Earth Island Institute

Earth from Above

Renowned French filmmaker and photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand has made a lovely 11-minute documentary, Vu du Ciel, La Sierra Gorda (Earth from Above, the Sierra Gorda) that captures the incredible beauty and life of the dynamic and colorful Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, as well as the extraordinary passion that characterizes those working to protect this region. The documentary, that features Earth Island project Viva Sierra Gorda’s co-director Patricia Perez-Arce, aired on national TV in France and is now freely available on YouTube. This year, Viva Sierra Gorda takes a larger role in the challenges facing North America, specifically immigration and climate change. Visit their website to learn more.

Thursday January 26, 2012

Help us Kickstart Brower’s Biography

In celebration of our Founder David Brower’s 100th anniversary, Heyday publishers will release The Wildness Within — a collection of interviews with 20 activists influenced by Brower, including Paul Ehrlich, Amory Lovins and Nancy Skinner. The book, that’s been compiled and edited by Brower’s son, Ken Brower, is slated for release in June. Help us Kickstart this venture by becoming a supporter and win some exciting rewards.

Thursday January 26, 2012

Intern with New Leaders Initiative

EII’s New Leaders Initiative and the Brower Youth Awards are seeking interns for the upcoming year! As an intern, you’ll be involved in the exciting process of elevating bold, emerging, young leaders in the environmental movement through the Brower Youth Award as well as our various year-round programs. Send a resume and brief letter of interest to program director, Anisha Desai. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Details here.

Thursday January 26, 2012

Learn to Live with Coyotes

On Feb. 1, Rob Ruiz, Marin County’s chief park and a volunteer at Earth Island’s Project Coyote will give a presentation titled “Living with Coyotes” at the Marin County Library in San Rafael, CA. Ruiz will discuss coyote ecology and biology as well as ways to mitigate negative encounters with coyotes. Details here.

Thursday January 26, 2012

Children at Play

EII’s Children in Nature Collaborative would like to encourage Earth Islanders to check out the work of artist Lia Sutton, whose direct artistic practice includes teaching children carpentry. Sutton recently spent six months photographing an adventure playground near Amsterdam. Picturish Galllery in Berkeley, CA, is hosting an exhibition of Sutton’s photographs titled, “Play/Ground: Exploring the Power of Unstructured Outdoor Play.” An artist’s reception is scheduled for January 28. Click here for details.

Thursday January 26, 2012

Tour Cuba with Ethical Traveler

Earth Island’s Ethical Traveler is accepting participants for its Sustainable and Community Development Cuba tour from February 17-25, 2012. This 9-day tour combines visits and dialogues with educational, social, cultural, agricultural and environmental organizations to gain a broad understanding of modern Cuba. This special journey is led by Malia Everette, director of Global Exchange Reality Tours, and advisor to Ethical Traveler. This is a unique opportunity for educators, sociologists, social workers, travel writers, journalists and anyone involved in the sustainability movement, to visit Cuba legally and explore the future of US-Cuban relations. For more information click here.

Thursday January 12, 2012

Turbo-charging Sustainability

EII’s Sustainable World Coalition (SWC) is turbo-charging its efforts to educate, inspire and activate people toward a just and sustainable future through two major new initiatives. On January 26, SWC will launch “Co-Creating A Thriving World”, a new multimedia telecourse set in 7-week and 14-week formats. This interactive certificate course is designed to deepen understanding about sustainable living and further effective action. And then on March 26 SWC will kick off “Spring of Sustainability” (SoS) – a three-month series of live and virtual events that will include teleseminars with 100 top leaders in sustainability, such as Jane Goodall, Paul Hawken and Vandana Shiva, globally synchronized live events, and local community events such as neighborhood theme potlucks and community garden creation. Visit SWC’s website for more information.

Thursday January 12, 2012

Help Save the Altai Mountains

Stand with The Altai Project and the Save Ukok Coalition and send an appeal to UNESCO asking the World Heritage Committee to intercede with the Russian government on behalf of the “Golden Mountains of Altai” World Heritage Site. When Russia applied for the establishment of the “Golden Mountains of Altai” World Heritage Site, it committed to protecting the cultural and natural diversity of Altai, including the Ukok Plateau. Now, in violation of its own laws and international commitments, Russia wants to build a natural gas pipeline straight through the heart of that World Heritage Site, across the Ukok Plateau, held sacred for millennia by then native Telengit people. Tell UNESCO that Russia is violating its commitment to protect Altai's natural heritage!

