By Olivia Rosane and Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
Humans have explored less than 10 percent of the ocean’s depths, yet our actions influence it in profound and damaging ways: Our plastics have polluted its waters from coastal sea spray to the Mariana Trench; our burning of fossil fuels has ignited marine heat waves and bleached coral reefs.
To call our attention to all that the ocean does for us and all that we must do to protect it, the United Nations is hosting a special program for World Oceans Day (UN WOD) on Friday June 7, 2024.
“As humans, we depend on the ocean for survival,” said actor Michael B. Jordan in a video announcing this year’s event. “But compared to what it gives us, we invest little in return.”
Since it began in 2008, UN WOD has been celebrating the magnificence and importance of the ocean while also raising awareness of the threats it faces. While World Oceans Day officially falls on June 8, the main program has been moved up a day this year as World Oceans Day falls on a Saturday.
For the second year in a row, the UN’s Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea of the Office of Legal Affairs, in partnership with Oceanic Global, will host a hybrid program. A slate of policymakers, experts, artists and advocates will deliver in-person presentations at the UN headquarters in New York that will also be livestreamed to ocean lovers around the world. You can register for the virtual event here.
The theme for this year’s program is “Awaken New Depths.”
“For years experts have warned us, if there is no ocean, there is no life. Instead of listening, we have continued to make shallow and short-sighted decisions that further its decline without understanding truly what’s at stake,” Jordan said. “We don’t have time for ‘out of sight out of mind.’ If the world is numb to numbers, motivating momentum will require opening minds, igniting senses and inspiring possibilities. To protect our planet’s beating heart, we need to awaken new depths of our own.”
To help awaken those depths, the UN has turned to the wisdom and imagination of an inspiring roster of speakers.
UN WOD will bring together UN delegates, high-level officials and global thought leaders at New York’s UN headquarters. It will also feature panels, presentations, keynote speeches and performances from President of the UN General Assembly H.E. Mr. Dennis Francis, oceanographer Sylvia Earle, actress Bailey Bass, climate scientist Johan Rockström, activist Xiye Bastida and the Late Show with Stephen Colbert bandleader and recording artist Louis Cato, among many others.
“It’s the first time that we know what we know and it’s maybe the last best chance we’ll ever have to make peace with nature,” Earle said on the event website.
The day’s programming will include a special emphasis on artistic expressions, including musical performances by Cato and others, an “immersive sound experience” from Aquostics Chair David Erasmus, poetry from the 2024 Call for Poetry curated by Karan Rathod and Alfaaz Collective, and the announcement of the winners of the 11th annual Photo Competition for World Oceans Day.
“We’ll expand our perspectives and appreciation for our planet, build new foundations for our relationship with the ocean and awaken new depths of understanding, compassion, collaboration and commitment to protect our ocean and all it sustains,” Jordan said on Friday’s event. “Because we live on a blue planet. It’s time we act like it.”
The UN WOD program will be publically accessible via live stream on the event website from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. EDT and reshared on social media. Visit @unworldoceansday on Instagram for more. You can also see the schedule of events here.
EcoWatch is proud to act as UN WOD’s media partner.
“Humanity can count on the ocean, but can the ocean count on us?” UN Secretary-General António Guterres asked on the event website. “Today and every day, let’s put the ocean first.”
Olivia is a freelance writer and reporter with a decade’s worth of experience. She has been contributing to EcoWatch daily since 2018 and has also covered environmental themes for Treehugger, The Trouble, YES! Magazine and Real Life. Her Real Life essay “Breaking the Waves” — about the eerily neat aesthetics of climate change projection graphics — was chosen to appear in the published anthology What Future 2018 from Unnamed Press.
Cristen is a writer of fiction and nonfiction. She holds a JD and an Ocean & Coastal Law Certificate from University of Oregon School of Law and an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London. She is the author of the short story collection The Smallest of Entryways, as well as the travel biography, Ernest’s Way: An International Journey Through Hemingway’s Life.
