Recycled paper at the Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority's recycling site piles up in Edinburgh, Australia, on April 17, 2019. Brenton Edwards / AFP / Getty Images
By Alex Thornton
The Australian government has announced a A$190 million (US$130 million) investment in the nation's first Recycling Modernization Fund, with the aim of transforming the country's waste and recycling industry. The hope is that as many as 10,000 jobs can be created in what is being called a "once in a generation" opportunity to remodel the way Australia deals with its waste.
Waste Mountain
<p>The need for a dramatic increase in Australia's recycling capacity pre-dates the COVID-19 pandemic. <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-27/where-does-all-australias-waste-go/11755424" target="_blank">Australians create approximately 67 million tons of waste a year</a>, and like in many wealthy countries, much of that was sent overseas. That all changed when China announced it was <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/china-has-banned-foreign-waste-so-whats-the-future-of-world-recycling" target="_blank">banning the import of a huge range of foreign waste</a> and recyclables. Soon <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/05/malaysia-flooded-with-plastic-waste-to-send-back-some-scrap-to-source" target="_blank">other countries followed suit</a>, and Australia was forced to look for alternative solutions.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUzNjY4Mi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNDc4NjgwNH0.kcj4RYDc0cQERhMB5duEBzcdA9A0eJ5qad1OyIyIH98/img.png?width=980" id="37769" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2546d96e25cd54902ceb66a326743b4c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Biggest exporters of plastic. Statista
Waste Export Ban
<p>Australia has adopted a strategy of taking responsibility for its own waste. Starting in January 2021, it is phasing in <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/protection/waste-resource-recovery/waste-export-ban" target="_blank">bans on the export of different forms of waste</a>. By mid 2024, Australia's home-grown recycling industry will have to deal with an extra 650,000 tons of waste plastic, paper, glass and tires.</p><p>"As we cease shipping our waste overseas, the waste and recycling transformation will reshape our domestic waste industry, driving job creation and putting valuable materials back into the economy," federal environment minister Sussan Ley said in a <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-australia-waste/australia-to-set-up-132-million-fund-to-boost-recycling-following-export-curbs-idUKKBN247060" target="_blank">statement to Reuters</a>.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUzNjY4OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NDU2NzA0M30.5pHIN6g44hCE4tNeeiJebL9KkNEb8Awnr3mOzRYWUDE/img.jpg?width=980" id="0aad3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="927fc17a933d0287cf67f633a3e745b9" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Timeline for Australia's waste export ban. Australian Government
Trash Into Treasure
<p>The benefits to the environment of boosting recycling rates are well known – less landfill, less plastic in our ocean, reduced need for virgin materials, and lower carbon emissions. The Recycling Modernization Fund initiative aims to divert more than 10 million tons of waste from landfill, part of an <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/protection/waste-resource-recovery/publications/national-waste-policy-action-plan" target="_blank">overall strategy to reduce the total waste generated per person by 10%</a>, and push <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/7381c1de-31d0-429b-912c-91a6dbc83af7/files/national-waste-report-2018.pdf" target="_blank">Australia's total resource recovery rate from 58% in 2017</a> to 80% by 2030.</p><p>But like many countries, Australia is focusing on the economic benefits of better waste management as well.</p><p>"This will mean Australia converts more waste into higher valued resources ready for reuse locally by manufacturers and brands in their packaging and products," Rose Read, CEO of the National Waste and Recycling Industry Council, <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-australia-waste/australia-to-set-up-132-million-fund-to-boost-recycling-following-export-curbs-idUKKBN247060" target="_blank">told Reuters</a>.</p>Green Jobs
<p>The great potential of the circular economy to create green jobs is being recognized across the world.</p><p>In the UK, the Waste and Resources Action Program has launched a <a href="https://wrap.org.uk/buildbackbetter" target="_blank">six-point plan which it claims could add $90 billion to the economy, and create 500,000 new jobs</a>. Investment in the circular economy forms a significant part of the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/us/politics/biden-climate-plan.html" target="_blank">$2 trillion climate plan that Democratic candidate Joe Biden</a> is taking into November's US presidential election. And the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_940" target="_blank">European Union has put its Green New Deal at the heart of its plans for recovery</a> from the economic shock of COVID-19.</p><p>The World Economic Forum's <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Future_Of_Nature_And_Business_2020.pdf" target="_blank">Future of Nature and Business</a> report identifies 15 systemic transitions with annual business opportunities worth $10 billion a year that could create 395 million jobs by 2030.</p><p>As is the case with Australia's Recycling Modernization Fund, a combination of private enterprise and government investment can offer ways to get people back to work by building a more environmentally sustainable economy.</p>From Your Site Articles
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A company from Ghana is making bikes out of bamboo.
By Kate Whiting
Bernice Dapaah calls bamboo "a miracle plant," because it grows so fast and absorbs carbon. But it can also work wonders for children's education and women's employment – as she's discovered.
<p>Bamboo is abundant in her native Ghana, where she <a href="http://ghanabamboobikes.org/video/" target="_blank">runs a social enterprise</a> that employs women to transform it into bicycles which are exported all over the world.</p><p><span></span>Cycling is well known as being a low-carbon form of transport – but Dapaah is making it even more sustainable.</p><p>For every bamboo plant that is cut down to make a bike, Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative plants 10 more. <a href="https://interestingengineering.com/bamboo-as-a-replacement-to-steel#:~:text=Yes%2C%20bamboo%20is%20stronger%20than,noticeable%20lead%20at%2028%2C000%20pounds." target="_blank">Bamboo is stronger than steel</a> in terms of tensile strength and is a cheaper, more sustainable material. It also takes less electricity to make a bamboo bike than a metal one. And the frame is completely recyclable.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUzMDU2OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MTk1MDcwOX0.6CswX_fjuMOGfmmf7-ZNaPial_yXaDIMr4Be5sponxo/img.jpg?width=980" id="2a3fe" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="08b2a7c53915a40a7f0c7c7cf5735489" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
These are the world's most bicycle-friendly cities. Statista
<p>"The reason we use bamboo to manufacture bicycles is because it's found abundantly in Ghana and this is not a material we're going to import," says Dapaah, one of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders.</p><p>"It's a new innovation. There were no existing bamboo bike builders in our country, so we were the first people trying to see how best we could utilize the abundant bamboo in Ghana."</p><span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a335b5dffdd806bd6bb4debea90c2045"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dxsb9c4HMn0?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
Supporting Students
<p>Besides encouraging Ghanaians to swap vehicles for affordable bikes, Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative is helping students save time on walking to school so they have more time to learn.</p><p>Each time they sell a bike, they donate a bike to a schoolchild in a rural community, who might otherwise have to walk for hours to get to school.</p><p>Dapaah knows how transformative a shorter journey to school can be to academic performance. She grew up living with her <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb3joGYmx9A&feature=emb_logo" target="_blank">grandpa, a forester in a rural part of the country</a>.</p><p>"We had to walk three and a half hours every day before I could go to school. He later bought me a bike, so I finished senior high and wanted to go to university."</p><p>The experience inspired her to launch Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative with two other students at college.</p><p>"When we started this initiative, I looked back and said, when I was young, I had to walk miles before I could get to school, and sometimes if I was late, I was punished.</p><p>"Why don't we donate bikes for students to encourage them to study and so they can have enough time to be on books."</p><p>To date, they have sold more than 3,000 road, mountain and children's bikes – and Dapaah says they plan to donate <a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/video/350343" target="_blank">10,000 bikes to schoolchildren over five years</a>.</p>Empowering Women
<p>The enterprise is also providing local jobs. It teaches young people to build bikes, particularly women and those in rural communities, where jobs can be scarce. More than 50% of people they have trained are women.</p><p>Dapaah says they want to boost the number of people they employ to 250 over the next five years and they are looking to partner with NGOs to build a childcare facility so mothers can continue to work.</p>Reducing Emissions
<p>By promoting a cycling culture in Ghana, Dapaah says they're also committed to reducing emissions in the transport sector and contributing to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.</p><p>"I love the idea of reusing bamboo to promote sustainable cycling. People want to go green, low-carbon, lean-energy efficient," she says.</p>From Your Site Articles
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Water trickles down a hillside among moss next to the entrance to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault during a summer heat wave as mountains behind stand devoid of snow on Svalbard archipelago on July 29 in Longyearbyen, Norway. Sean Gallup / Getty Images
By Johnny Wood
What better place to build a Doomsday Vault than the remote, snow-covered islands of Norway's Arctic Svalbard? Sitting around 1,000 kilometers from the North Pole, the facility is buried in permafrost to protect the precious seed samples housed there. But a freak heatwave is causing the region's ice to melt.
