365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge

  🌿 While cities expand and air pollution rises, finding ways to improve air quality becomes crucial The impact of air pollution is staggering, causing over 3 million deaths globally each year – twice the number of traffic-related fatalities. 😮 🍃 Luckily, there's a natural solution right in front of us: plants! 🌳 For example, cities can strategically use green air barriers, like hedges and durable plant rows, to shield pedestrians from harmful pollutants and reduce exposure. A one-meter-high barrier can decrease pollutant concentration by an average of 52%! 🌱 🌍 Let's embrace the power of nature and incorporate more green spaces in our cities for cleaner and healthier air! 🌬️ 🍃 Discover how plants are transforming urban environments: https://medium.com/climate-conscious/how-plants-can-help-cities-to-improve-urban-air-quality-96ed6edc3f5 Plants can help improve the air quality in cities (credit:  JaySi  on  Shutterstock )

  🇵🇰 Are you wondering how Pakistan looks like? 🚶‍♂️ Take a virtual nature hike through the stunning Hunza Valley in Pakistan! Join me as we embark on this exciting hike. You'll hear birds singing and relaxing music during this wonderful walk. During the optional guided tour, you'll learn amazing things about nature and sustainability, such as the 8th wonder of the world! https://youtu.be/dL8yP1hJ1oA

  🌴 While it is holiday season, traveling the world is in the light of the climate crisis critical because of CO2 emissions. At the same time, I'm aware that seeing the world is wonderful, so I have a solution: 🌍 In my xplore Nature videos, I let you explore the world without having to travel. 🇳🇱 Today, you can join an interesting nature walk to a place called Brink in the city of Eindhoven, The Netherlands! As we set off on this nature-filled city-exploration, we not only hear birds singing and relaxing music, we also come across a lot of typical Dutch views. In the optional guided tour, you will learn more about these interesting views, uncovering fascinating facts about nature, sustainability, including for example how cows in The Netherlands impact our climate. https://youtu.be/2Dqt4hgTERg

💚 Enjoy exploring nature in a relaxing tour through Park Zalew Zakrzówek in Cracow, Poland. 🏞 This walk exploring the beauty of nature in an urban area lets us relax and enjoy the calmness of nature. 😊 Throughout the relaxing walk, you'll hear birds singing and relaxing music. 👩‍🎓 In the optional guided tour, you'll learn fascinating facts about nature, sustainability, including for example how people here dealt with waste only a few centuries ago. https://youtu.be/EruFr3JM20g

 🌋 Take a virtual guided walk to the majestic Mount Merapi volcano in Indonesia! 🚶‍♀️ Join me as we embark on a walk with breathtaking views. 🎶 Throughout the enjoyable walk, you'll hear relaxing music and have plenty of time to look around. 🌿 If you'd like to learn fascinating facts about #nature , #sustainability , and the area we are visiting, you can activate the guided tour in the subtitles: https://youtu.be/lKvauHdmwWI

📽️ Today, I'm thrilled to announce the launch of my latest project, a captivating YouTube channel that brings the world's most breathtaking nature right to your screen. With a growing collection of videos, you can embark on awe-inspiring journeys to gorgeous destinations around the world, without the need to leave your home! And as we're going on adventures together, you will never travel alone! Visit Xplore Nature now: https://www.youtube.com/@xplore-nature 🏡 Explore the World - From Home! Are you curious to discover the majesty of the volcano Mount Merapi (Indonesia), the beauty of the 14 waterfalls in the Athi River (Kenya), the exciting trails in Park Arvi (Columbia), the romantic scenery in Tuscany (Italy), and more? Locals who know the most beautiful spots close to their homes have recorded gorgeous walks, so you will be able to immerse yourself in the most breathtaking places. No passport or travel expenses required. 📚 Guided Tours Only one Click Away 🗺️ To be...

  🌏 I have been sharing beautiful places on our planet, so we can enjoy our world without traveling. 👟 Would you also enjoy experiencing and exploring these places? 📢 I'll be back on Thursday July 27th to make this possible for you from the comfort of your home. 😍 Stay tuned!

