All things green and planet saving.
We talk about planting trees a lot to help in the climate crisis but those aren’t the only green life that can help. In South Africa there’s an unlikely hero in the fight against climate change. The spekboom, a type of succulent shrub that shows promise in turning things around for the area.
The wildfire in Australia was very, very bad. More than a fifth of the forests in the country were burned. The fires started after a very long period of drought that was caused by the climate crisis. The bad news is that with the crisis ongoing, there will be more incidents like this in the future.
The climate crisis is really hard on birds. Our feathered friends are going through a lot of, not so great, changes as the climate changes giving us a real life example of how this is effecting the world at large. Changes in migration patterns, size, and just disappearance is painting a bleak picture for the future.
What are we going to do without plastic? How will we survive without single use items? Well, for some where that is already a reality, the answer is leaves. Which is something that was used before single use plastic and is making a return.
Everyone needs water. This is a resource that will be scarcer the more the climate crisis builds. Dry areas will be hit hard but innovation in this area is bringing a new water source to the forefront: Fog. Fog catchers are supplying dry areas with water that can be used for agriculture and even drinking with netting.
Climate change and the climate crisis are pretty abstract terms to most people. We still have seasons that come and go. Still cold in the winter, hot in summer. If you don’t live somewhere that is seeing the early effects of the issue it’s easy to believe that these problems are made up or blown out of proportion. Check out this slideshow to see how the planet is really changing.
Lots of people don’t like insects. We spend a lot of time getting rid of them but we need to change that. Our lives and the lives of insects are locked together and although massive die offs might sound nice, it’s a real problem that we need to help solve.
Hate when your phone dies? Wish your battery lasted longer and burned cooler? Don’t we all. Lucky for us, science has a fix coming. Graphene batteries have hit the market and although they’re not in our phones yet, they can be as early as next year.
Ocean shipping causes a good deal of emissions, about the same amount as all of Germany put together, so lowering this will be good! Some scientists are looking to ammonia as a green fuel alternative but others caution that this solution leaves much to be desired.
The climate crisis puts the world’s biodiversity in danger. As it gets warmer and weather gets more extreme, many plants and animals will not be able to survive these changes. Anywhere from 50-95% of species will become extinct in the next 50 years. That’s a lot.
Coral reefs are not doing so great in a time of climate crisis but there’s some good news for them. Scientists have found that non-genetic traits that they’ve given the coral to help them survive can be passed to future generations. Which is very good news.
Airline travel has come under harsh criticism for the amount of emissions that it causes for what is in many cases a luxury choice. New research may have landed on a solution for lowering those numbers so that flying has less of a footprint. Just by changing the height of flights.
Wildfires are very dangerous and frightening for the people who are affected by them. It’s something that the climate crisis makes more likely to happen and for longer periods. It’s not just the physical flames that are dangerous though. The smoke created by these fires also causes harm and has a greater reach.
As the world gets warmer, permafrost melts. This is the permanently frozen layer under soil in arctic regions of the world. As it melts, it releases greenhouse gases and is one part of the domino effect of climate crisis. NASA has pioneered a study to better help us understand this process.
Heatwaves are awful right? Those few days when temperatures soar and it’s like you can’t do anything to escape the heat! The air is trying to melt you! But it’s just a few days, right? Well in the future it’s going to be a lot more. Scientists predict that up to 75% of summer days will be extreme heat days and at that point, I would just call that a new normal.