<p>Following several days of near record-breaking hot weather in July, <a href="https://twitter.com/Meteorologene/status/1287060076365262849" target="_blank">Svalbard temperatures topped out at 21.7℃</a>, the country's meteorological institute reported. This is the <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/svalbard-home-of-the-doomsday-vault-just-recorded-its-highest-ever-temperature" target="_blank">hottest ever recorded here, exceeding the previous record of 21.3℃ set </a>over 40 years earlier and a stark contrast to the region's <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261996139_Introduction_in_TOPOCLIMATIC_DIVERSITY_IN_THE_FORLANDSUNDET_REGION_NW_SPITSBERGEN_IN_GLOBAL_WARMING_CONDITIONS_Edited_by_Przybylak_et_al_2012" target="_blank">average of between 5-7℃ for this time of year</a>.<br/></p>
Deep Trouble?
<p>The <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/here-s-what-it-s-like-inside-the-doomsday-vault-that-stores-every-known-crop-on-the-planet" target="_blank">Svalbard Global Seed Vault</a> – also known as the Doomsday Vault – is a gigantic bunker, sitting deep inside a mountain surrounded by snowy wastelands. The facility stores close to <a href="https://www.seedvault.no/about/the-facility/" target="_blank">900,000 seed samples</a> from around the world and acts as a sort of back-up plan for agriculture, should disaster render parts of the planet unlivable or the world suffer a catastrophe, such as nuclear war or extreme climate change.</p><p>It's been described as an "<a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2235116-svalbard-doomsday-vault-gets-first-big-seed-deposit-since-upgrade/" target="_blank">insurance policy for food security</a>."</p><p>Inside the vault, <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/here-s-what-it-s-like-inside-the-doomsday-vault-that-stores-every-known-crop-on-the-planet" target="_blank">temperatures are kept below minus 18℃</a>, cold enough to keep the seed samples safe for at least 200 years, even without backup power. But climate change is causing problems for the vault.</p><p>In 2016, which was the <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2841/2018-fourth-warmest-year-in-continued-warming-trend-according-to-nasa-noaa/" target="_blank">warmest year on record according to NASA</a>, soaring temperatures caused <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/20/doomsday-arctic-seed-vault-breached-permafrost-melts/" target="_blank">meltwater to breach the vault's entrance tunnel</a>. While no seeds were damaged, the <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/svalbard-home-of-the-doomsday-vault-just-recorded-its-highest-ever-temperature" target="_blank">floodwater left an expensive repair bill</a> and tarnished the vault's reputation as impregnable to natural or manmade disasters.<span></span><br></p>The Heat Is On
<p>Warming in the islands has been underway for some time. Figures for 2017 show average temperatures are between 3-5℃ hotter than in 1971, according to the <a href="https://www.miljodirektoratet.no/globalassets/publikasjoner/M1242/M1242.pdf" target="_blank">Climate in Svalbard 2100</a> report, with the largest increases affecting the inner fjords.</p><p><span></span>Between 2071 and 2100, average temperatures throughout the archipelago will increase by between 7-10℃, the report predicts, shortening the snow season and causing loss of near-surface permafrost.</p><p><span></span>What's happening in Svalbard is symptomatic of wider changes impacting the Arctic expanse, which is <a href="https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2018/12/12/NOAA-Arctic-warming-at-twice-the-rate-of-the-rest-of-the-planet/5141544580754/" target="_blank">warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet</a>. Parts of the <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2019GL082187" target="_blank">Canadian Arctic are thawing 70 years earlier than predicted</a>, scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks found, a sign that climate change could be happening faster than first thought.</p><p>As warmer-than-average summers destabilize permafrost, much of which has lain frozen for millennia, methane and other gases trapped in the ice could be released at scale, accelerating climate change. In turn, warmer temperatures would lead to further permafrost loss.<br><br>Melting ice, on land and at sea, <a href="https://www.wwf.org.uk/updates/11-arctic-species-affected-climate-change" target="_blank">destroys animal habitats for species like polar bears and Arctic foxes</a>, which use their snowy white coats as camouflage either to hunt for food or avoid predators.</p><p>Climate scientist Dr Boris K Biskaborn of the Alfred Wegener Institute polar and marine research centre found Arctic continuous permafrost ground temperatures increased by 0.39℃ between 2008 and 2016. A similar trend was found in Antarctica, with increases of 0.29℃ over the same period.</p><p><span></span>Warming ground temperatures are an indication of the extent of climate change. Biskaborn predicts melting permafrost could lead to increased Arctic air temperatures of up to 0.27℃ by 2100.</p><p><span></span>Svalbard's seed bank exists to protect the world's most valuable natural resources from catastrophe. If we want to avoid making multiple withdrawals, tackling the underlying causes of climate change is a priority.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/svalbard-seed-vault-arctic-climate-change/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>. </em><em></em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Local women water newly planted saxaul in the desert at Mingqin county on March 27th, 2019 in Wuwei, Gansu Province, China. The trees were planted as part of Ant Forest, a green initiative on the Alipay app. Wang HE / Getty Images
By Harry Kretchmer
Since its launch in 2016, over half a billion people have used Ant Forest to convert lower-carbon activities such as using public transport into real trees.
