Tag: News

People are working to find cleaner energy sources around the world and move away from non-renewable sources like gas and coal. And, with that in mind, we just hit a milestone in the United States. 

The US broke a record where 40% of its energy and electricity comes from carbon-free sources. The US has increased its carbon-free power usage nearly every year since 1990. 

The energy sources are vast but mostly renewable, ranging from nuclear plants, hydroelectric dams, solar, and wind. Most of the growth has come from the rapid expansion of solar and wind energy while nuclear and hydroelectric power has remained relatively stagnant. 

2022 also saw a massive increase in the number of electric vehicles Americans purchased, making up 7.1% of all new cars sold in the United States. The total number of electric vehicles in the country is just shy of 1 million now.

“Despite high inflation and supply chain issues and interconnection backlogs, we still saw pretty amazing growth in the capacity of wind and especially solar, despite a challenging business environment,” said Harrison Fell, a professor of resource and energy economics at North Carolina State University. 

In coming years we should see even more rapid clean energy growth thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act which provided billions to help the US switch to clean energy.

This article aligns with the UN SDG Affordable and Clean Energy

Dunelm has partnered with Hubbub, an environmental organisation, to launch a homeware reuse initiative.

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Waste comes in all forms – it isn’t just empty food packets and broken electronics. Homeware that is thrown away, rather than being recycled or reused, is a big issue too.

That’s why Dunelm and Hubbub have created the ‘Home to Home’ initiative, which will see Dunelm stores collaborating with local community groups. The goal is to redistribute as many pre-loved homeware items as possible – so less waste is created, and more money is saved.

How does it work?

Dunelm is encouraging customers to bring pre-loved items into the store so that they can be sorted and redistributed back into the community. Additionally, Dunelm will be contributing its own ex-display items, samples, and other products that are needed by its community partners.

Partners include Emmaus, a charity that supports people who are homeless, The Bread and Butter Thing, which focuses on food security, and Julian House, which supports people who are living in temporary accommodation.

If you want to get involved, head down to your local Dunelm and ask about their Home to Home initiative.

This article aligns with the UN SDG Climate Action.

Two very special dogs are helping save endangered Pangolins.

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Pangolins are small, adorable, animals, that are covered in scales. You probably know them as the animals that curl up in a ball when they feel scared or threatened.

They are incredibly rare animals that have been hunted for generations. Many people believe their scales have medicinal properties, but excessive hunting has left them endangered.

How are dogs helping them?

Two lovely labradors Buster and Bess have just graduated from a training programme with the police. They will be flying out to Thailand in April, to help sniff out animals, just like the endangered pangolin.

Pangolins, and other endangered animals, are often smuggled out of their native countries – and Buster and Bess are just the crack team to stop them.

They even had special training at the London Zoo, and will now make their way to Thailand where they will patrol roads, airports and ports to prevent animal smugglers from taking these precious animals out of the country.

If you want to help endangered animals like Buster and Bess, you can do so by supporting the charity United for Wildlife.

This article aligns with the UN SDG Life on Land.

Arizona is one of the quickest-growing states in the country. Its capital, Phoenix, has blossomed into the fifth most populated city in the US and all that is despite being a massive dry and arid state with deserts everywhere and a concerning water supply. 

West of Phoenix is a small farming town called Buckeye that is being touted as one of the fastest growing towns in the country, starting with a population of 6,500 in 2000 to the north of 111,000 today.

All of this, despite the fact that Arizona is the driest its been in 1,200 years. Currently, amid a 23-year-long megadrought Arizona officials are getting creative with how to use the water, they do have while helping promote the state’s continuous growth. 

Arizona has some of the lowest priority rights to the river water of any of the seven basin states. So Phoenix and its suburbs are increasingly turning to groundwater as the state has endured big cuts to Colorado River water.

While the state released a report about the use of water and how they may be running a little lower than expected many town officials welcomed the news saying that a detailed report helps them plan the cities better and more efficiently.

“I don’t think we want to shut off all of the growth trying to figure out the solution for all the growth, “ Buckeye Mayor Eric Orbsorn says. “We can do this in an incremental approach.”

This is a part of a wider trend, specifically in states like Arizona and to the west, California where states are having to find creative ways to save water while still promoting positive growth in their communities. 

If this is something you’re passionate about consider donating to some organizations like Water.org to help bring potable water to developing countries.

This article aligns with the UN SDG Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.