We often hear negative things about our environment, such as plastic pollution, global warming, Natural Resource Depletion, Loss of Biodiversity, Deforestation, Ocean Acidification, Ozone Layer Depletion etc…
Many people think that it is useless to protect the environment, that the future of the planet is doomed, that it is too late, but it is false. In this post, I wish to show you that even the craziest dreams can be realized.
Let me tell you about 3 powerful things that have been done this last 12 months for the environment!
The plastic-free city
" Even though it's quite poor, everyone has traditional (cloth) napkins for tortilla, for shopping bread. Each design we make (on the napkins) carries our thoughts, our ideas, our culture." Berta Ángela, Teixchel Artisans Cooperative.
Your dream has always been to live in a plastic-free city, with an average rate of 0% plastic pollution per year? Well, we have found that place for you. Indeed, an entire town fulfilled this crazy dream to be completely plastic-free.
San Pedro La Laguna is a Mayan town at the shores of Lake Atitlan, in central Guatemala. Very concerned by the protection of their environment, the inhabitants decided to take action. The mayor has established a no-plastic policy that the community is proud to follow. Like their ancestors, they now use handmade napkins and traditional, biodegradable, materials such as leaves, and paper bags.
I will let you enjoy the video:
Other cities are doing amazing for the planet. For example, the city of Ljubljana in Slovenia, that has one of the highest rates for the separate collection and recycling of waste in Europe – over 60 per cent.
Goldman Prize Winners
The Goldman Environmental Prize (also called the Green Nobel) is a prize awarded annually to environmental activists. Each year, one prize is awarded to one people from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. This prize was established by the Goldman Environmental Foundation in 1989.
Let me introduce to you 2 of them:
Manny Calonzo, Philippines
Manny Calonzo won the Goldman Prize of Islands & Island Nations in 2018 for launching a campaign fighting against lead painting. This huge and powerful campaign led the government to enact a national ban on the production, use, and sale of lead paint. Paint manufacturers now have to respect those standards. Today, more than 85% of the paint market in the Philipines has been certified as lead safe.
Nguy Thi Khanh, Vietnam
Nguy Thi Khanh won the Goldman Prize of Asia in 2018 for of her dedication in advocating for sustainable long-term energy projections in Vietnam. She used scientific research, worked with engaged Vietnamese state agencies to highlight the terrible impact of coal exploitation, but also worked closely with state officials in order to reduce coal dependency and start using greener energies.
You can learn more about coal exploitation in my previous post about Digital Pollution.
Hope you were inspired,
Noémie.
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