<p>The game is helping China <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/144540/china-and-india-lead-the-way-in-greening" target="_blank">lead the way</a> in re-greening the planet and is serving as a model for <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/tree-planting">tree-planting</a> schemes elsewhere.</p><p>It's the kind of innovation the World Economic Forum is seeking through <a href="https://www.weforum.org/uplink" target="_blank">UpLink</a>, a platform for crowdsourcing sustainable development solutions to challenges including how to plant <a href="https://uplink.weforum.org/uplink/s/uplink-issue/a002o00000vOf09AAC/trillion-trees" target="_blank">a trillion trees.</a></p>
<h3>The Ant Forest Model</h3><p>"Ant Forest taps into the best of human ingenuity and innovation to create a better world," said Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme – which in 2019 gave <a href="https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/press-release/chinese-initiative-ant-forest-wins-un-champions-earth-award" target="_blank">the project the UN's top environmental award</a>.</p><p>So how does it work?</p><p>To start with, Ant Forest has plenty of potential players, being part of China's Alipay mobile payments app, which is used by more than a billion people.</p><p>Each time a user performs a lower-carbon activity, such as paying a utility bill online or cycling to work, they are rewarded with "green energy points."</p><p>However, rather than immediately spending those points on a real tree, Ant Forest turns its users <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2019-06-25/the-chinese-gaming-app-that-lets-users-plant-real-trees-video" target="_blank">into game players</a>. The green energy points "grow" into a virtual tree on the user's app. And users can share green energy with friends and see how their virtual forests compare with others.</p><p>For every virtual tree grown, Ant Forest donates – and plants – a real one. And this gamification has had real-world impacts.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUwMzEzNy9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNDgxNTEwMn0.KkxASSTCUOVTTgBQJ5ZYi8ccAvOlPRYHntlcE02um8Q/img.png?width=980" id="93ade" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4cb6504d3b3d13bbbf2f4d1e0900dd3b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
The world is getting greener, with China and India leading the way. NASA / Nature Sustainability
<h3>A Greening China</h3><p>According to a study in Nature Sustainability, NASA satellites have revealed a 5% increase in global green leaf cover since the early 2000s – <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-019-0220-7" target="_blank">with China leading that growth</a>.</p><p>While a third of Chinese greening is due to the expansion of agriculture, <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/144540/china-and-india-lead-the-way-in-greening" target="_blank">42% comes from projects to plant forests</a>. According to the UN, Ant Forest has become the country's largest private sector tree-planting scheme – so the game is a big part of China's greening.</p><p>And the locations for planting are ambitious: arid areas of Northern China like parts of Inner Mongolia, Gansu and Shanxi. Many of the 122 million Ant Forest trees have been planted in areas that have become deserts.</p><p>There has been some criticism. In 2019, the journal <em>Nature</em> reported concerns that holding back deserts with trees <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02789-w" target="_blank">could put pressure on water supplies</a>. Scientists in China responded that local conditions are taken into account. <a href="https://medium.com/alipay-and-the-world/alipay-gallery-ant-forest-tree-planting-spring-2019-dc4e0578cc7c" target="_blank">Drought-resistant varieties, such as the "saxaul" shrub,</a> are used by Ant Forest.</p><p>The project is certainly ambitious. In 2019, Alipay's parent company, Ant Financial Group, said the trees covered some 112,000 hectares. And there are sizable spillover benefits, too.</p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bb7267189f67a13b4a39eefe23cd4297"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZHHlWUPoppM?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<h3>Environment and People</h3><p>The young trees maintain and repair eroded <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/soil">soils</a>, as well as reduce global CO2 levels.</p><p>Another major gain from the project has been employment. Ant Financial Group said 400,000 job opportunities have been created through Ant Forest, many for local farmers.</p><p>But if the trees are donated by Ant Financial, why not simply plant the trees and cut out the virtual ones?</p><p>The reason, as the UN puts it, is "<a href="https://unfccc.int/climate-action/momentum-for-change/planetary-health/alipay-ant-forest" target="_blank">significant behavioural change</a>." Gamification has encouraged millions of people to adopt lower-carbon lifestyles.</p><p>The success of the project has now led to <a href="https://www.gcash.com/gforest" target="_blank">a similar initiative in the Philippines</a>, launched by the mobile payments provider GCash.</p><p>The project is an encouraging step, according to the UN's Andersen.</p><p>"Although the environmental challenges we face are daunting," she said, "we have the technology and the knowledge to overcome them and fundamentally redesign how we interact with the planet."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/china-ant-forest-app-carbon-emissions-trees/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Start-up ARC Marine has created a plastic-free alternative to help restore marine biodiversity. ARC Marine
By Douglas Broom
Artificial reefs play an important role in protecting offshore installations like wind farms. Unprotected, the turbine masts are exposed to tidal scouring, undermining their foundations.
<p>Engineers often use undersea concrete "mats" composed of large blocks to protect the bottom of these towers on the seabed. There are <a href="https://www.oilandgasvisionjobs.com/news-item/award-short-listing-sounds-starter-gun-on-operator-race-to-first" target="_blank">40,000 of them in the waters around the UK alone</a>.</p><p>Wind farms are an important part of our transition to a low-carbon economy. But many of the concrete defenses submerged to protect them <a href="https://www.oilandgasvisionjobs.com/news-item/award-short-listing-sounds-starter-gun-on-operator-race-to-first" target="_blank">contain plastics and are considered by environmental groups to be marine litter</a>. This often needs to be removed, recycled or disposed of.</p><p>So one start-up has developed an alternative. <a href="https://arcmarine.co.uk/" target="_blank">ARC Marine's</a> <a href="https://arcmarine.co.uk/reef-cubes/" target="_blank">reef cubes</a> are made from recycled aggregate and sand that is a byproduct of the quarrying industry. The company says this reduces carbon emissions by 90% compared to the processes used to make common types of cement.</p><p>The cubes interlock, leaving larger living spaces for fish, crabs and lobsters, and their porous surface is designed to allow marine plants to establish easily and grow. The aim is for these alternative reefs to protect vital offshore installations from storms and erosion while also encouraging marine biodiversity.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ2MTI4OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0ODE3MzE0M30.sKq7_hgxvR52i7pNcgndbao5azpyBUjrM-PcP7el0pU/img.jpg?width=980" id="625c7" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4a61b8c4884f6fdf84c19a16e180d49e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Home from home: Reef cubes encourage marine biodiversity. ARC Marine
<p>The <a href="https://arcmarine.co.uk/marine-eco-engineering-2/offshore-renewable-energy/" target="_blank">cost of removing the existing concrete mats</a> is estimated at $32 million for each gigawatt of a wind farm's output, according to ARC Marine. Reef cubes are designed to be left in place even after a farm has been decommissioned.</p><p>The company says the cubes will also help to restore marine habitats devastated by human impacts on the environment.</p><p>It's an urgent problem. <a href="https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/can-we-save-coral-reefs" target="_blank">Around 70% of coral reefs are under threat</a>, while <a href="https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/habitats/marine/rocky-reefs" target="_blank">rock reefs also suffer</a> from damage due to practices like trawling and dredging. The United Nations warns that <a href="http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/ioc-oceans/focus-areas/rio-20-ocean/blueprint-for-the-future-we-want/marine-biodiversity/facts-and-figures-on-marine-biodiversity/" target="_blank">half of all marine species could be on the brink of extinction by the end of this century</a>.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ2MTI5OS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxODA2OTkzMX0.Y3QEP6cKE94ovdJdOUWPuFgYyqewKNOoFgVgz1XkT7Y/img.png?width=980" id="39154" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="302e4569ed96786ef9604aeff96676df" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
<p>Tom Birbeck, CEO and founder of ARC Marine, calls the reef cubes "building blocks for the ocean" and says they were inspired by the belief that every offshore and coastal project can have a positive impact on ocean health. The company adds that it can help with meeting <a href="https://arcmarine.co.uk/arc-marine-impact/" target="_blank">five of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals</a> – primarily goal 14: conserving life below water.</p><p>"Reef cubes accelerate reef creation and help repair ecosystems that have been destroyed from centuries of bottom trawling and dredging," he says.</p><p>"The global increase in offshore wind demand provides an unprecedented opportunity to rebuild rocky reef habitats around offshore construction projects which historically have caused damage and often deploy toxic and plastic-laden materials."</p>
<p>By restoring the marine environment, the cubes can also encourage sustainable fishing and eco-tourism, he says. And if coupled with <a href="https://www.oilandgasvisionjobs.com/news-item/award-short-listing-sounds-starter-gun-on-operator-race-to-first" target="_blank">a ban on trawling in areas where they are submerged</a>, they could help fish stocks to recover.</p><p>The team behind the cubes was shortlisted for the <a href="https://arcmarine.co.uk/arc-marine-join-katapult-ocean-batch-2-2/" target="_blank">2020 Offshore Achievement Awards</a> – often dubbed "the offshore Oscars" – for their work on the project.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/reef-cubes-arc-marine-biodiversity-wind-farms/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>.</em></p>
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Climate activist Greta Thunberg discusses EU plans to tackle the climate emergency with Parliament's environment committee on March 4, 2020. CC-BY-4.0: © European Union 2020 – Source: EP
By Abdullahi Alim
The 2008 financial crisis spurred a number of youth movements including Occupy Wall Street and the Arab Spring. A decade later, this anger resurfaced in a new wave of global protests, from Hong Kong to Beirut to London, only this time driven by the children of the 2008 financial crisis.
