Tag: environment

creativity

My favorite organizations for Giving Tuesday

Christa Avampato
Photo by Sticker Mule on Unsplash

Today is Giving Tuesday, a day during the holiday season that raises awareness for giving to nonprofit organizations. I’ve worked professionally in the nonprofit space for many years in different capacities including fundraising, product development and product management, program direction, strategy, operations, and communications. These have been some of my most gratifying career experiences. I’ve also been fortunate to be an active volunteer and donor.

If you want to make donations this holiday season, and / or get more involved with nonprofit organizations, here is a list of the ones I support as a donor and volunteer:

Animals and Pets
Muddy Paws Rescue
I’m a foster parent for dogs through Muddy Paws Rescue. The support, guidance, advice, and services they provide to dogs, fosters, and adopters is unparalleled. Through a partnership with Tito’s Vodka, donations today will be matched.

Animal Care Centers of NYC (NYCACC)
This is our city shelter system for animals who are homeless. They don’t turn away any animals and work closely with groups such as Muddy Paws to help these animals find forever homes. With the help of the Mayor’s Office of Animal Welfare, they also provide support for people who are struggling financially to take care of their pets with food assistance and medical care so that people can keep their beloved pets. With the help of the pet food company, Ollie, I’ve arranged to have an entire pallet of Ollie treats shipped to NYCACC to support the shelter pups.

White Whiskers Senior Dog Sanctuary
I learned about this organization when I wanted to make a gift to a senior dog organization in honor of my soul dog, Phineas, who passed away in January. I love their mission to find loving homes for sweet senior pups.

15/10 Foundation
This organization is doing the tough work of providing funds for medical care for pets to help them find forever homes. This is the same group that runs We Rate Dogs, famous for their joyful posts on social media that make everyone’s day. I adore them. I became a monthly donor as a way to thank all the people who have supported my Emerson Page novels which feature Friday, Emerson’s service dog who is also a rescue!

Climate and Environment
Prospect Park Alliance
I moved to Brooklyn in June 2023, a short 15-minute walk to Prospect Park. I love having that nature sanctuary as my backyard and I’m happy to support them. Today, your donations will be doubled.

National Parks Association
The U.S. is so fortunate to have so much protected public land in our national parks. In 2025, they will need our help more than ever as we navigate a new federal administration. Today, all donations will be tripled!

Arbor Day Foundation
Trees provide us with so many gifts – clean air, water filtration, food, and storm protection to name just a few! A gift to the Arbor Day Foundation makes sure our trees receive the protection and care they deserve.

The Climate Reality Project
Since 2006, Vice President Al Gore has trained over 45,000 climate leaders and change makers in all 50 states and 190 countries, me included. (I was trained in NYC in April 2024.) Today, all gifts will be matched.

Humanitarian and Health
World Central Kitchen
Hands-down, World Central Kitchen founded by Chef Jose Andres is the premiere organization for humanitarian relief. With a small staff, mostly employing local people on the ground in areas they serve, they feed anyone and everyone in need. I’m a proud monthly donor.

Coalition for the Homeless
This year I provided a donation to support their back-to-school program that provides new backpacks filled with new school supplies for New York City children who are homeless. They do so much to help our most vulnerable neighbors.

Fisher House Foundation
Most of the members of my small family have served in the U.S. military. As a Christmas gift every year for my uncle who served in Vietnam, I donate to Fisher House. With 98 locations, they have housed 500,000 military families for free when a loved one is in the hospital.

Education
Brooklyn Public Library
I use my local library all the time and our city is made better for all of the services our library systems provide to everyone. All donations to Brooklyn Public Library will be matched today!

Letters to a Pre-Scientist (LPS)
I’m now in my second year of being a STEM pen pal for students in grades 5 through 10 in low-income communities. LPS pairs students with a worldwide network of STEM professionals for a yearlong pen pal program during science class. We help broaden students’ awareness of what STEM professionals look like and do at work and inspire all students to explore a future in STEM.

creativity

5 ways to save money and waste less food on Thanksgiving

Christa Avampato
Photo by Megan Watson on Unsplash

Thanksgiving is 2 weeks from today and menu planning is in full swing. There are strategies you can put in place right now to save money and reduce food waste. These strategies will protect your finances and the natural world. Food prices today are 28% higher than they were in 2019 because of corporate price gouging, and the higher production costs and lower available supply caused by world events like the war in Ukraine.

