News from the Earth

UK bans plastic straws and plastic-stemmed cotton buds
The measure, originally due to start in April, makes it illegal for businesses to sell or supply the items.  Read more...
International Day of Non-Violence
The International Day of Non-Violence is observed on 2 October, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement and pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of non-violence. Read more...
Leaders from across the world have promised to turn environmental degradation around and put nature on the path to recovery within a decade.
"We are in a state of planetary emergency," the 65 leaders, who include German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, wrote ahead of a UN biodiversity summit on Wednesday. "We commit ourselves not simply to words, but to meaningful action and mutual accountability." The commitments, which come two days before a UN biodiversity summit in New York, include eliminating plastic leakage to the oceans by 2050 and incentivising banks and businesses to value the natural world. The leaders identify unsustainable production and consumption as a key driver... Read more...
The myth about recycling plastic helps selling more new plastic!
Selling recycling sold plastic, even if it wasn't true. If the public thinks the recycling is working, then they're not going to be as concerned about the environment. Read more...
Italy will be the first European country to ban plastic cups and balloons
Europe will ban plastic plates, cutlery and straws by 2021, but Italy has decided to do even more, saying goodbye also to glasses and balloons. In fact, the Italian Parliament will go beyond what is required by the European Directive in terms of single-use plastics, adding in the proposed text an amendment that extends the abolition of disposable plastic also to these other two types of products. Read more...
International Day of Peace 21 September 2020
The International Day of Peace ("Peace Day") is observed around the world each year on 21 September. Read more...
World Cleanup Day 2020
Saturday, September 19, 2020 is the World cleanup day, a world day dedicated to cleaning the planet from the waste that is flooding it. It is the largest civic action the world has ever seen in which millions of people participate every year, united to achieve a single, important goal: a clean and healthy planet. Read more...
World Water Monitoring Day 2020
The “new normal.” It is an expression that we’ve heard frequently as people and communities around the world have confronted and adapted to a viral pandemic that has turned the world upside down. But was the “old normal” actually safe or sustainable? Maybe normal is not what we need now, maybe we need something else.  Nearly 800 million people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water. Every two minutes a child dies from a water-related disease. But we can do better. Whether the challenge is water scarcity due to climate... Read more...
UN Biodiversity Report
Earth's living systems as a whole are being compromised. And the more humanity exploits nature in unsustainable ways and undermines its contributions to people, the more we undermine our own wellbeing, security and prosperity. Read more...
Lebanon: how to turn one of the greatest tragedies into an opportunity.
To turn one of the greatest tragedies in the memory of the country into an opportunity. This is the philosophy that is leading a group of Lebanese citizens in an upcycling project that starts from the rubble of the violent explosions in Beirut on 4 August and ends in the homes of the population. Read more...
The salvation of the climate depends on each of us. Governments, individuals and even businesses.
Only through the efforts of all can we make the commitment to change our societies, our business models, our habits shared by all. This way we will be able to "normalize sustainability". Read more...
Zero Waste Week September 2020
Zero Waste Week has created a non-commercial grass roots campaign to demonstrate means and methods to reduce waste, foster community support and bring awareness to the increasing problem of environmental waste and pollution. Read more...