There’s lots of news to be found about the Climate and Ecological Emergency and many Awareness Events. Every month we highlight a few stories which you may find interesting and draw your attention to awareness events.
2024
3rd March 2024
Sunday 3rd March, is World Wildlife Day, the theme this year is Connecting People and Planet: Exploring Digital Innovation in Wildlife Conservation. The 7th Global Recycling Day is on Monday 18th March, they have some interesting resources as well. Thursday 21st March is the International Day of Forests, a day to celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests and Friday 22nd March is World Water Day, the theme this year is Water for Peace. It’s the World Meteorological Organisation’s, World Meteorological Day, on Saturday 23rd March and, finally in March, Saturday 30th March is International Zero Waste Day, there’s a nice little UN video on e-waste.
Grist reports on the problems which might arise with nuclear waste as a result of climate change, some may regard this as the ‘elephant in the room’ when it comes to the supposed pros and cons of nuclear as ‘clean’ energy. An interesting article on the Reporting of the 2022 Indian Heatwaves from the Reuters Institute, we await the impact of El Niño in India during 2024. The 6th Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly has been meeting in Nairobi, Kenya from 26th February to 1st March, 17 resolutions and decisions aimed at redefining the way humankind interacts with nature were passed, find out more here.
I’m sure it will come as no surprise to any of you that the BBC is reporting that February was the Warmest Year on Record in England and Wales; the average temperature for England was 7.5C, with an average of 6.9C in Wales and, for the UK as a whole, it was the second warmest February. The Guardian reports that the UK government’s own documents ‘blow gaping hole’ in its case for Cumbrian coalmine; the government claimed that the coal was important for the steel industry because there was ‘huge uncertainty over UK steel’s ability to decarbonise over the next 15 years’. In the revealed documents, officials predicted with ‘high certainty’ that technology such as electric arc furnaces will lead to the successful decarbonisation of UK steel production by 2035 … oops!
4th February 2024
It was World Wetlands Day on Thursday 2nd February, find out more here. One of our themes for 2023 was sustainable bread, time to try out your skills during Real Bread Week, 17th to 23rd February, find out more here.
There’s an interesting article in Carbon Brief concerning some of the Sustainability Risk of relying too heavily on Carbon Dioxide Removal. In Grist, there is a positive story of the use go ChatGPT: ‘What happened when climate deniers met an AI chatbot?’. It’s also been a stormy January with Henk, Isha and Jocelyn as the UK named storms with the Norwegian named storm Ingrunn finishing of the month. Meanwhile, Barcelona declares a drought emergency. It’s also been disappointing to learn that the UK’s Labour Party appear to be planning to dilute their green policy pledges.
7th January 2024
As I’m sure you’ll be aware January is also Veganuary, why not experiment with some vegan food in your diet for the New Year. Appropriately, as we roll out our home energy surveys project across Waverley, it’s National Energy Saving Week from 17th to 23rd January. Also, you might want to help the RSPB with their Big Garden Bird Watch, 26th to 28th January.
The BBC report that the ‘World’s tallest wooden wind turbine starts turning’, to the tip of its blade it is 150m tall and produces 2 megaWatts – enough power for ~400 homes. London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) has been in and out of the news in 2023, most notably for supposedly influencing the outcome of the Uxbridge by-election, but the Guardian that ‘London’s Ulez averts more air pollution than that caused by capital’s airports’, surely a good outcome for the residents of Greater London. Finally, as we enter 2024 we might reflect on the outcome of COP28; there has been cautious optimism from some scientists about the ‘Beginning of the end’ for fossil fuel era, but committing to a ’transition’ from fossil fuels is not the same as actually reducing the use of fossil fuels, we need to see meaningful, consistent and deep cuts fossil fuel use by the end of this decade. As Antonio Guterres stated at the end of COP 28 ‘Let’s hope it doesn’t come too late’.
2023
3rd December 2023
It is World Soil Day and International Volunteer Day on Tuesday 5th December. And, don’t forget that Veganuary starts in the New Year.
