How to Run an Environmental Campaign for Climate Change

By Mary Waller

From the polar ice caps melting to natural disasters growing more dangerous, climate change is impacting our daily lives whether we notice it or not. Just look at the record-breaking temperatures recently, with 2016 being the most record-breaking year in recorded history. Think about why 97 percent of researchers believe global warming is happening, and it’s probably because of human activity. Yet many people don’t believe that global warming is the biggest issue society faces, being only third behind terrorism and poverty, according to polls.

How can we change this? Here’s one idea: starting a community environmental campaign.

Think of an environmental campaign like a political campaign; you need to have something for people to stand behind and fight for. For starters, environmental campaigns are a type of citizens’ campaign, which usually start small but with enough effort can grow into real, progressive change. To be a successful campagin there must be three overall aspects to the campaign: the field operations, the media operations and the fundraising operations. You have to have people in the field doing the actual campaigning for the cause, the people in the media who cover and spread the word of the cause and those who are asking for donations to help support the cause. 

Key tools include brainstorming sessions, deciding whose strengths would be best used where, and creating a step-by-step government action plan. Another key tool is providing concrete, reliable and concisely written materials when presenting facts. In a citizens’ campaign, the most important ingredients are volunteers willing to donate their time to support the cause.

Volunteer time and energy is the root of a citizens’ campaign.

Next step is getting people to care about the topic of climate change. First, you should start the citizen’s campaign to show climate change is an important issue and that more has to be done about it. So, find people who believe in the cause and start creating a well thought out plan. Get as many people involved as you can, discuss and decide who should do the groundwork, such as creating posters to hang around town and talking to those in neighboring towns to get support, who should handle social media and who should conduct fundraising.

If there is a local issue that is relevant, such as increased flooding or droughts, use that to help strengthen your argument, making the problem more localized and giving the issue a more personal touch to help persuade others, whether it be volunteers or government officials, to join the campaign. 

Once you have a set plan on how to tackle the issue, get to work! Looking back at successful citizens’ campaigns, such as the Ringwood Action Committee or the Great Swamp Campaign, can help develop new ideas and tactics to use that have been proven to succeed.

When things get tough, don’t back down. If the grassroots support for the campaign is still there, despite the pressures backing the status quo, don’t give up. Like the climate, change is possible, but can only happen with enough support and voices willing to speak out.

For more information on how to run an environmental campaign:

theconversation.com/three-ingredients-for-running-a-successful-environmental-campaign-72371

www.wildlandscreative.com/blog/how-to-run-an-environmental-campaign/

Barry, J. (2000). A citizen's guide to grassroots campaigns. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/a-citizens-guide-to-grassroots-campaigns/9780813528014

A Brief History of Local Activism Shows Us Our True Potential

By Andrew Herrera

We sometimes feel powerless in the face of adversity from governments and corporations that seem intent on undermining our way of life for their own gain. Going up against sophisticated, well-funded, and well-connected interests, what chance might ordinary citizens have of stopping a major development plan or protecting a local wilderness? That’s what makes journalist Jan Barry’s book, A Citizen’s Guide to Grassroots Campaigns, so vital. 

Barry not only advises on the best techniques for organizing citizen groups, but also includes notable examples to demonstrate their effectiveness. He weaves in real grassroots campaigns throughout his book; environmental stories take the center stage in its third chapter, “Saving a Swamp and Other Landmark Campaigns.” In it, Barry zeroes in on one of New Jersey’s earliest and most famous grassroots campaigns: the fight to save southern Morris County’s Great Swamp from being turned into a new airport by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Driving to preserve the area at a time when the Port Authority had previously “bulldozed wherever it wanted…to boost the metropolitan region’s economy,” he writes, the Great Swamp campaign depended on many first-time citizen activists.

Barry includes just enough historical summary for the reader to glean useful tips on organizing. He notes that the Great Swamp organizers, inexperienced as they were, quickly learned how to properly coordinate a campaign by asking larger environmental nonprofit groups for guidance. One of the great advantages we as citizens enjoy in this modern era is the proliferation of connected and professional advocacy groups for any range of causes. Americans wishing to coalesce against threats to public and undeveloped lands can turn to respected organizations such as the Sierra Club, the National Wildlife Federation, and The Nature Conservancy among others for support. And there are statewide organizations as well that might be able to better focus on local issues. 

