Author: Grace Liu ‘23
Happy “Spring Break” everyone! Congrats on making it through half of this crazy semester. If you’re feeling drained by exams, essays, p-sets, and/or thesis, we hope that a bit of good environmental news will help lift your spirits.
International Ocean Conservation Agreement: Often, international agreements are determined by major economic powers, who impose their decisions onto smaller nations. However, last December, 14 smaller coastal nations came together to take action and protect their marine ecosystems: Australia, Canada, Chile, Fiji, Ghana, Indonesia, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Namibia, Norway, Palau, and Portugal. They agreed to sustainably manage their oceans under national jurisdictions by 2025 as well as set aside 30% of the seas as marine protected areas by 2030. You can check out their report here!
Orange Electricity: Seville, Spain is one of Europe’s most important citrus producers, with over 50,000 orange trees. These Seville oranges are far too sour to be eaten conventionally, usually used for marmalades and cooking instead. However, Emasesa, the city’s municipal water company, will actually be using the oranges to generate electricity for the city’s water plant. As the oranges ferment, the methane from the process will power the plant’s generator.
Community restores forest into peace park: Stillmeadow Community Fellowship in Baltimore worked together to turn a neglected forest into a space to contemplate and engage with nature. The church has formed partnerships with the US Forest Service, multiple school groups, and environmental non-profits, bringing the community together to conserve, create, and heal. According to Morgan Grove from the US Forest Service, “It’s healing a forest, but we’re going to be healing a community,” he concluded, noting that “there are a lot of people here who suffer from trauma and stress.”
Thanks for reading and have a great spring break, everyone! Check in next week for more positive environmental news and in the meantime, feel free to take a look at previous posts or share some good news with us!