  🌺 The rapid urbanization of our planet is impacting pollinators and their crucial role in our ecosystem: 🏙️ As cities expand, the number of pollinators decreases, affecting the pollination of plants and the production of fruits and seeds. 🐝 🌼 Learn how urbanization changes the pollinating behaviors of these vital creatures and its implications on our environment. https://medium.com/the-environment/4-behavioral-changes-of-pollinators-in-urban-compared-to-rural-areas-a45591d9aff2 Let's work together to create pollinator-friendly urban spaces for a greener future! 🌱 🐦 Hummingbird (credit:  Ondrej Prosicky  at  Shutterstock )

  💡 Did you know that baby diapers are the 3rd most common product in landfills? 🗑️ 👶 This single-use diaper trend, introduced in the mid-20th century, has led to environmental challenges like increased waste, resource consumption, and potential pollution. ♻️ Discover eight ways we can make baby diaper use more environmentally friendly in this insightful article 👇 :  https://medium.com/the-environment/8-ways-to-reduce-the-environmental-impact-of-baby-diapers-f2083d0f0898 Baby diapers cause a huge pile of waste so should be made more environmentally friendly (credit:  Kamila Starzycka  on  Shutterstock )

 🌍 While online shopping brings practical advantages, it also causes sustainability challenges. 📦 For example, the last mile logistics causes challenges. This is the delivery from distribution centers to customers' homes and the most inefficient part of the supply chain. 🌱 But there are ways to make this more sustainable! 🚚 By adopting environmentally friendly methods like intelligent scheduling, silent vehicles at night, and local depots, we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make a positive impact on a larger scale. 💡 Discover more sustainable solutions for last mile delivery in this insightful article! 👉  https://medium.com/the-environment/how-the-last-mile-of-logistics-can-be-made-more-sustainable-bf131ab576cc The last mile logistics involves delivery to the customer’s home (credit:  comzeal images  on  Shutterstock )

🚮 Last Friday, I met with two other ladies from my neighborhood to go litter-picking together. 🚬 We had a great time and exchanged thoughts on how to deal with cigarette butts near benches. I explained that I put up containers like you see on the left in the pictures a while ago. But they get rusty and break after a while. 👍 Another lady told me that she had put up empty milk bottles. I took her idea, improved it even further in my head (for example adding holes in the corners at the bottom so that rain can flow out), and later that evening put one outside.  

 🌍 Wasting food has serious environmental consequences, especially in large amounts. 🍽️ Currently, about 1/3 of the food produced globally for human consumption is lost or wasted, which amounts to a staggering 1.3 billion tons per year! 😱 To put it into perspective, that's equivalent to discarding about 226 Great Pyramids of Giza annually. 🌱 Reducing food waste is a crucial step towards a more sustainable future. 🍴 By adopting sustainable food consumption behaviors and implementing nudges in our food choices, we can make a positive impact. 🔗 Discover more about the environmental impact of food waste and how we can make a difference 👇 : https://medium.com/climate-conscious/how-nudges-help-us-to-make-more-sustainable-food-choices-63d0024c8083 Let's work together to build a more sustainable food system! Nudges can help us make more sustainable food choices (credit:  Ella Olsson  on  Unsplash )

  🌍 Climate change should not only be a concern for scientists, but also for individuals like you and me. The effects of climate change are far-reaching, impacting both our mental and physical well-being. 🌉 One area that is for example affected is the safety of bridges. Climate change poses for example risks to the durability, serviceability, and geotechnical stability. From accelerated degradation of substructure to higher wind-induced loads, these risks have significant implications for the safety and functionality of bridges worldwide. 🚧 Check out this insightful article to learn more about the numerous ways climate change affects the safety of bridges: https://medium.com/the-environment/30-ways-climate-change-affects-the-safety-of-bridges-ac4896cdf2a0 Bridges are important parts of infrastructure and can be affected by climate change (credit:  Pixabay  on  Pexels )

 🌍 Did you know that biodiversity plays a crucial role in our planet's balance? 🐛 Take soil biodiversity, for example. More than ¼ of known species reside in soil. These organisms, such as bacteria, fungi, earthworms, and moles, have a direct and indirect positive impact on our health and the health of our planet. 🌱💧 Discover how soil biodiversity supports food production, regulates pests, improves water quality, and more! 💪 Check out the fascinating ways soil biodiversity contributes to our planet's well-being 👇 :  https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/how-soil-biodiversity-contributes-to-our-health-and-a-healthy-planet-f2984be471f More than ¼ of the species we know live in soil (credit:  RoyBuri  on  Pixabay )

