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May 26, 2024

Essential Guide to Building Emergency Preparedness Kits for Natural Disasters

May 26, 2024/ Kelly Pemberton

When calamity strikes, being well-prepared can make a significant difference in ensuring safety and comfort. Emergency kits are your first line of defense against the unpredictable wrath of nature. Creating a tailored emergency kit doesn’t just provide peace of mind; it’s a crucial survival tool. Let’s explore how you can assemble your own kit, backed by insights from those who have faced disasters firsthand.

May 03, 2024

Do your part: Ten steps you can take to combat climate change

May 03, 2024/ Kelly Pemberton

Climate change stands as one of the most pressing challenges of our time, manifesting through extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and devastating natural disasters. These phenomena pose immediate threats to our environment, economies, and communities worldwide. However, the battle against climate change requires more than just an increase in environmental consciousness—it demands proactive, informed interventions across various sectors.

November 16, 2022

How Climate Change Is Affecting Wildlife and Ecosystems

November 16, 2022/ Kelly Pemberton

Climate change is happening, and it's already affecting the wildlife and ecosystems around us. Wildlife and ecosystems are the foundation of our planet, providing us with food, water, and many other essential resources. But climate change is putting these resources at risk, as it impacts the way these animals and ecosystems function.

September 26, 2021

The Future Is Electric: Here Are the Best-Prepared U.S. Cities for Electric Cars (Infographic)

September 26, 2021/ Kelly Pemberton

With more people than ever becoming aware of the effects of their consumer choices on climate change, many have made the switch to electric vehicles (EVs). While Norway has the largest EV use in the world, followed by Iceland and Sweden, the US is dr iving ma ss sales both at home and abroad (thanks, Tesla!), and as of 2018 had over one million registered EV vehicles on the road.

May 29, 2019

How Driving Commutes in Your State are Affecting Global Climate Change

May 29, 2019/ Kelly Pemberton

Early yesterday morning I sat seething in my car after finishing a 1.5-hour commute (one way!) to my kids’ school, a journey that normally takes a little over half an hour. Among my gripes (Why is it that SOME folks just can’t drive in the rain? Why is public transportation here so much slower and more expensive than driving?) and promises (I will carpool to work next year when my kids can take the school shuttle; my next vehicle WILL be 100% electric) was a thought that I have often had while sitting in bad traffic in the metro Washington, D.C. area. How much longer can we keep up this love affair with our gas-powered vehicles before it’s too late to do anything about reversing climate change?

According to scientists, it’s under 12 years.

February 02, 2019

10 ways to consume less and help the planet

February 02, 2019/ Kelly Pemberton

Last week I was lecturing in one of my classes about the birth of consumerism in the 1950’s, showing students a couple of popular ads that linked domesticity, femininity, and sexuality and asking them to comment on what they believed the ad was trying to communicate. The class reminded me that I needed to check my own consumption habits once again. It is a practice I have observed since starting Green and Prosperous several years ago.

January 23, 2019

3 Small Ways We Can Prevent the Next Mass Extinction Event

January 23, 2019/ Kelly Pemberton

Guest post by Rebecca Pryor

For the majority of us out there, the question of mass extinctions through time is hardly a priority in our minds. After all, we have our own busy hectic lives to manage on a daily basis. We may have had a cursory look at them in our Geography class several years ago, but that is about the extent of it. It is a phrase that has been buried in the deep recesses of our minds for a while now, but we need to bring it out to the consciousness of most people out there. Why so? The main reason is to ensure that people are aware of the sheer possibilities of such a colossal disaster taking place in the world of today. The question of mass extinctions over time is especially relevant in a period when we have a renewed focus and added urgency to address the question of global climate change before it’s too late to prevent the next mass extinction event.

January 01, 2019

Why going green might ultimately be pointless

January 01, 2019/ Kelly Pemberton

It’s hard to ignore the expanding “green living” industry, even if you don’t particularly follow it or practice any of its tenets. Globally, more and more people – particularly those who are middle to upper-middle class, urban and peri-urban dwelling – are pursuing healthy living options, buying more organic and non-GMO foods, raising awareness about the presence of harmful and toxic chemicals in the water, the air, and the personal care products we consume, and investing in renewable energy sources.

