Tag: News

A floating city in the luxurious Maldives has been given the green light – in a bid to combat rising sea levels and climate change.

What exactly is a ‘floating city’?

Well, there will be 5,000 housing units, tethered to a 500-acre lagoon. Why’s this a good thing, we hear you ask? Because it has been designed to preserve and enhance its natural and cultural ecosystem.

The city will also have hotels, shops, and restaurants – but there won’t be any cars. Only bikes or noise-free scooters.

How is this helping climate change?

Well, the city has been built as a solution to rising sea levels, as well as to combat overcrowding in the capital city. Did you know the Maldives is one of the nations most vulnerable to climate change?

The “floating city” has been proposed as an eco-friendly, sustainable city solution.

The project (apparently 10 years in the making!) is a joint venture between the government of the Maldives and Netherlands-based architecture studio Waterstudio.

Tell us more…

The design, by Waterstudio, was thought through in great detail. The city will be “a nature-based structure of roads and water canals resembling the beautiful and efficient way in which real brain coral is organised.

It’ll also stimulate coral growth with artificial coral banks, and will not require any land reclamation.

What else do I need to know?

The city will start being built in January 2023, and likely take around five years to complete.

This article aligns with the UN SDG Climate Action and No Poverty.

Denver has spent more than $4 million to encourage more people onto e-bikes – and you know what? It’s working.

How have they done it?

A rebate program was put into place to incentivize Denver citizens to buy electric bikes.

A standard rebate was $400, $1200 for low-income people, and an extra $500 for those who buy an electric cargo bike. 

How popular was it?

The first set of 3,000 vouchers was all claimed within a few days of the initial launch in April, and an additional 1,100 vouchers or so were re-released in July, and “they were gone in 22 minutes,” says Grace Rink, the city’s chief climate officer.

“We thought it might be popular. We just didn’t know how popular it was going to be.”

And how’s the program doing now?

The people behind the program thought that funding would last for upwards of three years, but most of the funding was gone in just over six months.

To date, over 4,100 vouchers have been shared, worth a total of more than $4.1 million, and have been redeemed at local bike shops. Local officials are already working to allocate more funding for the program this fall.

Now that’s the way to get people out of cars and onto e-bikes.

It’s no secret that more of us are being conscious where we shop – we’re aware of the climate crisis, we’re aware of the hardships many people experience, and we want companies to be aware of this, too.

And many of them are – because more seem to be committing to green climate pledges, supporting charities through their profits, and aligning with the goals that aim to make our world a happier and healthier place to live.

So each week, we highlight the ones doing their bit.

1. Bank pledges to stop funding fossil fuels

Bank with Lloyds? (Yep, us too). Well, the Lloyds Banking Group announced it would stop funding new oil and gas projects. And it’s the first major UK bank to commit to this. 

In a statement, Lloyds said: “We will not provide financing to new clients in the oil and gas sector unless it is for viable projects into renewable energies and transition technologies, and clients have credible transition plans.” Good stuff.

2. Network Rail helps the homeless (and fast fashion!)

Did you hear people were shopping preloved on their commute? Network Rail teamed up with Shelter and gave them free space for pop-up boutique charity shops to encourage more people to shop secondhand. 

Charity shops don’t have big marketing budgets, and often need more opportunities to showcase their pre-loved fashion. So, they’re targeting commuters. By attracting hundreds of people to each pop-up, it allows Shelter to introduce Shelter shops to new customers and gets the conversation started around sustainability.

3. The shoe made from carbon emissions

Yes, you read that right. Swiss sports brand On has created the first shoe made from carbon emissions, called Cloudprime. They made a new foam material called CleanCloud™, which was formulated using carbon emissions as a raw material.

Apparently, On is the first company in the footwear industry to explore carbon emissions as a primary raw material for a shoe’s midsole, specifically EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) foam. So that’s a big thumbs up from us.

This article aligns with the UN SDG Responsible Consumption and Production.

Secondhand fashion is not only good for the planet – it’s good for your wallets, too. Which is why changing the narrative around preloved clothing is pretty important.

That’s why Network Rail has been bringing secondhand clobber to train stations, thanks to a partnership with Shelter.

So, I can shop secondhand on my commute?

Yes! Well, people have been.

Shelter has developed a partnership with Network Rail and have been running a number of pop-up boutiques in London train stations. They handpick some great donated items and showcase them in a mobile boutique to use within the stations.

And why’s this a good thing?

Everyone is looking for ways to be more sustainable right now, so Shelter wanted to show people how great shopping secondhand can be. The thing is, charity shops don’t have big marketing budgets, and often need more opportunities to showcase their pre-loved fashion.

So, they’re targeting commuters! By attracting hundreds of people to each pop-up, it allows Shelter to introduce Shelter shops to new customers and gets the conversation started around sustainability.

Sounds great! Any other benefits?

Well, Network rail generously donated the spaces in the stations for free, as part of their Routes out of Homelessness charity partnership.

As part of Network Rail’s charter to tackle rough sleeping on the rail network, Shelter also works with Network Rail to support people who sleep rough in and around four major train stations to access accommodation.

Where can I visit one?

They’ve been pretty limited editing. The pop-up in Waterloo ran from 11-13 October, 18-20 October in London Bridge, and 25-27 October in Charing Cross.

But you can still shop secondhand, of course. Find your local store on Shelter’s website.

This article aligns with the UN SDG Responsible Consumption and Production.

A pride of lions have been airlifted from Ukraine to Colorado in what has been called the “biggest-ever war zone rescue of lions”.

Lions?!

Yes, lions. They’ve been airlifted to the US from the Bio Park Zoo in Odessa, located in southern Ukraine has been greatly affected by the war. 

For fear of their safety, seven adult lions, and two cubs were transferred to the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado. They weren’t taken straight to Colorado though, first making a stop at the Targu Mures Zoo in Romania. 

And why is it so significant?

This is the largest warzone rescue of lions ever. It may not seem like a lot but with everything else bad happening in the war a little good news can go a long way. 

What did the Colorado sanctuary have to say?

Pat Craig, the Executive Director of the Wild Animal Sanctuary made a point to note just how difficult international animal rescues can be.

“International rescue operations are almost always more complex in nature, but then you are factoring in a variety of foreign governments and timelines for permitting, some of those with active warzones,” he said. 

But he also made a note that just saving the lions was worth the work.

“We are thankful we could get all the lions out in time and save them. That’s what matters. They will live out the rest of their lives in pristine, large, natural habitats.”

This article aligns with the UN SDG Life On Land.