The pandemic continues to disrupt our routines and wreak havoc in our lives. We’re carrying disinfectant sprays, wearing face masks in public spaces, greeting each other with our elbows and some families have faced the full brunt of COVID-19, with family members losing their lives. While 2020 was an awful year for many in the...
We all know how challenging 2020 was for everyone all over the world – with the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed almost 1.7 million lives and impacted livelihoods, pushing more than 265 million to the brink of starvation. This is aggravated by the disastrous effects of climate change that has forced many vulnerable people in...
Rising global temperatures are negatively impacting natural systems; large-scale weather phenomena such as droughts, super storms and bushfires are among some of the extreme weather events occurring with greater frequency. From Australia’s unprecedented bushfires, California’s wildfires right through to rising sea levels threatening the lives of people who call the Pacific Islands home, it is...
With three hearts, blue blood, no bones and eight limbs attached to a bulbous head, octopuses seem like they’re from another planet. But in My Octopus Teacher, the hugely popular nature documentary on Netflix, these cephalopods as not only presented as remarkable — but relatable. The documentary seeks to evoke empathy by telling a story...
Three billion trees cut down every year for paper packaging VANCOUVER, Canada: Three days before Black Friday – the globe’s second largest shopping day – 22 brands including beauty brands Lush Cosmetics (North America), Beauty Kitchen and LOLI, fashion brands Stitch Fix, The Very Group and Saloni, and printers Hemlock and Re-Leaf, have joined Pack4Good to tackle...
We have a problem. Earth is getting warmer. 2019 was the second hottest year on record at 1.15 degrees Celsius above the planet’s pre-industrial average. While the temperature change might seem small to most people, it takes one small increase in global temperature to have a great impact on living beings and ecosystems on earth. Look at...
Quezon City, Philippines: As affected families and communities joined hands to clear the large amount of trash and debris left behind by Typhoon Ulysses (known as Typhoon Vamco around the world), an advocacy group for a zero waste and toxics-free society offered some useful tips on how to clean up safely after the catastrophe. As it empathized with...
The Philippines has just about had it with natural disasters. While some Filipinos are trying to get back on their feet after the devastating wrath of Typhoon Rolly (known around the world as Typhoon Goni) on November 1 that killed 26 people, here comes Typhoon Ulysses (Vamco) sending almost the entire island of Luzon into...
Reef restoration on the Great Barrier Reef will reach ‘kilometre scale’ thanks to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation upscaling the Coral IVF technique. After seeing the potential of this game-changing technique, the Foundation brought Coral IVF to the Great Barrier Reef in 2016, and since then the Foundation and its researchers have successfully pioneered and...
The United States of America, arguably the world’s most powerful country, has a new president-elect. And as expected, it was a most historic election, both in terms of voter participation and in the fact that Donald Trump has refused to concede on (unfounded) claims of voter fraud in state election results that has given Joe Biden...
On Sunday, the Western Australian government’s comprehensive plan to ban single-use plastics was announced. This plan comes on the feedback of a recent discussion paper on disposable plastics that indicated 98% community support for the government to take action to reduce the impacts of single-use plastics. According to the paper, in 2018–19, a total of 3.4...
Renewable energy sources are critical for every nation around the world. For the environment and for public health, these resources have the potential to outperform and exceed the competition – fossil fuels. Outperforming, though, is only half the battle. With solar power growth and new wind power integrations, grid optimization has become a necessity. The...