Green, Environment News 24 May 2017

A round-up of this week’s environmental, green and ecofriendly news and updates.

Sea turtles are endangered. As well as natural predators such as sharks, they also have to dodge fishing lines and plastic debris, avoid pollution, and cope with the loss of nesting habitat. Some of them are rescued – and you can stream 6 inspiring episodes to your phone, laptop or tablet device via Smithsonian Earth . (If you’ve ever wanted to witness a sea turtle’s release back into the wild, tune in to Episode 4).

And if you love wildlife, you’ll love these wonderful photos – they are the finalists in a competition run by Africa Geographic (the African version of National Geographic). View them here.

Is your sleep affected by snoring?

If so, you’ll want to find out what natural herbs and essential oils can help. Get a better night’s sleep – tonight – with these safe home remedies.

Food waste is a huge problem, and mostly we think of it in terms of the money that’s wasted – which is true. It’s also good to consider all the resources that went into producing and transporting the food – for example, it’s been calculated that wasting a pound of cheese is the equivalent of letting the shower run for over two hours — that’s how much water goes to waste when that cheese is thrown away.

But now a new study looks at it from a different angle – the nutrients wasted. Researchers looked at food that was wasted on the retail and consumer levels in the U.S. in 2012. On average, each person in America wastes the amount of food that could potentially sustain a whole other person.

I’m sure there are similar statistics elsewhere in the world. Of course, not everyone is “average”. We’re all different. But it does make you think, though, doesn’t it?

Why do so many people deny that climate change is happening, or that we need to act?

They have extremely good reasons!

See what they are, here.

Global Green News:

Many new plants are being started throughout Europe to make batteries, perhaps in response to Tesla’s gigafactory in California. As a result, battery prices could fall by 43 percent, according to  Bloomberg — enough to make electric cars cheaper than their fossil-fueled counterparts by 2030. Cheap, reliable batteries are the key to affordable electric cars and green solar and wind energy.  Good storage can turn an erratic and unpredictable power supply into a stable and responsive one.

Coal impacts could push 122 million people into extreme poverty by 2030, says global anti-poverty organization Oxfam. It wants Australia to stop propping up the coal industry – its Great Barrier Reef is already damaged, and political inaction has seen the country’s carbon emissions rise.  Investment in coal will especially harm the world’s poor in developing nations that aren’t benefiting from the energy production.

An oil well off Australia leaked for 4 weeks and almost no one knew. The owners Shell said there was “no lasting damage to the environment”. Yeah, right.

A Syrian refugee camp now has solar power for the first time, lighting the darkness in the desert of Jordan. The solar plant was funded by IKEA. It will save the U.N. $1.5 million a year in electricity costs and improve quality of life in the camp.

US Green News:

A small educational center in Chesapeake Bay in Virginia has won top honors for its environmental performance. It has highly efficient passive features, 2 wind turbines and a roof covered with solar panels. It generates 80 percent more renewable energy than it uses, collects and processes its own water, contains no toxic chemicals, and it reused more materials in construction than it sent to landfill.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.

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