Green World

Happy New Year! We hope you are all enjoying the last day of 2022 (or whatever day you are reading this on). Today we are going to be looking back on 2022 and setting goals for 2023.  2022 in stats 48 posts 3191 views most viewed post: The Amazon Rainforest part 4 best posting month: October worst posting month: March 166% increase in views compared to last year How was it for us? Elsie: I really enjoyed this year from about May. After some behind-the-scenes changes, we managed to get so many more posts out and writing them felt a lot less stressful. I also really enjoyed the experience of having a guest blogger (click here ). My favourite posts to write were the Pride Month post and the ' how trees communicate ' post. They both required quite a bit of background research, which was fun and interesting. Freya: Although I haven't written on here as much as I was hoping this year, I have loved still being a part of this blog ...

Hello everyone, First of all: Merry Christmas or Hannukah! I hope you are all enjoying your holidays and this special time of year. Today we'll be looking into the paper industry because lots of people are arguing about whether paper bags are better than plastic ones. We looked into it for you, enjoy! Acid rain In the production of pulp and paper, nitrogen oxides (NO X ) and sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) are produced. Both of these are contributors to acid rain, which is not quite as terrible as it sounds but still quite bad. Acid rain is rain, fog, snow or hail that is acidic. It's formed by NO X  & SO 2 reacting with water and oxygen which will turn them into nitrous acid (HNO 2 ), nitric acid (HNO 3 ) & sulfuric acid (H 2 SO 4 ), meaning that instead of rain being formed from just water, it is instead also mixed with acid. While acid rain won't harm you, it can harm aquatic ecosystems and forests. When the rain falls on water, it w...

Welcome back, Today we’re looking at the direct impacts of the climate crisis . The main reason why people don’t believe in climate change is that they can’t see it with their own eyes. So, we’re going to have a look at the Maldives where the effects of climate change become more obvious with every passing year. Maldives The full name of the Maldives is The Republic of the Maldives. It is an independent country made up of about 1 200 islands in the North Indian Ocean. The northernmost island is situated 370 miles away from the mainland (India). The islands are actually the tips of an ancient volcanic mountain range that is now almost completely submerged. In fact, the highest point is 1.8m-2.4m above sea level with the average elevation being 1m above sea level. The islands have a large tourism industry, due to the stunning nature found on and around the islands. 500 000 - 1 500 000 tourists visit the islands each year. This is mainly 'nature to...

Hello everyone, This is the 4th post in our '10 animals on the edge of extinction you didn't know about'. Today we are going to be talking about Sumatran elephants. You've probably all heard about Sumatran tigers, which are also on the edge of extinction, but Sumatran elephants are much less well-known. Characteristics Sumatran elephants live for around 70 years and grow 2 - 3.2m tall. They weigh 2 000 to 4 000 kg and are the smallest subspecies of Asian Elephant. The males have tusks, however, these don't grow as long as their African counterparts. The females also have tusks but these are normally so small, that they are hidden under the upper lip. Sumatran elephants are herbivores, eating bark, bananas, young fresh leaves and occasionally various wild herbs. Social lives Elephants are very social and live in herds of 20 - 35 individuals. These herds are led by a dominant female. Males leave when reach adolescence, either willi...

Welcome to December! We thought it would be cool to find 10 ways you can use a plastic bottle even after you have refilled it gazillion times, so you don't waste all the plastic . Because, even if you try to avoid plastic bottles at all costs, you will inevitably end up using hundreds of them throughout your life. The impact on the environment is undisputed, from the land animals to the creatures of our seas, plastic bottles can have a detrimental impact. But we can reuse them in lots of fun ways, here are our ten favourites. Have a good December and a great new year, you'll hear from us! 1. Bird Feeder At one of our blog meet-ups, we actually made a bird feeder out of an old plastic bottle, so this is definitely one we can vouch for. It's super simple, as long as you have some good scissors to cut the bottle and a suitable place to hang it. Below is a photograph of ours for some inspiration, and there are plenty of resources online to ...

Hello and welcome back to another post! The pandemic has affected us all in many ways but what about the environment. How has it been affected? Today we'll be going into that. How did it start? So COVID-19 broke out in late 2019 in China but how it started is still a greatly controversial topic. Prof Stephan Turner told  The Guardian in an online article in April: [...] says what’s most likely is that virus originated in bats. However, how it transferred to humans still isn't 100% certain. Scientists mostly agree that it didn't come directly from a bat, but instead was transferred through another animal. Regardless of how it reached humans, the main idea is that it came from a live animal, either in a food market or in the meat industry . Either way, it was our mistreatment of animals that lead to this disastrous pandemic that has claimed the lives of over 6.5 million people! Emissions When many businesses, industries and...

For all the TV lovers, Recently I have been getting more into watching inspiring movies and TV shows, and I started a list of environment-themed ones I want to look at. I spent a lot of time just exploring and the ones below are the ones I found. I actually haven't seen most of them, but if you have watched any of these, post a comment to let us know what you thought of it and if you would recommend it. Have a lovely weekend! 1. Tales by light - 3 Seasons This series follows the Australian photographer Darren Jew in his travels and lets the viewer explore untold stories, not all of which are nice and pleasing to look at, but nevertheless important. I saw episodes 1 and 2 of season 3, they are called "Children in Need" and are very eye-opening. 2. Into the Wild - 2 hours and 22 minutes I haven't seen this movie, but it is about a young man giving up everything and exploring new ways of life. It is based on the true story of Chri...

