Cool Keeper is an example of a tool Rocky Mountain Power is deploying to be wattsmart.

Jeff Hymas of Rocky Mountain Power is making the media rounds in Utah to spread the wattsmart message. This week Jeff appeared on Salt Lake’s NBC affiliate to discuss energy saving tips.

This post from STAND FOR LESS gives an overview of the power grid and discusses issues affecting the grid as we look forward to a future with cleaner energy. Thank you Rocky Mountain Power for implementing Cool Keeper in Utah! It’s an important innovation as we move to smarten our power grid.

In our last update, this past December, Tim Riester and Jeff Kutz discussed the ongoing work of the RIESTER Foundation in Costa Rica to protect sea turtles from poachers.

In some regards the situation remains the same. Already endangered as a result of overfishing, the black market trade in turtle eggs could easily further endanger this sea life in Central America where poaching rates on unprotected beaches are very harmful.   The Olive Ridley turtle is the most prevalent species of turtle where we are working.

The Olive Ridley turtle has an average life span of 50 years and will grow to 100 pounds.  These turtles have lived on Earth for millions of years and are well worth protecting.

Like the canary in the coal mine, the turtles represent the overall health of the ecosystems in which we all live.

What is most exciting this year is the conservation outreach to children in the nearby town of Corozolito–where I saw turtle eggs for sale in a local bar–changing attitudes for future generations.

Conservation work takes commitment and optimism.  It’s rewarding to see progress, especially now.

Gary Kaasa
President
RIESTER Foundation

CNN highlights an Orange County surfing and recycling superstar in this report:

For the latest from Waste Free OC, visit the campaign’s blog.

PacifiCorp is the parent company to Pacific Power and Rocky Mountain Power.

A relatively new project we are working on is San Diego’s STAND FOR LESS campaign. STAND FOR LESS has given a unified voice to public and private entities that are working passionately in areas related to conservation and sustainability.

A recent contest asked people How they STAND FOR LESS. The responses we received were inspiring and educational. It’s amazing what people are doing every day to make a difference for their local communities, for California, for our country and our planet.

When everyone recycles we save space in our landfills and we recover valuable resources that can be reused. When people bike more and drive less we use less oil and the bikers have stronger, healthier bodies. When people replace their older cars with more fuel-efficient cars it makes a difference—creating less smog and demanding less oil. And in water-starved California, anything people do to use water more responsibly is vitally important. It’s important for California’s ecological and economic health.

It all adds up and we can never forget the role that effective public awareness campaigns play in changing behaviors.

The STAND FOR LESS contest winner is a mother of two teenage boys and a librarian. She recycles and cuts back on water use by encouraging everyone in the family to take shorter showers. Take a moment and read through the entries—we think you’ll be inspired to use fewer resources in your life. We were!

The California work mentioned here is for CalRecycle. Prior to 2010 California’s recycling programs were handled by the California Department of Conservation.

ScriptPhd is the brainchild of Dr. Jovana Grbic. Jovana is devoted to bringing science alive for the masses. She has a special interest and expertise in how science is portrayed in popular culture. At ScriptPhd, Jovana profiles leading creative minds who are successful at reaching out to the general public in a way that both educates and entertains them.

Recent articles at ScripPhd include: An interview with Stephanie Soechtig, the director and producer of “Tapped,” a documentary that highlights the devastating environmental impact of bottled water; a review of Disney’s new film “Oceans”; and an interview with Vince Gilligan, the creator and executive producer of AMC’s hit show “Breaking Bad.” The show is about a high school teacher who is also a meth dealer–and as ScriptPhd points out the writers brilliantly weave science into the plot.

We encourage you to read ScripPhd’s piece on RIESTER titled “Selling Science Smartly: Green Advertising with RIESTER.”

Since that time, human populations have continued to expand and the fragile consensus regarding environmental policy broke down. Humans need wild places, not just as places to visit, but as places they can go even in their imagination. Non-human species are going extinct at unprecedented rates. One example, among many, is the dramatic decline in wild tiger populations.
Biodiversity is more than an abstract concept and it’s more than protecting some of our planet’s most noble and emblematic species like tigers and eagles.  Consider this: If all insects were to die, humans would likely not survive more than a few months.  Visit this website to learn more about the vital functions that creepy, crawly insects perform to make life on Earth possible. All life is interconnected—something that is too easy to forget.

Biodiversity is important for our economy and maintaining the diversity of the gene pool. The Convention on Biological Diversity put it in perspective:  “At least 40 percent of the world’s economy and 80 percent of the needs of the poor are derived from biological resources. The richer the diversity of life, the greater the opportunity for medical discoveries, economic development, and adaptive responses to such new challenges as climate change.”

If we continue to use more and more resources without thinking of the consequences to the planet, we will be condemning our children and their children to live lives that lack the material prosperity of today. Our choices will also affect the health of those who follow.

Our goal is to leave a healthy planet to our children, and their children.  That is why the RIESTER Foundation works to preserve and protect the environment through habitat preservation and restoration.

Coho salmon

A new project the RIESTER Foundation is supporting is the Salmon Protection and Watershed Network or SPAWN.  SPAWN is a California-based organization that works to protect and restore endangered coho salmon and steelhead trout and the habitat on which they depend.

SPAWN uses a community-based approach to habitat restoration that is in alignment with who we are at RIESTER: Brand Activists for our client’s products and causes.

I encourage you to read more about SPAWN. SPAWN is doing some of the hands on work that is so important for protecting diverse forms of life.

Thank you for helping us make Earth Day every day!

Sincerely,

Tim Riester

Visit the Clean Air Make More website for more on the campaign.