The post ‘Awaken New Depths’ and Celebrate UN World Oceans Day 2024 appeared first on EcoWatch.
https://www.ecowatch.com/un-world-oceans-day-2024.html
Thoreau wrote in Walden that “Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in,” which reminds us that life is short and nature fills it beautifully. What are you looking for that can’t be found during an afternoon in nature?
Earth911 inspirations. Post them, share your desire to help people think of the planet first, every day. Click the poster to get a larger image.
The post Earth911 Inspiration: Time Is but the Stream appeared first on Earth911.
https://earth911.com/inspire/earth911-inspiration-time-is-but-the-stream/
Green Living
Classic Sustainability In Your Ear: The Ocean River Institute’s Natural Lawn Challenge for Climate Action
Turn back the clock with this classic interview that will get you ready for Spring yard care planning. A lawn may be beautiful but it can take a heavy toll on the environment, accounting for between 30% and 60% of residential water use in the United States. Rob Moir, Ph.D., is president and executive director of the Ocean River Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ORI works with residential lawn owners to heal damaged ecosystems by restoring coastal areas to lessen the destructive impacts of climate change. The benefits of a natural lawn reach far beyond reduced local water pollution, eliminating chemicals that can contribute to cancers, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and other cellular diseases. Natural lawns are also better for local pollinators and store much more carbon than heavily fertilized lawns. If you considered removing your lawn to play a part in the battle against climate change, this interview may change your mind — a healthy lawn is a powerful carbon sink.
The Ocean River Institute is recruiting Massachusetts communities, town by town, to take a pledge to follow natural lawn practices in the Healthy Soils for Climate Restoration Challenge. You don’t need to live in Massachusetts to participate and learn about the alternatives to the traditional, chemical-intensive lawn practices that use Roundup, a source of glyphosates that kills soil-dwelling fungi and local pollinators, and fast-acting nitrogen fertilizers. You can learn more about the Ocean River Institute at www.oceanriver.org.
Rob has contributed many articles about climate change and the history of environmental change since this interview, including:
- Finding a Northwest Passage to the Sea
- Turning the Tide—How Land and Water Shape Our Climate Future
- Learning from Captain Scoresby’s Ten-gallon Fir-Cask
- Earth Savvy?
- Let the Ground Keep Falling Rainwater
- The Sultans of Swag Versus Looking at Clouds from Both Sides Now
- Subscribe to Sustainability in Your Ear on iTunes and Apple Podcasts.
- Follow Sustainability in Your Ear on Spreaker, iHeartRadio, or YouTube
Editor’s Note: This episode originally aired on May 30, 2022.
The post Classic Sustainability In Your Ear: The Ocean River Institute’s Natural Lawn Challenge for Climate Action appeared first on Earth911.
https://earth911.com/podcast/earth911-podcast-the-ocean-river-institutes-natural-lawn-challenge-for-climate-action/
Choosing your perfect gown can be one of the most exciting decisions for your special day, but for the eco fashionista, it can be a challenge to find a dress that fits your values and style — but these brands have exceptional sustainable wedding dresses you’ll swoon over!
Using earth-minded materials like hemp, cruelty-free peace silk, deadstock recycled fabrics and vintage lace, and producing consciously, either in small batches or handcrafting each individual piece made-to-order, the brands below meet high standards for transparency, ecological sustainability, and fair labor.
[For more sustainable wedding dresses, check out this guide to secondhand wedding dress sites!]
Note that the guide contains affiliate links. As always, we only feature brands that meet strict criteria for sustainability we love, that we think you’ll love too!
1. Christy Dawn
Dreamy dress brand Christy Dawn does not disappoint with their romantic bridal collection! Each piece is more swoon-worthy than the next.
Their three sustainable bridal gowns are made from regenerative silk charmeuse —sourced through BOMBYX, an innovative silk producer using best practices — and colored in a beautiful pearl silk with non-toxic dyes. Each dress is ethically cut and sewn by makers in Los Angeles earning living wages, as with the rest of Christy Dawn’s collections.
