Happy Earth Day!
Celebrate by helping the earth in a new way… here are some ideas:
- Recycle something you wouldn’t usually recycle
- Turn off your computer at night
- Turn off lights when you leave the room (it’s an untrue that it is less energy to turn a light off and back on again than to just leave them on.)
- Cook something today using local, native produce or meat.
- Turn your heat down a click or two.
- Walk, bike, or rollerblade (yes, you should do this!) instead of driving
- Visit your local National Park for free!
Feel free to comment below and add your own ideas!
Target Drops Farmed Salmon – A Great Step!
Let’s Thank Target!
Target’s decision to drop net-cage farmed salmon from their stores across the United States proves the power of our collective voice as consumers demanding sustainable products and business policies. Your support in this campaign has helped pressure corporations to change. Take this opportunity to celebrate a victory and vocalize your appreciation for Target’s decisive action!
Send an email or fax to Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel, thanking him for acknowledging the destructive environmental impacts of the open net-cage salmon farming industry and making this major contribution to the sustainable seafood movement. Cut and paste the text below or send your own words of appreciation.
Below is an email you can send if you would like to show your support for their decision:
Dear Gregg Steinhafel,
I applaud Target’s recent decision to discontinue the sale of farmed salmon in all stores across the United States.
Acknowledgement of the impacts of net-cage salmon farming by a major retailer and the subsequent removal of this product from your stores is a huge step forward in the sustainable seafood movement.
It is this kind of corporate responsibility that consumers are increasingly expecting from the businesses they rely on, and I happily commend Target for showing such leadership.
Sincerely,
In 20 Seconds, You Could Help Save Salmon
I’m very pleased to let you know about an opportunity to get the message about sustainable seafood out to an important national audience. To do so, we need your help.
Whole Foods Market recently tested a pilot program, in partnership with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, to promote sustainable seafood choices to its customers in a few select stores.
Now’s our chance to help persuade Whole Foods Market to make this a permanent and national program. Click here to jump immediately to help! It only takes about 10-20 seconds.
Using the Seafood Watch recommendations, Whole Foods will label wild-caught seafood in their case so consumers will be able to tell at a glance if a wild-caught product is a Monterey Bay Aquarium “Best Choice” or otherwise.
The Status of Salmon: An Update
Curious what’s happening with the salmon? We were pleased to learn that Marine Harvest (they owned the majority of the salmon farms that we paddled by during our Inside Passage Kayak Expedition) has requested federal funding for a closed-containment trial. It is great to hear that one of the biggest farmed salmon producers is considering switching from open-net pens, which allow parasites and waste to flush directly into the ocean infecting wild salmon, to closed-containment, which would prevent pollution.
Marine Harvest requests federal funding for closed containment
In an exciting development in the final days of 2009, Marine Harvest Canada (MHC) sent a letter to Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), that included a request for support and funding for a closed containment pilot project. Read more>>
Esteemed scientists advise removal of farms along wild salmon migration routes
Early last month, a think tank of scientists gathered at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver to discuss possible causes of the Fraser River sockeye collapse and urgent next steps needed to protect this iconic species. The group released a statement noting that the 2009 return was the lowest in 50 years and that the productivity of Fraser River sockeye has been declining since the mid-1990s to levels so low that they are almost unable to replace themselves. Read more>>
Sea lice out of control in Norway
Salmon farms in Norway are experiencing explosive increases in sea lice, likely a result of growing resistance to chemical treatments for the removal of the parasite. This increase is severely threatening the survival of migrating juvenile wild salmon. Read more>>