These ReFED food waste stats about food waste from Thanksgiving Day shocked me:

  • ~316 million pounds of groceries worth $556 million will be wasted on Thanksgiving Day alone in 2024. If saved, this could provide 5 meals for each one of the 47.4 million Americans who are hungry.
  • It took 105 billion gallons of water to make all this wasted food — the equivalent of every American taking 18 showers
  • Over half of the food wasted on Thanksgiving comes from two items — turkey and milk. This is equivalent to 8.2 million whole turkeys. 
  • The greenhouse gas emissions from Thanksgiving food waste are 798,568 metric tons — equivalent to driving 190,000 gas-powered cars for an entire year.
  • When the Thanksgiving food waste decomposes in landfills, it will release 5,000 metric tons of methane gas (a potent and poisonous greenhouse gas)— equivalent to the electricity used by 26,000 homes for an entire year. 

Here are 5 ways you can reduce food waste, saving you money and protecting the health of the planet:

1.) Ask about your guests’ food preferences now
Make sure you know everyone’s dietary restrictions and allergies ahead of time. Build your menu around them so you don’t make any dishes that people can’t eat. 

2.) Make everyone’s favorites
While it’s always fun to try new recipes, when prepping for large group meals stick to everyone’s favorites that are likely to be eaten and likely to be taken home by guests as leftovers. Ask them for their favorite recipes or ask them to bring their favorite dish. Share the full menu ahead of time so everyone knows what to expect and so you can catch any dietary restrictions or allergies before the big day.  

3.) Use the free “Save the Food” Guestimator to make the right amount of food
This guestimator helps you estimate how much food you need to make for everyone at your table to be full and happy. It’s free to use, and customizable by number of guests, appetite level of each guest, how many leftover meals you want to have when dinner is done, and the food type (classic Thanksgiving dinner, vegetarian, or a bit of each). It accounts for the main dishes, sides, and dessert. Savethefood has additional great tools to reduce food waste including storage info for different foods, meal planning and prepping, and recipes.  

4.) Plan to give some leftovers to all of your guests to take home
Have lots of containers on-hand so everyone can take some leftovers home to enjoy or ask guests to bring containers with them. You could also ask them in advance which types of leftovers they’d like to take and how much they want to build into your planning with the guestimator tool above. 

5.) Clean out your fridge and freezer
Your fridge and freezer are great tools to save food waste and have food to enjoy in the days, weeks, and even months ahead! Frozen meals, when properly stored (see Savethefood’s storage tool for more info on that!), can last for months and will help you have a nutritious meal in minutes during the busy holiday season. 

All of these strategies and tools can be used for any food gathering you’re having at any time of year and will help you waste less food (and less money) all year long. Happy holidays!

creativity

Hope is a Renewable Resource

Christa Avampato
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2053590/episodes/16000698

With everything happening in the world now, hope may feel in short supply. I’ve got something that will help. I had the honor of being a guest on the Art Heals All Wounds podcast with host Pam Uzzell. 

During our conversation, I share my journey from growing up on a rural apple farm amidst adversity to becoming a climate advocate. I talk about my passion for reshaping the narratives and storytelling around sustainability and human design, and how my process of healing from cancer in the depths of the pandemic gave me perspective on healing the planet and the collective responsibility we all share for our planet’s future. This echos what the climate scientist, Dr. Michael Mann, calls “channeling dooming into doing.”

I also make the case for kindness (especially in urban settings), the urgency of transitioning to clean energy, and my plans for fostering environmental restoration, rewilding, and community engagement so we grow stronger together. Thank you, Pam, for the opportunity to talk about everything I love.

Listen to our conversation at https://www.buzzsprout.com/2053590/episodes/16000698

creativity

My dual goals to end food insecurity and food waste

Christa Avampato
Photo by Ella Olsson on Unsplash

Today I started a new research project on food waste with the hope of starting an entrepreneurial venture in this space. In the U.S., 16 billion pounds of food from food retailers alone end up in landfills every year while 47.4 million Americans (13.5% of households) face food insecurity every day. 1/3 of waste in U.S. landfills is food and food waste causes 6% – 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change. We have plenty of food to feed everyone. It’s not in the right places at the right time so the waste is a logistics and operations issue.

Utilizing the methodology from my University of Cambridge / Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) dissertation, I’m conducting interviews with food retailers, rescue organizations, distribution organizations, institutional food providers, and policy makers to find an unmet need in the market that would help prevent food waste. Today I had my first interview with the largest food rescue organization in NYC. It went very well. I’m excited to continue these conversations and work on this idea.

Solving this dual challenge of food waste and food insecurity is important to me personally as well as from an environmental and business perspective. I grew up in a home that was food insecure and we often didn’t have enough food to eat. We were lucky to have the free lunch program at school. So many are not fortunate enough to have that kind of safety net. My goal with this business is to serve them and protect the planet. If you know someone or an organization I can talk to, I’d love any referrals.

creativity

Can clean electricity for everyone everywhere end poverty?

Christa Avampato
Photo by Kendall Ruth on Unsplash

700 million people have no electricity. 3.1 billion people don’t have enough. Could changing that change everything?