Through his interviews with leaders of the campaigns, Barry conveys to the reader just what the organizers did in order to succeed against a powerful agency. As one of the earliest leaders of the campaign, Helen Fenske, recalled: “We needed events that would generate news and project the different aspects of our story.” The campaign grew exponentially larger as advocates made regular citizens and organizations aware of the issue. Fenske also had useful advice on how to manage a group of citizen volunteers who are typically juggling other responsibilities: “make everyone feel that they’re important… [give] them credit.”

Of course, as with any success story, there are caveats. Working in the 1960s, the Great Swamp campaign preceded important scientific developments that guided later campaigns. In fact, the movement had initially lacked “any environmental data base.” As a result, while the organizers succeeded in saving the Great Swamp, its source waters—streams that feed into its wetlands—have been polluted and built over as urban sprawl continued unabated throughout the region. 

The hard-working organizers likely also benefited from operating in one of the wealthiest states in the nation. That probably abetted the fundraising process. Nonetheless, even though organizers like Helen Fenske might have altered their strategy a bit if they could do it over again, the Great Swamp campaign still serves as a model guide for future grassroots organizers. Its basic lessons on courting as much attention as possible whilst recognizing the contributions of everyone involved will continue to serve as the cornerstones of any great citizen movement.

Tackling Clutter in Our Lives

By Eileen McCafferty

Look at the belongings that line the closets, draws, and crevasses of your home. Do you ever feel that sometimes your belongings are way too important to part with or that your stuff makes you who you are? It’s common in society now to find our material possessions are taking over our lives since we are bombarded with advertisements of how owning a certain product is going to make us happy. And sometimes we can get addicted to collecting things. There is a state of mind, however, that one can apply to one’s life that might actually assist us in gaining back self-worth, create stronger personal relationships and make us value what we do have. That mind set is commonly referred to as minimalism.

Minimalists make decisions based on what they need instead of everything they want. This is not to say throw everything in your home away, and only keep food, clothes and a bed. But make purchases that hold a true purpose to you. There are many benefits that come when you choose to begin a minimal lifestyle: you free up space in your home, spend less money and time on stuff, and begin to realize what is actually important to you.

When you have an untidy room, you feel better once you have decluttered the mess and it can feel like you have relieved yourself of mental clutter, as well. With less belongings, tidying up your room no longer haunts your consciousness and gives you time to focus on family, friends, and YOU!

The products on the market also come from somewhere: The Earth. It takes resources to make, ship, advertise, and sell these products. If we were to buy less, less would be produced and fewer resources would be utilized. The reduction of the carbon footprint would be quite tremendous if we slowed down our incessant shopping patterns.

Minimalism is almost defined by each person who practices it and it is not to say that you can’t hold onto various things. If you love to read, keep your books. If you love music, keep your CDs or your records. If it makes you happy, those items serve a purpose. To start moving into a smaller collection of stuff, look at each item and ask yourself a couple questions:

1.  How frequently do I utilize this?

2.  Does this hold sentimental value to me?

3.  Do I have a real plan to use this?

4.  Am I holding onto this to fix, utilize, or wear in the future?

Minimalism brings you back to focus. In life there are essentials such as food, water, clothing, shelter. After that, you can take matters of the heart into consideration: family, relationships, friendships. If we focus more on buying the latest and greatest new gadget or knickknack, we are depleting ourselves of valuable time. You cannot bring your stuff with you when you die, but the memories you make will last forever. Less love for your stuff means more love to give to the people in your life, yourself, and to the Earth.

Toxic History

By Kristie Murru

Anemia, slowed growth, lower IQ and hyperactivity are just a few of the side effects experienced by children exposed to lead, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. Lead is just one of the toxic metals and chemicals that the people living in a former iron mining community in Ringwood were and still are exposed to due to the Ford Motor Company’s illegal dumping in the region from 1955 to about 1970.

The social preconceived notions about the people who did not have a say in Ford’s dumping in their native lands are always negative. The argument becomes that somehow the children and adults dying of rare diseases and cancers are suffering in part by what they do in their everyday lives. Ford’s dumping may have played a part but the illnesses they claim to have are simply just an exaggeration. This is clearly not the case, and I found that argument to be completely outrageous. Upon further research, as seen through a Google search, the amount of stories that pop up surrounding this topic is proof enough. The lead, benzene, 1,4 dioxine and other chemicals that can be found not only in Ringwood but the surrounding towns of this Superfund site is inexcusable and completely unavoidable.

