The world is good

2021-08-23 12:14:06 Open / Comment

2021-08-23 12:13:59 This plant hotel will take care of your leafy friends while you’re away

If, like us, you are a plant enthusiast, you’re probably worried whether your botanical friends will survive while you’re away on holiday. In a bid to put such worries to rest, an online plant shop has come up with a remarkable initiative — a hotel created exclusively for houseplants, where they can enjoy a vegetation vacation of their own while you’re away.

The Patch Plant Hotel is the brainchild of Freddie Blackett, who runs an online plant shop called Patch. Now, Patch operates as a service dedicated to putting customers at ease by tending to their plants. From pots to plant care, Patch offers a unique approach to personalized gardening. The best part? The service is free.

The hotel is located in North London and its booking process is quite straightforward. You input your holiday details — date of departure, date of return — and how many indoor and outdoor leafy friends you need to be homed during that time. The hotel manager then reaches out to you and advises you on picking up and dropping off your plants.

Both Patch and non-Patch customers are welcome to leave their plants at their hotel, which caters to a variety of greeneries and has suites from the sun-soaked to the shady depending on your plant’s preference. On top of that, the hotel even has a space service, with hand-powered misting and deep tissue drenching to ensure your botanicals stay hydrated and enjoy the ultimate wellness experience. Open / Comment

2021-08-22 11:44:34 Open / Comment

2021-08-22 11:44:25 Retrofitting demonstrates the profitability of green industry

Research has shown that it is possible for our world to be sustainable and profitable, but transitioning away from the fossil fuel industry requires the transfer of job skills. In England, this shift is already taking place with the growth of the green home retrofitting industry.

The Manchester Carbon Co-op People Powered Retrofit (PPR) project is focused on making the city’s homes more energy-efficient and training local workers to make these changes. The project is currently working on 60 retrofits, with a long waiting list, but their training program is even more impressive.

The initiative focuses on retraining tradespeople as well as informing passionate DIY enthusiasts on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from drafty homes. This includes seminars on using hemp and lime for insulation, installing heat pumps, and using natural ventilation methods.

Owners interested in boosting the sustainability of their homes can complete a £550 assessment with PPR which lays out recommended work and estimated costs for varying degrees of retrofitting. PPR then helps connect them with contractors to do the work.

Retrofitting a home is costly, but the demand is there and expected to grow as Greater Manchester’s mayor Andy Burnham announced £1.1m in funding for a retrofitting training program called Retrofit Skills Hub. Poorly insulated homes contribute an estimated 14 percent of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, so governments are eager to make the updates and homeowners stand to save big on heating bills with these upgrades.

As we green up our cities and our building codes, retrofitting jobs will become increasingly more plentiful to make homes and businesses more sustainable. This is just one example of the profitability of sustainability that we are already seeing in cities around the world. Open / Comment

2021-08-21 09:33:21 Open / Comment

2021-08-21 09:33:12 Plastic crisis: India will ban single-use plastic items by 2022

With growing awareness about the huge environmental threat of single-use plastics, countries around the world, like Chile and New Zealand, have ramped up their efforts against plastic pollution by strategically banning disposable plastics.

Now India is committing to a plastic-free future as well. The country recently announced a ban on single-use plastic items by 2022 in a bid to tackle the growing menace of plastic pollution. In addition to the ban, the government will also increase the thickness of polythene bags from 50 microns to 120 microns, beginning this fall.

The thinner polythene bags are, the more tricky they are to collect and recycle, which means that these items often end up polluting waterways and the environment. Currently, polythene bags thinner than 50 microns are banned in India. Under the new rules, however, bags of less than 75 microns in thickness will be banned this September and bags of less than 120 microns in December 2022.

As for single-use plastics; Items such as earbuds, balloon sticks, candy sticks, plastic plates, and cutlery, as well as wrapping or packaging films, among many others, will be banned.

