Wednesday 22 April 2020

Earth Day: 50 years of caring for the Earth

Source: Shutterstock

Today we are celebrating a very special day on the environmental calendar: It is Earth Day. Today marks 50 years of Earth Day. It is annually celebrated all over the world on 22 April to show support for environmental protection. The first Earth Day in 1970 launched a wave of positive environmental action.

Source: Programming Librarian
This year the theme is Climate Action. The challenge of action on climate change have distinguished the issue as the most pressing topic for the 50th anniversary. Climate change undeniably represents the biggest challenge to the future of humanity and the life-support systems that make our world habitable.

Join the Earth Day community for 24 hours of action in a global digital mobilization that drives actions big and small, gives diverse voices a platform and demands bold action for people and the planet. Earth Day’s goal is to mobilize the world to take the most meaningful actions to make a difference.

No matter where you are, you can make a difference. And you’re not alone, because together, we can save the Earth.

Learn more about Earth Day by clicking on the following link: https://www.earthday.org/

References



Friday 27 September 2019

World Tourism Day




World Tourism Day is celebrated on the 27th of September every year. It is an important day to cultivate and create awareness among people on the significance of tourism, and it’s social, political, financial and also cultural worth, and value. It also addresses difficulties stated by the United Nations of Millennium Development Goals. The commitment of the tourism industry can help to achieve these objectives.

Sustainable tourism plays a crucial role. It involves tourists visiting a place and trying to make a positive impact on the environment, society, and economy. Tourism can involve primary transportation to the general location, local transportation, accommodations, entertainment, recreation, and shopping.

Source: Elevate Limited

Source: Wind turbine

References




Wednesday 5 June 2019

Celebrating World Environment Day

Source: Your story

Today, on the 5th of June, it is a particularly important environmental awareness day: World Environment Day (WED). The United Nations designated 5 June as World Environment Day. The United Nations became increasingly aware that the protection and improvement of the human environment is a major issue, impacting the wellbeing of people all over the world. They are the leading global voice on the environment.



It is a day that’s celebrated internationally to encourage awareness and action to protect our environment. Since its inception in 1974, it has grown exponentially as it is celebrated in more than 100 countries. In fact, it has become an imperative global platform for public outreach.

People from all over the world are invited to action to take care of our planet and raise awareness of the environment and specific environmental issues.

The host
This year's host is China, where the official celebrations will be taking place. As part of this, the host highlights the environmental challenges it faces and supports worldwide efforts to address them.

Theme
Every year, WED is organized around a particular theme drawing much-needed attention to a particularly pressing environmental concern. The theme and focus for 2019 is “Beat Air pollution”, a global concern impacting people and the environment negatively. “We can't stop breathing, but we can do something about the quality of air that we breathe.”

“Approximately 7 million people worldwide die prematurely each year from air pollution.”

“In particular WED 2019 urges governments, industry, communities, and individuals alike to come together to explore renewable energy and green technologies, and improve air quality in cities and regions across the world.”

What causes Air Pollution?
Source: NRDC

“Air pollution may seem complex, but we can all do our part to reduce some of it. Understanding the different types of pollution, namely agriculture, household, industry, transport and how it affects our health and environment will help us take steps towards improving the air around us.”

Air Pollution facts
·         92 per cent of people worldwide do not breathe clean air
·         Air pollution costs the global economy $5 trillion every year in welfare costs
·         Ground-level ozone pollution is expected to reduce staple crop yields by 26 per cent by 2030
·         More than 6 billion people – one-third of them children – regularly breathe air that is so polluted it puts their health and well-being at risk.

“Today, we face an equally urgent crisis. It is time to act decisively,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in his official message for World Environment Day. “My message to governments is clear: tax pollution; end fossil fuel subsidies; and stop building new coal plants. We need a green economy not a grey economy.”

References





Tuesday 4 December 2018

Happy International Cheetah Day!

Today International Cheetah Day is celebrated all over the world. It places on the spotlight of the cheetah, the world’s fastest land animal because it’s racing against extinction. Over the last 100 years, we’ve lost approximately 90% of the cheetah population.

