Good News From The Month Of March
We don’t know about you, but here at One Tree Planted, it feels like we blinked and the month of March flashed by. While we have been busy bees gearing up for Earth Day, the snow has been melting, and the sun has been shining just a little bit longer each day. As if that isn’t good news enough, the past month was full of positive environmental news stories that are sure to thaw your chilly winter heart and put a “spring” in your step. From Lego’s sustainable promises to a robot that collects trash, March was full of good news! Let’s dig in.
US got a record-breaking 40% of its energy from carbon-free sources in 2022, report reveals
A new report reveals that carbon-free sources supplied over 40% of the US’s total energy output in 2022, an all-time high. The figure combines renewable generation — such as solar, wind and hydro — and nuclear power. Nuclear and hydropower remained at similar levels to previous years, so the majority of this increase came from wind and solar. That’s a really positive development and a reflection of the years-long efforts in the US to invest in and transition to renewable energy sources!
Building a Sustainable Future with LEGO Bricks
Great news for all you LEGOs fans out there! Your favorite plastic toy is getting a little bit greener. As the company continues to grow, they are implementing several environmental programs to help support the environment for future generations. This includes using recycled PET plastic bottles to produce the bricks, a LEGO replay program that allows people to donate their used LEGOs to kids in need, reducing their packaging waste, and more!
Multinational Task Force Created To Help Save Tree Frogs.
Deforestation, degradation, and climate change are putting intense pressure on threatened and endangered species around the world, so it is always nice to hear about efforts to save them! The Atelopus Survival Institute, a coalition of scientists from 57 organizations, has been formed to help save the Amazon Rainforest’s vulnerable Harlequin Frog. Because they have no way to regulate their body temperature, these amphibians are particularly vulnerable to habitat loss and temperature increases — as well as the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis.
Shark in the water: This robot can collect 21,000 plastic bottles in a day
Richard Hardiman first came up with the idea for a water-cleaning robot after seeing two men struggle to catch trash from their boat in his home city of Cape Town, South Africa. “They were cleaning a little bit of waste in one area and the wind was blowing everything out of the way. It looked, to me, extremely ineffective,” says Richard. Inspired by a whale shark’s wide mouth, which scoops up whatever is in front of it, his company Ran Marine created the WasteShark. “I liken it to a Roomba for water. It’s an autonomous machine that scoops up pollution out of water on the surface level. That pollution could be plastic or any debris or biomass like algae.” With all of the detrimental effects that waste pollution is having on our oceans and the aquatic creatures that live there, a trash cleaning shark robot feels like poetic justice.
Historic UN water conference comes amid surge in floods, droughts
Earlier this month, leaders gathered in New York City for a landmark United Nations conference on fresh water. The event focused on the rising toll of the climate crisis and the effort to provide clean drinking water to a global population of over 8 billion.The UN Water Conference, the first event of its kind in 46 years, covered a range of water-related issues, including a surge in flooding, droughts, drying rivers and other extreme changes to water resources linked to climate change. Many of the discussions also explored how countries can expand access to clean drinking water, particularly in the poorest communities, and improve sanitation services.
So there you have it: we’re heading into spring with a heaping dose of sustainability, innovation, and the promise of positive change. We’re looking forward to celebrating Earth Month and remain optimistic that things can only go up from here. And if not, we’ll still be here every month to point out all of the good stuff that’s happening around the world.
Hungry for more positivity? We’ve got plenty more good news stories from the past year. And if you’re feeling really optimistic about 2023, consider planting a tree today!