This year’s Earthshot Prizes were awarded in November. Congratulations to: Acción Andina who won the Protect and Restore Nature Prize; GRST who won the Clean Our Air Prize; WildAid Marine Program who won the Revive Our Oceans Prize; S4S Technologies who won the Build A Waste Free World Prize; and, Boomitra who won the Fix Our Climate. These organisations will build on the work of the ten previous prize winners.
The Guardian reports the biggest increase in global GHG emissions since 2015 thanks to new data from Climate Trace, a data heavy on-line resource that attempts to make the monitoring of emissions much more ‘real-time’ and somewhat independent of self-declarations; it also look like we’ll be able to keep a much better track of what’s going on with regard to emissions – find out more from Al Gore.
2nd November 2023
Awareness events in November: it was World Vegan Day on 1st November, I hope everyone had fun at the Vegan Market in Godalming last Saturday in preparation; from 13th to 19th November it is World Kindness week; and, following on from our recent Climate Club on bread, 17th November is National Homemade Bread Day.
As I’m writing this today, Storm Ciaran is disrupting much of the south coast and steadily moving north, there are 251 flood warnings in place for England, 72 of the Red Warning requiring ‘immediate action’; this storm, of course, follows on the heels of Storm Babet. In the Pacific, Hurricane Otis battered Mexico with winds speeds of up to 165 miles/hr, although there are (as yet unconfirmed) reports of gusts in excess of 200 miles/hr. The intensity of storms and hurricanes are linked to ocean surface temperatures and we are still in a period unprecedented sea surface temperatures: 0.9 DegC above the 1982-2011 mean for the North Atlantic, 0.7 DegC for the World average; sea surface temperatures have been at record levels since March this year.
And, given all of this, we still have people like former Australian PM Tony Abbott, on the ‘world stage’, debunking climate change – unbelievable!
In other news, UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, on a recent trip to Nepal, is again spelling out the realities of climate change calling on us all to ’Stop the Madness’. Heat Pumps do attract criticism, from my personal experience much of it unwarranted, but Euronews.Green has an interesting article about using heat pumps in Norway, an environment in which efficient heating is pretty much essential. Another interesting, and positive story, about the benefits of forest schools.
1st October 2023
Awareness events in October: it is still Seed Gathering Season promoted by the Tree Council, which runs until Sunday 23rd October; today (1st October) is World Vegetarian Day; Tuesday 3rd October is UN World Habitat Day, you can follow events on the UN website; animal welfare is a focus on Wednesday 4th October which is World Animal Day and it is also No Disposable Cups Day; another UN event this month is World Food Day on 16th October; finally, WRAP promote National Recycle Week, which runs from the 16th to 22nd October.
All I can say this month is that it’s hard to fathom the logic of recent government announcements: delaying the implementation of various climate change related targets and approving the Rosebank oil field against a background of alarmingly low levels of Antarctic ice, record September temperatures across Europe and NASA announcing the Summer 2023 was the hottest since global records began in 1990; it’s hardly any wonder that there were no bidders in the government auction for offshore wind.
4th September 2023
Awareness events in September: the Marine Conservation Society are organising the Great British Beach Clean from Friday 15th to Sunday 24th (see more); Friday 22nd is World Car Free Day (see more) followed by Cycle to School Week (see more) promoted by Bikeability; September is also the the start of Seed Gathering Seasons (see more) promoted by the Tree Council, it runs from Saturday 23rd September to Sunday 23rd October; Saturday 23rd is also the start of FSC Forest Week (see more) promoted by the Forest Stewardship Council; Oxfam have launched a new awareness month, Secondhand September (see more) and of course the Soil Association promote this month as Organic September (see more).