When The Record began this story the federal government even reported that the sludge that had been dumped posed no threat to the health of those that live yards away from the dumping sites. These statements were not based on actual evidence or health reports of those living in the area.  In “The Toxic Legacy,” the writers interviewed Myrtle Van Dunk who questioned “how can they tell us how sick we are when they haven’t even sat down to talk to us?” The government’s blind eye in the 1960s is what allowed Ford to take advantage of the indigenous people from the area. That, along with the fear of retaliation kept the people quiet. Living in a society that allows big companies to dump toxic substances into the ground with little to no thought of the repercussions is disgusting.

In 2007 John Holl, author of The New York Times article “Don’t Eat the Squirrels? It’s no Laughing Matter,” interviewed Wayne Mann from the Ramapough Lenape Indian Nation. The residents of Ringwood were ridiculed and taunted on television shows for eating squirrels after news organizations reported that test results found the animals were contaminated by lead. Due to the proximity of the Ringwood Mines and Landfill Superfund site to state forest land, a squirrel was found to be contaminated by the hazardous substance. After the state Health Department circulated these results, the people of Ringwood were outraged. Mann stated, “it’s a food source for us. And you know, there are many other cultures that eat things that aren’t found in the general consciousness, and there is nothing wrong with that.” What should have been seen for what it is, the fact that the wildlife around the area are contaminated, was turned by news stations and the general public into ridicule of the dietary choices the Native American people of Ringwood practice as forms of tradition.

The dump area is often neglected and yet the fact that it had been removed from the National Priorities List for Uncontrolled Hazardous Waste in 1994 and put back on in October 2007 shows that the site is contaminated. The environment has a natural predisposition to right itself when contaminated, but it will take lifetimes to ever potentially right itself after Ford’s dumping of 6 million tons of paint sludge into the area. The only hope is that this topic continues to receive publicity so that the Ford Motor Company and officials continue the clean up.

Ramapo College SGA Passes Bill Banning Styrofoam Usage

By Lily Makhlouf

In a room filled with student government leaders and student environmental leaders, a bill was passed unanimously by the Ramapo College Student Government Association (SGA) on January 29 to ban the purchase and usage of Styrofoam products within its organization. The success of Bill 2018-01, introduced and proposed by SGA Senator Ryan Greff, signals a great step forward for Ramapo College’s ongoing efforts to properly regulate and reduce campus waste.

 The bill prohibits “the direct purchase and direct usage of all Styrofoam products” by SGA and its body of members. This legislature marks the first time the SGA has taken measures to regulate Styrofoam purchase and use.

Styrofoam, the colloquial term for polystyrene products made by Dow Chemical Company, is made of styrene, a potential carcinogen, according to the Environmental Protection Agency and the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Acute exposure can cause irritation of the skin, eyes, and upper respiratory tract. Long term, chronic exposure can also lead to problems related to the nervous system and kidneys. People who work in polystyrene manufacturing are at high risk of exposure, however consumers of these products are also at risk of exposure to chemicals in the product.

Polystyrene products are problematic for the environment as well. While some recycling companies accept Styrofoam through special programs, many will not recycle it. Contamination from food, drink, and other materials often prevents Styrofoam from being recycled, so the product ends up in the trash where it makes up 30% of total landfill volume. State and local government’s have decided to act on this issue by creating restrictions on usage of polystyrene products. Cities in several states including New York, California, and Massachusetts have passed legislation banning polystyrene products within businesses and public spaces.

When asked why he chose to push forward with this bill, Greff, a finance major, stated, “I was inspired to regulate the use of the material due to the long term economic impacts from the disposal of Styrofoam. This could eventually cause the cost of living to be higher for people, including graduated Ramapo College students. Furthermore, Styrofoam presents a big danger to plant and animal life. I spent a great deal of time in the outdoors as an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. As a result, I grew to appreciate nature. Therefore, I thought it was best to stop SGA's monetary transactions and uses that would go to supporting the Styrofoam industry.”

In terms of SGA’s budget, Greff said that “each year the SGA spends roughly $50,000 on large events and activities (ex: Founder's Day) put on for the entire campus. Prohibiting the purchase and direct use of Styrofoam for these kinds of events would be a great way to protect the planet. With the bill passed, roughly $1,000,000 has the potential to be used in a more environmentally friendly manner over the course of the next 20 years.”

