CommonFutureatl

CommonFutureatl

Category: Environment

UN: ‘Climate battle will be won, lost in cities’

By David Pendered Nov. 23 – COP27 marks the start of a role for cities to fight climate change. The mayor of Des Moines, Iowa is at the center of the effort. The initiative – SURGe, Sustainable Urban Resilience for the Next Generation – was unveiled in advance of the climate talks that concluded this […]

Monarchs migrate across metro Atlanta

By David Pendered Oct. 15 – Monarch butterflies are fluttering across metro Atlanta and Georgia as the peak autumn migration season comes to a close for these threatened pollinators. Metro Atlanta has been home to the most sightings reported by citizen scientists in Georgia through Oct. 17, according to the map maintained by the nation’s […]

MARTA, sustainability and COP27 climate summit

By David Pendered Oct. 9 – When global leaders meet in Egypt to discuss the status of the Paris Climate Accord, metro Atlanta’s contribution to meeting certain goals will be noted as MARTA’s efforts on sustainability and affordable housing. These topics are at the heart of discussions planned at the two-week climate summit known as […]

Okefenokee: Just say ‘No mine’

By David Pendered Sept. 15 – The Georgia Water Coalition is trying to insert the proposed mine near the Okefenokee Swamp into the November gubernatorial campaign via a letter-writing campaign based on a survey released Thursday that shows a solid majority of Georgians oppose the mine. The coalition has launched an online campaign targeting the gubernatorial candidates, […]

Okefenokee mine back in play

By David Pendered Aug. 23 –The federal government has dropped its efforts that had the potential to delay a proposed mine near the Okefenokee Swamp, according to a paper filed Monday in federal court in Waycross. This leaves the State of Georgia as the sole arbiter of permits for the sand mine proposed by Twin Pines […]

King’s regatta: Women sailors, sustainability

By David Pendered Aug. 8 – An elite Spanish regatta in the Mediterranean has concluded, and with it the third women’s division to participate and an intense sustainability program intended to reduce the event’s environmental impact. The Copa del Rey/MAPFRE is a major event in the Mediterranean yachting and social circuit, hosted by the king of […]

No peace: Turtles, whales, dredging

By David Pendered Aug. 2 – No black letter law guides the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decisions over how to balance the reproductive schedules of sea turtles and North American right whales with the calendars of dredging companies that help keep Georgia’s ports open for business. The animals’ reproductive schedules leave about a dozen weeks […]

Poet Laureate on climate crisis, human strength

By David Pendered July 28  –The U.S. Poet Laureate’s poem addressing the climate crisis concludes with this homage to a tree: “because I cannot apologize to the tree, to my own self I say, I am sorry. I am sorry I have been so reckless with your life.” Ada Limón published Salvage in Greenpeace’s #ClimateVisionaries […]

A 1791 account: Muscogee in Okefenokee Swamp

By David Pendered July 24 – In a 1791 account of Muscogee (Creek) mythology, the Okefenokee Swamp is described as a sort of Shangra-La, an inaccessible place of rich resources, beautiful women and fierce warriors. This story concludes with the entire written description of the Muscogee Nation’s relation with the swamp, as recounted by William […]

Mobilizing Georgia’s coast against climate change

By David Pendered July 17 –A planned climate action network to raise awareness of climate change and spur political action among residents of Georgia’s coast would get a major boost if a St. Simons Island-based group wins a grant from the parent company of the Savannah Morning News. The Center for a Sustainable Coast has applied […]