Canada’s oil sands emit 6300% more pollutants than previously thought
The recent study has highlighted the lack of a unified monitoring framework to guide monitoring in the oil sands region, affecting nearby indigenous communities. The oil sands, colloquially known as the tar sands are a mixture of bitumen, water, sand, and clay. Canada’s Athabasca oil sands are one of...
Current in Planet
Extraction of raw materials to reportedly rise by 60% by 2060
An unpublished UN document acquired by The Guardian claims that the globe’s extraction of raw materials will increase by 60% by 2060. Such rapid acceleration would inevitably have huge implications for our climate. Despite the fact that the extraction of rare earth metals and minerals accounts for roughly 60%...
Lagos completely bans single-use plastics and styrofoam
Nigeria's Lagos state government has implemented a comprehensive ban on single-use plastics and styrofoam, aiming to reduce the environmental impact of these non-biodegradable materials. Lagos, one of the most populous cities in Africa, has been grappling with the environmental consequences of plastic pollution for decades. Single-use plastics and styrofoam products,...
Seabed trawling may be releasing millions of stored carbon emissions
Trawling the bottom of the ocean is known to destroy large spans of sea-floor ecosystems and all marine life that depend on them. Now, research shows that it may be releasing millions of tons of stored CO2 back into our atmosphere. Using boats to drag large nets across the ocean...
Activists to hike 5,000km to raise awareness about health of Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is one of the most polluted seas in the world. With the aim of raising public awareness of its state, a group from Lithuania will walk more than 5000km across 250 days. Starting from March 11th, a team of scientists, activists, and volunteers from Lithuania will hike...
Could artificial reefs provide island nations with hurricane protection?
As hurricane season becomes more of a threat due to increasingly warmer ocean temperatures, one island is launching an artificial reef project to protect their coastlines from large storm waves. For many, the arrival of summer brings the promise of days spent relishing in the sun, but if you live...
Big Oil to be fined for methane emissions following new climate law
Under a new climate law introduced by the Biden administration, US oil and gas companies will soon have to pay a fee for methane emissions that exceed a certain threshold. Could this be an effective deterrent for repeat offenders? It’s a poorly kept secret that methane is an ecological scourge on our planet. In-fact, the gas is responsible for a quarter of recorded climate warming linked to greenhouse gas emissions. Within...
WHO declares Cape Verde officially malaria-free
In a historic milestone for public health, the World Health Organization (WHO) has officially declared Cape Verde malaria-free. This announcement comes after three years in which a single case of local transmission was not reported. Cape Verde has successfully eliminated the transmission of malaria within its borders, marking a major achievement in the ongoing battle against the disease. The country joins Mauritius and Algeria as the only three African nations to...
Why is Norway’s deep-sea mining plan so controversial?
This week, Norway became the world’s first country to give commercial-scale deep-sea mining the green light. Although some purport the practice will be essential to bolstering clean energy in the future, is this a major environmental disaster waiting to happen? On Tuesday, Norway’s parliament voted to open its waters for deep-sea-mining exploration. The goal is to obtain precious metals and mineral reserves from the ocean floor, including lithium, scandium, and cobalt,...
Women added to committee for COP29 after gender bias backlash
Last week, Azerbaijan’s president announced an all-male panel for the global climate summit, which the country will host in December. This decision was immediately condemned by campaigners as regressive, sparking an inclusivity U-turn. On January 15, the president of Azerbaijan announced that the organising committee for the COP29 global climate summit – which the country will host in December – would comprise 28 men and no women. The decision was...
