Hi and welcome to my fourth e-mail newsletter!

This message goes to my 19 subscribers with a big Thank you for signing up. Here are the prior three newsletters, if you did not receive them or would like to read some history (also reminder to please check your Spam folder!).

I welcome your feedback as I embark on my journey to learn about the environment as well as online publishing.

Razvan

Pollinators

For every newsletter I find an animal, plant or famous person that inspired or intrigued me. Last week it was Ellen MacArthur, the retired British sailor who broke world record for solo circumnavigation and founder of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation for a Circular Economy. It is a recognition, a moment of reflection and gratitude toward living creatures.

This week, I am featuring a group of animals, known as pollinators.

A few days ago I listened to a webinar on the impact of litter on wildlife hosted by the organization Keep America Beautiful. It included guests Steve Jewett, Erin Garner, and Blaine Rothhauser, in addition to host David Wheeler, author of Wild New Jersey: Nature Adventures in the Garden State. Steve Jewett is the founder of National Cleanup Day, and Blaine Rothauser is an ecologist and author. Erin is a freelance photographer and community coordinator at Keep Tyler Beautiful, an organization in Tyler, TX. Below are a few of the pictures shared during the webinar, just to remind everyone how human debris affects all creates, big and small:

During the webinar, Erin discussed the importance of pollinators to our lives and our ecosystem. They play a key role in the reproduction of plants as they visit flowers to drink nectar or feed off of pollen and transport pollen grains as they move from spot to spot.

More than 80% of the world's flowering plants need a pollinator to reproduce. As humans, we need pollinators, since most of our food comes from flowering plants: one out of every three bites of food we eat depends on the existence of pollinators, including fruits, vegetables, chocolate, coffee, nuts, and spices.

Importantly, pollinators are not just bees. They are bees, butterflies, small mammals, and even birds act as pollinators. Pollinators are not necessarily cute and cuddly animals, which often gain our attention and affection, but they are equally if not significantly more important: a keystone set of species in our ecosystem, playing a behind-the-scenes role.

Food stores have plenty of pollinator-dependent ingredients and one initiative that Erin shared is placing signs in local grocery stores, to build awareness of regular shoppers about how everyday vegetables and/or fruit in the fresh grocery isle are dependent on pollinators. I don’t have a photo of those signs, but here’s an article about how a grocery store temporarily took out produce from shelves dependent on pollinators, to show people how dramatic an impact they have if those foods were gone: 52% of the produce was gone!

The bottom line is that pollution and human development negatively affect pollinators. For example, it’s often much better to plant native plants on one’s property as opposed to grassy lawns, since lawns do not attract pollinators. Also, the existence of litter negatively affects them as bees and other pollinators flock to unhealthy, sugary food residue, instead of natural plants, thereby diminishing their role in propagating plant life.

Lots more info on this website: https://www.pollinator.org/

Mindset

“People underestimate what they can achieve in 10 years, and overestimate what they can achieve in 1 year” - Bill Gates

This is somewhat self-explanatory, and in the context of what I am trying to do with OneBeautifulPlanet.org it simply means that if I stick with it for the long run, I may have the potential to build something with real impact. At the same time, I must be patient, and not fool myself that results can come quickly.

In the Works

On the Action front, I completed a couple of litter cleanups (I continue to use my three favorite apps to log them, as well as posting them on Reddit), continued the Plastic Free July challenge, and wrote a review of 5 litter grabbing tools. See below.

As far as the ‘gaining and sharing knowledge’ front, I am sharing again the article I wrote on the Overview of Plastics Recycling in the US. Check it out if you missed it last week!

I am also continuing my research into recyclable plastics and metals from my own consumption and regular use, and will detail findings in upcoming articles. Stay tuned!

Housekeeping

I have been making progress on the SEO components of the website. However, as mentioned previously, since the website is very much under construction, I feel like it’s still too early to seek readers at large based on their search queries.

After the logo was completed last week, my designer now has the brand guide almost ready. The next step on that front are the social media banners, such as Twitter, Instagram, FaceBook and Reddit. I intend to become a bit more active on social media in the future, to spread the word about the website and connect with like minded environmental action enthusiasts.

If you found this helpful or interesting, please share with your friends, contacts and anyone you know who may benefit from following my journey. Let’s gain some knowledge, and take action toward a cleaner, healthier world!

Thank you.

Razvan