Environment

England: Greta Thunberg to join school strike in Bristol

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Europe/England/23-02-2020/Author (a) and Source: www.bbc.com

Climate change activist Greta Thunberg is to join a school strike in Bristol.

She tweeted she was «heading for the UK» and was «looking forward» to joining strikers on College Green in the city centre on Friday morning.

Bristol Youth Strike for Climate (BYS4C) said it was «honoured to be welcoming» the 17-year-old.

Ms Thunberg, who is expected to travel by train, is due to make a speech before joining a samba band-accompanied march.

Izzy Smitheson, from BYS4C, said Ms Thunberg had contacted the group because she «wanted to strike with us».

School strike in BristolImage copyrightARCHIE RICHARDS
Image captionThe first school strike in Bristol took place in February last year

Ms Smitheson, 17, said: «We didn’t have a strike planned, so it’s a lot of last-minute organisation.

«The whole Bristol community has come together to make it happen. We think Greta’s presence will make it very big and bring a lot of energy to the strike.»

Greta Thunberg mural
Image captionArtist Jody Thomas painted a mural of Ms Thunberg in Bristol last year

Two years ago, Ms Thunberg started missing lessons most Fridays to protest outside the Swedish parliament building, in what turned out to be the beginning of a huge environmental movement.

She has become a leading voice for action on climate change, inspiring millions of students to join protests around the world.

Source and Image: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-51597922

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Israeli research reveals alarming changes in world’s largest coral reef

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Asia/Israel/06-10-2019/Editor: xuxin/Source: Xinhua

An Israeli research found that coral intertidal communities have experienced alarming phase shifts over almost a century as a result of environmental changes, Bar Ilan University (BIU) in central Israel reported Sunday.

Published in the journal Nature Communications, the research provides an in-depth look at the world’s largest coral reef, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, over the past 91 years.

Coral reefs are of vital environmental importance as they provide habitats and shelter for many marine creatures, protect shores from wave and storm damage, provide nutrients and more.

Unfortunately, coral reefs are worldwide under increasing stress due to local and global factors and are highly sensitive to environmental change which may result in the loss of reefs.

Therefore, long-term investigation became increasingly important to understand ecosystem responses.

Such investigation was conducted by researchers at BIU and the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences (IUI) in southern Israel, along with the University of Queensland in Australia.

The researchers used an old highly-accurate mapping of the area, produced in 1928 by a British research expedition to the Australian reef.

This mapping enabled the research team to revisit and sample the exact intertidal and subtidal locations previously explored.

Thus, it was found that the number of different species of corals and invertebrates has declined over time, including branching coral species which are the main contributors to reef complexity and serve as home to many creatures.

At the same time, soft corals which do not contribute to reef buildup and even deter stony corals are taking over much of the reef area.

The study’s lead author, Maoz Fine, professor at BIU and IUI, said «the long-term implications of the changes highlight the importance of avoiding phase shifts in coral reefs which may take many decades to repair, if at all.»

The study also illustrates the importance of considering multiple factors in the decline and potential recovery of coral reefs.

In the future, the researchers hope to use the same methods to reconstruct data from other coral reefs worldwide.

Information Reference: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-09/29/c_138434283.htm

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Poland: Scientists find microplastics in air of southern Polish city

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Europe/Poland/06-10-2019/Editor: xuxin/Souce: www.xinhuanet.com

Scientists from the southern Polish city of Krakow have found microplastics in the air of the city during winter, Polish Press Agency (PAP) reported on Monday.

The scientists from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow collected various air pollutants present on the roof of the Pedagogical Faculty in the city and analyzed the components.

They told PAP that they were surprised by the amount of microplastics they found together with dust pollution. They said they identified microplastics in the form of fibers and lumps and were still working on determining the exact composition.

«Currently, plastic products are made from thousands of types of synthetic polymeres. For now, we have not performed a detailed analysis of their composition. Tests, however, have shown that the fragments found by us are mostly plastics, so small fragments of man-made objects,» Kinga Jarosz, one of the scientists from the Jagiellonian University who did the research, told PAP.

As microplastics are found to be present in more places on earth, such as air, water and ice among others, scientists remain unsure of the effects of their inhalation or ingestion on human health.

Information Reference: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-10/01/c_138437894.htm

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EEUU: Save Our Water : Kicks Off Statewide Summer Public Education Campaign

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EEUU/ August 26, 2017/Source: http://www.4-traders.com

“Small Changes. Big Impact” Campaign Encourages Continued Conservation

Save Our Water, California’s official statewide water conservation education program, has launched its statewide late-summer public education campaign, “Small Changes. Big Impact.” The campaign emphasizes the importance of simple daily habits and easy permanent changes Californians can make both in and outside of the house. Much like the habit of recycling bottles and cans, the goal of becoming water efficient can start with the smallest of changes.

Paid media campaign elements – including radio ads, digital, and social media efforts – will be seen and heard by millions throughout the state. Weather and traffic sponsorships on radio stations kicked off the week of Aug. 7 and will run into September. Thirty-second radio ads launched Aug. 14 and will also run into September.

“Californians remain committed to water conservation and are embracing wise water use as a daily habit,” said Jennifer Persike, Deputy Executive Director of External Affairs for the Association of California Water Agencies. “From taking shorter showers and installing water efficient toilets to fixing leaks to transforming landscapes with California friendly plants, Californians are showing that small changes can have a big impact on saving water, rain or shine.”

Digital and social media channels were strong, dynamic tools for Save Our Water’s spring campaign, reaching Californians more than 10 million times. The current campaign will continue to build off that strong performance. Utilizing rich media including all-new video content, interactive HTML5 web banners and infographics, these engaging visuals will aim to promote traffic to the program’s website and inspire social sharing. The “Small Changes. Big Impact” campaign will also continue to deliver messages to the inboxes of more than 100,000 Californians through digital efforts.

“Save Our Water continues to be a great resource for people looking to make conservation a California lifestyle,” said Niki Woodard, California Department of Water Resources Deputy Assistant Director of Public Affairs. “This campaign gives Californians easy, effective tools to continue conserving water. And it reminds them that their efforts are still very important.”

Save Our Water aims to give Californians tools and tips to help them easily conserve at home and at work, every day. Save Our Water connects with Californians on its Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Save Our Water is a statewide program aimed at helping Californians make permanent changes to reduce their everyday water use. Save Our Water is a partnership between the Association of California Water Agencies and the California Department of Water Resources.

Source:

http://www.4-traders.com/news/Save-Our-Water-Kicks-Off-Statewide-Summer-Public-Education-Campaign–25001697/

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