Good News! 6 Positive Environmental Stories From September 2022 

Yesterday, we officially kicked off Plant a Tree Day 2022. And we're celebrating it in classic One Tree Planted style: by getting our hands in the dirt in the great outdoors with a few thousand of our closest tree-loving friends. If you haven’t signed up for an event yet, not to worry: you can still get in on the action! Thanks to our sponsors Kyndryl and YACHAK, we have 100+ planting events spread out over the next month. We’ll be planting trees, removing invasive species, cleaning up litter, establishing community gardens and more! Every event is 100% free and will follow local COVID-19 guidelines. Hand planting trees is one of the most fulfilling ways to give back to nature and contribute to a more sustainable future. 

On Saturday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched a new office that will be laser-focused on the needs of minority communities that have historically been overburdened by pollution. This office will also oversee the $3 billion in environmental justice grants that were created by the recent passage of new climate legislation. Of the office, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said "With the launch of a new national program office, we are embedding environmental justice and civil rights into the DNA of EPA and ensuring that people who’ve struggled to have their concerns addressed see action to solve the problems they’ve been facing for generations,”

Research has shown that a decentralized, global seed bank network would drastically improve restoration, preserve threatened plant species, sustainably expand native seed supply systems and benefit local communities. Some key findings include: there are currently 410 seed banks across 96 countries that store native species, but more are needed in almost all countries. Establishing larger regional seed banks could help meet the need for seeds more efficiently. While the United States, Australia, Brazil and China have the most seed banks, they also need the mostnewseed banks to meet their restoration potential over the next decade. This alliance will focus on seed supply and connecting forestry groups with the funding they need!

While battling a heat wave, wildfires and a drought, the Golden State has managed to pass 5 climate-focused bills at their state legislature. California Governor Gavin Newsom is taking an aggressive stance on climate change, and has a hopeful outlook: “it is never too late.” The state budget will also be pushing for climate programs with a record breaking high goal set at $54 billion dollars of investment over the next 5 years. This will put money towards improving public transit, preventing wildfires and many other necessary projects.

The Dutch city of Haarlem will be the first city in the world to ban any advertisements for meat in all public places. This is part of a concentrated effort to reduce meat consumption and the greenhouse gasses that are associated with its production. They're hopeful that these efforts will help sway food choices away from meat starting in 2024. This ban will take time to go into effect in order to honor contracts that companies may already have in place. As of yet, there has been no clear answer for those wondering if advertisements for sustainable meat alternatives will also be banned.

Scotland is home to very diverse marine life. After years of dredging and overfishing, they failed to meet 2020 targets intended to prevent damage to the marine environment. Despite the disappointing results of the study, volunteers are stepping up to help. Howard Sargent and Rose Reid are doing their best to keep tabs on fishing boats going through Lalamash Bay which has been deemed a “no take zone.” David Nairn and David Ainsley have been working to protect porpoises from noise pollution caused by fish farms.