Here are a few interesting Cheetah facts:
·         Cheetahs are the world’s fastest land animal because they can run 70 mph (or 110 kph), which is as fast as cars drive on the highway.
Source: NatGeoKids

·         The cheetah can reach its top speed in just 3 seconds.
·         The cheetah’s fur is covered in solid black spots, and so is their skin! The black fur grows out of the black spots on their skin.
·         A female cheetah cares for anywhere from 2 to 8 cubs per litter.
Source: How Stuff Works

·         There are less than 7,100 cheetahs left in the wild, making the cheetah Africa’s most endangered big cat.

You can learn more about this important day and complete activities to show your support https://internationalcheetahday.com/

By watching documentaries on Cheetahs or by learning more about them, you’ll can help with their conservation. Go on, spread the word. Join the conversation on Twitter by using the hashtags #SaveTheCheetah & #IntlCheetahDay.Be a wildlife ambassador. Even though they are extremely fast, we can slow down its extinction.


References



Saturday 3 November 2018

Living Planet Report 2018: Aiming higher

Source: WWF

The Living Planet Report 2018 has been published this week, the twelfth edition of the report. Every two years, the WWF (one of the world’s largest independent conservation organizations with a global network active in 100 countries) publishes the report so as to give an indication of the current health and state of our planet (including biodiversity, ecosystems, and demand on natural resources and what it means for humans and wildlife), the trends in global biodiversity and wildlife abundance, and the impact of human activity. It is a science-based analysis, assisted by multiple indicators including the Living Planet Index (LPI), the Species Habitat Index (SHI), the IUCN Red List Index (RLI), the Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII), the Planetary Boundaries, and the Ecological Footprint. The report comprises of a variety of research in order to provide a comprehensive view of the health of the Earth. The state of global biodiversity is done by measuring the population abundance of thousands of vertebrate species around the world. The Living Planet Report tracked more than 16,704 populations of 4,005 vertebrate species of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians. It uses the Ecological Footprint and additional complementary measures to explore the changing state of global biodiversity and human consumption.

Disturbing results and statistics
The results and the scientific evidence are shocking. Nature has continually warned us: unsustainable human activity is pushing the planet’s natural systems that support life on Earth to the edge. The report warns us seriously too: “Earth is losing biodiversity at a rate seen only during mass extinctions.” Over recent decades, human activity has also severely impacted the habitats and natural resources wildlife and humanity depend on, such as oceans, forests, coral reefs, wetlands, and mangroves.

According to WWF’s Living Planet Report 2018:
·         Human activities are primarily responsible for the main threats to species identified in the report, including habitat loss, degradation, and over-exploitation of wildlife, such as overfishing and overhunting.
·         On average, we’ve seen an astonishing 60% decline in the size of populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians in just over 40 years (between 1970 and 2014). Over-exploitation of ecological resources by humanity is thus worrisome.
Source: WWF
·         Current rates of species extinction are now up to 1,000 times higher than before human involvement in animal ecosystems became a factor.
·         Species population declines are especially pronounced in the tropics, with South and Central America suffering the most dramatic decline, an 89% loss compared to 1970.
·         Freshwater species numbers have also declined dramatically, with the Freshwater Index showing an 83% decline since 1970, due mainly as a result of overfishing, pollution, and climate change.
·         The Earth is estimated to have lost about 50% of its shallow water corals in the past 30 years.
·         90% of seabirds have plastics in their stomachs, compared with 5% in 1960.
·         A fifth (20%) of the Amazon has disappeared in just 50 years.
Source: Wikipedia
·         African elephants have declined in number in Tanzania by 60% in just five years between 2009 and 2014, primarily due to ivory poaching.
·         Deforestation in Borneo, designed to make way for timber and palm oil plantations, led to the loss of 100,000 orangutans between 1999 and 2015.
·         The number of polar bears is expected to decline by 30% by 2050 as global warming causes Arctic ice to melt, making their habitats increasingly dangerous.
Source: Science Daily
·         Only a quarter of the world's land is untouched by humans, who are increasing food production and use of natural resources.
·         America is among the countries using the most natural resources. North America and Canada consume more than seven global hectares per person.
·         The report also focuses on the value of nature to people's health and that of our societies and economies: Globally, nature provides services worth around $125 trillion a year, while also helping ensure the supply of fresh air, clean water, food, energy, medicines, and more.

