Sustainability

Sustainability efforts are often associated with businesses who offset their carbon emissions by purchasing carbon credits. But wait, we aren’t a business…. so what gives? Although companies play a significant role in leaving large carbon footprints, you’ll be surprised at how much individuals contribute collectively. For example, here at BookeryBliss we read a lot of books. Books require paper, and paper requires trees. Did you know that 42% of all global wood harvest is used to make paper? And just like that, our beloved hobby is also a contributing factor to our carbon footprint. We not only want to be support global sustainable development but also hope to educate others at the same time. These are just a few of the things that can rack up our invisible carbon debt.

WHY IT MATTERS

REFORESTATION

Reforestation has gotten a lot of attention lately – and for good reason. Trees absorb harmful carbon from the atmosphere, filter our water, and provide habitat to over 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity. They are also key ingredients in 25% of all medicines!

Reforestation remains the most prominent solution in addressing a variety of environmental challenges by rebuilding forests after fires and floods and also help reduce our carbon footprint. As a matter of fact, recent studies indicate that 1 billion hectares of forest could even save the planet.

CONSERVATION

While reforestation allows us to restore what has already been lost, conservation allows us to protect what we currently have. When combined, reforestation and conservation (aka avoided forest conversion) allows us to mitigate our carbon emissions while also making a significant impact that benefits nature and biodiversity. We need both to make a greener world.

Along with protecting mature forests and diverse habitats, conservation also includes maintaining complex ecosystems and responsible water management. Two-thirds of the world’s population is projected to face water scarcity by 2025, according to the United Nations, so it’s crucial we take conservation seriously before it’s too late.

OCEANS AND WILDLIFE

For numerous reasons, taking care of and protecting our oceans and waterways is important for the survival of all inhabitants of the planet. Already, at least 123 freshwater species became extinct during the 20th century. Of the 1200 species currently listed as threatened or endangered today, 50% depend on rivers and streams. If current patterns continue, we will have emptied the world’s oceans of fish by 2048.

Not only does plastic pollution in our oceans pose risks for the safety and health of marine animals, but there are health and economic implications for humans as well – through a process called bioaccumulation. Since 84% of plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch was found to have at least one Persistent Bio-accumulative Toxic (PBT) chemical, animals consuming this debris are therefore ingesting the chemicals attached to the plastic, in which humans then consume themselves.

JOIN THE CAUSE

How you can help

We’ve put together some fundraisers to help support our favorite environmental charities. All donations go directly to the organizations listed and BookeryBliss does not receive any portion of the funds. Each fundraiser is hosted on the charity’s independent platforms and are subject to their own terms and conditions. These platforms are not hosted, maintained or affiliated with BookeryBliss. All contributions are voluntary.

One Tree Planted

$1 dollar plants 1 tree!
Plant a tree by participating in our BookeryBliss One Tree Planted Fundraiser. Please note that OTP’s fundraising platform requires a $2 minimum to prevent fraudulent charges, but rest assured that those 2 dollars will plant 2 trees! Our fundraiser supports planting trees where they are needed the most, but you can plant trees at a specific location around the world by visiting the One Tree Planted website directly.

ABOUT ONE TREE PLANTED
One Tree Planted is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to global reforestation. Their projects span the globe and are done in partnership with local communities and knowledgeable experts to create an impact for nature, people, and wildlife. Many projects have overlapping objectives, creating a combination of benefits that contribute to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. To learn more, visit onetreeplanted.org

THE OCEAN CLEANUP

We absolutely love what The Ocean Cleanup is doing and you can be a part of it too! For the first time ever, this organization has successfully created and launched the world’s largest ocean cleanup efforts in history. Although we don’t have a specific fundraiser for this organization, we encourage sea-lovers to consider donating to The Ocean Cleanup via their Donation page. With the help of ocean cleanup systems and river interception technologies, their goal is to remove 90% of floating plastic by 2040!

