💚 Wiping Out the Great Pacific Garbage Patch 🌊
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Happy Friday 👋
What comes to your mind when you think about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?
Well, it’s similar for me…
But now there are hopes that this garbage patch finally won’t exist anymore in the near future!
Here are the impactful insights that I have for you today:
- How a nonprofit has set the goal to clear the Great Pacific Garbage Patch by 2034 🌊
- We have all 24 good deeds confirmed for you ✨
- How a solar device can produce 20 liters of clean water per m2 💧
- The solar revolution making up 20% of Chile’s electricity 🌞
- And more… 💚
🌊 How a Nonprofit Plans to Wipe Out the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
1️⃣ The big picture: The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit environmental group, has set ambitious goals to clear the Great Pacific Garbage Patch by 2034. They estimate the project will cost $7.5 billion, which they argue is a feasible amount, especially when compared to annual expenditures on less critical items like Halloween decorations in the US, which total over $10 billion.
2️⃣ Why is this good news: The Ocean Cleanup’s efforts spotlight a tangible solution to a growing environmental problem. They’ve developed a new technology, a floating barrier system that’s 1.4 miles long, capable of collecting large quantities of plastic. So far, they’ve removed a million pounds of trash. With sufficient funding, they believe they can not only continue but also significantly expand their efforts to clean up the oceans within a decade. This plan offers a clear, achievable path to drastically reducing oceanic plastic pollution.
3️⃣ What’s next: The immediate future involves creating a detailed map of oceanic “hotspots” where plastic accumulates most intensely, which will help optimize cleaning efforts. The broader challenge is securing the necessary funding to realize their vision. The Ocean Cleanup is calling on global support from governments, corporations, and individuals to invest in a cleaner, healthier ocean environment, underscoring the global nature of the issue and the collective action required to solve it.
✨ We Have All 24 Good Deeds as Part of The Most Impactful Advent Calendar Confirmed for You
🎄📅 In case you missed it: We are currently creating The Most Impactful Advent Calendar for you, to provide an impactful alternative to the mainstream Advent calendars that mostly offer short-lived joy through unhealthy sweets or cheap toys!
And today is a very special day: we have all 24 partner organizations confirmed alongside all their good deeds! You might have seen a few of these already from our previous emails—keep your eyes out for more sneak peeks into all the other good deeds 💚
This also means that we were finally able to finish the design for The Most Impactful Advent Calendar.
And today, I also have a question for you: How do you like this design? Hit ‘reply’ and let me know—I’d love to hear your feedback 🙋
👉 Join the waitlist for The Most Impactful Advent Calendar today! After signing up, you’ll also be greeted with a quick questionnaire to share your feedback and input!
Related: You can also read a summary of all the latest project updates here.
📢 Three More Good News
💧 How this solar device can produce 20 liters of clean water per square meter:
- Researchers have developed a new device that offers a sustainable way to turn seawater into fresh water. This desalination device is solar-powered and mimics a natural water cycle.
- Many of the desalination methods we use today are energy-intensive. This new system can convert 93% of solar power into energy, making it five times more efficient. Additionally, it can produce 20 liters of fresh water per square meter and meets the World Health Organization’s daily water needs for basic hygiene and drinking.
- Now, the research team hopes to develop a prototype to test at sea. This innovation could provide clean water to billions and advance global water security if successful.
🚙 Norway’s rapid rise of electric vehicles for the first time:
- For the first time, there are more electric vehicles (EV’s) than gas-powered cars in Norway. In a recent report, there were 754,303 electric vehicles compared to 753,905 gas-powered cars.
- The emissions from gas-powered cars make up a large percentage of greenhouse gas emissions around the world. This rapid shift to EVs is a major success for Norway’s climate targets and sets a strong example for other nations.
- Now, Norway expects even more EVs to replace diesel cars by 2026, with nearly all new car registrations already being EVs. Gas and diesel-reliant vehicles by 2025 will also no longer be sold in Norway.
🌞 The solar revolution making up 20% of Chile’s electricity:
- Chile generated 9.4% of its primary energy from solar sources in 2023, with solar making up 20% of its total electricity. The Atacama Desert, which receives the highest sunlight exposure in the world, likely plays a key role in this success.
- This impressive growth shows the country’s rapid transition toward renewable energy. Especially when compared to the previous decade, when Chile generated almost zero solar power.
- As Chile continues their expansion of solar energy, this will contribute to a more sustainable energy system. This success could also inspire other nations to invest in more solar developments.
📢 Even More Good News Headlines From This Week
🧑💻 How AI can improve energy efficiency in indoor farms
🧑🌾 The new agroecology method that aims to restore degraded soil in Cameroon
🇵🇪 Record number of land titles awarded to Indigenous communities in Peru
✊ Protecting human rights in the race for renewable energy
🥕 The company growing vegetables inside supermarkets
🔋 A breakthrough in battery technology
🤝 Important Awareness Events at a Glance
🚮 September 20, World Cleanup Day:
- World Cleanup Day encourages people to clean up waste in their own communities, but also to advocate for larger cleanup initiatives around the world, particularly in the oceans.
- In a time when waste management is becoming an increasing logistical and ecological problem in the world, this day is a reminder of our duty to keep our communities—and planet—clean.
☀️ September 21, Zero Emissions Day:
- Zero Emissions Day advocates for an end to harmful emissions by campaigning to stop emissions for a day.
- Participants take on the challenge to see what it’s like to go without emissions and to envision a world without pollution.
🚲 September 22, World Car-Free Day:
- World Car-Free Day is celebrated all over the world by closing off streets to traffic and opening them up to pedestrians and sometimes cyclists.
- This day raises awareness for how much public space is lost to traffic, as well as the risks traffic causes to public safety.
Related: You can discover all the 106 most important awareness events (for the month, days, weeks) in our awareness calendar for September 2024!
📜 These Days in History
🤵🏻 September 20, 1878: Upton Sinclair was born. In 1905, Sinclair published his book The Jungle. Although his book was written to expose how immigrant workers in food industries were being exploited, the public instead chose to focus on the food being produced by the food industry, and his book unintentionally led to federal food-inspection laws. Sinclair wrote for and lived his life as an advocate for socialism, free speech, and worker rights.
🧙♂️ September 21, 1937: The Hobbit, written by J.R.R. Tolkien, was published. Not only is it a beloved, comforting read, the book explores universal human concerns such as courage, humility, friendship, and the struggle between good and evil. Today, it is a timeless fantasy classic enjoyed by readers of all ages.
📗 September 22, 1888: National Geographic Magazine published its first magazine. It quickly became famous for its beautifully illustrated articles and its focus on different geographic regions and subjects around the world.
💭 Quote of the Day
“There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”
― Dialogue from The Hobbit written by J.R.R. Tolkien; academic, philologist, and world-famous high-fantasy author
Share the news with your friends to make a bigger positive impact on the world and society!
Stay impactful 💚