Thus, from the abovementioned statistics, it is clear that the impact human activity (how we feed, fuel, and finance our lives) has on the world’s wildlife, forests, oceans, rivers, and climate is troublesome. It is taking an unprecedented toll on wildlife, wild places, and the natural resources we need to survive. According to Global Footprint Network, humanity is currently using the resources of 1.7 planets to provide the goods and services we demand when we only have one Earth.

Is it too late?
Current efforts to protect the natural world are not keeping up with the speed of this destruction. We’re facing a rapidly closing window for action and the urgent need for everyone to cooperatively rethink and redefine how we value, protect, and restore nature. This generation may be last to save nature, the report warns. But, we still have time to act; there is still hope. In order to ensure a sustainable future for all living things, we need to urgently curtail the loss of nature. In essence, the Living Planet Report 2018 highlights the opportunity the global community has to protect and restore nature leading up to 2020, an imperative year when leaders are expected to review the progress made on landmark multilateral pacts to solve global challenges including the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Climate Agreement, and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Marco Lambertini, Director General WWF International, is of the belief that “the nature conservation agenda is not only about securing the future of tigers, pandas, whales and all the amazing diversity of life we love and cherish on Earth. It’s bigger than that. There cannot be a healthy, happy and prosperous future for people on a planet with a destabilized climate, depleted oceans and rivers, degraded land and empty forests, all stripped of biodiversity, the web of life that sustains us all. In the next years, we need to urgently transition to a net carbon-neutral society and halt and reverse nature loss – through green finance, clean energy and environmentally friendly food production. We must also preserve and restore enough land and ocean in a natural state. Few people have the chance to be a part of truly historic transformations. This is ours”.


References
WWF. 2018. Living Planet Report - 2018: Aiming Higher. Grooten, M. and Almond, R.E.A.(Eds). WWF, Gland, Switzerland.


Friday 8 June 2018

World Oceans Day



Oceans are an integral part of the environment, but are under severe threat, mainly due to unsustainable human activities and other natural factors.

World Oceans Day is annually celebrated on the 8th of June and has become a growing global celebration, as an increasing number of countries and organizations have marked 8 June as an opportunity to celebrate our world oceans and their personal connection to them. It mainly focuses on why oceans are important in our lives, and how we can protect it.  People from all over the world partake in the celebrations. It provides an opportunity to help conserve our world’s oceans. Specific focus is placed on honoring the ocean (our blue planet), which connects all of us. It is done to ensure a better future of all. It raises awareness to inspire to being more involved to conserve this amazing resource we all depend on. This will ensure a healthier ocean and a better future for all.

Each year there is a main conservation focus. Based on the conservation theme of the year, they also develop an annual World Oceans Day social media campaign their partners can tie in with to enhance their efforts. The action focus for World Oceans Day 2018 is to Prevent plastic pollution so as to encourage solutions for a healthy ocean. This also tied in with this year’s World Environment Day’s theme of “Beat Plastic Pollution” to further place the spotlight on preventing plastic pollution.  

Brief history
The Ocean Project has promoted and coordinated World Oceans Day globally since its inception in 2002. They are based in the US, but have various advisors and volunteers in various countries. They are a collaborative organization and work in partnership with hundreds of organizations, including World Ocean Network.

There’s no getting away from the fact that a healthy world ocean is critical to all of our survival.

The ocean plays an integrally important role as it: Generates most of the oxygen we breathe,
Helps feed us, Regulates our climate, Cleans the water we drink, and Offers a pharmacopoeia of medicines. Not only that, but it provides limitless inspiration.

Why is World Oceans Day required?
It helps to:
·         Change our perspective by encouraging individuals to think about what the ocean means to them and what it has to offer all of us. Whether you live inland or on the coast, we are all connected to the ocean. Take the time to think about how the ocean affects you, and how you affect the ocean. This will help to conserve it for present and the future generations.
·         We learn by discovering the wealth of diverse and beautiful ocean creatures and habitats, how our daily actions affect them, and how we are ALL interconnected.
·         It changes our ways as we are all linked to, and through, the ocean. You are a caretaker of oceans when you take care of your backyard and helping out in your community. You can also make small modifications to your everyday habits to make a difference. All of this will be beneficial to our blue planet.

