Humanity’s penchant to waste food is trashing the planet
The next time you pour expired milk down the drain or throw away wilted vegetables, consider how this waste could have been avoided. A new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) finds the world is in the grip of an epidemic of food wastage. In 2019, consumers tossed away nearly a billion tonnes of food or 17 per cent of all the fare they bought.
That is deeply problematic in a world where 690 million people were undernourished in 2019, a number expected to rise sharply with COVID-19. It’s also bad for the planet. 8-10 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions come from producing food that is ultimately thrown away.
Meet seven women saving the planet
UNEP / 05 Mar 2021
Women are playing a lead role in tackling some of the planet’s biggest environmental threats, from climate change to species loss, to pollution. International Women’s Day, which falls on 8 March, provides an opportunity to reflect on women’s contributions as caretakers of people and nature, defending environmental and human rights and representing the interests of those whose voices may otherwise go unheard.
Meet seven extraordinary women who are using their powers to save the planet.
Mindy Lubber poses for a photo. Photo: UNEP
Mindy Lubber is CEO and President of Ceres, a non-profit organization that uses hard data to show investors and corporations that clean technologies, like solar power, wind energy and water recycling, are not only environmentally and socially responsible, they’re also good business.
Duck conservation takes flight in Jamaica
On January 20, 2021, the day of the inauguration of American president Joe Biden, two ducks named “Joe” and “Kamala” took flight from a remote wetland near Negril, Jamaica. And, like their namesakes, the fowl will be the focus of international attention.
That’s because Joe and Kamala are West Indian whistling ducks, the rarest duck species in the Americas, with fewer than 20,000 remaining, found only in the northern Caribbean. Conservationists released the pair, which were outfitted with GPS trackers, into the wild on 20 January, kicking off a study to learn more about their species and, researchers hope, ensure their survival.
Iceland, a world leader in clean energy, supports Africa s push for geothermal power
Photo by Pixabay / 24 Jun 2020
At the beginning of the 20th century, Iceland was one of Europe s poorest countries, its people relying on a precarious and polluting mix of imported coal and local peat for electricity.
But over the next century, the island nation would pull off one of the great energy makeovers in history, casting off fossil fuels and embracing geothermal power. Today, nearly 100 percent of Iceland s electricity comes from renewable sources, a transformation that has helped make its 366,000 people some of the wealthiest in Europe.
For the last decade, Iceland has been working with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to spark a similar energy revolution in Eastern Africa. Iceland has done everything from financing exploration projects to training future geothermal engineers.
2020 was, in addition to COVID-19, the year of intensifying climate impacts. Floods, droughts and storms affected over 50 million people, while wildfires devastated forests and communities.