ABOUT THE OCEAN CLEANUP
The Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit organization developing advanced technologies to rid oceans and rivers of plastic, and was founded by Dutch inventor Boyan Slat in 2013 at the age of 18 in his hometown of Delft, the Netherlands. They began the world’s largest ocean cleanup in history, and successfully launched their first full-scale prototype in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in 2021. The Ocean Cleanup is a registered Netherlands-based ‘Stichting’ nonproft and a 501(c)(3) in the United States. To learn more, visit theoceancleanup.com

OUR IMPACT

TREES PLANTED

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ONE TREE PLANTED

Only 30% of our wild forests remain globally. An estimated 50% of the planet’s wild forests were lost in 2015 alone. At the current rate, we will only have 10% of the world’s original forests left by 2030. As a matter of fact, according to NASA, the world’s rainforests will be gone by 2100 if the current rate of destruction continues.

Deforestation affects our health and climate change too. Did you know that deforestation is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than all the world’s cars, trucks, planes, and ships combined, and that almost 5 million people die prematurely from air pollution each year? That’s 1 year and 8 months of healthy life lost on average for every single person on Earth, making it the world’s 4th most lethal killer.

By planting trees, we are able to minimize our carbon footprint and maximize restorative efforts at the same time. You can learn more about how planting trees can reduce your carbon footprint here. We’ve partnered with One Tree Planted to support reforestation projects and conservation efforts around the globe. Here are just some of the amazing projects we have supported.

View all of the places you can plant trees here

The Whaelghinbran forest falls within the UNESCO designated Fundy Biosphere Reserve and is situated within a critical wildlife corridor connecting Fundy National Park with New Brunswick’s interior. The surrounding Acadian Forest is one of the most ecologically diverse forest types in Canada, and is recognized by the World Wildlife Fund as “critically endangered”. With a moist climate and a historically very low risk of fire, it is ideal for storing carbon and a prime region for focusing climate change resilience efforts. Less than 5 percent of the Acadian Forest remains in pre-colonial condition. Whaelghinbran’s 700+ acres of mature forest will insulate this newly reforested site from many of the vulnerabilities plantations experience when isolated from healthy forest sites. Learn more about this project here.

One Tree Planted – British Columbia tree planters

This reforestation initiative is helping to restore the landscape in British Columbia after the Hanceville fire burned over 590,000 acres in 2017 and natural regeneration has not occurred. This was B.C.’s worst wildfire in history and has impacted the forest, soils, riparian ecosystems, wildlife, and water quality, along with local indigenous communities ability to hunt and gather food. The goal of planting trees here is to not only re-establish a healthy forest, but also to plant species that will be resilient in the face of climate change. This project will also create habitat for many local wildlife species including mule deer, moose, black and grizzly bear, wolves, sandhill cranes, various raptors, songbirds, and small mammals. Learn more about this project here.

One Tree Planted – Iceland *afforestation*

While Iceland used to have up to 40% forest cover centuries ago, deforestation has reduced this to just 0.5% today, and since so much time has gone by that’s why this unique project is categorized as afforestation as opposed to reforestation. This 150 hectare area will involve planting trees on the lower, south-facing slopes on the farm “Dragon’s Nest” named after its’ former owner. The area is degraded former grazing land with low-growing and largely non-continuous vegetation, and a lot of ecological potential to become a forest once again. The main goals of this project are carbon sequestration and soil conservation. n time, degraded and eroded land (the majority of the area) will develop more vigorous vegetation, both the trees themselves and the undergrowth. A mixed species forest will provide enriched biodiversity for most species’ groups, including considerable birch at the edges, pine in the poorest areas, spruce on the better sites and black cottonwood along streams. There will be open areas for shade-intolerant plants and open-ground birds to remain in the area. The forest will moderate stream fluctuations creating better conditions for freshwater organisms including many insects, small crustaceans and fish. The forest will make its contribution to carbon sequestration, which will be a reversal of the current emissions. The afforestation area is open to people from the local village, Breiðdalsvík. With time, footpaths and other outdoor recreation facilities will be developed. Local people will get jobs in fence maintenance and planting the trees. Learn more about this project here.

Fun fact: Iceland is the only country in the world which obtains 100% of its electricity and heat from renewable sources.