The Ocean Project has recognized that there’s one global ocean connecting all of us. There are five distinct oceans: the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Arctic Ocean, and Southern Ocean.

So, how can I get involved?
The official World Oceans Day’s website (www.worldoceansday.org/) has a myriad of ways you as an individual, group, or community can get involved. Simply click on the link below to download and read free resources which you can use then. Ask your family, friends, and community to join you. The more people involved, the better the outcome of this environmental day. By working enthusiastically together, it’s possible to strive towards protecting our oceans. 

You can, furthermore, plan your event, play host, and register your event on their website. You can also find others on the global community map, get celebration ideas, access media and outreach resources, and more!

It is important to help spread the day’s positive impact.

It is not just individuals that will make a difference; it is up to ALL of us to ensure that our oceans are healthy, not only for current generations, but also, importantly, future generations.

I hope you will get involved and participated in a World Oceans Day event near you!

I’ll leave you with this: The ocean, undoubtedly, deserves its own day. Make every day an Oceans Day.


Reference

Tuesday 5 June 2018

World Environment Day 2018


World Environment Day
World Environment Day is celebrated on the 5th of June each year and is one of the UN’s most important environmental days. It encourages worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment. It is the ‘People’s Day’ for doing something positive for the environment. World Environment Day has gained tremendous momentum over the years. Since its inception in 1974, it has grown to become a global platform for public outreach that is widely celebrated in over 100 countries.

Theme for 2018
Each WED is organised around a theme that focuses attention on a particularly pressing environmental concern. This year's theme "Beat Plastic Pollution" was chosen by the host country, India.








Plastic pollution is a defining environmental challenge. “Beat Plastic Pollution”, the theme for World Environment Day 2018, also ties in with World Oceans Day’s 2018 theme of “Prevent Plastic Pollution” that will take place on the 8th of June. The theme was chosen by India, the host country. 

It also is about considering how all of us can make changes in our everyday lives in order to reduce the burden of plastic pollution on not only our natural places and wildlife, but also our health. All partners raise awareness and inspire action to form the global movement needed to wholeheartedly combat plastic pollution. It promises to be the largest and most consequential World Environment Day ever. They are going to build on the global momentum to beat plastic pollution and use as a turning point to people worldwide to do more than just clean up existing plastics, but also focus their action upstream.

This year’s World Environment Day provides an opportunity for each of us to embrace the many ways that we can help to combat plastic pollution around the world. And you don’t have to wait until 5 June to act. Nor do you have to take only take action on the 5th June; preventing pollution can be part of your green, everyday lifestyle.

Key actions and message
An important message the day tries to convey is in order to beat plastic pollution, we need to entirely rethink our approach to designing, producing and using plastic products. Their goal is to inspire solutions that will ultimately lead to sustainable behaviour change upstream. They are also calling on governments to enact robust legislation to curb the production and use of unnecessary single-use plastics. Its aim is to harness individual actions and transform them into a collective power that has a legacy of real and lasting impact on the planet. They are working with education partners to help them reconsider their plastic habits, generate solutions and raise awareness. They want to inspire children on how they can take action to protect the environment. Children can then spread this message to their parents and, importantly, the wider community.


Plastic’s impact on the environment and on humans
Although plastic has many uses, people have become too reliant on single-use or disposable plastic – with severe environmental consequences.

It is shocking to realize that:
·         Every year, 13 million tonnes of plastic enter our oceans, threatening marine and human life and destroying our natural ecosystems. It smothers coral reefs and threatens vulnerable marine wildlife.
·         The plastic ending up in the oceans can circle the earth four times in a single year, and it can persist for up to 1,000 years before it fully disintegrates.
·         Nearly one third of the plastic packaging we use escapes collection systems, which means that it ends up clogging our city streets and polluting our natural environment.
·         What is even more worrisome is the fact that, around the world, 1 million plastic drinking bottles are purchased EVERY MINUTE.
·         Every year we use up to 5 trillion disposable plastic bags. In total, 50 per cent of the plastic we use is single use.
·         Over 90% of bottled water and even 83% of tap water contain microplastic particles. Micro-beads from beauty products and other non-recoverable materials also negatively impact our environment.
·         Plastic also makes its way into our water supply – and thus into our bodies.
·         Plastics contain a number of chemicals, many of which are toxic or disrupt hormones.
·         Plastics can also serve as a magnet for other pollutants, including dioxins, metals and pesticides.

