A round-up of this week’s environmental, green and ecofriendly news and updates.
Here’s another wonderful “good news” story. Solar power is ecofriendly and it’s great in developed countries as an alternative energy source. Renewables should be first choice in developing countries where there’s no existing infrastructure. Sadly, many countries are still being encouraged (via loans) to create energy from (and become dependent on) fossil fuels.
So I was delighted to find out what’s happening in remote villages in the Himalayas. This short video shows just how remote these villages are, and highlights the difference that having electricity is making. Apart from the obvious benefits – candles smoke and are bad for health, they don’t provide enough light so children can’t read or study at night – there’s another benefit shown near the end of the video which I hadn’t thought of.
I love it when green and ecofriendly solutions bring such massively huge benefits to people! Watch the video here.
Kale. It’s become such a popular ingredient that it’s now quite easy to find in most places. It’s similar to spinach, but it has a stronger flavour.
But kale has more health benefits than spinach – and it’s easier for our bodies to absorb those crucial goodies than spinach.
Best of all, it isn’t just good for our basic health. It’s also great for your hair! Find out why, here.
My Recommendation of the week is all about re-usables instead of single-use items.
Not just for plastic-free day, but all the time.
When you look at all the things are available, you’ll see that some of them make more eco sense than others.
Look at the lists and get some inspiration. You may not need to buy – you might get ideas for reusing things you already have!
There’s a really interesting new report about the amount of air pollution we all create – unintentionally..
And the good news is that it’s seriously easy easy to improve it! Read what you’re doing, here.
Global Green News:
I didn’t know this – did you? We all know that plastic litter in the sea is a huge problem all over the world. And many people are working to solve the issue, often focusing on creating an international treaty, where countries agree not to dispose of waste into the sea.
But there’s no need for that. A new report shows that agreements already exist!
The downside is that only countries can take legal action, not groups or individuals. The worst marine polluters are China, India and Indonesia, so governments that are trying to tackle the issue should put legal pressure on them. It’s good to know there’s a legal framework already in place – now we just need to act on it!
There’s a LOT of mercury in the Arctic. In fact, the Arctic is the biggest reservoir of mercury on the planet — almost twice the amount held by the rest of the world’s earth, oceans, and atmosphere combined. And that’s a huge problem. As we know, the Arctic is melting – and releasing toxic mercury which can cause birth defects and neurological damage. Globally, the toxin could travel great distances and collect in distant ecosystems.
Today, February 21st is Plastic-Free day – so make a small commitment that could make a huge difference to our planet. Don’t buy anything that’s plastic (yes, I know it’s difficult!). Plastic lurks in some strange places, as well as the obvious water bottles and toys. Avoid single-use plastics like straws, cups, bags, wrappers. Carry a re-usable cup with you, also cutlery / silverware and a straw if you wish. Avoid junk food as it’s normally wrapped in some form of plastic.
US Green News:
Have you heard of Trump Forest? Environmentalists aim to plant 10 billion trees around the world – to offset the additional pollution that Trump’s changes will cause. To quote from their website: “We’re planting a global forest to offset Trump’s monumental stupidity”. People from all over the world (but mainly the US and Europe) have already pledged 1 million trees.
You’ll soon be able to buy Tesla solar panels and Powerwall batteries at all 800 Home Depot locations across the United States, and also in Lowe’s shortly. This is good news, as it’s less than two weeks since Trump slapped a heavy import tax on solar panels, which is expected to make solar installation less affordable across the U.S.
(Installing a solar panel system in your home can cost upwards of $10,000 before rebates, plus another $7,000 for a battery. But once it’s up, you start saving on electricity bills. Type your address into Google’s Project Sunroof for an estimate of how much you’d save in the long run).
And speaking of Tesla, its SpaceX Falcon Heavy had a successful launch earlier this month. It is now the world’s most powerful rocket.
A record-breaking number of scientists are running for office this year. To stand up to climate change deniers and protect science, a wave of candidates from science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) backgrounds are running for local and federal office in 2018 – hooray!
What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.
Please spread the Green word and share this info.
And if you’re on Twitter, get a daily green tip by following me – @EcoExpert1 . See you there!
