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IslandWire: January 25, 2024

Justice-First Phase-Out

person working in a filthy situation

COP28 saw the release of An Equitable Phase Out of Fossil Fuel Extraction. This ground-breaking report, which was welcomed with enthusiasm by anti-fossil activists, proposes a justice-first way of distributing the effort to phase out the extraction of fossil fuels. The report was researched and written by the Civil Society Equity Review, a coalition of climate justice groups from around the world. Earth Island’s EcoEquity was one of its principal authors.


Two Victories for Wildlife

poster, coyote and the word victory

On Dec. 22, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed critical legislation to end wildlife killing contests, making New York the 10th state to stop the slaughter of wild animals — including coyotes, foxes, bobcats, squirrels, raccoons, and crows — for cash and prizes. The bill was supported by leading animal protection and conservation groups, hunters, farmers, veterinarians, wildlife rehabilitators, and by thousands of New Yorkers. The ban was a victory for the Coalition to End Wildlife Killing Contests, co-founded by Earth Island’s Project Coyote and the Humane Society of the United States, which now includes more than 60 national and state organizations working together to end this barbaric practice nationwide through federal, state and local bans. In more good news, in October, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 1322, co-sponsored by EII’s Raptors Are the Solution and the Center for Biological Diversity, into law. The legislation puts a moratorium on the rat poison diphacinone and removes it from consumer shelves while the state reevaluates its hazards to children, pets, and wildlife.


An Activist Accelerator in Indonesia

women gardening happily

Indonesia’s archipelago of over 17,000 islands is uniquely susceptible to climate change, and women there are particularly vulnerable. In Aceh province, women entrepreneurs are restricted from using forest resources for their livelihoods. This month, in partnership with local partners at the Katahati Institute, Earth Island’s Women’s Earth Alliance (WEA) is launching an advocacy and entrepreneurship accelerator there. The accelerator will work with over 120 women to design and advocate for policy frameworks to legalize non-timber-related forest products and to rights for Indigenous people and women in Aceh. Learn more about WEA’s partnership with the Katahati Institute.


Earthshot Prize Nominees

a person looking at the sky at night, many stars and nebulae

As an official nominator organization for the third year running, Earth Island’s Plastic Pollution Coalition (PPC) is excited to announce its nominees for the Earthshot Prize 2024. This year, PPC selected two nominees that are rapidly scaling restorative and transformational solutions to an increasingly urgent plastic pollution crisis: the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution (HAC) and Mycelium Technology, by Ecovative. Between them, the nominees are driving global policy change and leveraging infinitely regenerating biomaterials to avoid catastrophic climate change from petrochemical emissions and safeguard people and the planet from the perils of plastic pollution.


Small Acts, Big Impacts

children outdoors

KIDS for the BAY (KftB) is excited to be a part of the solution to reducing plastic pollution and microplastics in 2024. Working with Earth Island Institute, KftB students are helping to bring the first major lawsuit of its kind against the biggest plastic polluting corporations, alleging that the companies have misled consumers about recycling and urging them to find plastic alternatives. KftB’s young environmentalists have recorded the types and amounts of plastic pollution found during watershed trash cleanups for many years. Now, the project is going a step further by tracking plastic brands and sharing students' data with Earth Island. KftB students are thrilled to help create positive change for the wider community and reduce the harmful impacts of plastic.


Effective Oyster Recruitment

people on a pier over the sea doing science

Earth Island’s Wild Oyster Project is shell-ated to share some exciting news from a recent Oyster Base Camp monitoring session at the Dolphin Club in San Francisco’s Aquatic Park! Despite the rainy, December gloom, there was a remarkable surge in oyster recruitment there. In a sample of 30 shells, the Wild Oyster Project was amazed to count 72 living Olympia oysters, some even growing on the zip ties. This success is a testament to the effectiveness of the Oyster Base Camp program, which aims to involve community members in oyster restoration efforts. As Brendan Sheehan, assistant manager of the Dolphin Club, points out: “This project encompasses all the efforts to restore and clean up San Francisco Bay and to improve the water quality. Oysters filter the bay water and the more the merrier and the cleaner the water. It’s a great project for the Dolphin Club to help increase the habitat of these oysters that were nearly decimated by over-harvesting.”

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