  🧪 Chemistry is a vital science for improving people's lives, such as in the pharmaceutical industry. ⚡ However, it also contributes to environmental harm, such as greenhouse gas emissions and pollution. 🌿 To address this, green chemistry, consisting of twelve principles, aims to make chemical products more environmentally friendly from design to production and application. 🌍 Learn more about these 12 principles in this clear overview: https://medium.com/the-environment/12-ways-how-green-chemistry-can-improve-chemical-industries-a36f0f9811f6 Green chemistry allows us to benefit from chemical products while taking care of the environment (credit:  petrmalinak  on  Shutterstock )

👗 Did you know that the fashion industry contributes significantly to environmental issues? 🔥 It generates over 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions and produces 20% of wastewater annually. 🌍 The fast fashion trend leads to excessive clothing production, depleting valuable earthly resources such as fossil fuels and cotton. 🛠️ But here's a solution: By producing fewer clothes and extending their lifespan through recycling, we can make the fashion industry more environmentally friendly. ♻️ Recycling not only allows us to reuse materials but also lowers production costs, as fabric is a major expense. 📖 Learn more about how clothes can be recycled in this insightful article 👇 : https://medium.com/the-environment/how-old-clothes-can-be-recycled-and-put-to-good-use-again-baf752b4323d 💚 Let's work together towards a more sustainable future for fashion!  (credit:  Igisheva Maria  on  Shutterstock )

  😮 Did you know that emotions play a significant role in inspiring environmentally friendly behavior? 🧠 While cognitive factors such as beliefs and perceptions are often emphasized, understanding and harnessing emotions can be a powerful motivator for sustainable actions. 🌍 🌱 Learn more in this article about how emotions can be linked to behavior, personal circumstances, effective interventions, and even create a positive cycle of change and discover the untapped potential of emotions in driving environmental action: https://medium.com/the-environment/5-ways-emotions-can-be-used-to-inspire-environmentally-friendly-behavior-e1bfc3452452

  🦗 Did you know that eating (farmed) insects has several advantages for both our health and the environment? 😋 For example, they contain high nutritional value as they are rich in proteins, fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals, providing a well-rounded diet. Some species even contain vitamins that are hard to find elsewhere. 🌱 Also, rearing insects produces minimal pollution and requires fewer pesticides compared to conventional livestock, making it a more environmentally friendly food production method. 🌍 By exploring alternative food sources like insects, we can reduce environmental pollution and promote sustainable living. Learn more about the benefits of eating insects: https://medium.com/climate-conscious/6-reasons-why-we-should-be-eating-farmed-insects-d512e658ad09 Insects can help us reach the goal of zero hunger in the world (credit:  katerinavulcova  on  Pixabay )

  🚀 As climate change is becoming more evident through extreme weather events like floods, storms, and rising temperatures, it is time for immediate action! 🌍 To achieve our goals, we all need to do what we can. Companies in particular must develop precise CO2 reduction strategies. But how can they do that? By asking themselves these 7 important questions: 1️⃣ Is the terminology clear? 2️⃣ What is our optimization variable? 3️⃣ What is our level of ambition? 4️⃣ What is our area of observation? 5️⃣ What are our motivations and needs? 6️⃣ What are our priorities? 7️⃣ What is the status quo? 📈 By answering these questions, companies can lay the foundation for effective CO2 reduction strategies. ▶ Want to learn more about developing impactful strategies to combat climate change? Check out this comprehensive guide: https://medium.com/the-environment/how-companies-can-determine-their-co2-reduction-strategy-72f938fb62c5 “Successful people ask better questions, and as a resu...

  🌍 Landfills are a farce: they not only contribute to pollution of soil, water, and air, but also emit significant amounts of greenhouse gases. Moreover, they occupy valuable space that could be utilized more productively. ♻️ That is why waste management plays a crucial role in addressing limited resources and environmental issues caused by landfills. 🍾 For example, waste management of glass is important as glass often ends up in landfills unnecessarily: it is completely recyclable and can be put to good use in many other ways. 🌱 Learn more about fascinating applications of glass waste to contribute to a sustainable future 👇 : https://medium.com/the-environment/7-alternative-ways-to-recycle-glass-waste-7b308b3eb117 Crushed glass waste can be used for many different purposes (credit:  Portraitor  on  Pixabay )