<p>These movements enjoy mass popularity, but how effective are they? Greta Thunberg proclaimed that "<a href="https://time.com/5768561/greta-thunberg-davos-panel-time/" target="_blank">pretty much nothing [had] been done</a>" since staging school strikes to raise awareness of the climate crisis in 2018, while Micah White, co-creator of <a href="http://occupywallst.org/" target="_blank">Occupy Wall Street</a>, has said that social change as we know it is dead.</p><p>As the world now faces the <a href="https://blogs.imf.org/2020/04/14/the-great-lockdown-worst-economic-downturn-since-the-great-depression/" target="_blank">deepest economic downturn</a> since the Great Depression, there will be greater social unrest and calls for a new set of solutions.</p><p>Youth movements will need to find a more mature form of activism to counter the popularized puritanism that has prevailed. More precisely, here are 4 considerations for young changemakers as they seek a more just and equitable world:</p>
1. Learn From the Past
<p>Young people tend to be comfortable with change. Their instant adoption of technology is an example.<a target="_blank"> However, they may lack an understanding of the more permanent realities – requiring patience and </a>stoicism.</p><p>This wisdom is typically in the hands of individuals who either work within systems or who have accumulated far more tenure. This was effectively echoed by 13-year old activist, Naomi Wadler who <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17Aa6XLZe9A" target="_blank">said</a>, "We can educate our youth a lot better. We're not delving deeper into social justice movements from the past."</p><p>Youth movements that are informed by the success and pitfalls of prior efforts offer a more promising outcome. Take for example, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, co-founded by a 32-year old Alicia Garza.<span></span></p><p>Unlike the civil rights movement of the 1960's, BLM lacks central governance. This means that opponents can't attack its leadership as a means to discredit the whole movement. In the 1960's, this is exactly what happened to the civil rights movement, when critics went after Martin Luther King, stalling the collective efforts of the movement.</p><p>In fact, King spent his final year <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/04/04/martin-luther-king-jr-50-years-assassination-donald-trump-disapproval-column/482242002/" target="_blank">mired in public disapproval</a> with over 75% of Americans considering him "irrelevant" including 60% of African Americans.</p><p>By studying the legacy of previous efforts, BLM has managed to rally approximately <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/big-majorities-support-protests-over-floyd-killing-and-say-police-need-to-change-poll-finds/2020/06/08/6742d52c-a9b9-11ea-9063-e69bd6520940_story.html" target="_blank">75% of the American public</a>; a feat that will undeniably ensure the longevity of its cause.</p><p>For the youth climate movement, it too must reconcile the long record of activism that predates its tenure. It ought to model itself as an intergenerational movement by giving greater credence to the activists, environmental scientists and <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/juan-manuel-santos-colombia-indigenous-peoples-coronavirus-pandemic-climate-change-environment-nature/" target="_blank">indigenous elders</a> that have fought for climate justice before its inception and ultimately signal the nuance and maturity that would activate allies within systems of power.</p>2. Become Part of Systems Change
<p>From the college campus to the coworking space, you would be hard pressed to avoid the sight of a social impact competition that invites young people to resolve some of the world's most intractable problems.<br></p><p>Unsurprisingly, this often leads to problematic and incomplete solutions. Take, for example, <a href="https://ssir.org/articles/entry/tackling_heropreneurship" target="_blank">an app for African farmers</a> developed by students who have neither farmed nor been to Africa.<br></p><p>Fortunately, there is a growing shift towards empowering young people to better diagnose the systems that uphold inequality. For example, Oxford University hosts the annual <a href="http://www.oxfordglobalchallenge.com/" target="_blank">Map the System</a> competition to celebrate some of the most promising youth-led mappings and the World Economic Forum's <a href="https://www.globalshapers.org/story" target="_blank">Global Shapers Community</a> convenes more than 7,000 young people under the age of 30 to address local, regional and global challenges.</p><p>To achieve systemic change, young changemakers must first unpack systems into <a href="https://wtf.tw/ref/meadows.pdf" target="_blank">three components</a>; elements, interconnections and functions:</p><ul><li>Elements are essentially the key stakeholders in the system. This can include individuals, land or objects.</li><li>Interconnections are the laws and social norms that bind the elements together.</li><li>Functions are the end-goals.</li></ul><p>Take for example, the persistence of sexual harassment in the workplace as a systems issue. The elements in the system would include the victim, perpetrator and other intermediary bodies including line managers and human resource teams. The interconnections could include forced arbitration laws that prohibit employees from seeking public courts and a managerial culture that protects high performing perpetrators and pressures victims into silence. In which case, the ultimate functions (or rather dysfunctions) of the system discourage victims from pursuing action and enable perpetrators and enablers to enjoy the benefits of career progression without due trial.</p><p>Systemic change is about redesigning the interconnections (the cultural norms and laws). In the example above, it involves challenging the use of private arbitrary courts and uprooting a toxic work culture. Reclaiming this intuition opens a pandora's box that ultimately allows for any given system to operate more inclusively.<br></p><p>Today, young changemakers can rely on online resources like <a href="http://systems-ledleadership.com/" target="_blank">Systems-Led-Leadership</a> to analyze any given system of inequality and then direct their unique skills and knowledge towards the most effective intervention.</p>3. Avoid Heropreneurship
<p>Daniela Papi-Thornton first coined the term <a href="http://tacklingheropreneurship.com/" target="_blank">heropreneurship</a> to describe a growing trend that credits social change to the "founder" of an organization or movement exclusively.</p><p>This culture has inspired an entire generation of young change-makers who are swayed by the allure of the "heroic" founder and whose behaviors are validated through youth awards, grants and speaking circuits that glorify a role in the limelight. This pervasive culture undercuts the entire spectrum of actors that really creates social change.</p><p>Social change does not necessarily warrant the creation of a new organization or movement. Change-makers should consider the root causes that perpetuate and uphold inequalities and then map the existing players and solutions. This process might point to scaling up the work of an existing organization or helping a local candidate run for office.<br><br>For young people who wish to create social change, their efforts – while extremely important – may go unnoticed. This is an expectation that needs to be managed.<br></p>4. Know Your Place
