Innholdsfortegnelse for The Environment Edition i The Goodnewspaper

Hey! Welcome to The Environment Edition of the Goodnewspaper! While every edition of the newspaper always includes climate-related good news, once a year we love to create an entire issue focused on the planet. I wanted to use this opening letter to share the why behind the print Goodnewspaper. I know it can feel counterintuitive to print and ship a physical newspaper that talks about how to fight climate change. The sustainability of the Goodnewspaper has been a top priority to me since I first started researching what it would look like to create a print newspaper in 2016. I committed early on to finding a way to do it sustainably and responsibly — or to not do it at all. Here are the ways we fight to make each…

In recent years, Hawaii has seen a decrease in recycling collections, as a lack of local recycling facilities leads to at-capacity landfills. Recyclables are sent thousands of miles to Asia, leaving a large carbon footprint in their wake. Enter: Circle Pack. This grassroots cardboard shredding and upcycling organization works with the local community and Hawaii County to use cardboard in making soil for farmers, provide compostable packaging supplies for businesses, and share knowledge with the community to transform the culture of waste and recycling. Circle Pack was founded by Evan Lam, who created the initiative after learning about the packaging issues his mothers faced as owners of a non-toxic nail polish business. He did some research and learned how to localize and embrace materials that already existed in the community…

The old adage rings true: “One person's trash is another person's treasure.” Mariah Reading, an eco-artist based in Maine, is reclaiming the litter of the world through detailed landscape paintings. Her zero-waste process includes creating canvases from debris found throughout her travels to the U.S. national parks and other protected lands, and then photographing the completed piece in alignment with the natural landscape. Some of her unique canvases have included found objects like bike helmets, half-destroyed sandals, broken ores, ropes, frisbees, and more. Her goal is to continue the project in all 63 national parks. “I have been contemplating my relationship with art and the vast amount of waste creating can produce,” Reading writes on her website. “Classically trained as a landscape painter, I pivoted to eco art when the…

GOOD Want to learn about the economics of energy (and why we're so dependent on fossil fuels?) Read “Power Economics: An Executive's Guide to Energy Efficiency, Conservation, and Generation Strategies” by Elena Cahill. BETTER Consider investing in energy-efficient swaps for your home and garden that are within your budget. Visit ggg.news/articles/sustainable-home for some ideas to get you started. BEST Encourage your elected officials to be part of the solution. Contact your representatives to advocate for clean energy incentives, investments in renewable energy, and equitable access to energy for all.…

A project in the Dutch city of Leeuwarden, Bosk — meaning “forest” in the local language — is part mobile art installation, part climate activism. Every day for 100 days in the summer of 2022, a different part of the city center was transformed into a forest. Over 1,000 trees were transported around the city, “walking,” if you will, to encourage community members to think about their relationship with the natural world. The project aimed to beautify the area, but also to inform folks about tree cover in urban environments. The thousand trees were made up of 60-70 native species, planted in 800 wooden containers, that traveled along a 3.5 kilometer stretch. Each tree has a QR code for folks to learn more about its species, lifespan, and preferred soil…

“How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can't Change,” filmed by Josh Fox, tracks the global impact of climate change while uncovering the hopeful qualities that people rely on in the ongoing fight to save our planet. (Vimeo and Amazon) “Doughnut Economics” by Dutch filmmaker Alexander Oey follows economist, researcher, and author Kate Raworth as she gives us a taste of an alternative economic model that emphasizes the balance of social and environmental boundaries. (YouTube) “David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet” is a documentary film about one of the world's most respected naturalists, Sir David Attenborough, The film combines Attenborough's story with stunning footage to provide a powerful call to action for global action on climate change and conservation. (Netflix)…

FRIENDLY FORESTS In 2020, the small, mountainous village of Mureun-ri in Andong, South Korea, experienced blazing forest fires. Years later, the community's dogs are helping rebuild. Inspired by a 2017 project in Chile, Andong residents worked with nonprofit Action for Homeless Animals (AHA) to saddle the beloved dogs of the area with mesh backpacks covered in small holes, full of native plant seeds. The fires destroyed 1,900 hectares (nearly 4,700 acres) of forest, throughout the mountains that have long given villagers firewood and medicinal herbs, which subsequently impacted their safety and livelihoods. While villagers were left to reckon with the devastation, the government did not classify the event as a disaster, and subsidies never came to support the people of Mureun-ri. But their canine companions have come to the rescue.…