Indonesia is made up of over 17,000 islands, including Borneo and Sumatra, the third and sixth largest islands in the world. Extensive mangroves, carbon-rich peat swamps and the third largest reserves of rainforests left on Earth are all found across this sprawling archipelago. Recognized globally for its exceptional biodiversity, many rare and unique wildlife such as Sumatran tigers, elephants, orang-utans and over 1,700 species of birds are found here. In the last 50 years, more than 74 million hectares of rainforest have been lost here — an area twice the size of Germany. Drivers of deforestation in Indonesia vary from logging, agricultural expansion and operations like mining, and infrastructure expansion. However, by far the greatest threat to Indonesia’s forests comes from conversion of land to palm oil plantations – one of the main ingredients in our soaps, detergents, and makeup. Efforts are focused on mobilizing support from a coalition of local and international partners to develop nurseries and plant thousands of native trees. This reforestation project will also create vital habitat for orang-utans and endangered wildlife in Sumatra, restore tropical forests that sequester carbon and enhance ecosystem processes in Borneo and offer sustainable livelihood alternatives to farmers through regenerative agroforestry practices. Learn more about this project here.

Home to almost 30% of plant & animal species on Earth, the Amazon River Basin is a vast region with 1.9 billion acres of rainforest and over 1,100 tributaries. With the world’s largest rainforest ecosystem, the Amazon Rainforest spans 9 countries and is home to iconic species like the Jaguar, Macaw, Amazon River Dolphin, Black Spider Monkey, and Poison Dart Frog. By holding an estimated 90-140 billion metric tons of carbon, its forests play a critical role in the fight against climate change. Unfortunately, due to logging, unsustainable agriculture, and forest fires, it’s also a high risk zone for deforestation and degradation. This tree planting project will help protect the Amazon’s biodiverse primary forests and restore degraded land. Our partners will work with local farmers to establish sustainable agroforestry using shade-grown cocoa, native tree species, and productive timber species. They will also provide training and technical assistance for participants in the sustainable agroforestry model. Learn more about this project here.

Thanks to the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative, also known as AFR100, Africa is on its way to restoring 100 million hectares of land by 2030. With the world’s second largest tropical forest – the rainforest of the Congo Basin that is home to a staggering 60 percent of the continent’s biodiversity – Africa holds 17 percent of our planet’s forest cover. Unfortunately, Africa is at risk due to deforestation that is 4 times the global average rate. Not only does this threaten the livelihoods of its local communities, it also affects the planet as a whole. Planting trees in Africa will help to add nutrients to soil, while also controlling erosion. Added forest cover will diminish pressure on remaining forests, allowing for biodiversity to flourish and ultimately helping with the global climate crisis. With focus on reforesting within local communities, sustainable livelihoods will develop through the creation of jobs, thus minimizing poverty. Fruit trees will be planted in order to improve food security, which will help to feed impoverished families, and also provide them with the option to resell fruit. Learn more about this project here.

Côte d’Ivoire, once covered with forest, has lost more than 70% of its trees since 1960 largely due to the cocoa industry. This project will bring trees back to cocoa farms to create agroforestry, a sustainable farming practice that will support both the environment and local cocoa farmers. Restoring these cocoa regions to better ecological health will have a direct impact on soil quality to prevent erosion, will provide habitat for biodiversity, improve air quality and climate, and benefit women smallholder farmers to support gender equality. By the end of three years, ecological benefits will include carbon sequestration, soil fertility enhancement, nutrient cycling, creation of soils, refuge for biodiversity, water and air quality improvement, flood and erosion control (tree roots hold soil in place), fruits, poles, timber and fuel from pruning, pollination, natural pest control, climate regulation, moderation of natural phenomena like extreme heat or rain. Community benefits include forest and tree products and services, more stable and productive farms, improved nutrition, emergent new income streams. The project will be looking at two additional income-generating activities (on top of cocoa trade) for cocoa farmers. We anticipate that it will create at least 300 jobs for women and young people! Learn more about this project here.

Since our family lives in the sunny state of Florida, USA, we obviously want to take part in helping Florida’s natural environment recover from hurricane damage, flooding and wildfires. Florida is home to 37 state forests, covering over 1,070,000 acres. Healthy forests provide citizens with sustainable wood production, fresh air, wildlife habitat, clean water, enjoyable outdoor recreation and quality of life. Yet in recent years, unhealthy forests have been major contributors to Florida’s disastrous wildfires and unprecedented outbreaks of southern pine beetles. The region is frequently hit by strong storms and hurricanes, contributing severe, long-term damage to forest resources. Endangered species that inhabit Florida’s forests and wetlands include the Florida panther, the American alligator and American crocodile, sea turtles and manatees. Habitat loss and degradation is a major threat to the survival of Florida’s endangered species and wetlands, which play a key role in the health of our environment. Many of Florida’s wetlands have been altered by human activities, changing their hydrological function and threatening the natural communities that rely on them. Longleaf pine ecosystems are another vital part of Florida’s natural environment, supporting rare animal species like red-cockaded woodpeckers and gopher tortoises. Longleaf pine forests and savannas have been drastically reduced from an estimated 90 million acres to less than 3 million acres, largely due to urbanization and over-utilization.