<p>In 2016, a political action committee entitled <a href="http://canyounot.org/" target="_blank">Can You Not</a> emerged with the aim of discouraging white men from running for office in minority districts.</p><p>Despite the comical graphics, the campaign highlights an important question for young changemakers, particularly if they advocate for issues that they have not lived: in the quest for social change, can the actions of change-makers unwittingly perpetuate injustices, even as they seek to end them?<br></p><p>In the example above, could the notion of a white man effectively assuming the role of a translator between minority communities and government only reinforce their structural underrepresentation in political decision-making? Could the desire to assume office without lived experience also signal little faith in the leadership of the very communities being served?<br></p><p>A more effective approach to social change may be to encourage such actors to take stock of the unintended consequences of misrepresentation. In doing so, they may come to appreciate the importance of "stepping back" to allow others to "step forward." More concretely, this could result in building trusted relationships with the community and eventually empowering more local voices to consider public leadership.<br></p><p>For young changemakers, it is pivotal that they assess their own standing in a given system and avoid perpetuating the very inequalities they wish to tackle.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ0MDM1MS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5OTA1MjM3MX0.dmJ2XOyMic9ElhQYP9Xc7jj5fnmfwRRlR-smcGrsG_k/img.png?width=980" id="e696f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f0f1ac331784be079123990844df136b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Strategic Intelligence: Youth Perspectives. World Economic Forum
A More Targeted, Effective Kind of Activism
<p>Social media has played its critical part in providing young people with a vehicle to advocate for social reform.</p><p>Whether it's <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/23/greta-thunberg-speech-un-2019-address" target="_blank">Greta Thunberg's speech</a> during the United Nations General Assembly in 2019 or <a href="https://variety.com/2018/politics/features/emma-gonzalez-parkland-interview-1202972485/" target="_blank">Emma Gonzalez</a> rallying crowds for more stringent gun control. younger voices are swaying public opinion and pressuring political systems to operate more inclusively.<br></p><p>The impact of these extraordinary young people is inspiring, but arguably they struggle to provide a course of action for the average young person who is motivated to pursue social change. The inconvenient truth is that social reform is difficult and even more so for a young person who wrestles with challenges related to experience and credibility.<br></p><p>To be more effective, young changemakers must forge greater bonds with late-stage activists as well as potential allies within systems of power. They must also understand the systems that uphold equality and pinpoint the intervention that would most likely inspire systemic change.<br></p><p>Finally, it is pivotal that they invest in a support system and seek to dissolve <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/this-is-how-wellbeing-drives-social-change-and-why-cultural-leaders-need-to-talk-about-it" target="_blank">personal anxieties</a> that may compromise their change-making potential.</p><p>It's time for youth activism to grow up.</p>From Your Site Articles
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- 'We Have So Much More to Do': Youth Climate Activists Declare as ... ›
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Hotter temperatures have been linked to a rise in energy poverty, with more people struggling to meet their energy bills from their household income. Flickr / CC by 2.0
By Emma Charlton
The effects of climate change may more far-reaching than you think.
Hotter temperatures have been linked to a rise in energy poverty, with more people struggling to meet their energy bills from their household income, according to a new study published on ScienceDirect by researchers from Italy's Ca' Foscari University.
<p><br/></p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/air-conditioners-inequality-energy-poverty-climate-change/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>.</em></p>
<div id="8d41e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a5ee84b11a5a425f469fc093daeab875"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1270064316817997825" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">New #research shows households spend a lot more on electricity when they get air conditioning. Along with… https://t.co/ShIZ7Bi7P3</div> — American Scientist (@American Scientist)<a href="https://twitter.com/AmSciMag/statuses/1270064316817997825">1591641904.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The analysis looks at eight countries – Australia, Canada, France, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland – and investigates how households respond to excess heat. They have found an uptick on the purchasing and use of air conditioners, which has led to a greater consumption of electricity, and a greater proportion of income being spent on energy.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQzNzQ2OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MDk1MDMyNX0.kFugb6OJcL71VsABpixfGK-e5FZNdTfMBYG56Jxnw5g/img.jpg?width=980" id="aa380" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3a4bf99c4bd409c58fe037ba8d887d20" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Value of air conditioning imports in selected OECD countries. ScienceDirect
<p>Households spend between 35% and 42% more on electricity when they adopt air conditioning, the study says.</p><p>As temperatures increase around the world, cooling is emerging as a new, basic need – even in countries that traditionally have not previously required such appliances.</p><p>That puts an additional burden on families who might not be able to afford the most efficient appliances and could result in spending being diverted away from food or education towards cooling, the researchers write.</p><p>"Climate change and the growing demand for air conditioning are likely to exacerbate energy poverty," the study says. "The number of energy poor who spend a high share of income on electricity increases, and households in the lowest income" groups are the most negatively affected.</p><p>Energy poverty is an issue that goes beyond air conditioning, with 800 million people lacking access to electricity and many more struggling with an erratic and limited service.</p>
The ‘Golden Thread’
<p>The <a href="https://www.endenergypoverty.org/reports" target="_blank">Global Commission to End Energy Poverty</a> calls access to energy the "golden thread" that weaves together economic growth, human development, and environmental sustainability. And one of the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/archive/sdg-07-affordable-and-clean-energy" target="_blank">United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals</a> is to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030.</p><p>Sustainability also has a large role to play in the future of energy and failing to embed green policies in COVID-19 stimulus packages and underinvesting in green infrastructure are current risks, according to the <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_COVID_19_Risks_Outlook_Special_Edition_Pages.pdf" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>.</p><p>In its vision for a 'Great Reset' – building a better world after the pandemic – the Forum and the IMF jointly backed the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/end-fossil-fuel-subsidies-economy-imf-georgieva-great-reset-climate/" target="_blank">transition to a green economy</a> and called for an end to fossil fuel subsidies.</p>
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Mountains of produce, including eggs, milk and onions, are going to waste as the COVID-19 pandemic shutters restaurants, restricts transport, limits what workers are able to do and disrupts supply chains. United States government work
By Emma Charlton
Gluts of food left to rot as a consequence of coronavirus aren't just wasteful – they're also likely to damage the environment.