Other Global Plastic Pollution by Numbers
·         Up to 5 trillion plastic bags used each year
·         17 million barrels of oil used on plastic production each year
·         100,000 marine animals killed by plastics each year
·         100 years for plastic to degrade in the environment
·         90% of bottled water found to contain plastic particles
·         83% of tap water found to contain plastic particles
·         50% of consumer plastics are single use
·         10% of all human-generated waste is plastic

What needs to be done?
It requires a complete rethinking of the way plastic is produced, used, and managed. Simply put: Our manufacturing, distribution, consumption, and trade systems for plastic NEED to change. Items that are merely thrown away immediately after a single use must stop. Individual action alone cannot solve the problem of reducing our plastic footprint. It is important that the problem is addressed at its source. Manufacturers must be held to account for the entire life-cycle of their consumer products. Policymakers and governments must safeguard precious environmental resources and public health by encouraging sustainable production and consumption through legislation. Focusing on the next generation is central to addressing the plastic pollution issue.

What has been done to curb plastic use?
Individuals, companies, and communities have increasingly exercised their power as consumers. This has been evident especially in supermarkets where people have, instead of using single-use plastic grocery bags, have used recyclable material or paper bags. Many have also reconsidered their purchase habits in supermarket aisles. People have also continuously turned down plastic straws and cutlery and several restaurants have joined in a campaign to not give any plastic straws out anymore. Beach clean-ups have also taken enthusiastically place. While clean-ups may only address the plastic issue at the end of its life cycle, they are a wonderful way to see the extent of plastic waste first-hand and rethink their behaviour.

Is there something else I can do, though?
Consumers must not only be actors but drivers for the behaviour change that must also happen upstream.

The main idea that this day wants to bring across is:

If you can’t reuse it, refuse it.

Furthermore, there are so many things that we can do:
·         Ask your restaurants to stop using plastic straws
·         Bringing your own coffee mug to work
·         Pressure your local authorities to improve how they manage your city’s waste.
·         Bring your own shopping bags to the supermarket
·         Pressure food suppliers to use non-plastic packaging
·         Refuse plastic cutlery
·         Pick up any plastic you see the next time you go for a walk on the beach

On social media platforms you can share your ideas on social media using the hashtags #BeatPlasticPollution #WorldEnvironmentDay #WED2018 and inspire other people to also get involve.

Download the Litterati app to track the plastic waste that gets collected. Click on www.litterati.org and register what you collect so that it is included in the global total.

There is also a guide to help you develop your promotional materials for World Environment Day 2018. Click on the link to learn more: http://worldenvironmentday.global/en/get-involved/toolkits.

Encourage another institution to make a plastic-reduction pledge: Make a commitment to reduce your school, university, or organisation’s use of disposable plastic.

#BeatPlasticPollution game of tag
Join the global #BeatPlasticPollution game of tag: Invite students and staff to take a selfie with their canvas shopping bag, metal straw or any other reusable product and tag five friends, telling them to do the same. The person tagged should post a photo with their reusable item within 24 hours. You can also challenge other institutions to join you in cleaning the planet: Announce that your school, university, or organisation is cleaning up plastic litter in a park or public space for World Environment Day. Challenge other to do the same.

You can also host your own event and make it as fun, inspiring and interesting as you would like.

You, as citizens, must act as both consumers and informed citizens, demanding sustainable products and embracing sensible consumption habits in your own lives. To Beat Plastic Pollution, everyone needs step up and think about how they can not only reduce, reuse and recycle, but seek to inspire behavioural changes.

Only when we all come together, can we successfully combat one of the great environmental challenges of our time.

Remember: IF YOU CAN'T REUSE IT - REFUSE IT!