THE OCEAN CLEANUP

Are you familiar with The Great Pacific Garbage Patch? It’s basically a massive landfill in our OCEAN, and it consists of roughly 1.8 trillion plastic pieces. Talk about a dump! Literally! A truck-load of plastic is dumped into the sea every single minute, totaling an estimated 5 trillion pieces of plastic is floating around in our oceans globally.

Irresponsible water management can be detrimental to both humans and animals around the world. For example, cotton production requires so much water that it emptied an entire sea! (the Aral Sea in Uzbekistan). It has been called one of the worst environmental disasters in history.

We support The Ocean Cleanup for their innovative solutions and proven concepts to drastically improve the current conditions of our ocean and rivers. They are not only cleaning the current pollution from our oceans, but are also intercepting future waste from rivers too. They also campaigned that the plastic from these cleanups can be recycled and used by businesses to promote sustainability in their manufacturing process. For the first time ever, this organization has successfully created and launched the world’s largest ocean cleanup efforts in history.

Video credit: The Ocean Cleanup

Learn more about The Ocean Cleanup efforts here

OTHER WAYS TO HELP

Do you know what your carbon footprint is? Check out these carbon calculators from the EPA, the The Nature Conservancy and Global Footprint Network to find out!

FACTS AND STATS

One domestic flight takes 64 trees to offset it’s CO₂ emissions.
In 2018, there were an estimated 1.73 trillion barrels of oil in the world. Enough oil to last another 50 years with an average global oil consumption of 95 million barrels per day. That means that all oil resources available on Earth will be depleted by 2068.
The concentration of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in our atmosphere was 416 parts per million as of July 2021. It is the highest it has been in human history.
Landfills are composed of 35% packaging materials.
Renewable energy currently creates 5 times more jobs than fossil fuels, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
From 1850 to 2019, 2,400 gigatons of CO₂ were emitted by human activity. Around 950 gigatons went into the atmosphere. The rest has been absorbed by oceans, trees, and land.
70% of the earth is covered in water, yet only 3% of it is fresh. Of that 3%, 2.6% of it is locked away in glaciers and polar ice caps. That leaves us with 0.4% of the earth’s drinkable water to be shared among 7 billion of its inhabitants.
On some beaches on the Big Island of Hawaii, as much as 15% of the sand is actually grains of microplastic.
More than 1,200 species of fish and sea mammals are impacted by plastic, through ingestion or entanglement – both of which can make them sick or kill them.
It takes about 6 gallons of water to grow a single serving of lettuce. More than 2,600 gallons is required to produce a single serving of steak.
The average American uses 2,000 gallons of water everyday.
It takes about 1.4 gallons of water to produce a typical single-use water or soda bottle.
3,190 gallons of water is required to make a single mobile smartphone.

Ideas to reduce our carbon footprint

Fix leaky faucets around the house.
Take shorter showers. Cutting 4 minutes off your shower can save 30 gallons of water.
Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth.
Reduce CO2 emissions and walk or bike whenever possible.
Switch to LED lightbulbs. You can save up to 90% of energy costs too.
Use less paper and store documents digitally, use paperless billing, and signup for digital bank statements.
Invest in reusable cups and bottles to reduce plastic waste.
Use washable silverware instead of plastic cutlery.
Borrow books, CD’s, and movies from your local library.
Run your dishwasher and washing machine only when it’s a full load.
Use rechargeable batteries wherever possible to lower environmental waste.
Purchase products from sustainability responsible businesses.
Paper or plastic? Opt for reusable grocery bags instead. Bonus if they are made with recycle materials!
Recycle disposable products properly.
Repurpose furniture and other items around your house instead of tossing them in the trash.
Host an ocean cleanup or trash pickup event in your community.