As we know, a large majority of the globe is made up of countries that have claimed and stolen land from Native communities. Colonization and imperialism have obliterated the lives of Indigenous peoples across the globe, and along with countless human rights atrocities, have caused heinous destruction of sacred lands, waters, and wildlife. Indigenous communities have long been guardians of the planet, fighting for rightful land ownership, tending to the earth through ancient knowledge and spiritual practices, and working collaboratively to find a peaceful way forward. As we continue to experience a pivotal moment in the environmental justice movement, Indigenous knowledge and resistance are of utmost importance. “For our people, protecting the environment surpasses the issue of preserving lands, livelihoods, wildlife, and water,” writer Kaitlin Grable shares in an essay…

Instead of birthday gifts in 2021, 13-year-old Jordan Morris told her parents that she wanted to raise money for the global nonprofit charity: water. Her goal was to raise $500, but she surpassed it ten times over, raising $10,000 to bring clean and safe drinking water to an entire community in Nepal. “Clean water is an essential resource to live,” Morris said. “It was heartbreaking to me that so many people were dying due to their lack of access to something that most people take for granted every single day.” According to UNICEF, over four billion people face water scarcity worldwide. With ongoing water pollution and drought due to climate change, half the world's population could be living in areas without adequate access to water by 2025. Water is a…

GOOD Learn more about the global water crisis. Read “When The Rivers Run Dry: Water — The Defining Crisis of the Twenty-first Century” by Fred Pearce for more insights and expert knowledge on the subject. BETTER Set up a recurring donation to an organization bringing clean water to communities in need: charity: water (charitywater.org), Splash (splash.org), Tribal Water Center (tribalwater.org) BEST Demand better infrastructure from your elected officials — especially in historically marginalized communities long neglected by or intentionally excluded from access to necessary resources like water.…

Not to be the bearer of bad news, but climate change is, indeed, real. And so is climate miseducation. In an effort to combat the widespread inaccuracies about climate change and empower young people, New Jersey and Connecticut have begun to roll out state-wide climate change curriculums. New Jersey was the first state to do so, with the state board of education implementing the new standards in 2022. According to ABC News, lessons will focus on how climate change has accelerated in recent decades and how it impacts public health, human society, and natural disasters. The program will also introduce students to environmental careers in a green economy. New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy said the curriculum has gotten great initial feedback, and the state has also developed the New…

According to a 2021 Bloomberg Intelligence Report, plantbased food sales are expected to increase fivefold by 2030. But while the impossible burgers of the world gain popularity, scientists are still trying to perfect the art of plant-based seafood alternatives. Because the specific textures of seafood can be fickle and tricky to achieve (so far, options only barely resemble seafood with flavored tofu or jackfruit), scientists have been working on innovative solutions to bring a tasty and topnotch option to the table. Danish experts are experimenting by fermenting filamentous fungi, the microorganisms found in soil that grows on seaweed. Collaborating with chefs from Michelinstarred restaurant Alchemist, microbiologists work on the texture, while the chefs work on the taste. “We scientists are not good at understanding how to make things delicious, and…

GOOD Check out Grist's “Climate Future Cookbook,” filled with food items that would be common in a green er future, that you can bring to your kitchen right now. grist.org/fix/food-farming/climate-cookbook-sustainable-recipes BETTER When you can, purchase grocery items that are farmed sustainably and ethically. We suggest visiting your local farmers markets and produce stands! Download the Farmstand app to find some near you. BEST Reduce your meat consumption! Even if you're not ready to transition to veganism, you can start by practicing “Meatless Mondays” or reducing'your meat consumption by one meal a week.…

“All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis,” is an anthology edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson, featuring essays, poetry, and art from diverse women climate leaders. “Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes through Indigenous Science” by Jessica Hernandez, Ph.D. explores how Indigenous people in the Americas have used traditional ecological knowledge and practices to care for themselves and this planet. ‘Don't Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change” by George Marshall examines the psychological and societal reasons why people have difficulty accepting and taking action on climate solutions.…

Mangroves are tropical marine forests that are common along coastlines, protecting the coastal lands from erosion and storm surges, and providing an ecosystem for diverse wildlife. What's more, mangroves are also super-carbon sinks, sequestering as much as 22.8 million tons of carbon each year in their roots, trunks, and soil, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Despite these rich attributes, mangrove forests are being depleted due to climate change, as coastal urbanization and unstable agriculture and aquaculture threaten these ecosystems. In Kenya, where mangrove survival rates dwindle, community members and large-scale initiatives alike are mobilizing to protect these special forests. Khamis Salim is the founder of Manyunyu Community Organization, a mangrove restoration organization that is run entirely by youth and has planted over 10,000 mangrove seedlings since 2007. “The…