What a summer we’ve had in the Northern hemisphere. The details are to numerous and disturbing to relate here, and I know that many of you will be concerned; the following charts reveal that 2023 has seen a possible step change in the climate: Daily 2-meter Air Temperature (World) and Daily Sea Surface Temperature (World) – as Antonio Guterres has said: “The era of Global Warming has ended the era of Global Boiling has arrived”. Yet, despite these events, the reality of what we’re facing is still often undermined / mis-reported, here’s a nice resource from Covering Climate Now debunking some common Climate Change Myths.
On the positive side, Carbon Brief report that the “EU’s use of fossil fuels for electricity falls 17% to ‘record low’ in first half of 2023” and the Good News Network report on a “Commercial Cargo Ship, Crossing Ocean Using ‘Wind Wings’ Like High-Tech Sails”. Also, has Bill Gates seen the light? Euronews report that Bill has warned of the “hidden climate impact of meat” – many of you will have seen the You Tube video of Bill and Warren (Buffet) heartily tucking into hamburgers – and is claiming that “Plant-based meat is the ‘future’”, a fundamental change of heart or a route to another few billion – time will tell.
2nd July 2023
Awareness events in July: currently, it’s London Climate Action Week from Saturday 24th June to Sunday 2nd July (see more), you may still be able to catch an event; it’s Clean Beaches Week from Saturday 1st July until Friday 7th July (see more); Monday 10th July, be good to bees because it’s Don’t Step On A Bee Day (see more); celebrate our wonderful UK marine environments during National Marine Week (it’s actually two weeks), Saturday 22nd July to Sunday 6th August (see more) and don’t forget it’s Plastic Free July (see more), do everything you can to eliminate or reduce your use of plastic.
Summer is now truly upon us in the northern hemisphere and, although the final data has yet to be ‘crunched’, the BBC reports that this June is likely to be the UK’s hottest on record, surpassing 1940 and 1976. But at least we’re not living in Texas, where a heat dome has created some record breaking local temperature spikes and the Guardian reports it’s likely to expand across the US or in China, where residents of Beijing have also been experiencing record breaking temperatures.
I’m sure you were all disappointed to read the Climate Change Committee‘s assessment of the UK Governments progress on its Net Zero policy, there’s a good analysis in Carbon Brief. You can find the full report from the CCC here and the summary video here.
On the positive side, there’s a interesting article on Canada’s first hydrogen train, as reported by CBC, and an inspiring article about The Cascading Effects of Bringing Back Sea Otters reported in Reasons to be Cheerful.
1st June 2023
Awareness events in June: it’s the 100th annual Bike Week from 5th to 11th June (see more), Great Big Green Week starts on Saturday 10th June and runs until Sunday 18th June (see more) and, if you fancy a train ride into London, it’s London Climate Action Week from Saturday 24th June to Sunday 2nd July (see more).
The Guardian reports that ‘more than 80% of households who have installed heat pumps are satisfied’ with their investment, with almost 25% being very satisfied. Interestingly, there are little difference in the levels of satisfaction between installations made into older buildings as compared to new builds, contradicting a widely cited concern that heat pumps only work in modern energy efficiency buildings. Shirley and I can report that we are in the very satisfied category.
There is also an ‘Exploding’ demand for giant heat pumps’, as reported by the BBC. A typical domestic heat pump system will deliver several kilowatts of energy per day, our systems averages about 35 kw/day across the year, for example; giant systems can deliver 50+ megawatts.
The World Meteorological Office (see more) has issued a press release (29th May) stating that: Rapid changes in cryosphere demand urgent, coordinated action. As an example, the cumulative thickness loss for the WMOs reference glaciers (those they have long term data for) is 30m with 1970, but the rate is steadily been increasing, So, although the average would be ~57cm/year, actual loss rate for October 2021 to October 2022 was 1.3m per year.
