earth day events

This year Earth Day will be recognized globally over three days, April 20 to 22, with the theme (and call to action) Restore Our Earth. Millions of individuals and thousands of organizations are expected to participate in this worldwide event by taking part in A Billion Acts of Green, all being logged in real time at EarthDay.org.

The website features a constantly updating Billion Acts of Green Counter, with this message: “Change starts with action. Better yet, an action that

Earth Day 2021: A Call to Action

affects the world around you. A Billion Acts of Green are happening across the planet. From students in classrooms to organizers in their communities to officials in government there are ways for anyone of any background to make a difference. Start small and go big—or start big and stay big. Either way, keep coming back, keep taking action and join the movement to change the world.”

Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970, when 20 million Americans mobilized to call for greater protections for the planet. Now a nonprofit organization as well as a global event, Earth Day’s mission is to “diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide... EarthDay. org is the world’s largest recruiter to the environmental movement, working with more than 75,000 partners in over 190 countries to drive positive action for our planet.”

EarthDay.org includes an interactive map that anyone in the world can use to find Earth Day activities and events in their own communities. It also features a link, 51 Actions You Can Take Today to restore the earth.

In New York City and Long Island, there are grassroots opportunitie throughout the month of April to celebrate Earth Day and protect the planet, including cleanups, festivals and other family-friendly events. We’ve listed some of our favorites below.

Sourced by Jennifer LaGrippo

A Month of Earth Day Events | NEW YORK CITY & LONG ISLAND

New York City

SATURDAY, APRIL 10 Family Farm Volunteer Day

The Battery Urban Farm—9 a.m. to noon. Learn from the farm staff how to set up the farm for spring: planting, weeding, seeding, etc. Register at Eventbrite. For more information, visit TheBattery.org or email info@thebattery.org.

SATURDAY, APRIL 17 Earth Day Cleanup at Clay Pit Ponds

Clay Pit Ponds Interpretive Center—1 to 3 p.m. Spend part of a Saturday cleaning up the Clay Pit Ponds State Park Reserve. Program limited to 23 participants. Register at Eventbrite. For more information, visit Parks.ny.gov or call 718-605-3970 ext. 201.

SATURDAY, APRIL 24 Community Clean Up: Earth Day at the Esplanade

Snug Harbor Esplanade, Staten Island—10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Clean up the waterfront and so butterfly plant seeds. Hosted by the Natural Resources Protective Association, United Activities Unlimited and the Staten Island Museum. Register at Eventbrite. For more information, visit StatenIslandMuseum.org or call Jim Scarcella at 718-873-4291.

SUNDAY, APRIL 25 Harlem’s Earth Day

Thomas Jefferson Park—1 to 6 p.m. Free event featuring Harlem’s small businesses in the health and wellness industry, with music, workout classes and education. Presented by CDABEAST, owned by Chastity Castro. Register at Eventbrite. For more information visit cdaBeast.com.

MONTH OF APRIL 2021 Earth Day Challenge Run/Walk NYC

Virtual challenge to log your miles throughout April. Upgraded registration includes T-shirt, wildflower seeds and a commemorative medal. Register at Eventbrite. For more information, visit TheVirtualRunChallenge.com or email contact@thevirtualrunchallenge.com.

Long Island

THURSDAY, APRIL 22 Celebrating Earth Day: Helping Marine Mammals and Sea Turtles on Long Island

Virtual presentation—6:30 to 7:30 p.m. A discussion of the Long Island Sound ecosystem, presented virtually by the Group for the East End and Atlantic Marine Conservation Society. Register on Zoom. For more information, visit GroupForTheEastEnd.org or email Taralynn Reynolds at treynolds@eastendenvironment.org.

Seatuck Eco Carnival

Virtual film festival plus island-wide scavenger hunt—7 to 9 p.m. The Wild & Scenic Film Festival, featuring 10 short films about nature, activism and community. Tickets are available. Island-wide Earth Day cleanup and scavenger hunt, April 22 to 25, encourages children and families to clean up their community, culminating with a children’s concert. For tickets and information, visit Seatuck.org. For more information, contact Carolyn Foster at cfoster@seatuck.org or 631-581-6908.

