the natural water cycle; reducing stormwater runoff volumes and treating pollution prior to discharging to our surface or ground water. LID also includes development practices such as attempting to retain native vegetation and soil structure at sites during construction and minimizing the development footprint. When stormwater treatment facilities are needed, typically LID uses more smaller dispersed facilities that reduce runoff and treat for pollutants using a special mixture of soil and plants.

If we all take action, the Southern Resident Orcas might make it out alive!

Will the Honeybees Make It Out Alive?

This may or may not be a honeybee…And it may or may not have made it out alive.

Honeybees are important pollinators and are dying off at an alarming rate.  You can help by keeping hives or creating habitat for pollinators. Whack Fact: if you steal all of the honey from the hive, the bees will die over the winter because you just stole all of their food!!!

Plant local, bee-friendly plants such as CATNIP, lavender, sage, and rosemary (even a small area can help), add a tiny bee bath or volunteer with a group such as NW Honey Bee, which aims to turn grass strips between sidewalks and streets into pollinator habitat.  

To volunteer visit NW Honey Bee or to learn more about urban beekeeping check out Seattle Tilth.