More positively in the cryosphere, Carbon Brief (see more) report that: The Montreal Protocol has slowed loss of Arctic sea ice, the article is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
3rd May 2023
It’s International Compost Awareness Week starting on Sunday 7th May and it’s National Vegetarian Week starting on Monday 15th May. Also, don’t forget it’s No Mow May
The Guardian reported unprecedented average ocean surface temperature, recorded at 21.1 DegC on 5th April. Ocean surface temperature usually peaks in late March, but it has continued to increase into April. The data on ocean surface temperature from NOAA can be found on the Climate Reanalyzer site from the University of Maine; the temperature remained above 21 DegC until 25th April, since then there has been a sustained fall.
Of course, the above issue has to be considered in the context of a forthcoming El Niño period, as reported in Carbon Brief: State of the climate: Growing El Niño threatens more extreme heat in 2023. El Niño periods are typically associated with warmer temperatures, although the world is currently emerging from a rare Triple Dip La Niña period, despite many temperature records being broken in recent years.
Justin Rowlatt, the BBC’s Climate Editor, reflects on Finding More Room for Hope in Climate Storytelling when interviewed for Covering Climate Now.
4th April 2023
Awareness days in April: it’s Walk to Work Day on Friday 7th April and, of course, Saturday 22nd April is International Mother Earth Day . Also, Wednesday 26th April is Stop Food Waste Day.
March heralded the release of the final instalment of IPCC’s 6th Assessment Report: AR6 Synthesis Report – Climate Change 2023. If you’re up to it, you can read the Headline Statements from the Summary to Policy Makers or the full Summary for Policy Makers. However, there was a sobering counter-point as the UK Government released it’s new Energy Plan, notable elements being an expansion of fossil fuel licensing, investment in carbon capture and storage and a lack of ambition in on-shore wind development and replacing gas-fired boilers.
The UN General Assembly has voted to Seek World Court’s opinion, in quest for ‘bolder’ climate action. The UN General Assembly will seek the opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on countries’ obligations to address climate change, following the adoption by consensus of a resolution on Wednesday 29th March.
Anthropocene has an interesting article on: Solar panels handle heat better when they’re combined with crops – new study finds that an optimal arrangement of solar panels on farms can cool the panels down by 10 degrees—crucial for their efficiency.
25th February 2023
With World Water Day coming in March (see below) and some 1.8 billion people on the planet are threatened by flood risks, the ‘UN Assembly President calls for Apollo 13 ingenuity to navigate flood risks’.
The BBC reports on a House of Lords enquiry into the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, the scheme provide grants of £5,000 or £6,000 to subsidise the cost of installing air-source or ground-source heat pumps. The enquiry reports that the programme is ‘seriously failing’ as it is on track to award only 50% of the grants in its first year, although Shirley and I are one of the beneficiaries of this scheme this year.
Carbon Brief also have a report on heat pumps and how they compare to using hydrogen for domestic heating. The report cites a study that reveals that heat pumps are ‘up to three times cheaper’ than green hydrogen (in Europe). Also on heat pumps, it is reported in Euronews Green that an additional 8 million tonnes of carbon emissions (annually) will be saved from installations of heat pumps across Europe last year; increasing to European-wide total to 54 million tonnes annually.
Fairtrade Fortnight, which runs from 27th February to 12th March, is an opportunity to reflect on your ethical consumption. Also in March, there is the International Day of Forests on 21st March, World Water Day on 23rd March and World Meteorological Day on 24th March
29th January 2023
There is a very interesting article in the Guardian on Carbon Offsetting (Link), revealing that more than 90% of rainforest carbon offsets by biggest provider are worthless. We shall be discussing the ‘Use and Abuse of Carbon Offsetting’ at the Climate Club (see above) on 10th February. But here’s a
more positive story in the Guardian: Food, feed and fuel – global seaweed industry could reduce land needed for farming by 110m hectares.
In Anthropocene, discover how Hydropower could help developing nations decarbonize . . . with minimal environmental impact ().
Now that we are approaching the end of Veganuary , we can start to look forward to Fairtrade Fortnight which runs from 27th February to 12th March. Also in February, there is Time to Talk Day and and World Wetlands Day both on 2nd February.
