What's Up in August?

Plan ahead to be more environmentally friendly in August

By Naomi Yaeger

Commissioned United Methodist Earthkeeper

Recently I wrote about Plastic-free July. Did you participate in the challenge of saying no to single-use plastic? I thought I’ve been conscientious for several years, but I still ended up using more plastic than I wanted. My biggest tip to reduce your use of plastic is to plan ahead. We had an Independence Day Party. I purchased decorations and party favors at a local craft store. I like my house to be decorated for the occasion and to keep the guests occupied. I kinda waited until the last minute, so I  ran to a local craft store to look for decorations. I was tempted to purchase decorative LED lights. I wasn’t happy about the plastic used in the LED lights, but they were so darn cute and sparkly that I couldn’t resist the temptation. I found all kinds of cute decorations made with one-time-use plastic. I found a streamer made with fabric and wooden beads so I purchased it. One thing I felt guilty about was buying bubbles for guests in plastic bottles. I was getting desperate to keep my guests occupied. I found BINGO games online and trivia games where the correct answer won Silver Kennedy Dollars. I didn’t plan ahead so I gave out the United States quarters. Another prize we had was red, white, and blue candy. I placed it in used glass jars. Then I felt bad about each candy wrapped in plastic.

That brings us to August. The Special Days in August are:

A centuries-old marginalization and a set of different vulnerabilities expose indigenous peoples to the serious effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
PHOTO:UN Composition with photographs by PAHO (left), Martine Perret (center) and UNICEF Ecuador-Arcos (right)

August 9: International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples; According to the United Nations Secretary-General Throughout modern history, indigenous peoples have been robbed of their lands and territories, of their political and economic autonomy, and even of their own children. Their cultures and languages have been denigrated and extinguished.

August 10: World Lion Day; A Century ago, there were more than 200,000 wild lions living in Africa. Today, there are only about 20,000; lions are extinct in 26 African countries and have vanished from over 95 percent of their historic range. a century ago, there were more than 200,000 wild lions living in Africa. Today, there are only about 20,000; lions are extinct in 26 African countries and have vanished from over 95 percent of their historic range. 

• August 12: World Elephant Day;  promote safe, ethical elephant tourism.  Do not support organizations that exploit or abuse elephants and other animals for entertainment and profit. Do not buy ivory or other wildlife products. Be an elephant-aware consumer.

• August 19: World Orangutan Day; look to see if palm oil is an ingredient in products you use. Palm oil is a key ingredient in many foods and body products. And the population of Orangutans is diminishing due to the harvest of palm oil.

• August 22: National Honey Bee Day*; If you like to eat, you should care about bees, they pollinate food crops and wild plants.

• August 23: International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition; The night August 22, 1791, in Santo Domingo (today Haiti and the Dominican Republic) saw the beginning of the uprising that would play a crucial role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.

• August 26: Women's Equality Day*; both environmental and women’s activism are extremely intersectional fights. In each area, individuals of varied races, ethnicities, economic status, gender, and citizenship status are disproportionately affected by these movements’ encompassing issues.