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Earth Day is right around the corner, and with this year’s theme of Planet vs. Plastics, Plastic Pollution Coalition (PPC) has been especially busy! PPC joined 100+ NGOs to demand no “lies in labeling” and call on California agencies to enforce laws that protect consumers and end waste colonialism. With the next round of UN Plastics Treaty negotiations resuming in Canada on April 23, PPC organized a special webinar on April 17 to discuss how the treaty must protect human and environmental health and continues work with allies to push the US government to take a stronger stance on the treaty.

When Russia banned EII’s Altai Project in 2023, it dug deep and re-envisioned its work to protect the interconnected web of life on our planet, reverse losses of wildlife and habitats, and center community voices and concerns across Eurasia. Reborn as Eurasian Wildlife and Peoples the project will partner with community and conservation leaders and organizations focusing on wildlife conservation, Ukrainian nature, and capacity building. Building on pre-existing work, it is actively involved in raptor conservation in Kazakhstan and supporting a media initiative to track, verify, analyze, and report on the environmental impacts of the war in Ukraine.  Learn more about Eurasian Wildlife and Peoples on its website, and sign up for the project’s minimalist mailing list.

The 2023 Impact Report for Women’s Earth Alliance (WEA) tells a story of resilience, empowerment, and transformation. Last year, WEA worked with 23,000 women leaders in 11 countries, reaching 2.9 million people with life-saving solutions — a testament to the power of women's leadership in addressing the climate crisis. Women-led organizations across WEA’s global alliance are forging a path toward a more sustainable and equitable future for our planet and for generations to come. Read the full report here to learn more!

KIDS for the BAY is one of the first-ever recipients of the inaugural CalEPA EJ Action Grants. This environmental justice grant will support its Richmond Parks and Watershed Rangers Program, which empowers young environmentalists in Richmond, California, to beautify local parks and green spaces and help reduce the pollution burdens in their communities. “Our three partner schools in Richmond are thrilled to continue to work with us to help protect and clean up their local watersheds and beautify parks and green spaces in their neighborhoods,” KIDS for the BAY Executive Director Mandi Billinge said. “We are so grateful for CalEPA’s support for this important work!”

Project Coyote recently launched two billboards in Illinois to raise awareness about unethical and ecologically destructive wildlife killing contests and advocate for the passage of HB2900 to ban these mass killing events. Its Science and Ethics Manager Francisco Santiago-Avila testified in favor of HB2900 at the Illinois Agriculture and Conservation Committee hearing on March 12. Project Coyote is thrilled to announce that  the bill passed out of committee with a 6-2 vote and will soon be considered by the state general assembly. Illinois residents are being asked to write or call their House representative and urge them to support the bill.

Shark Stewards will be screening its new film, Kahu Manō, at the Dana Point Ocean Film Festival in Dana Point, California, on May 4.  The short documentary on Hawaii sharks and traditional conservation features two young Hawaiian women learning to free dive with sharks. It was shot almost entirely while breath-holding. The film is a positive example of shark conservation. It highlights how Hawaii was the first US state to ban shark fin trade (now illegal in the entire US) and how bans on commercial and recreational shark fishing and gear changes in Hawaii and beyond are reducing the killings of endangered sharks. Shark Stewards will use the film to generate similar legislation internationally, to protect critically endangered sharks like the oceanic whitetip shark.

A controlled burn of oil from the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill sends towers of fire hundreds of feet into the air over the Gulf of Mexico. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer First Class John Masson.

The ALERT project (A Locally Empowered Response Team) met in March with health and safety officials from California and the Pacific Northwest to present ground-breaking work that identifies new programs and specific law changes to better protect workers during oil spills and chemical responses. During discussion, members of the Pacific Northwest Regional Response Team acknowledged inequity between federal and local health monitoring for oil spills and all hazard responses. Carlos Clements, Washington Spills Prevention, Preparedness, and Response Program Manager, pledged to find funding to address the issues raised.