Reasons to be Cheerful: A review of what are the Environmental Success Stories of 2020, takes place on 16 December at 1900. This is the seventh in a series of informal meet ups that Creative Carbon Scotland organised following COVID-19 physical distancing measures as a way for ecological and artistic minded people of all kinds to keep in touch. Just click on the link to take part.
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RSPB is currently celebrating the voice of young people and the changes they are inspiring. This video from Elliot shows what motivates him and how he is using his voice to help nature. See what you think about his bridge metaphor.
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To reach net zero, institutions will need to help people to learn about the issues and what they can do, but where do you start? Hoping to help, UNESCO has launched a new roadmap to embed ESD in institutional practice. You will find it here.
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When you read about sustainability, there’s the risk of encountering jargon and clichés at every turn. If you click on the links below you’ll find video and text guides from EAUC to help you cut through the waffle:
- What is Carbon Offsetting? What is Divestment? What are Nature Based Solutions?
- What is Natural Capital? What is Adaptation and Mitigation? What is Climate Anxiety?
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Butterfly Conservation says that people often assume that cities and wildlife are two completely incompatible entities, but its latest webinar – Big City Butterflies: The Butterflies of London – will show how metropolitan areas can be teeming with wildlife. You can learn more by watching this webinar. We hope to see future features on the butterflies of Aberdeen, Belfast, Cardiff, Derry, Exeter, Felixtowe, Gloucester, Huddersfield, Ipswich, etc..
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The ENN reports that when Arctic sea ice reached its annual minimum in September 2020, it was one of the lowest extents of the satellite record—second only to the record low in September 2012. But unlike 2012, the ocean has not seen its typical rate of refreezing in 2020. As a result, the sea ice extent for this October was the lowest on record for any October. Ice growth picked up the pace at the start of November but then slowed again, leaving plenty of open water in the Barents and Kara seas at the start of December. According to the National Snow & Ice Data Center (NSIDC), October 2020 was “the largest departure from average conditions seen in any month thus far in the satellite record.” Scientists have used satellites to continuously measure sea ice since 1979. There’s more detail at NASA Earth Observatory.
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The Climate Change Committee, has called for sales of new oil-fired boilers to be phased out by 2028, for gas boilers to go by 2033, and for a huge programme of home insulation to help achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Chris Stark, chief executive of the CCC has said that converting all gas heating systems to clean-burning hydrogen was “unwieldy and impractical” because of the difficulty of producing enough of it. Currently, more than 80% of homes have gas boilers that would need to be replaced by 2050 to help reduce emissions to “net zero”. The government’s green strategy document left open the question about using hydrogen gas or heat pumps, or a mix. Hydrogen allows decarbonising homes with minimum disruption. Mr Stark said that while there was a role for hydrogen heating, heat pumps would need to be the bedrock of the transition because of the challenge of making enough hydrogen. The country would need 30 times more offshore wind capacity than now to produce enough green hydrogen to replace all natural-gas boilers. The CCC proposals provide “the first ever detailed route map for a fully decarbonised nation”. It says that by 2035 UK emissions must fall by 78% (based on 1990 levels) if the country is to meet its legally binding commitment to be carbon neutral by 2050. Mr Stark said that energy policy costs and taxation should be moved away from electricity to gas, to reduce the running costs of electric heating and provide an incentive to switch away from gas.
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The Plastic Free Awards is in its second year. It recognises champions from all walks of life including young campaigners, community leaders, small businesses, charities, designers, entrepreneurs, sports clubs and schools, with a shared mission of stopping plastic pollution. Founded by Surfers Against Sewage and the Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation in 2019, the Plastic Free Awards is an environmental awards category, celebrating innovation and activism tackling avoidable, single-use plastics. Nominations are open to the public across twelve categories. In 2019, over 850 nominations were received covering individuals, businesses, innovators and pioneers in the fight against plastic pollution.
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IUCN has published a new eBook featuring photographs of amphibians from around the world, in a collaboration between the Amphibian Survival Alliance and Meet Your Neighbours, a worldwide photography project reconnecting people with the wildlife on their own doorsteps. The Amphibians is a celebration of the beauty and diversity of frogs and salamanders, and an invitation to reconnect with these wonderful creatures. You can download the eBook for free here.
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On January 7th, a conference Generation Readied by Environmental Education Now (GREEN) aims to raise awareness among trainee teachers about the climate and ecological emergencies, empower trainees with skills and ideas for engaging pupils on this topic, centre student perspectives and showcase inspiring schools that are reducing their carbon footprint and enhancing nature in their local contexts. Keynote speakers include Professor Kevin Anderson, a leading international climate scientist at the University of Manchester; Zaqiya Cajee, a key campaigner with Teach the Future; Pooja Kishinani & Marion Smith, members of Climate Emergency Manchester. Participants will have the option to attend adiverse selection of workshops facilitated by experienced teachers and NGO workers. This includes workshops on embedding environmental sustainability into maths and science lessons, how to set-up and run Eco-Clubs and Eco-Schools, as well as workshops on skilling up young people to lobby. Details are here; registration is here.
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Butterfly Conservation holds an annual meeting for moth recorders in the UK providing an opportunity to hear about progress with the National Recording Scheme, find out the latest developments in moth research and conservation with fellow recorders. The next meeting will be on Saturday 30th January 2021, 1000 to 1300. The meeting is open to anyone interested in moth recording and conservation and will be followed by a County Moth Recorder Meeting. To see the programme for the meeting, click here.
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Dark energy matters because it offers an explanation for the continued expansion of the universe. See this by Steve Hurley 0n his explaining science blog for a readable introduction to its existence, and to marvel at how much we know about we cannot see.