These 4 People Are Doing Good for Our Environment & So Can You

"What are your skills, what are your abilities, and how can you harness those skills and abilities to make this a better world?" - Captain Paul Watson of Watson documentary [View Online]( Helping You Help Earth "What are your skills, what are your abilities, and how can you harness those skills and abilities to make this a better world?" - Captain Paul Watson of [Watson]( documentary [fb]( [tw]( Happy Earth Month, Earthlings! 🌎This April, we’re reminded of our daily commitment to protect our greatest gift, Mother Earth, through thoughtful actions that better our environment. Lowering our carbon footprint, engaging in sustainable practices and consuming less have never been more important, as climate change, pollution and loss of biodiversity threaten not only our planet at large but every living creature that inhabits it now and for generations to come. Some of you have been with us since our films [An Inconvenient Truth]( and some may have newly joined with [An Inconvenient Sequel]( but we have always been and are still committed to driving positive social change. We want to inspire everyone to be a force for good and confront how far-reaching the consequences — and, more importantly, the benefits — of our actions can be. [Recent studies]( analyzing 50 years of data have shown that climate change has had a significant impact on global economic inequality — and not for the better. Rich countries are benefiting from it, while poor countries are becoming poorer. In fact, if climate change weren’t happening, the gap between the group of nations with the highest and lowest economic output per person would be about 25% smaller. We can see this happening in [agriculture-reliant countries]( whose crops are dying due to increased heat and drought or in places where roads have been destroyed and power grids need to be rebuilt. Now more than ever, there is a need to increase access to sustainable energy to help poorer countries grow economically. [The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind]( [The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind]( William Kamwkamba (played by Maxwell Simba) successfully powers up a radio using just the energy of the wind. This model confirmed that his design worked, setting him up to build a much larger windmill, that would one day water the crops for his family's farm. Climate change may feel disheartening, and taking action may feeling daunting, but people of any age can make a difference by working to solve problems locally. Don’t believe us? Take William Kamkwamba, for example. Kamkwamba — an inventor and the subject of our new movie [The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind]( , based on Kamkwamba’s book of the same name — grew up in Malawi when rains were scarce and crops were dying. Needing to help, even as just a resourceful young boy, Kamkwamba constructed a device from bicycle parts that used energy from the wind to help circulate small amounts of water to the fields. Sure, we may not all have Kamkwamba’s drive or savvy, but his story and actions have already inspired communities to take action and act selflessly for the greater good of our environment and their peers. Sometimes it’s hard to fathom our own impact. Can we actually do anything to help? Do our daily routines really affect the world at large? In our film [Aquarela]( by Russian director Victor Kossakovsky, we are shown a new perspective, one that captures the dizzying and dazzling scope of something as seemingly simple as water whose force is rivaled only by its beauty— and how easily beauty turns into disaster if we don’t act on climate change now. [Intro - Aquarela]( Through our films and social impact campaigns, we hope to make getting involved a simple and rewarding part of life rather than a chore. Because looking out for our environment and the people around us shouldn’t be scary or exhausting; it should be fun and gratifying. See how some, including beekeeper Hilary Kearney and zero-waste blogger Shia Su, are getting involved below. SUSTAINABLE SPOTLIGHT: Meet 4 People Who Are Giving Back to Our Planet During this Earth Month, we’ve been giving a shout-out to ecofriendly changemakers who are making our planet a better place. [Sustainable Spotlight-Hilary Kearney]( Meet the artist-turned beekeeper Hilary Kearney, an artist-turned-beekeeper, practices treatment-free beekeeping, and currently manages 60+ colonies on her San Diego property. She’s spent years raising awareness about earth's most important pollinator. [Meet Hilary]( [Sustainable Spotlight-Shia Su]( Meet the zero waste author and blogger Fed up with feeling powerless in an unhealthy lifestyle, Shia Su decided to make a change. Fast forward 5 years later, she's living zero waste, vegan, plastic, & palm oil-free! [Meet Shia]( [Sustainable Spotlight-Jedidiah Jenkins]( Meet this storyteller, adventurer, and earth-friendly entrepreneur Jedidiah Jenkins' deep connection to our planet began rather unconventionally when, upon turning 30, he decided to quit his job and bike 14,000 miles from Oregon to Patagonia. He spent the next 16 months documenting his journey through photos and profound reflections on his experiences and encounters along the way. [Meet Jedidiah]( [Sustainable Spotlight-Addie Fisher]( Meet this eco-friendly changemaker and sustainability enthusiast Addie Fisher believes that everything we do can be accomplished in a sustainable manner, and her blog Old World New provides helpful tips on how to become a better steward of the Earth. Find out Addie's advice for becoming eco-friendly! [Meet Addie]( . --------------------------------------------------------------- GET INVOLVED [Demand