<p>Mountains of produce, including eggs, milk and onions, are going to waste as the COVID-19 pandemic shutters restaurants, restricts transport, limits what workers are able to do and disrupts supply chains. And as that food decays, it releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.</p><p>Fresh milk and eggs have been dumped, and some ripe crops reploughed back into fields, according to reports in the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/closed-due-to-coronavirus-restaurants-clear-out-their-pantries-11586005203?mod=article_inline" target="_blank">Wall Street Journal</a> and the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/business/coronavirus-destroying-food.html" target="_blank">New York Times</a>. While consumer demand for some supermarket items has risen as a result of lockdowns, it's unlikely to offset steep declines elsewhere, such in restaurants and school and workplace canteens.</p>
Methane on the Rise
<p>Not only is this a tragic waste of food at a time when many are going hungry, it is also an <a href="https://donatedontdump.net/2014/07/07/the-effects-of-food-waste-on-the-environment-by-junemy-pantig/" target="_blank">environmental hazard</a> and could contribute to global warming. Landfill gas – <a href="https://www.epa.gov/lmop/basic-information-about-landfill-gas" target="_blank">roughly half methane and half carbon dioxide (CO2)</a> – is a natural byproduct of the decomposition of organic material.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQyOTEyMi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwODYyODk1N30.AyyC8WbvDKRQeTPpTksAIkGT_Sy5qJqK3ok1_GiaNWc/img.png?width=980" id="49c22" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="48f85bf45b5f3ba2648a87bedab555bc" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Food decay leads to production of greenhouse gases, methane and carbon dioxide. EPA
<p>Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, 28 to <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/SYR_AR5_FINAL_full.pdf" target="_blank">36 times more effective than CO2 at trapping heat</a> in the atmosphere over a 100-year period, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.</p><p>"Many export-oriented producers produce volumes far too large for output to be absorbed in local markets, and thus <a href="https://unctad.org/en/pages/newsdetails.aspx?OriginalVersionID=2333" target="_blank">organic waste levels have mounted substantially</a>," says Robert Hamwey, Economic Affairs Officer at UN agency UNCTAD. "Because this waste is left to decay, levels of methane emissions, a greenhouse gas, from decaying produce are expected to rise sharply in the crisis and immediate post-crisis months."</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQyOTE3Ny9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNzYyMzEzNH0.ckRClc0SX50kOEZYHgLLx_OoFHMIxtPVF4BBc4eDoBo/img.png?width=980" id="3a11c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6fe3b382949cce9971508db403d0973d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Food supply chains are easily disrupted. UN FAO
<p>Dumping food was already a problem before the crisis. In America alone, <a href="https://www.refed.com/?sort=economic-value-per-ton" target="_blank">$218 billion is spent growing, processing, transporting</a> and disposing of food that is never eaten, estimates ReFED, a collection of business, non-profit and government leaders committed to reducing food waste. That's equivalent to around 1.3% of GDP.</p><p>Since the pandemic took hold, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-52267943" target="_blank">farmers are dumping 14 million liters</a> of milk each day because of disrupted supply routes, estimates Dairy Farmers of America. A chicken processor was forced to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/business/coronavirus-destroying-food.html" target="_blank">destroy 750,000 unhatched eggs a week</a>, according to the New York Times, which also cited an onion farmer letting most of his harvest decompose because he couldn't distribute or store them.</p>Food Prices Collapsing
<p>The excess has also seen prices collapse. The <a href="http://www.fao.org/worldfoodsituation/foodpricesindex/en/" target="_blank">FAO Food Price Index</a> (FFPI) averaged 162.5 points in May 2020, down 3.1 points from April and reaching the lowest monthly average since December 2018. The gauge has dropped for four consecutive months, and the latest decline reflects falling values of all the food commodities – dairy, meat, cereal, vegetable – except sugar, which rose for the first time in three months.</p><p>All this while the pandemic is exacerbating other global food trends.</p><p>"This year, some 49 million extra people may fall into extreme poverty due to the COVID-19 crisis," said António Guterres, Secretary-General of the UN. "The number of people who are acutely food or nutrition insecure will rapidly expand. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGhLKAbNDiY&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">Even in countries with abundant food, we see risks of disruptions in the food supply chain</a>."</p><div id="c20f1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9bd104b5fbd7a34965124f57f3c1357a"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1271747397002067968" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Our food systems are failing us. And #COVID19 is making things worse.
We must invest in the future & transform our… https://t.co/uV8Kkn78Q1</div> — FAO (@FAO)<a href="https://twitter.com/FAO/statuses/1271747397002067968">1592043182.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The World Economic Forum has launched its <a href="https://www.weforum.org/great-reset/about" target="_blank">Great Reset initiative</a>, which urgently calls for global stakeholders to cooperate in managing the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. It calls on policymakers to put the environment at the heart of plans to rebuild as we emerge from the pandemic.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/covid-19-food-waste-mountains-environment/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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An Amsterdam restaurant uses greenhouses to protect against the coronavirus on May 12, 2020 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Paco Nunez / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
By Harry Kretchmer
It's more than five months since Wuhan, the city where the coronavirus outbreak began, went into lockdown marking the beginning of COVID-19 restrictions.
In that time, there have been many innovative ideas to help us live with the virus and return to work and leisure safely.
<p>The World Economic Forum's <a href="https://www.weforum.org/uplink" target="_blank">crowdsourcing platform UpLink</a> is looking for the best solutions around the world to tackle today's most pressing issues.</p><p>Here are six areas of everyday life where inventions are easing the challenges posed by the pandemic.</p>
1. Dining Out
<p>At the height of the lockdown, retail analysts, Kantar, studied social media for clues about what people were most looking forward to doing when lockdowns were eased. The top three desires <a href="https://www.kantar.com/Inspiration/Coronavirus/What-are-people-looking-forward-to-most-post-pandemic" target="_blank">included eating out and going to a bar</a> with friends.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQyMzQ3OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NDIzODI1M30.YWkX-KiBML3VxeJr3T7ZoDmtciRNMZhzwQW-pXgFPVE/img.jpg?width=980" id="ae794" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e215e876f07cb1b09dcd5c3363f05010" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Social activities are top of people's wish lists after lockdown. Kantar
<p>But with social distancing measures in place for such businesses, attention has turned to how to keep customers safe and inspire trust.</p><p>French designer Christophe Gernigon has created <a href="https://www.insider.com/a-restaurant-is-testing-plastic-shield-pods-keep-diners-safe-2020-5" target="_blank">oversized transparent lampshades</a>, allowing diners to eat in a personal bubble. The 'PLEX'EAT' prototypes are made from perspex.</p><p>In the Netherlands, Amsterdam's ETEN restaurant has also been making dining safer. On the banks of a canal it has <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-netherlands-restau/dutch-restaurant-trials-glass-booths-for-dining-amid-coronavirus-idUKKBN22I1HI" target="_blank">installed glass houses</a> to protect dining companions, and help with social distancing.</p><p>Meanwhile in South Korea, popular watering holes are devising more hi-tech ways to protect patrons: robot bartenders.</p><p>One - <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-southkorea-robot-b/a-robot-walks-into-a-bar-helps-make-a-cocktail-idUKKBN23B0RZ" target="_blank">named 'Cabo'</a> can carve a perfect spherical ice ball for whisky 'on the rocks.' Another can measure out cocktail liquor from 25 bottles hanging from the ceiling.</p>2. Shopping
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8a18c4da48b4db6f55f4cff944136012"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0AggNWRseuw?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>Grocery shopping boomed during the pandemic, with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/jun/10/ocado-plans-to-raise-1bn-as-online-deliveries-boom-in-the-uk" target="_blank">much of the growth coming from online</a> - a service relied on by many of those shielding from the virus.</p><p>But many of those most at risk from COVID-19 are still wary of coming into stores, in part because of the possibility of the virus living on surfaces which are frequently touched - like the handle on a fridge door.</p><p>A Finnish supermarket created an innovative solution - <a href="https://www.reuters.com/video/watch/idOVCAKXFMV" target="_blank">long, curved handles</a> that allow customers to open chiller cabinets with their clothed arms instead of hands.</p>3. Communicating
