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 Airwaves
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Let the Games Begin!
Today marks the opening ceremony of the of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. The Games will feature 102 events and will include the addition of big air snowboarding, mass start speed skating, mixed doubles curling, and mixed team alpine skiing to the Winter Olympic program. 2,952 athletes from 92 nations will compete, including the debut of Ecuador, Eritrea, Kosovo, Malaysia, Nigeria, and Singapore. PyeongChang 2018 will be the first Winter Olympic Games to receive the ISO 20121 certification, a sustainability standard for entire events. Some other initiatives include:
- Through reductions and offsets, PyeongChang aims to be a zero-emissions event
- PyeongChang’s province of Gangwon started building wind turbines while it was still bidding for the games and had the capacity to provide all 190 megawatts of electricity needed for the Games
- Six other venues constructed specifically for the games will run off of solar and geothermal energy
- Coca-Cola (an official partner) is working with organizers, local officials and the World Wildlife Fund on a water resource project that could affect all of South Korea.
- The Gangneung High-Speed Railway was constructed to be energy-efficient and is expected to save 6,000 metric tons of GHGs over vehicles that would have otherwise been used
Why This Matters: Winter athletes around the world are already finding it increasingly difficult to train in proper conditions (scroll down to our Weekly Hero for more on this) due to climate change. It's important for major international competitions like this one, with the whole world watching, to do their part to address the problem.
On that note, enjoy the games! And look out for these 31 athletes.
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 Water
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Photo: Mark Wilson, Getty Images
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What's a WOTUS? No One Knows For Sure
The definition of what is a "water of the United States" or "WOTUS" has been a matter of debate and controversy for decades, and thanks to actions by the Supreme Court, EPA, and environmental groups, it will remain so for at least another two years and maybe beyond. In 2015, the Obama Administration promulgated a regulation to precisely define this term, which is significant under the Clean Water Act because it is illegal to discharge pollution into a "water of the United States." The original Clean Water Act did not define the term and since that time there had been ongoing litigation about whether it should apply to small streams, isolated ponds, and wetlands. The Obama Administration's very broad definition was immediately challenged in court by ranchers, farmers, and developers and was stayed pending the outcome of the case.
Last month, the Supreme Court ruled in that case that litigation over the definition should be heard in district courts and that resulted in the Obama rule finally taking effect. And that led to EPA's decision earlier this week to suspend the Obama rule for two years while they come up with a new proposal. Environmental groups and state attorneys general then immediately sued the Trump Administration saying that Administrator Scott Pruitt violated required legal processes and ignored his legal obligation to protect water supplies when he delayed implementation of the Obama version of the rule.
Why This Matters: What is a water of the United States? No one really knows. The only thing that is certain is that litigation over what waters are covered by the Clean Water Act will be tied up in district courts across the country -- with challenges to both the Obama Administrations Clean Water Rule as well as the Trump Administration's delay of the rule. Even after the Trump Administration promulgates its rule, it will take years for all this litigation to make its way back to the Supreme Court for a ruling on the merits. In the meantime, farmers, ranchers, and developers will be forced to navigate the waters of uncertainty.
To Go Deeper into WOTUS: EPA's website about the WOTUS rule is excellent.
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 Land
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Survey Says: Zinke's Home State Wants Conservation!
As the Great Falls Tribune reported that the Colorado College State of the Rockies Project conducted its 8th annual "Conservation in the West" poll. Researchers surveyed registered voters in each of eight Western states — Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming — for their stances on the most pressing issues involving public lands."
The most interesting results came from Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke's home state of Montana. "Of those polled in Montana, 33 percent identified as Republican, 23 percent identified as Democrat and 43 percent identified as Independent or other. Montana voters overwhelmingly reported being conservationists with 82 percent describing themselves as such and 87 percent calling themselves outdoor recreation enthusiasts."
The survey found 58 percent preferred that the administration protect water, air, and wildlife and provide opportunities to visit and recreate on national public lands, while only 28 percent said President Trump should prioritize domestic energy production by increasing the amount of national public lands available for responsible drilling and mining.
Why This Matters: The data for the other Western states in the survey consistent with Montana -- an overwhelming majority of residents support public lands and consider themselves conservationists. The largest swaths of federal public lands are in the western United States and the people who live there recognize their economic and intrinsic value and don't want them opened for drilling and mining. If President Trump continues to embrace policies that contradict public opinion, Secretary Zinke could find himself in a very awkward position with friends and neighbors in his home state.
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 Climate Change
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Will Women Bear the Brunt or Lead the Way in Combatting Climate Change?
At a forum on the global women's rights movement at Georgetown University this week, Hillary Clinton stated that she believes that women will bear a disproportionate burden of dealing with the impacts of climate change all across the world. Clinton also noted that climate-related disaster relief uses resources that could otherwise be used for social and economic development, including advances in gender equality.