While longtime Indigenous practices, good ole community organizing, and personal and political commitments to our planet are constantly at work fighting climate change, new technologies are also rapidly emerging. Whether we look to global clean energy experts or small, local logistics managers, helpers of all kinds have their hands in healing the earth, one idea at a time. There are truly too many brilliant solutions to count, but here are five exciting climate breakthroughs that give us hope to keep up the fight. Nuclear Fusion In late 2022, scientists studying fusion energy at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California announced a major breakthrough. The goal of fusion energy is to reproduce the power of the sun in a laboratory (sounds like a supervillain movie at first, we know!), and these…

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma has played what most of us would consider some of the biggest stages in the world, but it wasn't until he parked his cello in nature that the full vastness of his work could be comprehended. Through his performance series, Our Common Nature, Ma toured the country, partnering with state and national parks, nature conservancies, and communities, to “heal and enrich our relationship with the world around us.” He shared meals with a coal mining community in the Appalachians; sight-read compositions from students on a remote trail at the Grand Canyon; and let the fates of nature bring him his audience as he performed in Acadia National Park, as some 20 people stumbled across the most famous cellist in the world playing along with the birds. “We…

GOOD Climate education starts early! Select books like “We Are the Water Protectors,” “The Lorax,” or “No One Is Too Small To Make A Difference” at reading time. Whether you're a parent or teacher, these choices make an impact. BETTER Subject To Climate is an organization that provides educational materials for teachers and students about climate change. Find resources and donate to support the organization. subjecttoclimate.org BEST Contact your state representatives to help implement climate curriculum in your community. Parents and community members can advocate for these changes at school board meetings, as well.…

Every day for almost 40 years, Anuar Abdullah has spent his days tending to the coral reefs of Malaysia's Perhentian Islands. He studies the coral, gathering intel about how they thrive, and works to revive them as they begin to see decline. And he does it all with materials that come directly from the ocean. Abdullah propagates coral using broken pieces and affixing them to rocks using water-resistant, animal-friendly glue. When he needs more materials, he uses waste washed ashore for assistance. He is also working to develop a nursery to repopulate the bay even faster. For years, he did this work alone. Onlookers found him to be eccentric, and his dedication to the coral even led to poverty and divorce. But over time, his commitment to caring for local…

If you're reading’ this newspaper, you're probably pretty passionate about doing your part to care for the planet. But, as much as we try, we will never be doing as much for the recycling revolution as the wax worm: an astonishing creature, scientists have discovered, that can break down polyethylene (aka plastic bags) within hours at room temperature. Wax worms are the larvae that infest beehives. While they started out as a nuisance for scientist (and amateur beekeeper) Dr. Federica Bertocchni, after a while, a discovery was made. “My beehives were plagued with wax worms, so I started cleaning them, putting the worms in a plastic bag,” Bertocchini, who works at the Biological Research Centre in Madrid, told the Guardian. “After a while, I noticed lots of holes, and we…

In a continuously evolving world, it's tough (and, yes, overwhelming) to keep track of the latest news, insights, and tools available to us — especially when it comes to the climate movement. When climate change is consistently left out of relevant reporting or centered around climate doom, it's hard to truly grasp the actual state of our planet and how we can help. We've gathered some of our favorite resources to help bridge that gap! Whether you want to understand climate change, are struggling to stay hopeful, or need help finding resources to make a difference within your corner of the world, we've got you covered.…

Pathfinder: Uplifting Climate Stories is a newsletter written by scientist and climate communicator, Alaina Wood (aka @thegarb age queen) spotlighting good climate news and action steps we can take towards caring for our planet. pathfinder.beehiiv.com Unwrinkling Roundup — written by independent reporter Whitney Bauck — is focused on the intersection of fashion, the environment, ethics, and faith (with some poetry sprinkled in!). tinyletter.com/unwrinkling Changeletter by Soapbox Project is a free bite-sized, actionable sustainability newsletter for climate change advocates who want to make a difference on issues like climate change but don't know where to start. soapboxproject.org/changeletter…

We live in a car-centric society. According to the Ascent, a finance and investing blog by Motley Fool, over 22% of American households have three or more cars. Many of us need a reliable vehicle to get us where we need to be — but our cars are not cutting it. A typical passenger vehicle emits 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, according to the EPA, and while purchasing an electric or hybrid vehicle is becoming more accessible, most of us can't just ditch our 2003 Toyota to buy a new car in the name of climate activism. Additionally, many city infrastructures in the U.S. are not built with public transit in mind. It's frustrating, and it keeps us in a cycle of paying outrageous gas prices, harming…