2022
6th November 2022
It was World Vegan Day on Tuesday 1st November, I hope you all had a chance to experience a vegan meal on our around that date and it’s World Kindness Week from 7th to 13th November, they suggest celebrating world kindness week by: i) giving a compliment to your friends and even strangers during World Kindness Week, compliment their new haircut, outfit, or anything you like about them; ii) smile at strangers passing by, hold open a door, or give up your seat on public transport, even these small gestures are a nice way of showing kindness to others; and iii) donate books, clothes, food, essential medicines, and even money to a charity of your choice.
COP27 will feature strongly in the news over the next couple of weeks. You can find out more about the conference. There are also many interesting presentations in the UN Climate Change Pavillion, you can find webcast links here: https://unfccc.int/un-climate-change-pavilion-cop-27.
19th October 2022
The UN Environment Agency warns that plastics from farming are accumulating in agricultural soil at an alarming rate because of their extensive use in modern farming practices; there’s an interesting article on Farming without Plastics on Word of Mouth.
Also, here’s an article on innovations in wind power generation from Aeromine, it seems to be very new to the market and there are big claims, but potentially worth following.
And, another fascinating innovation, what about Sand Batteries – as reported by the BBC back in July.
27th September 2022
This summer, the UK wasn’t alone with record temperatures, Europe as a whole experienced soaring temperatures leading, inevitably to more forest fires: these are reported to have destroyed a record 700,000 hectares across the EU. These conditions have also led to the worst drought in Europe for 500 years. Along, with floods in Pakistan, typhoons in Japan and hurricanes in Canada the reality of Global Heating is now ever present.
Good news on renewables though, the International Renewable Energy Agency reports in its Annual Review for 2022 that 700,000 new renewable energy jobs created over the last 12 months and there’s also an interesting story of Geothermal Power in Kenya.
Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard has donated his apparel company (estimated valuation of at $3 billion) to fight climate change. In the arrangement, 2% of the family’s stock will fund an effort to ensure the company remains committed to Chouinard’s values, while the other 98% will go to projects that protect habitat and biodiversity, and fight the environmental crisis.
28th July 2022
Well, it would be hard not to mention the fact that we now have a new record temperature in the UK, 40.3 DegC in Conningsby, Lincolnshire. It’s sobering to watch the Met Office’s fictional forecast for July 2050, alongside the actual forecast for July 2022.
Locally, I think many of us would have been concerned about the recent fires on Hankley Common, the BBC reports that at least 50 hectares (123 acres) have been burnt.
Globally, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation have warned that, with ‘business as usual’, 90% of the world’s topsoil is likely to be at risk by 2050. Currently, the equivalent of one soccer pitch of top-soil erodes every 5 seconds – about the time it took to read this sentence!
While in Oxford, UK the university’s Museum of Natural History held a conference focussing on Nature-base Solutions to the climate a ecological emergency.
11th July 2022
The Met Office have issued a weather warning for extreme heat later this week / next week and it’s not impossible that we may exceed the highest ever temperature recorded in England, which was 38.7 DegC in Cambridge in 2019.
In US, Joe Biden faces an even greater hurdle on the environment as the Supreme Court rule to limit the powers of the EPA.
Alongside the EAT Lancet Report, there is a report from the Sustainable Food Trust on how ‘Britain can feed itself sustainably, reducing its addiction to volatile food imports and costly fossil fuel fertilisers’.
29th June 2022
Don’t forget that July is Plastic Free.
Also, 2nd to 8th July was National Net Zero Week. There’s information for businesses and consumers on their web-site and it was London Climate Action Week from 25th June to 3rd July; You can see the events that were held here.
United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres, declared an ‘Ocean Emergency’ as global leaders gather in Lisbon. There’s more detail on the UN web-site.
14th June 2022
Anthropocene reports that ‘Halving air pollution could yield up to 25% more food’.
The National Geographic have an interesting piece from California: ‘Goats may help prevent wildfires in California as drought worsens’, apparently these voracious herbivores are being deployed to clear invasive plants throughout wildlands.