SATURDAY, APRIL 24 AND SUNDAY, APRIL 25 Fifth Annual Earth Day Paddle Cleanup

Carmans River Canoe & Kayak—11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Clean up litter in the Carmans River by kayak. Portions of proceeds will be donated to help protect birds, fish, water wildlife and Carman’s River Environmental Education Center. Register at Eventbrite. For more information, visit CarmansRiverKayak.com or email carmansriver@gmail.com.

SUNDAY, APRIL 25 Earth Day Everyday Celebration of Our Planet

Sweetbriar Nature Center—1 to 3 p.m. Visit animals, participate in a scavenger hunt and make a craft to take home. All ages. Tickets and information at SweetbriarNC.org. For more information, contact Veronica Sayers, program coordinator, at vsswbriarnc@aol.com or 631979-6344 ext. 303.

The Infertility Epidemic

Several common conditions can make it difficult to conceive

by David Pollack, DC

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We all know someone who’s had trouble conceiving or miscarried. The number of women who come to my office with fertility complaints has risen dramatically over the past decade, for a number of reasons. Here’s what I’ve found while helping many of them achieve the goal of a successful pregnancy.

Hormone Imbalance

Many women run to a gynecologist or fertility clinic when having trouble conceiving. While this seems perfectly appropriate, most end up stuck in a system that doesn’t seem to have a goal of finding out why conception is not working.

For example, I find it astounding that most gynecologists and clinics don’t check patients’ complete hormone profiles. Someone whose hormones are out of balance will have difficulty conceiving. While modern medicine can force their hormones into a conception state using shots, pills and injections, this is not the same as having their hormones balanced naturally.

Patients should receive a complete hormone panel, including estrogen, progesterone, pregnenolone, LH, FSH, and testosterone, among others, as well as a complete thyroid hormone panel, not just a TSH.

The body is designed to control hormone levels second to second; restoring that control naturally is critical not only for pregnancy, but for optimal health.

Blocked Fallopian Tubes

The most important test conventional medicine does not run immediately in women having trouble conceiving is to check for blockages of the fallopian tubes. I’ve had women tell me that only after multiple rounds of IVF or IUI—and tens of thousands of dollars and many tears—did they finally learn they had a blockage. This is the only step I generally need done by my colleagues on the medical side. Women with fertility problems should have this checked if they have not done so already.

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Some conditions we’ll cover are: • Thyroid Conditions • Autoimmune Conditions • Hormonal Imbalances • Digestive Disorders

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Autoimmune Diseases

Another concern involves autoimmune diseases, which people can have without realizing it. This is particularly true of Hashimoto’s hypothyroid, which accounts for 70 percent of thyroid problems. Joint issues are often autoimmune related. Anyone with rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, pernicious anemia or a positive ANA test has an autoimmune disorder. I’ve helped many women (and men) get their immune function back to balance, greatly improving the fertility situation.

Epstein-Barr Virus

Ever had mono? There’s a long-term version called chronic Epstein-Barr virus, which can interrupt conception in men and women. Its most common symptoms are fatigue, joint aches and brain fog, but it also seems to cause hormone issues, affecting infertility. I’ve had several couples where the man had chronic EBV, and within a month or two they were able to get pregnant. Many doctors don’t test for this.

Menstrual Problems

The quality of the menstrual cycle is extremely important. Most women think theirs is “normal,” but this is generally not true. While menstrual problems are common, a period should be easy and painless. There should be four to five days of bleeding, including all spotting, and the monthly cycle should be 28 days every time. There should be no clots, no breakthrough bleeding, no blackish or rust-colored blood, no breast tenderness or back pain, no mood swings. My patients call it a “nonevent.”

I’ve witnessed this transformation in hundreds of women over my career. They had every possible variation when beginning care: heavy cycles, light cycles, no cycles, polycystic ovary syndrome, cysts, fibroids. These problems can often be improved or eliminated using techniques available at my office, including acupuncture, supplements, diet, moxibustion and more.