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="40484bffd4092392e1fd7426cd7f0c77"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y5K9P0pu_oQ?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>Masks are mandatory - and essential - in many settings, especially on public transport and in shops. However, for those who are deaf, they can cause a real problem: they cover lips, making it impossible to lip-read.</p><p>This was the experience of a deaf tailor from Indonesia who faced a daily struggle with new regulations mandating mask wearing in public places.</p><p>Her solution is brilliantly simple: she has <a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/see-through-solution-deaf-indonesians-turn-to-clear-coronavirus-masks" target="_blank">created masks with a clear plastic window</a> over the mouth - making it possible to lip-read once again.</p><p>Another communication innovation takes the form of a robot. 'Pepper' is <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/52500660" target="_blank">a humanoid robot</a> who can be found at a Tokyo hotel. But it is no ordinary hotel: its patients are those who have mild coronavirus symptoms.</p><p>Pepper's job is to greet patients as they arrive - making them feel welcome, but also protecting - and freeing up - staff.</p>4. Cleaning
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="95bc5f7886cc61b467142ed5daefab95"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UOotFtWlfls?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>Some of the most creative solutions have come from the world of robotics.</p><p>Refugees at the Za'atari refugee camp in Jordan have developed a LEGO robot that <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/coronavirus-robot-lego-sanitizer-refugees/" target="_blank">automatically dispenses hand sanitizer</a> - reducing the risk of infection.</p><span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1ae732e779019205fb0aad1a5e489148"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5NECMnFBT5k?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>Elsewhere, robots are cleaning all kinds of surfaces. <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-japan-robot/robot-built-for-japans-aging-workforce-finds-coronavirus-role-idUKKBN23G1AG" target="_blank">Meet "Ugo,"</a> the remote-controlled robot developed by Japanese start-up Mira Robotics.</p><p>It uses ultraviolet light to kill viruses, and can patrol buildings and clean on its own.</p>
5. Home Deliveries
<div id="6303d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="73f68b79a330648071fb88851ace0a93"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1274999926397841408" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">"We definitely see this trend continuing with more and more people embracing delivery robots. Not everybody wants t… https://t.co/P1uvFGe8Ac</div> — Starship (@Starship)<a href="https://twitter.com/StarshipRobots/statuses/1274999926397841408">1592818645.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Around the world, robots are being enlisted to help with deliveries of food.</p><p>U.S. start-up Starship Technologies is rolling out its food delivery boxes on wheels <a href="https://www.euronews.com/2020/06/18/coronavirus-delivery-robot-services-booming-as-shoppers-opt-for-contactless-alternatives" target="_blank">to a range of urban areas</a>, from Milton Keynes, England to Fairfax, Virginia.</p><p>Colombian start-up Rappi is another company whose boxy wheeled robots have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/delivery-startup-using-robots-in-colombia-to-avoid-coronavirus-2020-4?r=US&IR=T" target="_blank">moved onto the pavements</a> in greater numbers during the pandemic.</p>6. Social Distancing
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7c0d34cbebe610a9975e597b7bdced1a"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2DJmIjKtVkA?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>At the heart of most nations' public health strategies to fight COVID-19 is effective social distancing. But sometimes people need to be reminded. Singapore has <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/8/21251788/spot-boston-dynamics-robot-singapore-park-social-distancing" target="_blank">chosen a robot for this task.</a></p><p>Made by U.S. company Boston Dynamics, 'Spot' patrols the park and reminds visitors to maintain social distancing: "Let's keep Singapore healthy. For your own safety, and for those around you, please stand at least one meter apart. Thank you."</p>
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Non-profit organization Global Coralition draws on art, science and local communities for its coral reef restoration work. youtu.be
By David Elliott
Dive beneath the brilliant blue waters surrounding Thailand's Koh Tao island and you might come face to face with a giant sculpture of the sea goddess Mazu.
But a closer look reveals an even bigger surprise – Mazu is alive.
<p>That's because, as the 1,800kg (almost 40,000-pound) centerpiece of a large artificial coral reef, she is teeming with sea life.</p><p>Built in 2018 by non-profit organization Global Coralition with the <a href="https://oceanic.global/the-art-rising/" target="_blank">help of conservation group Eco Koh Tao</a>, the sculpture and the 36 smaller pyramid structures that surround it hold <a href="https://www.globalcoralition.org/projects/koh-tao" target="_blank">5,000 coral transplants</a>. It attracts hundreds of divers a week and helps raise funds for local restoration groups, and is maintained by these divers and the local community.</p><p>Global Coralition now plans to return to the island to work with local conservation groups and scientists from Thailand's marine resources department to build the island's first land-based coral farm. The group is currently raising funds.</p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8f055bac39f517e94abf83f7fe746959"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/J1b1SPUOnyA?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
Small Pieces, Big Impact
<p>Angeline Chen, Executive Director of Global Coralition – who spoke recently at the World Economic Forum's <a href="https://www.weforum.org/events/virtual-ocean-dialogues-2020/sessions/uplink-ocean-solutions-sprint" target="_blank">Virtual Ocean Dialogues</a> event – is effusive about the benefits of growing coral on land and the role it could play in rebuilding damaged ocean habitats.</p><p>Coral can be grown up to 50 times faster this way, she says, using a technique called <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925857418303094" target="_blank">microfragmentation</a>. This involves dividing a piece of coral into much smaller fragments, which<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287204400_The_cultivation_of_massive_corals_using_micro-fragmentation_for_the_reskinning_of_degraded_coral_reefs" target="_blank"> stimulates the tissue</a> to grow. The pieces are grown a short distance apart and – because<a href="https://www.bbcearth.com/blog/?article=saving-coral" target="_blank"> corals are clonal animals</a> – they fuse together when their edges meet, forming a single mass.</p><p>Combined with other scientific methods, like<a href="https://www.globalcoralition.org/our-approach" target="_blank"> larval propagation and assisted evolution</a> to increase the resilience and reproductive rate of corals, Chen believes the impact of such projects, practiced all around the world, could be massive.</p><p>"With these farms, we could be growing a diverse array of resilient coral on a huge scale," she says.</p><p>Many organizations are practicing these methods, including <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925857418303094" target="_blank">Mote Marine Laboratory</a> in Florida, US, and the government of Hawaii, which is out-planting 1 meter by 1 meter (3.2 foot) corals grown in one year – the <a href="https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/blog/2020/05/28/nr20-072/" target="_blank">largest to be grown in a land-based</a> nursery.</p><div id="507c8" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e2c57fd8c727e7692e37866d6fc81164"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1266170721882890240" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">In the world of nursery raised corals, a one-meter coral is considered big. Yesterday, a team of biologists and te… https://t.co/wNWMyaARVf</div> — DLNR (@DLNR)<a href="https://twitter.com/dlnr/statuses/1266170721882890240">1590713599.0</a></blockquote></div>
Empowering Communities
