Environmental Awareness

We endeavour to reduce the overall impact on our environment through education by promoting conscious awareness of sustainable production and consumption of goods. The resources of our planet are not limitless, and as we forge ahead into the second decade of this new century, we remain mindful of key concepts that will help keep bring us back in harmony with our beautiful blue/green earth, such as renewable energy, urban agriculture, social justice and systems resilience ~ to name only a few!

For the last few years, Willow Moon Herbals has partnered with Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey Council and several local businesses to collect used toner cartridges, ink jet cartridges and cell phones. In that time, we have collected 100+ items and recycled them with The Funding Factory Recycling Program - thereby reducing the toxic impact to our landfills. You can watch our progress with this new endeavour on the dynamic tiles on the right-hand panel of our web site.

We are also working with local Environmental Committees to establish continuing environmental awareness programs in our community ~ and will post more information about these projects shortly.

When speaking with our students, one tool that has been especially useful is the short video called "The Story of Stuff". This video seems to hit home with the grade-school level and, by using simple, straightforward language, discusses the underside of our production and consumption patterns, and calls us together to create a more sustainable world. (see also "The Story of Stuff" on our "Links/Web Site Resources" page)

Another web site that helps underscore the severity of overuse of natural resources is the Global Footprint Network. From their web site:

 "Humanity now requires the equivalent of 1.4 planets to support our lifestyles. The result is that our supply of natural resources -- like trees and fish -- continues to shrink, while our waste, primarily carbon dioxide, accumulates."

Similar to the IRS calculating "Tax Freedom Day", the Global Footprint Network calculates our Ecological Debt Day, or more commonly called "Earth Overshoot Day", thus establishing a worrisome milestone each year: the approximate day humanity will have used all the resources nature will generate in a given year. In 2008, September 23 was pinpointed as the Overshoot day. For  2009, September 25 was the date.   The next year, the date jumped nearly an entire month earlier to August 21, 2010.  Last year, September 27, 2011 is calculated as the day when humanity begins living beyond its ecological means.  Click on the hourglass logo to the right for additional information.

The Post Carbon Institute  is a wealth of information and another useful resource to help understand the economic and social challenges we face today:  climate change, species extinction, freshwater depletion, peak oil, etc.  Check out their book, The Post Carbon Reader along with their web site. 

Transition Newton, located in Newton, NJ, is the NJ chapter of the global Transition Movement founded in Ireland.  Originally called Transition Towns, it is a movement that was founded in Kinsale, Ireland and Totnes, England by environmentalist Rob Hopkins during 2005 and 2006. The aim of the project is to equip communities for the dual challenges of climate change and peak oil. The movement currently has member communities in over 34 countries worldwide.   Transition Newton has added a third challenge - Sustainability - to their goals.  They meet the third Thursday of each month, with additional workshops and informational seminars sprinkled throughout the calendar.  If you are interested in building community with like-minded, forward-thinking individuals who are concerned about the rapid climate changes, economic stability and dependence on foreign oil, be sure to check them out at http://transitionnewton.wordpress.com/.

 United Nations Climate Change Conferences/Conferences of Parties

  COP18:  New Host:  Qatar from 26 November to 7 December 2012

(archived: COP15: UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark 2009)

(archived: COP16:  UN Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico 2010)

(archived:  COP17:  UN Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa 2011)