EMA Weekly Forecast: Sneak Preview Of Our Act in Paris Campaign

SNEAK PREVIEW OF OUR ACT IN PARIS CAMPAIGN!

Friday afternoon we unveiled an exciting new project for an exclusive group of reporters and influencers. The campaign is called “Act In Paris” and it is a partnership between the Sierra Club, EMA and our friends at RYOT.  We can’t tell you much about the campaign, since we aren’t officially launching for two weeks, but we can give you a couple hints…

1. It’s all about climate change and how we can help to support solutions to keep our planet from more destruction.

And 2. As you can see from the photo below, we are presenting this campaign with cutting-edge virtual reality technology.  Which everyone will be able to check out on October 7th!

Until then, let your mind run wild with what images our friend below may be watching and follow the hashtag #actinparis to check out any breaking news."

EMA Partners With "Racing Extinction" for Los Angeles Premiere

From the filmmakers that brought us the Oscar-winning documentary “The Cove” comes another important project. As you may know, our planet is losing biodiversity at an alarming rate. One of the main victims of industrialization and capitalism has been our oceans. For this reason, the filmmakers focused on the severe toll our over-consumption of resources is having on the planet’s wildlife, particularity in the sea. The documentary is poignant, shocking, and must be seen by all.

EMA has partnered with the filmmakers for their limited release starting this Friday, September 18th in Los Angeles at the Laemmle NOHO theater. The documentary will be screening from the 18th to the 24th, so make sure you save some time this weekend to see it! Our partnership with “Racing Extinction” is the first part of EMA and Sierra Club’s Act In Paris campaign, so stay tuned!

Ticket Info:  Los Angeles’ Limited Release of “Racing Extinction”

Want to help save our planet in more ways than just seeing the documentary? Head to the official “Racing Extinction” website and take the #StartWith1Thing challenge! Info below (via Discovery Channel):

Join the 5-Day Carbon Cleanse

You’ve heard of a juice cleanse, right? Well now it’s time for a carbon cleanse. Give us five days and we’ll give you the tools you’ll need to make real impact. We are racing extinction and together we will win.

About OPS:

“Oceanic Preservation Society (OPS) is a non-profit organization that creates film, photography and media, inspiring people to save the oceans. Founded in 2005 by renowned photographer and avid diver Louie Psihoyos, OPS is headquartered in Boulder, CO, conveniently between two oceans.

OPS’s first film, The Cove, has won dozens of awards around the world, including the Oscar® for Best Documentary in 2009, and inspired over a million people to action.”

“Racing Extinction” is a must-see documentary! Get your friends and family to see it by sharing the project via social media. Tag us on twitter (@green4ema) and we’ll retweet it.

Participant Media Presents the EMA Award for Best Digital Short: Vote Now!

Last week, we were pleased and excited to announce the 2015 EMA Awards Nominees on our website. From the press to social media, people are buzzing over this year’s amazing lineup. We don’t blame them! Luckily, there’s a way for fans to get involved in the Awards Show fun before the night of the Gala. Just this week, Participant Media launched its voting page to decide the EMA Best Digital Short. That’s right, you the fans get to decide which one of these incredible projects goes home with an EMA award.

Vote Now!

Readers can vote as many times as they like, but only once per day. Wait, it gets better. Participants have the chance to enter to win a prize pack of 12 Participant films.

According to takepart, “These three finalists have been chosen by a panel of judges compiled of entertainment executives, climate experts and non-profit leaders.” But what if you haven’t seen the three digital shorts? You’re in luck. All three digital shorts are on Youtube and can be watched below.

The winner will be announced at the 2015 EMA Awards Gala to be held in Los Angeles in October. Voting closes on 10/10 so make sure to vote soon and vote often.

Nominees (via the takepart voting page)

The Soil Story

The Soil Story, created by Kiss the Ground, is a five-minute film that shares the importance of healthy soil for a healthy planet. Learn how we can “sequester” (store) carbon from our atmosphere, where it is harmful, and pull it back into the earth, where it belongs, through regenerative agriculture, composting, and other land management practices. This video and petition to the California Legislature supports the allocation of $160 million in funding from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to help rebuild healthy soils. The film was directed in partnership with Louis Fox, best-known for the acclaimed viral series, “The Story of Stuff”

Dear Future Generations: Sorry

Dear Future Generations: Sorry was created by Richard Williams, better known by his stage name Prince EA. Prince EA is an American rapper, spoken word artist, music video director and rights activist from St Louis, Missouri. He creates content “to make people laugh, cry, think, and love with the ultimate goal to evolve.”

Climate Change Denial Disorder

Climate Change Denial Disorder may be effecting your parents, grandparents, or congressperson. This video, featuring Ed Begley, Jr., is was created by Funny or Die.

Get your friends to vote by sharing your picks and the voting page via social media! Tag us on Twitter and Facebook, we’d love to hear your picks!

#TrendyTuesday - We are honoring Don Henley this year with our Missions In Music Award, what is your favorite Don Henley/Eagles song?

According to Wikipedia, "As a solo artist, (Don) Henley has sold over 10 million albums worldwide, had eight Top 40 singles, won two Grammy Awards and five MTV Video Music Awards. Combined with the Eagles and as a solo artist, Henley has released 25 Top 40 singles on the Billboard Hot 100."

Not that we need Wikipedia to tell us how illustrious the lead singer of the Eagles is, we just thought we'd drive that point home. In addition to being ridiculously good at making music, Don Henley has forged a second career as a passionate conservationist.

