Environment News – Headlines
Some bite-sized pieces of news from the environment this week.
17 July, 2019
News snippets
Want to curb cravings (for food, alcohol, cigarettes)? A new study finds that being able to see Nature and green spaces from your office or home can help reduce cravings. The British study showed that, interestingly, you don’t need to be actually outside in Nature, just looking at it can bring benefits. But of course, taking a walk in a forest field or by the sea improves your mental health, can help you sleep, relax your body and make you feel better.
Bus stop or bee stop? Utrecht in the Netherlands has added green living roofs to its bus stops. Originally, they were planted to help honey bees, and they certainly do that. But they also help to capture fine dust, cool temps in the summertime, and store rainwater. The roofs are maintained by workers using electric vehicles, and the bus stops have also been fitted with energy-efficient LED lights and bamboo benches. The bus system is changing to electric buses, and city residents are offered subsidies to create green roofs on their own homes. Good stuff!
more below……
more snippets
What a surprise! If you commute a long time to work each day, you’re likely to be sick more often, have less money and less leisure time, and be less happy than those with a short (or no) commute. Researchers in Australia also found that workers who walked or cycled to work were happier and more productive at work than those who drove or took public transport. We all know that really, but it’s nice to have scientific backing.
If you live in the US and expect to live beyond 2035, you might be interested in this map – especially if you live in Florida, Texas, California or Arizona. It shows the number of days you can expect to have temperatures of over 100F – or even “off the charts”.
Last weekend, Extinction Rebellion blocked traffic in parts of 5 UK cities, calling for greater government action against the climate emergency. More than 3,000 activists across the country have signed up to participate in acts of civil disobedience this week, a third of those in London.
An abuse of power? I think so. A natural gas distributor in New York sent out an email to many of its New York customers. Support our new fracked gas pipeline, or you won’t get any new service, was the clear message. The pipeline has been blocked, so the email contained links to contact officials to offer support for the pipeline. The company has a monopoly in the area, so it’s basically blackmailing customers so that the company can continue to profit from fossil fuels, instead of switching to renewable energy. Appalling!
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Warm regards,
P.S. Don’t forget to download your free green living handbook “Live Well, Live Green” here.
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