Yet ultimately, going green may be pointless. Here’s why, and what you can do to make sure that your efforts to go green are actually helpful…

December 04, 2018

How small-scale farming can help reduce the effects of climate change

December 04, 2018/ Kelly Pemberton

This past summer was terrible for my crops. I eagerly started the process of sowing seeds and transferring seedlings and cuttings into their permanent homes and looked forward to the day I could begin harvesting the results of my hard labor. I was also in the process of renovating my home for sale and purchasing another, so working in the garden was a welcome relief from the stress and uncertainty of that process. At least it was supposed to be…

August 10, 2017

Could Water Pumps “Refreeze” The Arctic?

August 10, 2017/ Kelly Pemberton

guest post by Ian Craft

Whether you keep abreast of global issues or not, chances are you will be aware of global warming and the threat that it poses to our planet. Polar ice caps are rapidly melting due to steadily increasing global temperatures, and if it doesn’t stop soon then we could be looking at nothing short of a global catastrophe.

So how do we combat this problem before it’s too late? The most effective solution is to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, but that of course is easier said than done. So as this is not happening, scientists are working hard thinking of alternative ways to try and reverse the situation.

April 30, 2016

Do We Really Need Earth Day Anymore?

April 30, 2016/ Kelly Pemberton

Somehow, this past Earth Day felt different. I’m not sure why, but somehow it struck me as strange that neither of my kids’ schools mentioned it in announcements, let alone did anything special to commemorate the day. While the news cycle in the US was dominated by the ongoing war in Ukraine and the presidential election in France, the omission of anything more than brief mentions of Earth Day in the major media outlets, and even the online ones I regularly consult, felt odd.

Whether or not people were actually thinking much about Earth Day and its significance, there is one thing that made this Earth Day important, and perhaps different than any previous Earth Day. But it also underscores the main reason why the largest secular holiday in the world has become obsolete.

December 04, 2015

Why you should be optimistic about the Paris climate change conference (COP21)→

December 04, 2015/ Kelly Pemberton

The 21st meeting of the Conference of Parties, which refers to the United Nations-sponsored climate change talks taking place in Paris this year, has renewed global discussions about the need for rapid action. Delegates are making global pleas for nations to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that threaten the long-term security of the planet, and to create the conditions for an alternative energy revolution. The goals of this year’s climate summit are lofty, and may even be achievable. Here are five things you should know about the 2015 Paris climate change conference that will have a major impact on the environment that should give you a reason to be hopeful about our collective ability to meet this challenge within the next decade and a half.

October 01, 2015

Religion and Ecology: Alliance of Faith

October 01, 2015/ Kelly Pemberton

Religion, to listen to its critics and skeptics, is one of the biggest causes of antagonism and violence in the world. With much of the world’s attention riveted on the devastating refugee crisis caused by Daesh (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria; the Pope’s call for global action on climate change; the stampede that killed over 700 Hajj pilgrims in Saudi Arabia last week; and the role that evangelical Christianity plays in American politics, the pitfalls of institutionalized religion (and the perversion of religion) will remain a hot topic for the foreseeable future.

There is, however, another side to religion that is quietly being discussed by religious leaders, practitioners, and sympathizers. This side was encapsulated in Pope Francis’ address to the U.S. Congress on September 24th. It concerns the role of religion – specifically, its institutions and adherents acting in the name of religion – in the global environmental movement.

September 17, 2015

Going Solar: look before you leap (then leap!)

September 17, 2015/ Kelly Pemberton

According to the “Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2018” report published by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Bloomberg New Energy Finance, and the Frankfurt School-UNEP Collaborating Centre, 2017 was the 8th year in a row that investment in renewables exceeded $200 billion. Most of this investment has been in solar and wind energy. As a result, the cost of solar energy has become cheaper and easier to implement by businesses and individuals alike.

August 06, 2015

Regulating Carbon Pollution through the Climate Action Plan: Window Dressing or Pathway to an Energy Revolution?

August 06, 2015/ Kelly Pemberton

On Monday, President Obama revealed the final details of his Climate Action Plan, partially fulfilling a campaign promise he made in the lead up to the 2008 elections. Some critics of the Plan claim that it will have a negative impact on the job market, especially in the major coal producing states. Other critics say that it does not go far enough to reduce toxic greenhouse gases and is still subject to being undermined by the judiciary...[T]he Plan does raise an interesting question for the long term: is the regulation of carbon emissions merely a form of political window dressing or can it be a lasting solution to counter the negative effects of climate change?