A round-up of this week’s environmental, green and ecofriendly news and updates.
According to a new State of Global Air Report, more than 95 percent of the world’s population is breathing in air that exceeds safe pollution levels. 95% – isn’t that shocking? There were over 4 million deaths in 2016 making it the sixth leading cause of death around the world (after high blood pressure, smoking and various diet-related causes). China and India accounted for about 51 percent of ambient air deaths, but both countries are trying to improve their air quality.
How ethical are YOUR clothes?
How can you tell?
It’s an interesting concept! Find out here.
My Recommendation of the Week is to pledge to reduce your personal plastic usage and therefore microplastics.
When plastic breaks down in water or sun, it becomes tiny microplastic. It’s everywhere – as well as littering the sea, when you drink water, eat fish or add salt to your meals, chances are you are also ingesting microplastics. There are also plastic microbeads, used in cleansers to exfoliate, and some synthetic clothes shed plastic fibers when you wash them.
What can you do?
- Don’t buy products containing microbeads. Choose products that have natural exfoliators, or use a loofah.
- Consider changing the way you wash your clothing to reduce the number of microfibers that are released. There are also bags and other devices you can use in your washing machine to collect the fibers.
- Try to buy clothing made from natural fibers like cotton rather than polyester.
- Don’t wash off the lint from your dryer down the drain. Dispose of it in the trash so it doesn’t get into the water supply.
- Don’t toss plastic products in water ways, beaches or open spaces.
- Pick up trash – especially plastics – whenever you see it, especially when it’s close to water
- Participate in organized clean-up activities as much as you can.
Is your body too acidic?
(If it is, you could have some health issues).
Find out what to do about it here – it’s good to know!
Global Green News:
Sweden has developed a road that automatically charges electric vehicles as they drive on it – wow! The eRoad Arlanda means you don’t have to wait for a recharge, just drive. It’s said to be so safe that you could walk on the road barefoot – even when it’s wet! Initial tests have gone very well and they plan to make electrified highways the norm in the country.
U.S. Green News:
If you enjoy bird-watching, you will enjoy a new app that shows in near real-time the volume and direction of migratory birds traveling throughout the country. So you’ll know where to look for flocks of migrating birds – just in time for the Spring migrations (it’s updated every 6 hours). If you’re interested, you can find the app here.
Car culture is still king in Los Angeles. But in an effort to reduce soaring temperatures (the urban heat island effect), the city is painting its roads white. Dark-colored asphalt just bakes when temperatures rise, and when these roads sizzle, heat radiates into surrounding neighborhoods – and everyone turns up the air conditioning.
Of course, the asphalt is not the only culprit – but it’s relatively easy to solve. The white water-based asphalt emulsion keeps the roads cooler and has been safety tested. Sadly, it’s not cheap at about $40,000 per mile and it lasts 7 years. However, energy costs and emissions are reduced as residents don’t need so much air conditioning, street lights don’t need to be switched on as early due to the reflective surface, saving more energy and money, and public health will improve with less heat.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.
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