The virtual Youth Climate Summit runs from 9-13 November and there are the following opportunities to get involved
– secondary students can apply to become a YCS ambassador by this Wed 9th Sept.
– schools or organisations can propose a virtual event by 22nd Sept.
– there are opportunities for students to apply to speak at the Global Youth Mock COP26 which is linked to the Youth Climate Summit.
You can tell your Council or Headteacher about the Summit using a letter/email template from this Google Folder. Just email Jess Tipton to get yourself on the map of participants. If you would like to find out about joining a teacher working group or your school hosting a virtual day of the Summit then please also email Jess: Jessica.Tipton@spgs.org §§§§
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The official logo of the Youth Climate Summit, has been designed by 11 year old Lucy from Newcastle, and you can read an interview with her here. She’s home educated and is interested in climate change, animals and the environment, feminism and art. If you’d like to spread the word about the Summit, Transform OUR World has suggestions about how to do that. §§§§
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WWF UK has teamed up with Microsoft to create an on-line course for teachers on sustainability: Education for a Sustainable Planet. WWF says: “If you want to bring Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) to the heart of your teaching and school life, and nurture a new generation of sustainability champions, this course is for you!” This “learning path”, WWF says, will “help you further your understanding of sustainability and equip you with relevant information, tools, activities and good ideas from other skilled practitioners to make Education for Sustainable Development a cornerstone of your teaching practice.” There are five elements to the path, each of which takes an hour, and each results in 500 points, although you have to take the end-of-section quiz to get these. §§§§
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The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Plastics Pact network has been expanded with the launch of the U.S. Plastics Pact. The Pact is led by The Recycling Partnership, with the support of WWF.
Future Fashion Now is a global, sustainable design competition that encourages students, designers, and the whole fashion industry to design an outfit or accessory to inspire the future of fashion. Launched by WeDesign, in collaboration with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the UN, the competition is inspired by Make Fashion Circular and the Sustainable Development Goals. The competition is open to all, with different categories and prizes, and closes on the 30th September. §§§§
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Are you going to the NAAEE conference this year? It’s easy as it’s on-line and there are no planes to catch, hotels to stay in, or jet lag. The conference runs from October 5th to 16th, and details are here and registration processes start here. It’s worth clicking on these links to see what’s on offer. There’s the conference itself and the research symposium – or both. §§§§
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Air pollution in cities is almost back to pre-virus levels a report from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air suggests. Here’s a graphic graph of NOx levels published in The Economist. The World Health Organisation reckons that NOx levels above 40 micrograms in every cubic metre of air (40µg/m3) are harmful to people. In Delhi, one of the world’s most polluted big cities, no2 fell sharply after the city imposed its lockdown, from 46µg/m3 in March to 17µg/m3 in early April. Similarly, levels in London fell from 36µg/m3 in March to 24µg/m3 two weeks later. §§§§
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A study published in Environmental Research Letters argues that more than 80% of Indonesia’s rainforest, mangroves and peatlands that are most vulnerable to being cleared for palm oil production is completely unprotected by the country’s Forest Moratorium. There’s more about this on ENN. §§§§
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Here are a number of forthcoming events:
- Saturday 12th Sept 1000 to 1200: launch of XR Educators Toolkit for Educators & School Leaders (Eventbrite link and Toolkit)
- Sunday 13th Sept 1600: NEU Climate Crisis and Education: Transforming Curriculum and Pedagogy event (Zoom link)
- September 16th is the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer. The Globe says that this selection of video, and this Ozzy Ozone cartoon help to explain the ozone layer’s significance.
- Tuesday 13th Oct: virtual Youth Against Carbon Conference §§§§
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The Dead Leaf Butterfly has a nice line in camoflage. No words are necessary. §§§§
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The average person in the UK has an annual carbon footprint of about 13 tonnes (down from 15, ten years ago, mainly because of more renewable electricity). Some 27% of the total comes (on average) from travel, but, as ever, averages are misleading, and if you don’t fly or drive a lot, your total is likely to be well below 13 tonnes. Mobile phones, meanwhile, contribute about 1% to global emissions. This includes the electricity they use, their manufacture and the networks and data centres they connect to. On average, it would take 34 years for the footprint of the electricity used to equal the footprint of the phone.
These are taken from How Bad Are Bananas? The Carbon Footprint of Everything by Mike Berners-Lee, which was published on September 3 by Profile Books. We’ll be selecting another issue discussed in the book in coming weeks, and then reviewing the book itself at a later date. As for bananas, they only contribute 670g per kilo. That’s quite a carbon bargain. §§§§