<p>Driving the work of Global Coralition and organizations like it is a simple fact: coral is vital to the planet.</p><p>Coral reefs are among the <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_corals/welcome.html" target="_blank">most diverse ecosystems</a> on Earth, and they support nearly<a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/Coral" target="_blank"> 1 million species of fish</a>, invertebrates and algae. They're crucial to humans, too. They<a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/coral_protect.html#:~:text=Coral%20reefs%20provide%20a%20buffer,%2C%20property%20damage%2C%20and%20erosion." target="_blank"> protect our coasts from storms</a> and floods, and<a href="https://scripps.ucsd.edu/projects/coralreefsystems/about-coral-reefs/value-of-corals/" target="_blank"> provide work, medicine and food</a> to more than 1 billion people. In fact, coral <a href="https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/coral-reefs-we-continue-take-more-we-give#:~:text=Coral%20reef%20ecosystems%20provide%20society,the%20tourism%20and%20fisheries%20industries." target="_blank">reef ecosystems give society resources</a> and services worth $375 billion per year, according to the United Nations.</p><p>But coral faces myriad threats, including overfishing, pollution and climate change. Almost <a href="https://www.statista.com/chart/17126/reef-building-corals-under-threat/" target="_blank">half of reef-building coral species are under threat</a>, according to UN figures. And scientists predict we'll lose up to <a href="https://phys.org/news/2020-02-acidic-oceans-coral-reef-habitats.html" target="_blank">90% of all reefs</a> in the next 20 years if something isn't done soon.</p><p>For Chen and the Global Coralition, the answer lies in engaging and empowering local communities with the knowledge, tools and resources to reduce the local impacts of reef degradation while increasing key habitats and species.</p><p>The organization uses art, like the sculpture of Mazu, to bring people together around cultural themes that are <a href="https://www.globalcoralition.org/our-approach" target="_blank">meaningful to their communities</a>.</p><p>It then works with parties including local officials, marine ecologists, fisherman, students and dive centers to foster the unique skills to rehabilitate their local ecology. This work in turn improves quality of life, water quality, food security, income and employment opportunities and education in the region.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQwNzg0My9vcmlnaW4uZ2lmIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NTAxNTU4MX0.qvqASgEfINGbVu5_go4_Si0Co-M0EpPYnGX86s1VpJQ/img.gif?width=980" id="cb0f0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f63e56eecee01b4b439631e10261f3cf" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
The world's reef-building corals. Statista
Global Effort
<p>Global Coralition is currently building a marine farm in a fishing village in the Dominican Republic. It consists of an expansive underwater sculpture garden inspired by Taino wisdom, a land-based coral farm, mangrove and oyster restoration and a community education center.</p><p>As part of this project, Chen says, it used the World Economic Forum's <a href="https://uplink.weforum.org/uplink/s/uplink-contribution/a012o00001G7i5TAAR/global-coralition" target="_blank">UpLink</a> platform to connect the community with a recycling facility that pays locals to collect trash, which can be turned into material to be sold back into the economy.</p><p>The organization wants to create <a href="https://www.weforum.org/events/virtual-ocean-dialogues-2020/sessions/uplink-ocean-solutions-sprint" target="_blank">200 of these marine hubs</a> across the globe in collaboration with local communities and governments, fishing villages, dive communities, restoration groups, hotels and local officials.</p><p>"Based on recovery rates, scientists predict we can rebuild marine life by 2050 if we can mitigate climate change, reduce local pressures and increase the abundance of our keystone habitats and species," Chen says.</p><p>"If these methods were applied all over the world, we could scale our collective rates of restoration."</p>
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How Proper Crop Protection Ensures Global Food Safety and Helps the Planet
11 June
Insights + Opinion
In recent decades, a wide variety of crop protection products have provided farmers with a set of carefully tailored tools for the production of safe and healthy crops. SBDIGIT / Getty Images
By J. Erik Fyrwald
World Food Safety Day earlier this week reminded us of a harsh reality: Roughly 600 million people around the world suffer from food-borne illnesses, while an estimated 3 million die from illnesses contracted from unsafe food or water.
<p>This annual toll touches every part of the world, though the worst impacts are felt in regions like sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where there is less access to refrigeration and other modern food-preservation technologies. While major improvements have been achieved in some regions since the 1980s, the problem is still vast and urgent.</p><p>Dangers in food supply can occur at any stage of the farm-to-fork process. Many of these relate to food preparation, and every cook must take all available precautions to maintain a clean, safe kitchen. Less well known is what can be done to ensure food safety earlier in the process, beginning on the farms where it is produced.</p>
Agronomists Have an Outsized Role to Play
<p>In recent decades, thanks to successful research and development in the field of agronomy, a wide variety of crop protection products have provided farmers with a set of carefully tailored tools for the production of safe and healthy crops.</p><p>For example, <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusarium" target="_blank">Fusarium</a></em> is a common fungus that can produce deadly mycotoxins in wheat, corn and barley. Recently developed broad-spectrum fungicides are now being used to prevent the spread in these crops. These agents play an active role in protecting the health of consumers and avoiding waste in having to destroy the infected grains.</p><p>In the past, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides have themselves sometimes been viewed as threats to the safety of food and water.</p><p>But innovation in crop protection products has come a long way since Rachel Carson pointed out the risk they posed in her seminal 1962 book <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Spring" target="_blank">Silent Spring</a></em>. Today's crop protection agents are developed with both human health and the environment firmly in view.</p><p>Over the course of the last 60 years, these agents have become more targeted and more effective and they are applied much more sparingly. Since the 1950s, the agronomy sector has achieved a remarkable 95% decrease in the average application rate of active ingredients per hectare. At the same time, multiple innovations have led to crop yields from farmland more than tripling. These measures to make everyone's food safer have been reinforced with the <a href="http://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/en/" target="_blank">Codex Alimentarius</a>, the open, transparent system of international standards established in 1963 to protect consumer health and promote fair practice in the food trade.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM4Njk3OC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNjM2ODg2N30.Wigk1wmc9InvTYnqXGnDW7HagR0FawTu5XgtIoWFowk/img.png?width=980" id="f275d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="39c3647487932b7e6e87918a22c28d5c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Crop-protection has been used more sparingly over recent decades. Source: Phillips McDougall, 2017
A Deep Respect for Health and the Environment
<p>As it happens, more than a few of today's crop protection products are obtained from natural sources or are so thoroughly tested by time that they are considered traditional practices. This means they are commonly found in use on farms that specialize in growing organic produce.</p><p>Those of us working in the field of agricultural science are well aware these advances are not always appreciated by people who wish insecticides and fungicides were not a part of the global food system. Viewed in a certain light, I agree with them. But I have seen first-hand the destruction wrought by pests and the impact of a failed crop on farmers and their families. The devastation inflicted by swarms of locusts this year in Africa and Asia is just one case in point.</p>Addressing the Challenge of Climate Change
<p>The need for effective crop protection products has steadily grown as rising global temperatures have expanded the range of many pests and blights. Just last summer in the Netherlands, a farmer told me he was seeing an insect in his fields he had never seen before.</p><p>Our team researched it and found the pest was well known in Brazil – <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuta_absoluta" target="_blank">Tuta absoluta</a></em> is a miner fly whose larvae make corridors in the leaves by eating the cells – and becoming a problem in northern climates as a result of warmer winters. One of our goals as an industry is to provide farmers with the safest and best means of keeping threats like these at bay.</p><p>When viewed at macroscopic scale, advances in agronomy clearly represent an important part of the solution to climate change. The latest crop protection products address climate change directly – by enabling farmers to produce more food per unit of land than ever before in the history of agriculture. This is critical if we hope to bring a halt to the expansion of human activity into regions such as the Amazon rainforest – a precious natural resource that serves a higher common purpose as a carbon sink and biodiversity preserve than as a cornfield.</p><p>Progress has been made on crop protection solutions that help feed humanity safely while protecting the environment, but we should all take a moment on this World Food Safety Day to strengthen our resolve. Even in the face of a global pandemic and myriad other challenges – we must keep moving forward in our efforts to safeguard people and the planet.</p>
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