I truly feel that a body that’s not in great health will intentionally make conception difficult, to protect both parent and future child. The ultimate way to improve the chances of successful and easy pregnancy is through optimizing the health in general. That is completely achievable, and there’s no better time than now.

David Pollack, DC, is the founder of Pollack Wellness Institute, 66 Commack Rd., Ste. 204, Commack, NY. For more information, call 631-861-HEAL(4325) or visit PollackWellness.com. See ads, pages 6 and 37.

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CLIMATE CHANGE AND OUR HEALTH

The Human Costs of a Warming Planet

by Sandra Yeyati

Global warming is not just threatening polar bears far away in the Arctic, and its effects are not somewhere in the distant future. With every new wildfire, hurricane and flash flood, people are understanding that the warming of the planet poses dire consequences for human health right here, right now. It’s personal, and while some sectors of the population are unfairly and disproportionately impacted, we are all in harm’s way.

This is no time to panic, say climate and public health advocates, but rather a moment for preparation, adaptation and mobilization. Prospects are hopeful as we tackle new realities together and evolve our conversations about climate change so we can build resilient, thriving communities. The good news is that many of the individual and policy changes we need to make are exciting opportunities for positive transformation and justice.

Health Threats in Our Midst

The warming of the planet is becoming more noticeable. “That historic two weeks anywhere in the United States where it’s the heat wave of high summer is now six weeks to two months,” says Jay Lemery, M.D., professor of emergency medicine at the University of Colorado and co-author of Enviromedics: The Impact of Climate Change on Human Health. “There are parts of the Middle East now where you can’t be outside and meaningfully cool your body during certain parts of the day.”

“With warming, we’re seeing drought, wildfires, hurricanes, extreme precipitation, flooding and sea level rise, all of which have health consequences,” says Surili Patel, director of the Center for Climate, Health and Equity at the American Public Health Association. “With rising temperature and heat waves, we’re seeing heat stroke, dehydration, diarrheal disease, cardiovascular distress and respiratory illnesses. Extreme weather like wildfires, hurricanes and flooding cause direct injuries, as well as vector-borne illnesses (Lyme disease carried by ticks or dengue fever and malaria by mosquitoes), mold and harmful algal blooms that happen when it’s really hot, but also show up in places that otherwise wouldn’t have because of the combination of heat and flooding.” Lemery notes that incidences of mosquito- and tickborne diseases are moving higher in altitude and latitude, affecting historically naive populations that have not had levels of disease immunity, the infrastructure or cultural habits to protect them. “These are huge killers worldwide, and we’re seeing more and more of that,” he says. “When you have a warmer winter, spring starts earlier, trees bloom early and pollen season starts early too, and longer exposure to pollen increases your risk of having an asthma attack,” says Professor Amir Sapkota at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, adding that the Northeast is heavily impacted by this phenomenon.

“Here in Colorado, in the summer heat, we have these huge swaths of wildfire smoke hanging over Denver, and people

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come in to the emergency department. Their inhalers aren’t working anymore, and they’re having chest pain and shortness of breath when they’re on oxygen at baseline,” says Lemery. “These are people normally able to walk across a parking lot with their walker and their oxygen, but now they can’t. We see this all summer long, and we admit them for asthma exacerbation, shortness of breath and COPD (i.e., emphysema), but what we don’t write down is that the air quality is the worst it’s been all year, or that it’s the hottest day of the year.”

“Air pollution contributes to climate change, but it also gets into your lungs and irritates them, exacerbating chronic respiratory illnesses, and can even lead to a heart attack,” says Jennifer Roberts, director of the Path of Positive Communities program at EcoAmerica, noting that the biggest culprits are carbon emissions from coal-burning power plants, diesel fuels and ground-level ozone, which is created when pollution reacts to heat and sunlight.

“With sea level rise, things are flooding more often and we get septic tanks overflowing, sending fecal matter into our drinking water supplies and exposing us to diarrheal diseases. We also see offices and industrial sites getting flooded and, whether it’s paint, fertilizers or other toxins, those get into our water and it’s very unhealthy,” Roberts says.