Ryan Greff has been working closely with members of the President’s Committee on Campus Sustainability to help improve Ramapo College’s progress in sustainability. In the Fall Semester of 2017, he, along with student environmental advocates were successful in passing a bill that regulates proper recycling in SGA funded events with organizations across campus. This legislature comes at a time of pressing concern regarding the environment. Improper waste disposal and consumption of environmentally detrimental products are major contributions to environmental issues.

Ramapo College is working towards a zero waste goal in sustainability—one that aims to inform and educate its community on waste reduction and conscious consumption. While this process is certainly a great undertaking, victories, like the regulation of Styrofoam, are moving the college closer to its goal. If this legislation proves to be a positive feat, the plan is that it will later expand to encompass a greater circle of organizations across campus.

Understanding a Local Environmental Issue & Taking the First Step Towards Change

Superfund site near homes in Ringwood, NJ
 (photo/Jan Barry)

By Chris Bernstein

Ringwood, New Jersey is most well-known for its rich history, stunning old mansions, and beautiful state parks full of wildlife and picture-perfect plants and nature. Many do not know what lies beneath the surface and the anything but lovely legacy that has been left for one section of town.

Years ago, toxic lead paint, and other destructive materials were dumped in the woods of a local community of Ramapough-Lenape Indians. This location is located on the northern end of Ringwood where a small yet active tribe of Ramapough Indians live. This dumping of toxic waste has left a severe and harmful mark on this section of town and is something that many residents still face consequences from.

What one would see on the surface as they drove down the main road is a much different and fake story than what lies beneath the houses, roads, and nature that consume the neighbors, family, and friends. The toxic paint sludge seeps into the soil below and has caused many residents much suffering. Who would do such a thing? Ford Motor Company—the car and truck brand that everyone knows about—is trying to cover up and diminish an “incident” that cannot be simply pushed aside. The Superfund site in an old iron mining area of Ringwood has only been scratched at—there are still parts of the neighborhood that need to be cleaned up. Ford has made a significant effort to clean up another dump area in Torne Valley in Hillburn, New York—just a few miles away from Ringwood—but they have yet to complete the cleanup in the Upper Ringwood neighborhood.

Many people (especially residents of the towns) do not care to get involved in the efforts of creating a solution to the contamination Ford has caused. After listening to a presentation by Chuck Stead, a major activist in the effort to get Ford and New York state and local officials to take action in cleaning up the pollution in Torne Valley, you’d realize just how twisted this issue is. It shouldn’t be complicated to run a successful cleanup of toxic pollution in one of North Jersey’s most beautiful locations, yet it is. It’s not difficult to hear and sense the passion Stead has for this issue, and if there were more people like him in charge of these cleanup projects, the town of Ringwood and the Ramapough Indians may not have had to face as much hardship still.

As a Ringwood resident, I have known about the Ford Superfund site for quite some time, but never fully understand what it was about and the fact that it still is a major issue for the people that live in and near it, as well as the effort that is currently going on to help solve these environmental issues. I believe the most valuable lesson that can be learned from hearing someone like Stead speak is to understand that when you know about an issue going on in your community, particularly an environmental one, don’t simply sit back and watch it happen. Get involved, talk to people who understand it, and see how you can help. Sometimes you don’t have to go very far to make positive change. In fact, change can be made just a few miles away from your own home.

Environmental Writing, Spring 2018

Ramapo College Spring Study        (photo/Jan Barry)

Ramapo College offers a course in Environmental Writing that combines research, field trips, writing for the Web, and discussions with guest speakers on the cutting edge of environmental journalism, scholarship and activism. This 4-credit elective is designed for students majoring in environmental studies, environmental science, journalism, communications and is open to all interested students. Alumni are welcome to audit the course for free.

ENVIRONMENTAL WRITING
COMM 307

Wednesdays, 6:05-9:35 pm
Starts Jan. 17, 2018

Create a portfolio of writings on environmental issues. Post on Ramapo Lookout website and showcase your best work.

Explore probing questions about environmental topics. Research environmental issues to pinpoint the problem and what’s being done about it. Concisely present an informative environmental story.

Designed for Communications, Environmental Science, Environmental Studies majors and open to all interested students. (Contact instructor for prerequisite override.)

Instructor: Adjunct Professor Jan Barry Crumb

(Jan Barry is a national award-winning journalist and Ramapo College graduate. His “Toxic Legacy” reporting for The Record of Bergen County is featured in the HBO documentary Mann v. Ford.)