Rajiv J. Shah, President of the Rockefeller Foundation and author of “Big Bets: How Large-Scale Change Really Happens”, published a New York Times opinion essay this week that makes the case for clean electrification as THE driver to end poverty, reduce violence, and drastically improve well-being including health, nutrition, jobs, and education, not to mention how it would provide us with cleaner water, air, soil, and crops.

I appreciate the holistic nature of the 17 Strategic Development Goals (SDGs). I also agree with Shah that we have to rethink how we’re approaching them by solving the few (or perhaps the one, as Shah suggests) underlying challenge(s) common across all the SDGs. The bureaucracy and complexity of 17 sets of solutions to meet 17 goals is enough to make anyone’s head spin, and it could very well be slowing our progress toward achieving any of them by 2030. These 17 goals may define symptoms, with the underlying disease being lack of clean electricity. 

If Shah is right, and clean electrification is the root challenge of all these goals, how might that change financial investment and policy? How might our climate actions and climate storytelling shift if our one united goal was to provide every person with clean electricity by 2030? What would it take to get there?

creativity

How to get microplastics out of your body

Christa Avampato
Photo by Naja Bertolt Jensen on Unsplash

0.5% of human brain weight today is from microplastics, according to the latest scientific research. It’s also collecting in human lungs, placentas, reproductive organs, livers, kidneys, knee and elbow joints, blood vessels and bone marrow. It contributes to cardiovascular disease, infertility, memory loss, and learning impairment.

These are frightening statistics, and there we can do something about it TODAY to protect ourselves and our families. Many of the answers are in our kitchens. An article in the New York Times interviewed 3 medical doctors and a research scientist about how to reduce our exposure.

1.) Eliminate plastic bottled water (and I’d add eliminate paper to-go cups because they have a plastic lining, especially for hot coffee). Instead, use metal, silicone, or glass to store your water.

2.) Have effective water filtration at home. Brita’s elite filter is a good choice.

3.) Don’t cook with utensils such as plastic spatulas or plastic mixing spoons. Use silicone, wood, or metal.

4.) Don’t store any food or drinks in plastic (especially if they are acidic or warm). Even if they come in plastic from the grocery store, take them out of the plastic when you get home and store in glass, metal, or silicone. Never leave food or drink in plastic exposed to heat (such as in a car).

5.) Don’t reuse packaged food containers you may have like those from butter, yogurt, etc. to store food. Put those right into the recycling bin.

6.) Don’t microwave plastic, no matter what the packaging says is okay.

7.) Hand wash plastic rather than running it through the dishwasher, and use cold water to wash it, no matter what the packaging says is okay.

8.) Replace your plastic cutting boards with wood or bamboo cutting boards.

9.) I would also add don’t eat with plastic utensils, plastic bowls or plates, or paper plates that have a plastic coating on them.

10.) Filter your air at home and vacuum regularly to remove microplastics that enter our home from the air and that we track in from outside.

It’s unfortunate that completely eliminating exposure to microplastics in our modern world is nearly impossible until we have safe, alternative materials to fossil fuel-based plastic. What we can do is limit our exposure as much as possible with these tips.


creativity

I submitted my dissertation to the University of Cambridge

Christa Avampato

It is written. It is submitted. In the wee hours of Monday morning, I submitted my dissertation to the University of Cambridge. I’m proud of it. Every cell in my body is passionate about the topic and I think it can help to make this world a better place.

There are many people who helped make this dissertation what it is. The anonymous marking criteria precluded me from thanking them by name in the acknowledgements of the dissertation so I’ll thank them here.

My advisor Dr Candice Howarth provided support and encouragement from the start. 

Louise Drake was enthusiastic about my topic from the point I submitted my proposal and provided early materials that helped me on my journey. 

My first year tutor Angus Morrison-saunders sharpened my writing and research skills to make the writing of this research project possible. 

The staff at Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) always warmly welcomed us in Cambridge, answered our many questions with kindness and grace, and created the space to make this phenomenal experience possible. There is so much work that happens behind the scenes and the staff is to be commended for all they do. 

My friends and classmates Milly Moore, Alasdair Martin, Patricia Minogue, Aaron Hemsley, Mark Champkins, Barbora Kotoun, Laura Hillis, Mitch Reznick, CFA, Iuliia Takhtarova, and Aonghus Kelly read my work at various points (some more than once, you kind souls!) and provided feedback that made the work much better than it would have been otherwise. 

My close community of friends and relatives cheered me on throughout this two-year adventure and provided support for my studies in so many ways. 

Many people graciously and generously gave their time so I could interview them for this dissertation. Your insights and perspectives made this research possible. Thank you for your honesty, candor, and enthusiasm for the work. 

I love being a part of Cohort 13 and I’m inspired every day by all my wonderful classmates and friends. You taught me so much, not only about sustainability but also about life. I’m a better person for knowing you. Thank you for everything. 

