News from the Earth

Plastic pollution is the ocean's new cancer, but the good news is that we can all help clean up the planet!

A problem that not only concerns the health of the fauna, but also ours. Plastic, which ends up in the food chain, puts commercial fishing and aquaculture at risk. A significant risk for 1.4 billion people for which fish is one of the main sources of protein. 80% of the waste consists of plastic.

582,538 people signed up to try a month as vegans in January, far exceeding the target of 500 thousand and the record of last year of 400 thousand. This shows how Veganuary is able to involve different people, even those who would like to approach a vegetable diet and are looking for useful advice and information.

Although a pandemic-related economic slowdown temporarily reduced the carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming, much more needs to be done to rein in planetary warming.

In Europe alone, more than 4000 types of vegetables we eat depend on bees. If these precious insects disappear, the consequences for food production and the environment would be devastating. Who would pollinate crops?

It is urgent to reduce the use of disposable options and rely on circular and safe materials. Given the ability of many of these chemicals (many of which are hazardous) to migrate from packaging and other materials to food, their continued use should be understood as a risk to human health.

“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.

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.

The plastic pollution epidemic is due to a rise in single-use plastic and an expanding 'throw-away' culture. The waste-management systems simply can't deal with the onslaught of plastic, which is why so much of it ends up in the environment. We now know that only 9% of the plastic products we use actually get recycled.

The European Week for Waste Reduction represents the main and widest information and awareness campaign of European citizens about the impact of waste production on the environment.