Florida has many specific problems that demand your attention. Some local issues that you can help with are plastics and waste disposal; the aquifer; burning sugar cane destroying the health and lives of residents of the Glades; and deforestation to mention a few.
THE SIERRA CLUB
The Sierra Club is has been engaged in local, national and global environmental justice for over a century. The Palm Beach County Sierra Club has several efforts that volunteers and other interested parties will want to participate in, for example:
Glades Sugar Burning
Pre-harvest sugar field burning is a toxic and outdated harvesting practice that takes place every year from October through May with the vast majority of the burnt acreage occurring in Western Palm Beach County. Discriminatory burn regulations based on wind direction ensure more affluent communities to the east are spared when the wind blows their way, while residents in and around the Glades, predominantly lower-income Black and Brown communities, remain unprotected from the smoke and ash, because when the wind blows toward them burning permits are granted. This unnecessary harvesting practice negatively impacts the health, quality of life, and economic opportunity of residents living in and around the Glades communities.
The Stop The Burn Go Green Campaign is a Glades community-led environmental justice movement. Its aim is focused on getting the sugar industry to fully transition to modern sustainable burn-free green harvesting. Green harvesting in addition to ending the public health and environmental threats caused by pre-harvest sugar field burning can also bring new economic opportunities to the Glades by stimulating biofuels and bioproduct industries that can utilize plant waste that is currently burned by the industry to cut costs.
Visit the campaign website linked below to learn more and contact us to learn how you can help end this form of environmental racism taking place in Palm Beach County.
CONTACT:
Patrick Ferguson
Phone: (954) 288-4234
E-mail: patrick.ferguson@sierraclub.org
Website: Sierra Club Florida Chapter
Website: Stop The Burn Go Green
COMMUNITY GREENING
Community Greening plants canopy and fruit trees throughout Palm Beach County, particularly in underserved neighborhoods. They have already planted hundreds of trees and have a goal to plant thousands. The result of their work is not only to beautify. The trees provide shade, freshen the atmosphere, and provide eatable fruit as well jobs for neighborhood teens. Talk about a comprehensive program – Community Greening has it all.
CONTACT:
Mark Cassini, Community Greening
E-mail: mcassini@communitygreening.org
Josh Weiner, Community Greening
E-mail: jweiner@communitygreening.org
Web Site: Community Greening
STAY TUNED FOR MORE ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION!
- Everglades
- Endangered Water Resources
- Plastic Waste Disposal