While we all now wait for our grades and the confirmation of our graduation celebration in 2025, I’m filled with gratitude and love for two fantastic years. Onward now to save the planet.

creativity

What the Pope got wrong about climate change

Christa Avampato
Photo by Imat Bagja Gumilar on Unsplash

Last month, a study on conservation actions, including protected areas and management, showed they effectively halt and reverse biodiversity loss, and reducing climate change impacts. Over the weekend, CBS aired an interview with Pope Francis, the first he’s granted to a major U.S. television network. About climate change he told Norah O’Donnell, “Unfortunately, we have gotten to a point of no return.” What’s unfortunate is Norah O’Donnell didn’t explain the science that this is not true. We are not at a point of no return with climate change. We need to do more and faster, and there is hope.

I understand it’s probably intimidating to challenge the Pope during an interview on national television. However, what he says is taken as truth by millions of people. If he pointed to the many success cases we have, this would inspire the increase in climate action we need. People need to know they can and do have the opportunity right now to make a difference. We have to spread this message far and wide because time is running out. This next decade could turn the tide one way or the other, and we have the chance to be part of the solution.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it. It’s documented that 44,000 species are at risk of extinction. If these extinctions happen, ecosystems will collapse and billions of people will struggle to have enough food, clean water, livelihoods such as fishing, homes, and cultural preservation, to name just a few of the severe impacts.

Re:wild is an incredible resource filled with hope and success stories backed by science. One of their recent article hit home for me because of my passion for nature-based solutions and rewilding: We don’t need to reinvent the planet; we need to rewild it.

The world’s forests store approximately 861 gigatonnes of carbon, equivalent to nearly a century’s worth of current annual fossil fuel emissions. Tropical rainforests store 50 percent of that. These forests are not just the trees – they’re a whole ecosystem including the fungi, soil, insects, and predators. “When there are pieces of that biodiversity missing, the carbon cycle is incomplete or much less efficient than it would be otherwise,” said Christopher Jordan, Re:wild Latin America director. Storing carbon and keeping it out of the atmosphere needs all parts of the forest. It needs biodiversity. The wild, not human-invented technology, is the most effective solution to the interconnected climate, biodiversity, and human well-being crises. 

This is what I wish the Pope had said about climate change because it’s true: There is hope. We have the solutions. Now, we need the will and humility to listen to nature and let her lead for our own sake and hers. We are all interconnected. We need each other.

creativity

What tree saplings teach us about potential

Christa Avampato

This is a photo of pure potential and a crazy dream. 12 tree saplings in their youngest and most vulnerable state: 3 eastern redbuds, 2 sargent crabapples, 2 washington hawthorns, 3 white flowering dogwoods, and 2 crapemyrtles. They all begin as a single twig with wispy roots.

The next time you’re looking at a fully grown tree, consider all the energy, effort, and time they took to transform themselves. If you’re thinking of doing something new or growing in a new direction, think of a tree. If they can grow from a fragile shoot into a towering figure who provides shade, clean air, food, and a home for so many species, who stands tall in the face of difficulty, then you can grow into who you want to be.

Over the next few months, I’ll be looking after these little ones in the hopes of giving them to my Brooklyn neighbors to plant in their yards when they’re a bit bigger and stronger. I’m sure there will be many lessons in this botanical endeavor. For now, these are the words they’re speaking to me: surround yourself with love and nourishment, and see how you flourish.

creativity

An orangutan practices medicine

Christa Avampato

The wonders of nature amaze me every day, and today a piece of natural news left me in awe. A paper was just published in the journal Nature about an orangutan who was observed self-medicating with remarkable effects that even trained medical doctors would have trouble reproducing.

In Sumatra, a 35-year-old orangutan known to researchers as Rakus had a large, deep, open wound on his face close to his eye. To look at it even made me wince, and I’m not at all squeamish about medical issues! With his teeth, he ground yellow root, an herb he rarely ate that has anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. He then applied the yellow root paste to his facial wound. In several days, it scabbed over. A little over a month later, it was barely noticeable with no sign of infection. (The images of Rakus above are from the paper in Nature.)

How could Rakus possibly act as his own doctor and healer? Where did he learn this yellow root technique? Scientists don’t know yet. While other animals have been observed in the wild tending to their injuries and the injuries of others, some even administering self-care and preventative-care, this was the first time an animal was observed medicinally treating a wound and with remarkable success.

There is so much we don’t know nor understand about the natural world. This is one of the many reasons why conservation is so vital for the health of people and our planet. Nature-based solutions to what ails us are everywhere, and to allow us to learn from them we must conserve the ecosystems where they occur. Perhaps Rakus has shown us a new medication that we could use to treat human wounds. He and his species are sentient, thoughtful beings who hurt and heal just as we do, deserve respect and concern, and have a right to survive and thrive.