News from the Earth

There are many things to do against single-use plastic pollution, but the most important measure is reduction. The first step is to get rid of the delusion that any plastic consumed will simply disappear. Even when you throw it away, it doesn’t degrade. Not in our lifetime. 

In recent days, monsoon rains and winds blowing from west to east have brought huge amounts of marine plastic waste to Indonesia's main beaches.

Eco-friendly literally means earth-friendly or not harmful to the environment. This term most commonly refers to products that contribute to green...

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.

“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.

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

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.

Since 1950, more than 9 billion tonnes of plastic have been produced globally, of which only 9% is recycled, while almost a billion people live in slums. A Norwegian start-up's mission is to develop affordable housing from 100% recycled plastic. 

Would you live in a recycled plastic home?