A year in review: COVID-19 impacts the environment
Weekly Climate News
March 4, 2021
The U.N. has suspended climate projects in Myanmar after the military seized control of the Myanmar government in a coup executed on Feb. 1.
Claude Nyamugabo, environmental minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been brought to court on accusations of illegal allocation of logging claims in the Congo rainforest to a Congolese cleaning company and two Chinese firms.
The U.S. said it will terminate funding for “carbon-intensive” fossil fuel projects overseas.
Environmental racism has impacted the health of marginalized communities for decades. Read this article on environmental justice advocates fighting pollution in Black communities by calling for civil rights protections to be included in the National Environmental Policy Act.
Arkansas, Kansas, Minnesota and Montana, among other U.S. states, have proposed stricter penalties for protests against fossil fuel and pipeline projects.
The gulf stream is weakening as a result of climate change. Check out this interactive article.
Mexico City initiated a plastic ban, which has raised concerns for women’s access to period products.
New initiatives in the travel industry suggest a future of sustainable travel for the post COVID-19 world.
More than 100 Chicagoans, motivated by environmental justice concerns, are involved in a hunger strike in protest of the city’s proposed location for a scrapyard in Southeast Chicago.
Seville, Spain, is using oranges to generate electricity.
Celebrating Black Environmentalists
Over the past year, widespread connections between racism, poverty and environmental inequality have been made clear. The life and work of the following Black environmentalists acknowledge these connections and advocate for an inclusive climate movement while simultaneously protesting the racism in its roots.
Infrastructure Adapts to a Changing Climate
To meet goals outlined by the Paris Agreement, a measure of energy inefficiency called the “energy intensity” per square meter of buildings requires a 30 percent increase by 2030, according to the World Green Building Council. Climate change is at least partially considered in most building codes, as buildings around the world are designed to withstand natural disasters. Yet it is often up to individual builders and contractors to go beyond codes for improving building performance and minimizing environmental impacts. Working with architects, both old and new cities are making eco-friendly enhancements.
Plant-Based Seafood Emerges as a Possible Solution to Overfishing
Weekly Climate News
Feb. 18, 2021
Air pollution has been confirmed to result in 1 in 5 deaths annually around the world.
A NASA research team is going back to researching cloud formations after being impeded by the COVID-19 pandemic. They are working to understand how variations in aerosol particles from human and natural sources affect clouds.
A winter storm hit Texas, leaving many in frigid temperatures without power and electricity.
Elon Musk announced a four-year-long carbon capture contest that will award $100 million funding for the development of carbon removal technology.
U.S. government scientists said that America has the potential for a carbon-free future by 2050 if projected changes to wind and solar power are made.
Disha Ravi, a climate activist in India, was placed in jail for sharing information about the farmers’ protest with Greta Thunberg.
The U.K. government put a stop to construction plans for a deep coal mine after accusations of hypocrisy in regard to its current climate action arose.
Protests began in northern Minnesota to halt the progress of Line 3, an oil pipeline from the U.S. to Canada.
Kenyan Engineer and Entrepreneur Nzambi Matee Invents Bricks Made Out of Recycled Plastic
Tired of waiting for her local government to find a solution for the plastic waste produced by households and factories, Nzambi Matee, a Kenyan materials engineer, invented a process and designed a machine that converts plastic waste into bricks. These bricks are denser and around five to seven times stronger than concrete. Her work has been seen as an important capital resource for Kenya’s economy, as the machine simultaneously solves the issues of plastic waste disposal and a lack of durable housing.