💚 Oyster Shells vs ACs 🦪
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Stay impactful,
Happy Thursday 👋
Here are the impactful insights that I have for you today:
- Thermo-reflective oyster paint to replace ACs 🦪
- The world’s first zero-waste island 🏝️
- Unlimited mental health services for 911 dispatchers 👩🏼⚕️👨🏽⚕️
- And more… 💚
Have you ever eaten oysters? Frankly, I haven’t but I’ve heard they should be quite special…
But I know that they are normally served with their shell, which would then largely go to waste.
Now, just imagine if we could recircle these shells in a way that helps us combat climate change! That’s exactly what one French company set out to do…
🦪 How Discarded Oyster Shells Are Cooling Down Buildings
1️⃣ The big picture: French company Cool Roof France has come up with an ingenious way to develop a thermo-reflective roof paint made from oyster shells that can significantly lower the temperature inside buildings—they use the 130,000 tonnes of waste oyster shells produced every year in France. This paint is then applied in three layers and can reflect up to 90% of the sun’s rays, resulting in an average temperature reduction of about 11 to 13° Fahrenheit (6 to 7° Celsius) inside buildings.
2️⃣ Why is this good news: This innovation leads to a 30 to 50% drop in energy consumption for cooling, which is a huge step forward in sustainable living and combating urban heat. Traditional air conditioning systems are effective but contribute to the climate crisis. And this new solution reduces the need for air conditioning and also recycles oyster shell waste. This is a win-win for both the environment and energy consumption!
3️⃣ What’s next: Currently, the company mainly works with businesses, schools, and hospitals to reduce the temperature inside buildings filled with hundreds of people. One reason is that cooling down bigger buildings can help reduce the overall temperature of a city or town. However, they also directly sell their thermo-reflective oyster paint in case you do like the idea of a white roof for your own home.
📢 More Good News…
🏝️ Welcome to the world’s first zero-waste island:
- The Greek island Tilos has become the world’s first zero-waste island.
- In 2022, 87% of its waste was recycled from the landfill. Today, 100% of its trash has been diverted from the landfill.
- The landfill has now closed and is replaced by the Centre for Creative Upcycling, where trash can either be repaired, reused, or turned into raw art supplies or building materials.
🌿 Plant diversity in urban green spaces led to sevenfold increase in insect species, study finds:
- Australian researchers have found increasing the diversity of native plants in a single urban green space resulted in a sevenfold increase in the number of insect species after three years, calling it a “substantial ecological change”.
- This new research further shows how even small greening actions in cities can significantly improve local biodiversity.
👩🏼⚕️👨🏽⚕️ Gov. Katie Hobbs signs bill giving Arizona 911 dispatchers unlimited mental health services:
- Arizona state’s 911 operators can now use unlimited mental health services without the fear of running out of sessions or having to pay for extra sessions out of pocket.
- The recent signing of the bill 2717 gives the operators the same mental health benefits as police officers and firefighters.
❌ Day of the Week: International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances
👉 Did you know that this Wednesday, August 30, was the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances?
1️⃣ The big picture: Enforced disappearance is more than a human rights violation against an individual. It has frequently been used as a strategy to spread terror within the society. The feeling of insecurity generated by this practice is not limited to the close relatives of the disappeared, but also affects their communities and society as a whole.
2️⃣ Why is this important: Enforced disappearance has become a global problem and is not restricted to a specific region of the world. Once largely the product of military dictatorships, enforced disappearances can nowadays be perpetrated in complex situations of internal conflict, especially as a means of political repression of opponents. Hundreds of thousands of people have vanished during conflicts or periods of repression in at least 85 countries around the world.
3️⃣ How can you get involved: You can create awareness on social media, report cases of disappearance, and support organizations that work to help find missing people.
📜 This Week in History
🤵💬 August 31, 1837: Ralph Waldo Emerson gives his famous “The American Scholar” speech to the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Harvard College, helping American literary shape their independence from Europe.
👸🏼 August 31, 1997: Diana Frances Spencer, commonly called Princess Diana, passes away in a car crash after many years of public charity work. Her compassion, personal warmth, humility, and accessibility earned her the nickname “the People’s Princess.”
💭 Quote of the Week
“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson; American lecturer, poet, and essayist
Share the news with your friends to make a bigger positive impact on the world and society!
Stay impactful 💚