Hi Everyone! Today I wanted to talk to you about some easy house plants you could look after to get you started on your green pets journey. These are plants that are easy to look after and that I recommend for an introduction into caring for house plants. If you are a beginner or want to look after some plants, then this is the post for you! 1. Cacti - moon cactus I don't actually have a cactus, but they are the obvious place to start. They need little water and thrive in warm conditions; they are described as "low maintenance". I have done some research and it looks like the moon cactus (Gymnocalycium mihanovichii) is the best one in terms of not being too fussy with needing minimal water and tolerates lower light levels. I would like a cactus at some point, but if you are just starting out wanting to care for some house plants, then this is the one to start with! 2. Aloe Vera One of my first house plants, this is one that is rela...

Hello everyone, So this week, we are going to be talking about sustainable free time activities. This area can quite big when it comes to environmental impact, so here are some things that you can do in your free time, that are more sustainable. 1. Reading So reading is one of our favourite things to do. However, books are made of paper and the paper industry isn't great. Some ways you can get around this is by reading online (for example, on a kindle), or through borrowing books from a library or using book boxes. If there aren't any in your area then at least try to support independent bookshops! 2. Running If you love being active then this one is for you. Running is probably one of the most sustainable forms of sport. All you need are some running shoes and somewhere to run. There is obviously more high-tech gear but that isn't really necessary if it's just a hobby. 3. Gardening If you've got a small area of land o...

Hi, So this post was requested on Twitter after our September Top Tips about recycling . Today we will be talking about how to turn complete waste into something reasonably valuable. This is basically a form of upcycling but to a more extreme level. 1. Ecobricks So, almost a year ago we did a post about ecobricks , but they are such a good example of turning waste into valuables that we decided to put it here anyway. Ecobricks are a building material made from plastic. The waste plastic is washed and then compacted into a clean plastic bottle (also waste). The bottle becomes very hard and durable. Multiple bottles can then be used as bricks and cemented together. The 'bricks' are strong and do not decompose. For more info, read our post where we go into more detail. 2. Metals Although this may seem like something not worth the time. When you separate the metals in waste (for example an old car), you can get usable metal out ...

Hi, You may have heard that trees can talk. So today, we’re going to be looking at how trees talk. Mycorrhizal network The mycorrhizal network is a network of trees and other plants all connected by fungi. This creates a symbiotic relationship between the trees and the fungi that grow on their roots. The fungi give the trees nutrients and the trees give the fungi sugars. Nutrients/Resources However, trees can also use this fungi network to send each other nutrients and sugars. The most common example of this is that older trees will send sapling sugars because the sapling doesn’t get enough sunlight to photosynthesise. Dying trees will also send all of their nutrients into the network for other trees to use. Electrical pulses This is a quite recent discovery. Trees will send electric pulses through the fungi system to warn other trees of droughts, fires, and diseases. Scientists believe that this works similarly to nervous systems in animals...

Hello everyone Does veganism come with health issues? Is it sustainable? And does vegetarianism change anything? - We're going to be comparing three different diet types: veganism, vegetarianism, and a mixed diet, in multiple categories. This post is structured into the following sections: human rights health area needed animal rights greenhouse gas emissions Which diet is the best? Image and text sources Warning: There are no graphic images in this post. However, in the 'human rights' and 'animal rights' sections, there are descriptions of physical and mental abuse towards both humans and animals. Skip those sections, if you know you can't deal with that. Human rights This may seem like an unrelated topic at first, but in many industries, the rights of people in poorer countries are abused because it's cheaper for the compa...

Hi everyone, Today's topic is a rather controversial one: is killing invasive species necessary? We'll take it apart for you to come up with your own opinion. Enjoy! Definition Firstly, let's clarify what an invasive species is. An invasive species is a species that is not native and most likely causes harm to the ecosystem where it now lives. This does not include animals that migrate to another area. Why is it a problem? Depending on the species and the ecosystem, invasive species can cause a lot of harm to their surroundings. Often invasive species have no predators in their new habitat and reproduce in such large numbers that they massively overpopulate, causing death for other species. Or they bring sicknesses the local animals are not accustomed to, and that kills them. For example black and brown rats are an invasive species on the Galapagos Islands : Black and brown rats were introduced to the Galapagos Islands in the 17th ce...

Hi everyone, So today we're going to talk about sustainable homemade presents. If you start now, then some of these would make amazing Christmas presents. 1. Knitting, crochet, embroidery & more yarn items You can make some incredible presents by knitting or crocheting with wool or thick yarn. All you need are needles and wool/yarn. Wool can be expensive if you want good quality so check out this post about making your own yarn out a t-shirt! With thinner yarn you could make some amazing thing through embroidery. Here are some project ideas: Scarfs  Socks Blankets Jumpers Pouch Dishcloths Table mat Headband Fingerless gloves Keychains Friendship bracelets Wall decorations Handles for hot pots and pans Figurines Bag designs 2. Origami Origami is an amazing way to show someone that you put time into what you made. You can use paper of any size, colour or pattern. Here are some ideas: Swans ...