Thursday January 12, 2012

Urge Armenia to Clean Up Nubarashen

Please join EII’s new project, Armenian Environmental Network (AEN), in urging the Armenian government to clean up the Nubarashen landfill. Nubarashen is a suburb of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, and home to the country’s largest landfill that’s fast becoming an environmental nightmare. Due to a lack of governance, the dumped trash includes extremely dangerous chemicals. Nubarashen does not have a protective barrier to keep toxic leachates from seeping into the soil and eventually into the water table. Methane build-up at the site often causes spontaneous combustion, therefore the landfill continually smolders sending toxic fumes into the air. Read more about Nubarashen and urge the Armenian government to take immediate action to protect the surrounding environment and area residents.

Thursday January 12, 2012

Looking Ahead to a Year of Great Work

Happy New Year, dear friends of Earth Island!

All of us at the institute are really looking forward to the coming months, especially since 2012 is our founder David Brower’s centenary year and our 30th anniversary. Stay tuned to announcements of upcoming celebrations.

But before we get to all that, one last check in to see if you are still thinking about that gift to EII. Did you intend to make a year-end gift, but never got around to it? You can still support Earth Island and our 60 plus projects around the world by donating now.

And, a HUGE thank you to everyone who has already given so generously to Earth Island’s year-end campaign! We are truly grateful for your support and encouragement.

Thursday January 12, 2012

Tell Obama to Halt Keystone XL

President Obama will make a decision soon about whether to allow a Presidential Permit for the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, which will pump 900,000 barrels a day of the world's dirtiest oil from Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Texas.

The president can stop a climate catastrophe before it happens. He does not need the approval of Congress to make the right decision. Call the White House - 202 456 1111 - and tell President Obama to do the right thing and protect our climate, drinking water and farms from toxic tar sands. Report how your call went here.

Thursday October 27, 2011

Owls Come Home!

October brought good news for Earth Island's Burrowing Owl Conservation Network (BOCN). The network's burrowing owl habitat enhancement project in Sonoma, CA, saw its first two residents! The birds' appearance provided an excellent opportunity for people to see conservation in action. California is an important state for migrating burrowing owls during the wintertime, so protecting and restoring habitat is critical to saving their dwindling populations across North America. Learn more about burrowing owls, BOCN's conservation efforts and what you can do to help these beautiful night fowls.

Thursday October 27, 2011

Stop Anti-Wildlife Border Bill

A federal bill being considered in Congress right now would remove virtually all environmental and conservation protections from public lands within 100 miles of our borders. The National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act, is a sweeping piece of legislation that would exempt the Department of Homeland Security from complying with as many as 36 environmental statutes near border areas. It would allow the US Border Patrol to build as many roads, transmission lines and security installations as they want, wherever they want. This means animals like the Canada lynx, Florida panthers and polar bears would see currently protected habitat opened to immediate access. Earth Island's Big Wildlife project urges you to take action! Tell your member of Congress to oppose this legislation.

Thursday October 27, 2011

A Mobile App to Find Sacred Ground

EII's Sacred Land Film Project (SLFP) is working on a mobile phone app called Finding Sacred Ground, which will use multimedia and augmented reality to give users a guided tour of the hidden history - the native history - of many popular tourist destinations. SLFP is partnering with the National Park Service and the Lakota community to create a pilot tour application exploring the indigenous history of Devils Tower laccolith in Wyoming, known to Native Americans as Mato Tipila, "The Lodge of the Bear." This unique and beautiful geological feature is part of the National Park system, and is a sacred site of deep significance for 24 Native American tribes. Find out more at SLFP's Kickstarter page, where the project is raising funds to design the mobile application. 

Thursday October 27, 2011

Save SF’s Last Natural Areas

For over a decade, SF Recreation and Parks Natural Areas Program has been working to create the Significant Natural Resource Areas Management Program (SNRAMP) that would help protect and restore the 32 remaining natural areas in San Francisco that still have a remarkable diversity of plants and animals. EII's Nature in the City has been deeply involved in these conservation efforts. But during this same period, the anti-nature forces have been working just as hard to scuttle the Natural Areas Program. Voice your support for ecological restoration and sound management of San Francisco's natural areas by commenting on the Natural Areas Plan! Public comments will be accepted until 5 p.m. October 31.

Thursday October 27, 2011

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