To start the year off on a good note, this blog will all be about some positive changes that been taking place over the summer. While most of us have been relaxing and enjoying the nice weather, scientists, ecologists and politicians have been working hard to bring in policies that can hopefully make a worthwhile impact!
In July 2023, it was discovered that deforestation in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil has dropped by a third since January 2023. According to João Paulo Capobianco, the Environment Ministry’s secretary, "The effort of reversing the curve of growth has been reached. That is a fact: we reversed the curve; deforestation isn't increasing.” The Brazilian government are able to control and observe deforestation levels using satellites and AI that help monitor patterns and scope out rainforest areas per square kilometre.
However, the most important environmental achievement of July 2023 is the development and use of solar panels. In Norway, large phosphate deposits of 70 billion tonnes have been found and will be used to produce solar panels and electric cars, buses and trains for many years to come.
The president of the future UN climate summit COP28, said that renewable energy needs to be tripled by 2030, and luckily wind farms and solar panel production is considered to be on track to achieve this goal, reported by the Rocky Mountain Institute.
To meet this renewable energy goal set for 2030, many countries are finding ways to effectively use solar energy to power their trains. This includes India, Germany, Poland and the USA. In fact, in India, the railway network has decided to use 1,000 hectares of land to install solar panels, whilst in California, the high-speed train has been guaranteed to be powered by solar energy, for which 552 acres of solar panels will be required.
In August, France put an end to the printing of non-essential receipts to save paper with the law “no. 2020-105”, which was decided in February 2020.
In Europe, there are more communal services that have been set up to lessen waste. In Geneva, people are cutting down food waste by offering food that is on the verge of expiring out on the streets in large refrigerators that can be accessed by anyone. Elsewhere, in Tunbridge Wells, UK, Chris Murphy has organised a repair café where locals can get their broken items mended. In doing so, he has created a great sense of community and has enjoyed bringing people together!
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Some good news indeed!