News from the Earth

January is the perfect time to put yourself to the test: it's Veganuary month (a word born from the union of vegan and January, vegan and January), an initiative that helps people around the world to try the vegan diet and lifestyle for 31 days. Participants receive a daily email with information and insights, as well as tasty recipes and tips on how to replace ingredients that contain animal products.

If you own the seeds you own the food system. Access to open-pollinated seeds is the cornerstone of food citizenship because it creates non-market access to growing.

Today, progress is being made in many places, but, overall, action to meet the Goals is not yet advancing at the speed or scale required. 2020 needs to usher in a decade of ambitious action to deliver the Goals by 2030.

The use of land brings a fragmentation of habitats and a loss of biodiversity that tends to increase the possibility of contact with animal species capable of transmitting viruses to which humans are not accustomed. The climate and health emergencies may seem like separate crises, but this is not the case. 

“To provide space for wild animals, plants, pollinators and natural pest regulators, there is an urgent need to bring back at least 10% of agricultural area under high-diversity landscape features. These include, inter alia, buffer strips, rotational or non-rotational fallow land, hedges, non-productive trees, terrace walls and ponds,” the European Biodiversity Strategy reads.

Every year thousands of fir trees are cut down to make Christmas trees, despite the many creative alternatives. This year make a difference, don't cut down a tree, Plant it!⁠

Healthy natural capital is an asset. The prosperity of our life is closely linked to healthy ecosystems.

The UN chief said economic recovery packages launched in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic represented an opportunity to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon future — but warned so much more needs to be done to ward off catastrophic consequences. So far, the members of the G20 are spending 50% more in their stimulus and rescue packages on sectors linked to fossil fuel production and consumption, than on low-carbon energy.

More resistant than wood, bamboo has quickly earned the name of vegetable steel. Although its use requires special precautions, including special protection from water and insects, it is a very elegant and ductile material, thanks to which it is possible to create a wide range of architectural and design solutions. In addition, bamboo grows very quickly, and within a few years provides new raw material ready for use. This characteristic makes bamboo one of the so-called Green Building Materials, together with hemp, wheat straw, and earth.

2020 is the "crossover point" when human-generated material outweighs nature.

The agricultural sector boasts more than 10% of young people who do business and create jobs in Italy with 7 companies under 35 out of 10 that, in addition to cultivation, have developed activities of product processing and direct sales, educational farm, social farming for the inclusion of disadvantaged people, landscape care and production of renewable energy.

The current pandemic has taught us the link between pollution and health. Today we are all perfectly aware of the social, environmental, economic and health benefits that the presence of greenery has in our cities.