Help Victims of Hurricanes Eta and Iota

On November 3, Hurricane Eta made landfall off the coast of Nicaragua as a category 4 hurricane, before slowly moving across much of Central America. The constant heavy rains and 140+ mph winds caused catastrophic, life-threatening flash floods, mudslides, and devastating infrastructural damage.

Devastatingly, on November 17, the area was struck once again by Hurricane Iota, a second category 4 storm, causing further catastrophic damage to many of the same areas still reeling from the storm weeks prior. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost everything they own, and hundreds are feared dead.

As one example, the community of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, home to more than 60,000 people, 95% of the buildings lost their rooves and many were completely decimated. Community members and relief workers alike are sleeping in tents and under makeshift tarps. Hundreds of thousands are without food, water or other essential supplies, as reported by one of LifeStraw’s non-profit partners.

To aid in relief efforts, LifeStraw has teamed up with a number of nonprofits, including Food for the Poor, Global Citizen USA, ANF Nicaragua, Feed the Hungry Nicaragua, and Global Response Management. LifeStraw will be sending water filtration supplies to these organizations to assist in disease prevention.

Emergency relief efforts are ongoing, and it will take months, if not years, to rebuild many of the communities affected by these two hurricanes. The outdoor industry has a lot if can offer to support these efforts. The following items have been identified by our partners as critical needs:

  • Tarps and tents
  • Sleeping bags
  • Sleeping mats and cots
  • Mosquito nets
  • Mosquito repellant and mosquito afterbite
  • Solar lanterns
  • Flashlights and batteries
  • MREs (with expiration beyond May 2021)
  • Disaster cleanup gear: shovels, rain boots, raincoats, work gloves, masks, buckets
  • First aid items
  • Life preservers
  • Hoses
  • Stoves (kerosene and LPG)

If interested in donating, please contact LifeStraw’s Social Impact Manager, Tara MacDowell, at TLM@lifestraw.com, who is coordinating relief shipments and distribution. If you would like to support LifeStraw’s relief efforts, we have also created a non-profit, Safe Water Fund to support additional supplies and donations of water filtration: https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/hurricane-eta-emergency-relief

FAQ: 2020 BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS REPORT ON OUTDOOR RECREATION RELEASED

Outdoor Recreation Is an Economic Force; Accounts for Over 2 Percent of U.S. Gross Domestic Product

November 20, 2020

How is the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) study different from the OIA economic study?
The featured BEA measures include gross output, a measure of outdoor recreation goods and services produced by domestic industries; and value added, a measure of the contribution of outdoor recreation industries to gross domestic product (the primary measure of economic activity in the nation). OIA’s study measures consumer spending on all gear-related expenses and associated travel for outdoor recreation, including spending on imported products.

How does the $842B nominal gross output ($788B real gross output*) contribution line up with the OIA’s $887 billion consumer spending on outdoor recreation?
Both are true, they just measure different economic contributors. The BEA satellite account measures gross output while OIA’s study measures consumer spending on all gear-related expenses and associated travel for outdoor recreation.

It is important to note; the BEA estimate only includes the wholesale and retail mark-ups applied to imported products while the OIA’s figures report all consumer spending.

* Current-dollar estimates are valued in the prices of the period when the transactions occurred—that is, at “market value.” Also referred to as “nominal estimates” or as “current-price estimates.” Chained-dollar (Real) estimates are calculated by taking the current-dollar level of a series in the base period and multiplying it by the change in the chained-type quantity index number for the series since the base period. Chained dollar estimates correctly show growth rates for a series but are not additive in periods other than the base period.

What is the methodology of the OIA Outdoor Recreation Economy Report?
BEA’s analysis for the time period 2012-2019 was just released on November 10. We have not had an opportunity to review the methodology at this point, but what we do know is that our economic report is based on consumer spending, while the BEA’s numbers are focused on measuring gross output and value added.

Essentially, our economic report – which is basic economic input-output modeling – starts with the consumer and works down to the manufacturing/imports point. The BEA goes the opposite direction, starting with production in manufacturing and other industries and works up to the consumer. This approach uses different data sets and methods which accounts for differences, too.

What is the difference between gross output and value added (or GDP)?
Gross output (GO) is the measure of total economic activity in the production of goods and services. It is a much broader measure of the economy than gross domestic product (GDP), which measures final output (finished goods and services).

OIA Policy Alert: LWCF Delay at the Department of the Interior

Washington, D.C. – Today, OIA Executive Director Lise Aangeenbrug made the following statement after the Department of the Interior (DOI) failed to provide a list to Congress detailing which Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) projects should be funded under the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA):

“We are deeply concerned by the agency’s failure to meet this straightforward statutory requirement. This delay stifles new outdoor projects from getting off the ground and keeps LWCF funding from flowing to communities that desperately need this money. When the Great American Outdoors Act was enacted earlier this year, it was met with great fanfare from the outdoor industry, members of Congress from both parties and the administration. For agency officials to drag their feet on implementing the most significant conservation law in a generation is not only perplexing, it demands an explanation.”