More worryingly, it is anticipated that Spain and southern France may be hit by a second extreme heat wave this year before mid-June. It is reported that Spain’s summer now begins between 20 and 40 days earlier than it did 50 years ago.
5th June 2022
It was National Bike Week from 6th to 12th June and Sunday, 5th June, was World Environment Day; find out more here.
The Guardian reports that: “Three former UN climate heads say gap between government promises and actions will change environment irreversibly”.
The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has again been raising concerns about global wellbeing being at risk in large part because we haven’t kept our promises on the environment.
The US has a long way to go with respect to reducing the nation’s impact on the global environment, but Inside Climate News reports on “The US’s New Record in Renewables, Explained in Three Chart.
16th May 2022
It was National Vegetarian Week from 16th to 22nd May and Friday 13th May was World Migratory Bird Day, where the challenges of light pollution were put into the spotlight.
There was a concerning feature in the Guardian on Carbon Bombs, essentially future plans for substantial fossil-fuel based projects that will certainly push us passed 1.5 DegC and, most likely, 2 DegC of heating.
We’ve all heard about Flash Flooding, but what about Flash Droughts, read about this new threat in the US Midwest.
And, of course, we should recognise the success of Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest and our own Sam Ryder as the runner-up.
29th April 2022
It is International Compost Awareness Week from 1st to 7th May.
This week heralded extreme temperatures in the Indian Sub-continent, as reported on the UN News Page. They report: “With extreme heat gripping large parts of India and Pakistan, the two countries are working to roll out life-saving health action plans to combat the heatwave, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Friday.” While, in the oceans, the Guardian reports that: “Global heating risks most cataclysmic extinction of marine life in 250m years” as a result of rising temperatures and a loss of oxygen.
But, dating with a climate conscious is now a thing: dating platforms have noticed their users are hot for climate issues and are incorporating features to help them connect with each other. For those of you looking for romance, click here.
5th April 2022
Clearly, the big news this week is the release of the latest instalment of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report from Working Group III on the Mitigation of Climate Change.
The summary for policy makers is sobering reading. We now await the publication of the Sixth Assessment Synthesis Report, due in September 2022, which will draw together the findings of all three reports for the benefit of all policy makers. We still have time, but it’s clear that we must see very meaningful change by the middle of this decade.
14th March 2022
Our thoughts, of course, go out the the people of Ukraine at this horrendous time. We hope for a cessation of hostilities and peace talks as soon as possible.
It was UK Compost Week from 14th to 20th March and we featured Composting as our theme for the Climate Club on 25th March.
As the United National Environment Assembly looks at ending plastic pollution, youth-led initiatives in Nairobi show the way – Turning waste to wealth: In Nairobi, UN deputy chief lauds youth-led development solutions.
Sadly, a more concerning story about the Amazon Rain Forest, where researchers report that we may reach a tipping point sooner than feared.
7th March 2022
The IPCC published the next part of their 6th Assessment Report on Impacts, Adaptability and Vulnerability, it’s sobering reading, but probably about what most of us expected. Interestingly, more women than ever have contributed as authors to this latest instalment.
Residents on the East Coast of Australia are clearly feeling the effects, there has been some horrendous flooding in the area over the last week.
Up and coming we have UK Compost Week from 14th to 20th March and we will be featuring Composting as our theme for the Climate Club on 25th March.
21st February 2022
It’s Fairtrade Fortnight, 21st February to 5th March. The Fairtrade Foundation campaign for better prices, safer working practices, local sustainability and better terms of trade for farmers and workers. To find our more about the Fairtrade Foundation click here and the Fairtrade Fortnight Festival click here.
There’s an interesting report from the UN Environment Programme on noise pollution, wildfires and the disruption of life-cycle patterns entitled Frontiers 2022: Noise, Blazes and Mismatches, download the report here.
