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How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the environment?

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...

5 Environmental Movies and TV shows

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...

Green Pets || easy house plants to get you started // best house plants for beginners

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...

November Top Tips | sustainable activities and hobbies

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...

Turning waste into valuables

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 ...

How do trees communicate?

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...

Veganism or vegetarianism - are they really sustainable?

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...