The Britta Dress and Fitzgerald Dress are 1920s inspired while the Athena Dress is a more modern (but equally romantic) option. All of these dresses are made-to-order with an estimated timeline of 4 weeks.
Conscious Qualities: Regenerative silk and organic non-toxic dyes, ethically made-to-order in Los Angeles
Price Range: $2,500 – $3,000
Size Range: XS – XL
2. Pure Magnolia
Blending the traditional with the modern, Pure Magnolia designs classic-inspired sustainable wedding dresses with contemporary touches. And each dress is made in their Canadian studio by seamstresses earning fair wages from eco-fabrics, such as organic cotton and hemp silk.
The brand sources recycled fabrics whenever possible as well, and recycles their scrap fabric through FABCYCLE.
Conscious Qualities: Eco-friendly fabrics, locally and fairly made, recycles scrap fabrics
Price Range: $845 – $3,300 CAD
Size Range: 0 – 28
3. Lost in Paris
Lost in Paris crafts each of their creatively designed bohemian-inspired gowns ethically in their Sydney, Australia studio. Unconventional yet undeniably striking, Lost in Paris’ dresses are made from vintage lace and cotton.
Investing in a dress from Lost in Paris is seamless — the brand offers at-home sample try-ons, offers train and sleeve adjustments on several styles, ships their dresses worldwide for free, and even accepts returns. Oh, and, if one of their ready-made sizes doesn’t work for you, you can get a dress designed to your measurements.
Conscious Qualities: Made-to-order model, uses vintage lace, locally made
Price Range: $950 – $3900 AUD
Size Range: XXS – XXL + custom sizing options
For More Slow Fashion Content:
4. Wear Your Love
Wear Your Love creates feminine, effortless dresses in their Northern California studio that are — in contrast to the majority of wedding dresses on the market — actually comfortable! The brand’s free-spirited designs are made with soft, earth-minded fabrics like organic cotton and each dress is made to order for each bride to their exact measurements.
There are also customizations available for each eco-friendly wedding dress such as train or no train, skirt or sleeve linings, back coverage, skirt style, and more.
Conscious Qualities: Eco-friendly fabrics, made-to-order model, locally and transparently made
Price Range: $680 – $1,700
Size Range: N/A; dresses are made to your measurements
5. Larimeloom
Based in Reggio Emilia, Italy, Larimeloom crafts exceptional custom-made dresses by hand in their atelier. The brand creates comfortable minimalist dresses from durable natural fabrics and colors them with natural or non-toxic dyes.
Larimeloom has also implemented zero waste design techniques, cutting their patterns strategically in order to minimize fabric waste.
Conscious Qualities: Made-to-order model, zero-waste designs, natural fabrics and dyes
Price Range: 650€ – 2,650€
Size Range: XS – XL
6. Sister Organics
Sourcing quality earth-friendly natural fabrics like organic hemp and cotton, Sister Organics creates classic, eco-friendly wedding dresses for UK-based brides.
Each dress is made to order in England, so you can select a pre-defined size, customize the length of a size, or get an entirely different dress made for your measurements.
Conscious Qualities: Eco-friendly fabrics, made-to-order model
Price Range: £125 – £390
Size Range: XXS – XXL + custom sizing
7. Indiebride London
Indiebride’s vintage-inspired sustainable wedding dresses are delicate and romantic yet free-spirited, offering a unique collection for the bride that wants to skip the conventional wedding gown and choose a piece that fits their individual style.
The brand’s conscious wedding dresses are handmade in London using majority natural fibers and can be altered or customized to your specifications.
Conscious Qualities: Made-to-order model, uses many natural fabrics, locally made
Price Range: £1,200 – £1,700
Size Range: 8 – 16 (UK sizes)
More Resources For Your Eco Wedding:
10 Secondhand Wedding Dress Sites for the Eco Bride
7 Ethical Lab-Grown Diamond Engagement and Wedding Rings
17 Brands with Conscious Dresses (great options for bridesmaid dresses in here!)
The post 7 Best Sustainable Wedding Dresses for Your Special Day appeared first on Conscious Life & Style.
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