The recent stormy weather we’ve all been experiencing is a reminder that climate change will have an increasingly dramatic impact on our lives. The storms also magnify our challenges by directly negating some of the things we are doing to combat climate change. It sobering to reflect on the BBC Report that more that eight million trees have been lost in the UK so far this winter.
The recent news that JET, the pilot-scale nuclear fusion reactor, has managed to generate 59 megajoules of heat, which has been described as a stunning result, is undoubtedly positive news, nuclear fusion is a potential source of enormous amounts of clean energy. However, the concept of nuclear fusion dates back to the early 1950’s, with the first experiment to achieve ‘controlled’ fusion dating back to 1958 and JET generating energy for the first time in 1997. That’s over 60 years to get to where we are today and almost certainly decades yet before we achieve a commercially viable solution. This is a good example of why should be rightly wary of technological fixes for the climate crisis. For example, while we can recognise that carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies, in their various forms, are likely to make a contribution, we should also recognise that scaling-up these technologies to a meaningful capacity may take many decades. In the case of CCS, this was first proposed as a complete concept in 1977 and methods for separating and capturing CO2 in industrial processes have been around since the 1920s. Today, there are pilot-scale CCS plants in operation around the world, but there’s still a very long way to go.
7th February 2022
The BBC reports that the earth has more tree species than we previously thought, which is a positive. But, we are still having a very negative impact upon biodiversity – click here for a summary of the latter from 2020.
Sticking with the floral theme, a paper revealing that UK plants typically now flower a month earlier, as compared to typical flowering dates in the 1980, has been published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. In the paper, the scientists attribute this change to Global Warning.
Earlier this week Madagascar was hit by Tropical Cyclone Batsirai and this is just two weeks after Storm Ana hit Madagascar, Mozambique and Malawi.
Finally, here’s an interesting one, the slide show that convinced the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, to engage with the reality of Global Warming has been revealed.
31st January 2022
As mentioned below, It was UN World Wetlands Day last Wednesday. Here’s a lovely, inspiring video here on Preserving Wetlands with Water Lilies.
The BBC report that the earth has more tree species than we previously thought , which is a great. But, we are still having a very negative impact upon biodiversity – here’s a summary from 2020.
Sticking with the floral theme, a paper revealing that UK plants now typically flower a month earlier, as compared to typical flowering dates in the 1980, has been published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. In the paper, the scientists attribute this change to Global Warning.
Mid-week Madagascar was hit by Tropical Cyclone Batsirai and this is just two weeks after Storm Ana hit Madagascar, Mozambique and Malawi.
Finally, here’s an interesting one, the slide show that convinced the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, to engage with the reality of Global Warming has been revealed.
24th January 2022
Wednesday 2nd February is World Wetlands Day, this is a United National International Day and Thursday 3rd of February of Time to Talk Day; the focus of this day is mental health, a very important topic in it’s own right, but I think we would all agree that the climate crisis is a demand on all our mental health.
There’s a sobering blog from the Centre for Global Development which details the day of the year when an average UK citizen’s carbon emissions surpasses the annual emissions of the average citizen in other countries.
17th January 2022
It’s Veganuary, a great opportunity to start experimenting with a plant-based diet. Why not visit the visit the Vegan Society website for some ideas. Going completely vegan may not be for everyone, but making at least a few of your meals plant-based is both healthy and more climate and ecologically friendly.
From Hollywood, if you haven’t yet had a chance to see ‘Don’t Look Up’ it’s well worth a watch. It’s a fun, if sobering, allegory of the climate and ecological crisis.
This month, the World Meteorological Organisation has announced that 2021 is one of the seven warmest years on record; 2016 stills holds the top spot though. Also, this month a cut down virtual version of the World Economic Forum is taking place in Davos, Switzerland. Concerningly, in the WEF’s Global Risks Report 2022, the projected top five global risks 5 to 10 years from now are all related to the climate and ecological emergency, they are: Climate Action Failure, Extreme Weather, Biodiversity Loss, Natural Resources Crises and Human Environmental Damage.