A round-up of this week’s environmental, green and ecofriendly news and updates.
The US state of Utah is incredibly beautiful. It’s also considered to be quite a conservative state. In 2010 Utah said it would not try to reduce its emissions. But 7 high-school students have campaigned to change that. And last week, the Utah government signed a new resolution which officially acknowledges the existence of climate change and calls for cutting carbon emissions. Good for them!
We need all the help we can get, because here are some more climate snippets:
Do you remember the 1980s? Remember Michael Jackson’s “Thriller“? (It was 1982, and yes, I bought it). Since the mid-80s, we’ve had 400 consecutive months of warmer-than-average global temperatures. That’s a staggering milestone. And just in case you might think climate change is not caused by humans, the chances of that occurring naturally are about one in 1 x 10^120. The name for such a number is a “novemtrigintillion” — a value bigger than the number of atoms that exist in a trillion universes.
Ice in the Bering Sea (the narrow body of water between Russia and Alaska), has dropped to its lowest springtime level since at least 1850. The ice disappears every summer but never so early. Normally the ice protects residents of western Alaska from huge ocean storms – but now there are reports of 5-storey-high waves. What happens in the Arctic does not stay in the Arctic – it affects weather patterns all over the planet.
Did you know that the vast majority of the items we buy are transported by cargo ships? So these ships are very important – but they also contribute hugely to carbon emissions. The good news is that in April, the International Maritime Organization agreed for the first time to limit greenhouse gas emissions from global shipping. Admittedly, it’s a non-binding deal, but it’s a good start – it was the only major industry without a comprehensive climate plan.
“Diamonds are a girl’s best friend” they say – as long as they’re not blood diamonds.
Do you know how to tell if a diamond is a blood diamond (aka conflict diamonds)?
Find out everything you need to know in this fascinating guest post.
I came across an interesting product on Amazon. Cling wrap or plastic wrap is pretty horrible – it’s used once then tossed – and because it’s plastic it lurks in the environment.
But this product is very green and eco-friendly. It uses just the heat of your hands to soften it, then as it cools, it creates a seal to keep your food fresh – I think that’s very clever! Read more about this innovative product here – it’s my Recommendation of the Week!
Mosquitoes. Ugh. I suppose there’s a reason for them. Somehow. But I haven’t worked it out yet. In the meantime, I want to keep them away.
Most insect repellents contain DEET. It’s very effective, but not good for our health (or the environment).
Here are some easy, safe and natural alternatives that will keep the little pests away from you this year.
Green News:
The crypto-currency Bitcoin is still hugely popular. But a new report tracking its energy consumption is worrying (vast computing power is required to keep each transaction safe). By late next year, Bitcoin could be consuming more electricity than ALL the world’s solar panels currently produce. That would effectively erase decades of progress on renewable energy. A single bitcoin transaction is so energy-intensive that it could power the average U.S. household for a month. Isn’t that shocking?
What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.
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