The latest sustainability news, fun, facts and reviews from the Green Elephant for 21st April 2021.
Top stories:
01:00 Earth Day 2021
04:58 Biden Wants Leaders to Make Climate Commitments for Earth Day
06:12 Greta Thunberg to testify in Congress on Earth Day
07:30 US/China agreement to try harder on Climate Change
10:15 Duke of Edinburgh environmentalism
13:27 UK to speed up climate change targets
Government News:
16:30 Germany’s surging Greens step up election race to succeed Merkel
17:00 New Zealand requires financial institutions to prepare climate impact reports
17:34 “No action on anything”: Australia increasingly isolated as US and others ramp up climate ambition
Company News:
18:15 In Coinbase Rise, a Reminder: Cryptocurrencies Use Lots of Energy
19:40 Facebook Hits 100% Renewable Energy Target
20:10 JPMorgan Chase expanding deforestation policies under shareholder pressure
Sustainable Technology News:
20:58 Nasa scientists find unlikely tool as rising temperatures bleach corals: a phone app
21:44 Whitest-ever paint could help cool heating Earth, study shows
23:00 Google Earth’s new time-lapse feature reveals decades of planetary damage
Other Sustainability News:
23:50 This soap refill company is salvaging soap dispensers from other brands
25:11 Shrinking sea meadows store more carbon than forests. Scientists are racing to track what’s left.
25:59 Seaspiracy Concludes “Fishing is Bad, Go Vegan” But Just How Feasible is This?
27:05 Review of SDG Action Manager
For those who want to see how they are supporting global goals or for those who do not know which direction they should take in supporting a more sustainable society.
It isn’t just carbon offsets, or climate change – the global goals are also focused on education, innovation, technology and reducing poverty so there is something in there for every business. If you’re listening and own your own business you should go and register. If you work within a business find out what they’re doing and get them to register if they haven’t already done so.
Go to app.bimpactassessment.net/get-started/partner/ungc and signup.
We also spoke in an earlier podcast to the author of the SDG report:
37:53 Behind the Scenes
41:30 Fact or Fake?
- A study this week found that global food brands (Tesco, Carrefour, Walmart, Aldi etc) are not doing enough to stop using beef raised on deforested lands in Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina & Bolivia.
- A study looking at Orca populations found not only had populations declined but that southern Orca look different as well as speak different languages.
- In addition to plastic, glass, ceramic, gold and copper the mobile devices we all carry around, and contribute to the damage caused by mining rare elements, also contain gallium, tantalum, indium, teasium, oracline, kodium and lithium.
45:50 Play Your Carbon Right
- 1kg (2lb3oz) of average rubbish to landfill – more or less CO2e than:
- 250g of asparagus grown locally, in season (spring)– more or less CO2e than:
- A load of laundry washed at 30 degrees and dried on the line– more or less CO2e than:
- 1 pint (0.57l) of locally brewed cask ale at a pub– more or less CO2e than:
- 500ml of oat milk latte in a disposable cup– more or less CO2e than:
- Driving a mile in a mid-sized electric car
And finally:
50:37 A Ban on Bottle Tossing Disrupts a Tradition in Cycling
Thanks for listening to this weeks sustainability show!.
If you have any stories we should be discussing get in touch @greenelepod or studio@greenelephant.show
