💚 For Our Earth 🌎
Affiliate Disclosure
Hey fellow impactful ninja ?
You may have noticed that Impactful Ninja is all about providing helpful information to make a positive impact on the world and society. And that we love to link back to where we found all the information for each of our posts.
Most of these links are informational-based for you to check out their primary sources with one click.
But some of these links are so-called "affiliate links" to products that we recommend.
Why do we add these product links?
First and foremost, because we believe that they add value to you. For example, when we wrote a post about the environmental impact of long showers, we came across an EPA recommendation to use WaterSense showerheads. So we linked to where you can find them. Or, for many of our posts, we also link to our favorite books on that topic so that you can get a much more holistic overview than one single blog post could provide.
And when there is an affiliate program for these products, we sign up for it. For example, as Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases.
What do these affiliate links mean for you?
First, and most importantly, we still only recommend products that we believe add value for you.
When you buy something through one of our affiliate links, we may earn a small commission - but at no additional costs to you.
And when you buy something through a link that is not an affiliate link, we won’t receive any commission but we’ll still be happy to have helped you.
What do these affiliate links mean for us?
When we find products that we believe add value to you and the seller has an affiliate program, we sign up for it.
When you buy something through one of our affiliate links, we may earn a small commission (at no extra costs to you).
And at this point in time, all money is reinvested in sharing the most helpful content with you. This includes all operating costs for running this site and the content creation itself.
What does this mean for me personally?
You may have noticed by the way Impactful Ninja is operated that money is not the driving factor behind it. It is a passion project of mine and I love to share helpful information with you to make a positive impact on the world and society. However, it's a project in that I invest a lot of time and also quite some money.
Eventually, my dream is to one day turn this passion project into my full-time job and provide even more helpful information. But that's still a long time to go.
Stay impactful,
Happy Monday 👋
Here are the impactful insights that I have for you today:
- How to get involved in Earth Month 🌎
- How scientists can engineer bacteria to grow sustainable, self-dying fabrics 🦠
- The return of the long-extinct Javan tiger 🐅
- And more… 💚
Do you already have plans for this year’s Earth Day?
What about giving a child the priceless joy of planting and watching trees grow in their very own backyard?
Let’s join in with Neighborhood Forest, a charity that does exactly that: gifting kids their very own trees 🌳
In this way, you can help beautify our neighborhoods, lower our collective carbon footprint, and instill a sense of love for trees and nature into the heart of the kid receiving your tree!
🌎 Event of the Month: Earth Month
👉 Did you know that this month is Earth Month? This international awareness event was established to reflect on our relationship with the planet and inspire action to protect it.
1️⃣ The big picture: Earth Month was founded in 1990 to expand the celebration of Earth Day (April 22) which began in the US, to celebrate the progress made towards protecting our environment. Today, events and activities are held in 190 countries around the world to raise awareness of the threats facing our planet and encourage individuals to make personal changes in their lives to address the climate crisis and the environmental challenges that still remain.
2️⃣ Why is this important: Our natural planet is in crisis. As our climate warms, the polar ice caps are melting at an alarming rate, causing endemic species to flee their natural habitats. Moreover, plants, flowers, and trees are changing their natural cycles in response to warmer weather, causing species and habitat decline around the world. Today, 16,900 species are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List – more than double the number of 2007. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the global temperature rise and the excessive burning of fossil fuels to be one of the greatest threats to global health.
3️⃣ How can you get involved: There are many ways you can get involved in Earth Month. For example, you can hold a sustainable awareness event or learn how to calculate your own emissions from electrical use and make a change to your daily habits. In addition, you can consider carbon offset initiatives or support your local sustainable businesses.
Below are our favorite charities that are especially relevant this awareness month:
- 10 Best Charities for This Year’s Earth Day
- 9 Best Charities for Protecting Nature
- 9 Best Charities That Fight Global Warming
- 9 Best Wildlife Conservation Charities
- 9 Best Charities for Climate Change
📢 Three Good News
🦠 How scientists develop plastic-free vegan leather that dyes itself using bacteria:
- Researchers at the Imperial College London have genetically engineered bacteria to grow animal- and plastic-free leather that dyes itself.
- In recent years, scientists have started using microbes to grow sustainable textiles and make dyes for the industry. However, this is the first time that bacteria has been used to produce a material and its own pigment simultaneously.
- The new process, which has been published in the journal Nature Biotechnology, could also theoretically be adapted to grow materials with vibrant colors and patterns, as well as make more sustainable alternatives to other textiles like cotton.
🐅 The public sightings that suggest the long-extinct Javan tiger may still be alive in the wild:
- A 2019 sighting by 5 different witnesses indicates that the Javan tiger may still exist in the wild today, even though it was thought to have gone extinct in the 1980s.
- A strand of hair recovered from one of the sightings was found to be a 97.8% genetic match to the hair on a tiger pelt from the 1930s kept at a museum in West Java City, Bogor.
- Scientists now plan to conduct follow-up studies such as camera traps, fecal samples, and footprint tracking to confirm the existence of the Javan tiger.
👚 The Competition and Markets Authority clamps down on greenwashing in the fashion industry:
- After being investigated for greenwashing by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), three top fashion brands have signed a pledge to use only “accurate and clear” sustainability claims.
- The action came after the CMA probed ASOS, Asda, and Boohoo for misleading customers with their green claims. Since 2021, the CMA has invested £1.3 million ($1.6 million) in investigating greenwashing claims to improve the sustainability of the fashion industry.
- For inclusion in environmentally friendly ranges, companies now need to clearly state their claims and meet the minimum requirements set out by the CMA.
🤝 Three More Important Awareness Events
🐕🦺 April 08, National Dog Fighting Awareness Day:
- Although dog fighting is banned throughout the US, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals asserts that some dog fighting rings are still active.
- In 2014, they created this National Dog Fighting Awareness Day to draw attention to this cruel practice and encourage people to take action.
❗ April 10, National Youth HIV and AIDS Awareness Day:
- In the US, 20% of new HIV diagnoses in 2020 were among young people between the ages of 13 and 24. This statistic is alarming, considering that only 6% of high school students have ever been tested.
- Organizations utilize this day to educate the public about the impact of HIV and AIDS on young people, as well as highlight prevention, treatment, and support for those affected.
🖍️ April 6-12, Week of the Young Child:
- Week of the Young Child was first observed in 1971 as an initiative of the National Association for the Education of Young Children to bring awareness to the importance of early childhood education.
- It is also a time to rally support for equitable access to quality early childhood education.
Related: You can discover all the 109 most important awareness events (for the month, days, weeks) in our awareness calendar for April 2024!
📜 This Week in History
⚾ April 08, 1974: American baseball player Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s long-standing record by hitting his 715th career home run. By the end of his career, he had 755 home runs under his belt.
🤝 April 08, 1950: Jawaharlal Nehru of India finalized the Deli Pact with Liaquat Ali Khan of Pakistan, allowing for the safe passage of refugees displaced after the two countries severed relations in December 1949.
🖤 April 09, 1866: The Civil Rights Bill was passed by Congress, granting Blacks the rights and privileges of US citizenship.
💭 Quote of the Day
“I tell young people – including my granddaughter – there is no shortcut in life. You have to take it one step at a time and work hard. And you have to give back.”
— Hank Aaron, American baseball player
Share the news with your friends to make a bigger positive impact on the world and society together!
Stay impactful 💚