Clean Water]( DEMAND CLEAN WATER For years, the government has turned a blind eye while companies allow toxic chemicals to contaminate our drinking water, putting the health of millions of Americans at risk. Join actor Mark Ruffalo and environmental attorney Rob Bilott to demand clean water. [Join the Fight]( . [Get Involved - Environmental Defense Fund]( HOW CLEAN IS YOUR REGION'S ELECTRICITY? Participant Media has partnered with the Environmental Defense Fund to tackle environmental problems we all face. Is the renewable energy in your neighborhood better or worse than the national average? Find out your utility's clean energy score by simply typing in your zip code, and tell them you care about renewable options. [Learn more]( . [Get Involved - Keep Greenhouse Gases Out of Our Atmosphere]( KEEP GREENHOUSE GASES OUT OF OUR ATMOSPHERE To help climate change, we can recycle, reduce and reuse – but we still emit carbon pollution. The Cool Effect platform brings together the world’s highest quality CO₂-reducing projects. [Support a Project]( . [Save the Children - Give Back]( GIVE BACK Sending our deepest condolences to everyone affected by the devastating Cyclone Idai, one of the worst tropical cyclones on record to affect Africa and the Southern Hemisphere. Subsequent flooding continues to impact thousands of people. [Help by Donating]( . --------------------------------------------------------------- TRAILER ALERT! [Apply to spend a year working with the Spotlight Team at the Boston Globe]( [Trailer Alert: Foster Trailer ]( Foster Documentary: Official Trailer From Oscar-winners Deborah Oppenheimer and Mark Jonathan Harris, Foster interweaves compelling first-hand stories of those navigating the child welfare system with insights from social workers, advocates and others in the justice system to offer a realistic but hopeful perspective on a community in need of support and understanding. Foster is more than just a movie; it's a call to action. From becoming a court-appointed special advocate (CASA) to mentoring a child in foster care to simply fundraising or donating supplies or learning how to become a foster parent, there are many ways you can become a source of positivity for children and families in the foster care system after watching the film. And Participant's own initiative will bring individuals, organizations, corporations and government agencies together to rally for change. The objectives of the campaign are twofold: (1) Change perceptions of foster youth from "those children" to "OUR children," and (2) Accelerate solutions aimed at supporting children and families to thrive, not just survive. Learn more at [thefosterfilm.com](. Foster premieres May 7, 2019 at 8pm ET on HBO. [Watch Trailer]( [Get Involved in the Life of a Foster Youth]( [Apply to spend a year working with the Spotlight Team at the Boston Globe]( [Trailer Alert: When They See Us Trailer]( When They See Us: Official Trailer Based on a true story that gripped the country, When They See Us chronicles the notorious case of five teenagers of color, labeled the Central Park Five, who were convicted of a rape they did not commit. Their story offers an important glimpse into the failures of our criminal justice system and has inspired us to support the work of the criminal justice reform movement. We're teaming up with organizations including Color of Change, Vera Institute of Justice, Institute for Innovation in Prosecution at John Jay College and The Opportunity Agenda, among others, to further this initiative and increase awareness of how the system has failed the five individuals at the center of When They See Us as well as the thousands of others falsely convicted in the US over just the past three decades. The four-part limited series, directed by Ava DuVernay, will focus on the five teenagers from Harlem -- Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise. Beginning in the spring of 1989, when the teenagers were first questioned about the incident, the series will span 25 years, highlighting their exoneration in 2002 and the settlement reached with the city of New York in 2014. When They See Us premieres May 31, 2019 on Netflix. [Watch Trailer]( . READ THIS [Trader Joe’s Phasing Out Single-Use Plastics Nationwide Following Customer Petition]( EcoWatch [Read]( . [Hawaii considers banning most plastics at restaurants to cut down on ocean pollution]( CBS News [Read]( . [5 Youth-Led Climate Justice Groups Helping to Save the Environment]( Teen Vogue [Read]( . [Norway refuses to drill for billions of barrels of oil in Arctic, leaving ‘whole industry surprised and disappointed’]( The Independent [Read]( . . Like this email? [Forward to a friend](mailto:?subject=FW: Helping You Help Earth&body=I was reading this newsletter from Participant and thought you would enjoy it as well.%0A%0A This April, we’re reminded of our year-long responsibility to protect our greatest gift, Mother Earth, through simple actions that better our environment.%0A%0ARead more: or share on [Facebook]( or [Twitter](. Feedback? Reply and let us know what you think. [Participant Media]( [Participant Media]( is the leading media company dedicated to entertainment that inspires and compels social change. Founded in 2004 by Jeff Skoll, Participant's content combines the power of a good story well told with opportunities for real-world impact and awareness around the most pressing global issues of our time. [fb]( [tw]( [tw]( [About Us]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Terms of Service]( | [Unsubscribe]( © 2019 Participant Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This email was sent by: Participant Media 331 Foothill Rd 3rd Floor Los Angeles, CA, 90210, US [Update Profile](