Environment Newsbite

1)    Popular Germany political party turns against young climate activist

The rightwing populist group in Germany has endorsed a campaign that labels global warming as a hoax and makes fun of the young Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg. The AfD or Alternative fur Deutschland party wants to attack climate science and disregard any debate regarding this global issue in the German parliament. This is a frightening situation as being one of the leading parties of the country, AfD can influence the public greatly and its members have also been seen handing out posters that deny climate change. The surge in their denial came after Greta came center stage to this global debate and condemned world leaders for not taking it too seriously.

2)    UN Secretary-General predicts disastrous consequences if global warming debate not addressed

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, argues that the lack of concern over global warming is haunting and the planet is going towards a catastrophe. He urges for action and impressed upon the need of going towards and using eco-friendly fuel to limit the incidence and increase in the number of the harmful gases that leads towards the warming of the earth. The Secretary-General wants to tour different places including the Pacific Islands to see the aftereffects. He wishes to call upon a meeting of the world leaders in the UN in September and explain the need for doing more efforts to combat this problem. Going towards a green economy was one of the solutions he proposed. Another goal was to make sure that by 2050, no more greenhouse gases are released in the air by human practices so that the rise in temperature can be controlled within time.

3)    Biggest Glacier in Greenland surprisingly starts to thicken

In astonishing news, the largest glacier in Greenland has been found to be increasing in thickness over the recent years, much to the surprise of the scientists. Greenland has the biggest ice sheet in the world after Antarctica and continuous global warming has majorly affected these causing an overall increase in the sea-level. The Jakobshavn Isbrae glacier, which is quite famous because it is believed to have calved the iceberg that caused the Titanic to sink, was also observed to be affected by it until new research showed that it was regaining some amount and its melting has slowed down. It is now flowing slowly and instead of going towards the mainland it is moving back towards the ocean. It is still causing a rise in sea level, but the extent is much smaller than before.

4)    Famed natural historian claims plastic responsible for deaths of a million people a year

The renowned naturalist, Sir David Attenborough, has warned that plastic pollution is now more than ever and is having damaging effects on the environment and is responsible for killing around a million people every year. New reports and research have also presented this disturbing number saying that diseases and poor management of plastic waste are the main causes. Sir David has been working his entire life for the protection of environment and animals and says that the issue of plastic pollution has been neglected for a long time and there is a dire need of taking some action to control it. It is our responsibility that we do that because it is important for the well-being of the planet and organisms living on it including humans.

5)    Study shows the positive impact of woodland walks on mind and body

In England, forest keepers are introducing a drive that will encourage people for woodlands walks which can help in the improvement of mental and physical health. Their research shows that even a short walk to the woods can noticeably improve the workings of mind and body. They are also working to remove negative notions people have about the woodlands such as it being a scary and a dark unsafe place. Data has shown that going to a forest can enhance one’s mood and attention span and speedup stress recovery at least within the psychological parameters. Walking among trees causes the reduction of a stress hormone called cortisol and boost the immune system through breathing in of the compounds that trees emit for their protection called phytoncides. Research is being continued to observe the overall patterns woodland walks have on a person.  

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