Clinton is not the only one talking about the intertwined relationship between women's rights and climate change. John Podesta, Clinton's campaign chairman, and former Senator Tim Wirth, also made waves recently with an op/ed in the Washington Post arguing in favor of providing women around the world with better access to family planning services because population control is one of the most substantive solutions to climate change. They called on women's groups and environmental NGOs to work together because doing so "will not only fundamentally advance women’s rights but also do a world of good for the planet, which is bearing an environmental burden because of population growth."
Why This Matters: Global warming is expected to worsen the risk of natural disasters -- women and children are 14 times more likely to die during a disaster than men. And giving women access to family planning and slowing population growth globally could potentially reduce carbon emissions in 2050 by 16 to 29 percent — the equivalent of ending worldwide deforestation today. Women may be unduly burdened by climate change, but we can also be leaders in driving solutions. Costa Rican diplomat Christiana Figueras was the executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, under whom the Paris agreement was signed. And scroll down to our hero of the week to read about another woman leading the way on combatting climate change.
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 People
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Interview of the Week: Leslie Dach
Leslie Dach has dedicated his career to working on environmental and health issues. He served as an Executive Vice President at Walmart in the 2000's, where he helped the company become a leader in sustainability in the corporate sector. He then worked in the Department of Health and Human Services to implement the Affordable Care Act. He now leads Protect Our Care, an advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring affordable health care for all Americans.
ODP: Your work bringing sustainability and social responsibility to the largest retailer in the world, Walmart, was revolutionary. What is the most important thing corporations can do now to bring about the next wave of advances in conservation?
LD: Many corporations have been global leaders in sustainability, doing things to innovate, move to a low carbon economy, and develop greener and safer products. They have shown, despite resurgent claims to the contrary, that good business and sustainable business go hand in hand. We need them to continue to lead down that path. They need to do what's right not just what's required.
ODP: We write many stories about the problem of plastic pollution and how pervasive it is. What more can retailers do to reduce plastic packaging and encourage more people to recycle?
LD: The first obligation of a retailer is to clean up their own supply chain, around the world. Every buyer can make a contribution. They should reduce the use of plastic -- change from plastic to other materials and insist on more recycled content – and then urge customers to recycle more. That said, they should also invest in innovation, fund recycling infrastructure through direct support and innovative finance, and support public sector initiatives.
ODP: How can consumers encourage corporations to be more sustainable and better stewards of the planet? Is it just voting with their dollars or is there further action consumers can take?
LD: The reality is consumers aren’t a powerful enough voice – yet. They respond to bad press, and those that can afford it might pay more for sustainable products, but it’s much harder to reward the re-engineering of products and supply chains that both keep prices low and reduce or eliminate environmental harms. Consumers need more information on the comparative footprint of products so they can make better decisions. Investors need to reward responsible corporate stewardship.
ODP: You also are working to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable health care, particularly for low-income families. How are environmental justice and access to affordable healthcare linked?
LD: Sustainability, climate, pollution and people’s health care are inextricably linked. And people of color and those without political and economic power are the ones most threatened by the partisan war on our environment and our health care. Existing health disparities are widened and the risks of exposure to environmental health hazards increased.
ODP: You are on the board of trustees of a large environmental advocacy organization, the Environmental Defense Fund. What is the most important thing individuals can do to “resist” the efforts of the current administration to roll back environmental protections and conservation laws?
LD: Vote, get their friends to vote, and show up at town halls (if their elected officials are still having them) with signs and loud voices. No one should doubt that elections matter and every vote counts.
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Hero
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Hero of the Week: Jessie Diggins of the U.S. Ski Team
As we reported above, starting tonight the world will be focused on the Winter Olympics. All Olympic athletes are amazing, but one, in particular, stood out to us. Kendra-Pierre Louis of the New York Times brought us an interview with our hero of the week: American Olympic cross-country skier, Jessie Diggins. Diggins is a favorite to win a medal at the Pyeongchang Olympics and if she does will be the first American woman to do so in the sport. She also happens to be an advocate for climate change as she's seen first hand how the phenomenon is making winters around the world disappear.
You should definitely read the whole interview but here are some great excerpts from Kendra's interview:
How has climate change affected you?
Over the last 10 years, it has been hard to ski on real snow. Over the last three years, most venues have been exclusively on man-made snow. And in places like Davos, Switzerland, where they normally have three feet of snow, they’ve been snow farming and saving it for the next year because they don’t even count on getting snow anymore. I’ve spoken to people in Switzerland who are losing their jobs because winter’s going away.
What do you say to those who say, ‘You’re just an athlete, stay in your lane’?
I’m also someone who lives on this planet. I think you need to be able to stand up for things you believe in, and saving winter is something I believe in. It just breaks my heart because this is such a cool sport, and winter is so amazing and beautiful and I feel like we’re actually really at risk of losing it. And I don’t want my kids to grow up in a world where they’ve never experienced snow because we weren’t responsible enough.
Why This Matters: Spreading the message that climate change is real, tangible, and already affecting many of the things we cherish is really important. Athletes who carry this message and the journalists that give them an opportunity to spread it are critical to encouraging public understanding of just how urgent action really is. Go Jessie go! We hope you win the gold!
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