The aim is to prevent plastic waste from leaking into the environment — which harms marine life and chokes drainage and river systems, and causes soil and water contamination. Another reason is to divert these items from being burnt in the open air, which negatively affects human health and the environment. Open / Comment

2021-08-19 10:17:04 Open / Comment

2021-08-19 10:16:51 This nonprofit helps nature reclaim coal mines in the Appalachians

The world is shifting toward renewable sources of energy, which means there are plenty of coal mines left unused. However, Green Forests Work, a nonprofit based in Kentucky is working on a solution to restore the once-surface-mined land to its natural glory while generating jobs for local tree planters, equipment operators, and nursery workers.

Approximately six million acres of the US have been impacted by surface mining since 1980. Luckily much of the land has been reclaimed by the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMRCA). A good portion of this reclaimed land is located in the Appalachia, which is home to some of the world’s most diverse temperate forestland, so for the revival of this ecosystem’s biodiversity, the SMRCA is striving to use the reclaimed land for pasture or wildlife habitat use.

Restoring reclaimed mines
Surface mining is a method of extracting minerals near the Earth’s surface and normally requires clearing the land of trees before removing the soil and rock to uncover the mineral.

Replanting native trees on surface-mined lands is more complicated than regular planting, and often needs a little more work to ensure that the trees flourish. Green Forests Work accomplishes this by removing non-native species, loosening the compacted soil, and finally replanting native trees by hand.

Generating jobs for those who may have lost them due to the closing down of the coal mine is another benefit of the nonprofit’s initiative. Green Forests Work is able to support the local economy by hiring heavy machinery operators who were formerly employed by mining companies, buying native plant material from regional nurseries, and bringing in local tree planting contractors. It also encourages surrounding communities to get educated and involved by hosting annual volunteer tree planting and awareness events.

Green Forests Work has planted over three million trees across almost 5,000 acres in the Appalachia region since 2009 and is currently working on a surface-mined site outside Williamsburg, Virginia.

A boost for wildlife
One of the long-term goals of the nonprofit is to reforest the site near Daniel Boone National Forest, which was last mined over three decades ago so that it blends in with the neighboring, un-mined woodland surrounding it. Now, the site is a mostly desolate landscape that hosts a few invasive plant species.

Restoring the barren land will improve the air quality, supply food and medicine, provide shelter for wildlife, as well as income for locals who may have been hit financially by the closing down of the coal mines. Open / Comment

2021-08-18 10:39:31 Open / Comment

2021-08-18 10:39:24 The world’s first all-electric tugboat to put to sea in 2023

According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), maritime transport emits around 940 million tonnes of CO2 annually and is responsible for about 2.5 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As engineers are working to green up cargo ships with the help of low-carbon fuels, smaller vessels are also beginning to undergo sustainable overhauls.

The future of sustainable tugboats, for example, is just around the corner thanks to Crowley Maritime Corporation, which has recently revealed their design for eWolf — the world’s first all-electric harbor tugboat, due to hit the water over the next two years.

“The eWolf represents everything Crowley stands for: innovation, sustainability and performance. With this groundbreaking tug design, our team continues to embrace our role as leaders in the maritime industry while providing our customers with innovative and sustainable solutions done right,” said company CEO Tom Crowley.

As noted by Inhabitat, the name eWolf is a nod to the first tug purchased by the company’s founder over a century ago, dubbed the Sea Wolf. But unlike its predecessor, eWolf will do the job while replacing a standard tugboat that consumes 30,000 gallons of diesel per year.

According to Crowley, the electric tugboat’s first ten years of operation will prevent the emission of 178 tons of nitrogen oxide, 2.5 tons of diesel particulate matter, and 3,100 metric tons of CO2, compared to today’s typical tug.

“This vessel will set a standard in the U.S. maritime industry for sustainability and performance, and its zero-emissions capability and autonomous technology will benefit the environment and the safety of mariners and vessels,” said Garret Rice, president of Master Boat Builders, a partner in the project. Open / Comment