The Most Vulnerable Among Us

Certain segments of the population are more at risk. “Lower socioeconomic groups are suffering more from extreme heat events. The urban heat island effect, which unfortunately correlates very well with poorer neighborhoods, means that they’ll have heat waves seven to 10 degrees hotter in their neighborhoods than surrounding places with more green space,” Lemery says. “You see the public health infrastructure less robust to be able to attend to communities of color—like you saw with COVID. There are also physiologic vulnerabilities. Climate change affects the very young, the very old and the very sick much more because of their preexisting vulnerabilities, and then we have geographic vulnerabilities—people who live on the coast without sea walls or in flood plains. As sea level rise proliferates, and that data is really straightforward, they’re going to be going under increased storm surge stress and flat-out flooding.”

Achievable Public Health Solutions

The experts agree that it’s important to frame climate change as a public health issue because it brings a sense of urgency to act. “If it isn’t a crisis, if it isn’t something we’re seeing every day on the front page, then you forget about it. And when you forget about it, the funding doesn’t come,” says Patel, whose work focuses on underprivileged communities that need special attention and funding.

Sapkota advocates for the development of early warning systems so that local health departments can anticipate and adapt to impending extreme weather events, directing resources to the most impacted and vulnerable communities. In some cases, moving people out of flood plains and vulnerable coastal areas through eminent domain might be needed.

Lemery believes that doctors are in a prime position to counsel their patients on preventive measures against climate hazards with “credible messaging repeated over and over again with clarity and no hedging: Wear a mask. Stay indoors during high-heat events. Don’t let children play outdoors when the air quality index is at a dangerous level.”

There are many ways to mitigate threats. As experts point out, we know what to do, and it’s just a matter of putting our attention and resources on their implementation. “One of the biggest ways is let’s remove the sources of harmful spewing pollution—move away from coal, oil and gas—and invest in clean sources of energy, which will also create jobs in these new industries,” says Patel.

Another big step would be to promote mass transit and active transportation—walking and biking—over individual, gasguzzling vehicles. Patel advocates for local investments in bike lanes and sidewalks that encourage the switch. Both Lemery and Roberts express excitement about clean-running electric cars as potential game-changers in transportation.

Planting trees and vegetable gardens are easy, community-building solutions. “Trees are very beneficial to everything from shade to water filtration to producing oxygen and taking up carbon,” says Roberts, who adds that much can be done to restore and protect streams, ponds and lakes from the ill effects of pollution and development. “You get volunteers to clean up the gunk and increase regulations for developers to keep stuff out of the waterways.”

Eco-Anxiety and Making Positive Change

Jessica Schiff, a second-year master of science student at the Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health, struggles with eco-anxiety—the depression, anxiety or dread associated with climate change. She says, “It impacts the decisions I make for my life and the future, just trying to think about overall impacts. Where is my food coming from? Do I want to have kids or adopt? Should I live in the suburbs or the city because of transportation and fossil fuel consumption? This all adds a layer of unease or uncertainty about the future. Sometimes I look at Greta [Thunberg] and how far she’s taken things, and feel guilty about not taking things to such an extreme. Is it hypocritical for me to care about climate change but still eat meat occasionally or take a plane to explore the world?”

Schiff deals with eco-anxiety by taking action. “We’re not going to reverse climate change at this point, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t take steps to slow it down or reduce emissions. There are many small things we can each do, like biking or walking instead of taking a car or bus and reducing our use of plastic. It’s a process. You can’t do it overnight, but if you make a lot of small changes, and if everybody makes small changes, that has a bigger effect.”

Roberts acknowledges the power of small, individual actions, but stresses that we should not let the big polluters off the hook. “We need to continue to press for policy changes, holding polluters accountable, passing regulations based on protecting human health and climate, requiring cleaner cars and buildings, and more. That’s the only way we will get to the scale of change needed to truly bring global warming to a halt.”