GAOA provides $900 million in permanent annual funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and addresses the nearly $20 billion deferred maintenance backlog on federal public lands. 

Audio Outdoorist: Climate Klatch — Episode 1

Welcome to the first in a new Audio Outdoorist series we’re calling the Climate Klatch. A klatch is an informal gathering, usually involving conversations and coffee. In this series, we’ll deliver monthly conversations about climate action. Our goal is to keep you in the know on what’s happening in the outdoor industry and the broader world around the ever-evolving topic. These are meant to be high-level, bite-size insights and updates. Listen while you sip your morning jo, on your commute to work — if you’re still doing that these days — or while you’re getting ready in the morning or taking a short break midday.

In this first episode, Amy Horton, OIA senior director of sustainable business innovation, and Deborah Williams, OIA director of marketing, communications and storytelling, discuss the most impactful strategies for reducing and reversing global warming by the year 2050 and how the OIA Climate Policy Agenda aims to drive those strategies through a combination of responsible business and federal, state and local legislation.

 

 

More Resources:

 

Climate Interactive

Policy Alert: Outdoor Industry Applauds Introduction of the ‘Ocean Based Climate Solutions Act’

BOULDER, Colo. – Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) commends Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) for introducing the “Ocean Based Climate Solutions Act” today. The bill would authorize federal funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to invest in ocean-based solutions to greenhouse gas emissions and conservation of coastal communities, as well as outline a national policy to protect 30 percent of the ocean by 2030.

“This landmark proposal leverages the power of conservation to combat climate change and positions our coastal communities to be an integral part of the solution,” said Executive Director of OIA, Lise Aangeenbrug. “Further, it focuses on establishing social and economic criteria to ensure our public lands and waters remain accessible, where appropriate, to all Americans and the businesses that rely on them. It is essential to have the right balance between conservation and providing Americans the access they need to thrive outside and participate in our robust outdoor recreation economy. We are pleased to see Rep. Grijalva’s legislation achieves this important balance.”

OIA’s 2020 Policy Platform, released in October 2020, supports the swift scale-up of natural climate solutions as a strategy for both climate mitigation and climate resilience across a variety of lands, waters, and habitat types – including the forests, rivers, lakes, streams, oceans, and coastal areas.

The bill awaits consideration by the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Increase in Outdoor Activities due to COVID-19

Are your local parks and trails far busier than usual? Is it harder to find a trailhead parking spot — not to mention new bikes, hiking boots and camping gear? It’s not your imagination. New data shows COVID-related impacts to participation in April, May and June of 2020. Americans have flocked to outdoor recreation amid COVID restrictions, as the data from OIA indicates.

  • Americans took up new activities in significant numbers in April, May and June of 2020. Among the biggest gainers were running, cycling and hiking.
  • Walking, running and hiking were widely considered the safest activities in which to participate.
  • Among the five activity segments measured (team, fitness, outdoor, individual and racquet) outdoor saw the lowest impact due to COVID shutdowns, as just 34 percent of respondents said they could not participate in outdoor activities due to pandemic restrictions. Team sports were hardest hit at nearly 69 percent, followed by racquet at 55 percent.
  • Urban participants flocked to outdoor activities: Running, bicycling, day hiking, bird watching and camping participation all rose noticeably among urban respondents since March shutdowns.
  • Looking at April, May and June of 2020 versus the same period in 2019, unweighted participation rates for day hiking rose more than any other activity measured, up 8.4 percentage points.

This monthly data will be rolled into a full-year participation study to be published in 2021. The annual study starts with a nationally representative panel of over 1 million Americans and features responses from over 18,000 people ages 6 and older. The study currently includes 122 separate sports, fitness and recreational activities.

BIG NEWS: Senate passes the Great American Outdoors Act

GREAT AMERICAN OUTDOORS ACT PASSES SENATE 73-25. ON TO THE HOUSE.

Today, we’re reaching out with good news. The Great American Outdoors Act, the legislation to provide full and permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and provide funding to begin tackling the deferred maintenance backlog on federal public lands, PASSED 73-25 with overwhelming bipartisan support.

As we take steps toward economic recovery from COVID-19, federal investment in our public lands and waterways is critical to boost local economies, create thousands of jobs and protect and improve our national parks.

As our advocacy efforts transition to the House of Representatives, OIA would like to thank the senators who sponsored, co-sponsored and championed the Great American Outdoors Act, and we also encourage you to thank your senators for their support.

While this vote was an important hurdle to overcome, it does not have the president’s signature yet, so stay tuned. We will reach out again soon with an ask for your engagement with your House delegation.

Thank you for your support, outreach and efforts so far. That GAOA passed the Senate with the majority is a testament to the bipartisan nature of our work and a demonstration of the impact of our industry’s collective voice.