In 1990, Henley founded the Walden Woods Project, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to protecting the historic woods in Massachusetts where Henry David Thoreau first championed the concept of land conservation. In addition, he founded the Caddo Lake Institute in his native East Texas, a privately operating foundation to act as an “ecosystem-specific” sponsoring entity. His first album in 15 years, Cass County, is being released on September 25, 2015.

In anticipation of honoring Don Henley at the 2015 EMA Awards, we're asking you to share your favorite songs of his (solo, Eagles, collaborations, etc.) on social media! Make sure to tag us in your posts so we can share your favorites with our audience. Here's to getting that Peaceful Easy Feeling this coming Tuesday!

If you want to participate in this coming week's #TrendyTuesday, just make a social media post on any platform at any time on Tuesday, tag @green4ema in it, and we'll spread the Don Henley love.

Get Your Tickets For The 2015 EMA Awards!

EMA Partners With DIGDEEP for its "Empty Pool Party" in L.A.

You can leave your pool noodles at home for this one, folks. To bring attention to California's unprecedented drought, EMA, DIGDEEP, Change the Course, and many other non-profits and businesses are hosting a waterless pool party this coming Saturday, September 26th at a secret pool in LA. We think it goes without saying that there will be no diving involved, but that won't stop us from having fun! The event will include live music, an open bar (don't worry, the bar won't be empty), free food, pool party games, gift bags, and much, much more!

Make sure you RSVP!

The party begins at noon, it's free, and you must be 21 or older to attend. Here's the party's manifesto: "We believe that this epic drought is an exciting chance for change. We believe Angelenos can be smarter and more resilient. We believe in community, creativity and innovation. We believe in pool parties."

Sounds good to us! If you can't make it to the party, do the next best thing and follow EMA on Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram for live updates (@green4ema)!

#MeatlessMondays with Gardein

Did you know that eating one burger has the same carbon footprint as driving 320 miles in your car? Better be a good burger, right? Or you could choose the more Eco-friendly, healthier option of going meatless every Monday. Our and Gardein's goal is to inspire people to give up the meat with the help of tantalizing vegetarian recipes. Pesto stuffed mushrooms, Thai fishless sliders, pasta Alfredo with walnut Parmesan...you get the point.

Do you have a favorite meatless recipe? Share it with us and we'll post it on our blog and social media. #MeatlessMonday will be a fun way to get people eating less meat and thinking about the environmental impacts of their eating habits. Also, you won't have to worry about what to make every Monday.

Want to submit a recipe for our blog? Have a question about how to tweet/instagram your #MeatlessMonday?  Email our community manager Jay Jasinski at jayjasinski10@gmail.com

News and Stories

California EPA Takes Aim at Roundup

Guest post from Erica Wohldmann, Ph.D.

People 1: Monsanto 0.

In all honesty, Monsanto is still way ahead. But this is how I felt when I learned that California’s Environmental Protection Agency proposed to label glyphosate, the primary ingredient in Monsanto’s flagship herbicide, Roundup, as being known to cause cancer.

Roundup is America’s most popular weed-killer and is used on lawns, gardens, and sidewalk cracks all across the nation. However, the majority of glyphosate sprayed onto American soil each year isn’t in our yards, it’s on our food crops. In fact, some Genetically Engineered (GE/GMO) crops such as corn and soybeans are specifically designed to withstand heavy doses of glyphosate. This synthetic chemical is absorbed into the plants that we and our livestock eat, and research has shown that some food crops may contain “excessive” levels of glyphosate.

Last March, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) released a report describing glyphosate as a “probable carcinogen,” claiming that there is “convincing evidence” that glyphosate can cause cancer in laboratory animals. For humans, the report said that, “Case-control studies of occupational exposure in the U.S.A., Canada, and Sweden reported increased risk for non-Hodgkin lymphoma that persisted after adjustments to other pesticides.”

Particulate Matters: Air Pollution is Making Us Sick

"A little goes a long way" is a charming adage when it applies to kindness or red pepper flakes, but not so much when you're talking about air pollution. According to an onEarth article, "A massive new study, published today in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, suggests even small amounts of particulate matter significantly threaten your well-being. Researchers at New York University-Langone Medical Center matched a health-status database of 566,000 people aged 50 to 71 with the air-pollution levels in their home states (California, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, as well as the Detroit and Atlanta metropolitan areas). They found that an increase of 10 micrograms of PM 2.5—particles of less than 2.5 microns in diameter—per cubic meter of air raises the risk of death from heart disease by 10 percent."

In other words, it doesn't take much pollution to make a person sick. This is alarming news for any Californian since even our state parks have terrible air pollution. As depressing as it is, we need studies such as this one to give us all a kick in the butt to be greener.

The Right Way to Save Africa's Elephants

If things don't change, we could easily lose African elephants in our lifetime. According to The Independent, "In central Africa, elephant numbers have declined by two-thirds in the last decade. This year it was announced Mozambique lost half its population of 20,000 elephants in just five years. If trends continue, extinction is only a generation away."

Elephants are inspiring animals. Despite poaching, habitat loss, and climate change, they're still finding a way to fight for survival. Sadly, they won't be able to do it alone.

One ray of hope comes in the form of national parks. For example, since the South African NGO African Parks took over Zakouma National Park, "Elephant numbers stabilized, and now, after four years, they’re beginning to creep up again. In 2013, there were 23 newborns. Last year there were 20." Another positive is the way country's manage their national parks. In the past, many parks would close down for a couple of months, allowing poachers to make their move. Not anymore. According to he article, "We operate in the park for 12 months of the year. We came in with a completely different strategy and put in place things like communication, proper training and satellite collars for the elephants. Immediately we began to track them.”

We love an optimistic story!