Hong Kong’s first blog for SDG education news and announcements
Ema is at Renaissance College HK where she is a very active member of a variety of clubs. Her main SDG focus and passion is with the oceans. She is also an avid film maker and is a leading figure in Hong Kong’s youth film landscape when it comes to documentary making that highlights ocean issues and wonders. Ema has won awards around the world for her films. She is also the founder of the Making Waves Club which uses film and story telling to raise awareness and stimulate activity to support ocean cleaning and protection among Hong Kong youth. Ema also graduated the 2022 running of the Youth Ambassador Asia-Pacific programme run by ourselves and the UN. . . .
Ava is in Year 11 at Island School. She is very active in a range of organizations which have a sustainability or specific SDG focus. Her main interests lie in the environmental side, but she enjoys the way that the SDGs allow that work to have both social and economic impact. Ava is also very hands on in helping to conceptualize, set up and run events for youth around these issues. . . .
Image by 445693 from Pixabay I’ve recently been reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan and happened across this article as well in IISD. Pollan’s book makes an interesting case for how much of the modern human diet, especially in the US, is now derived from corn and fossil fuels. As a result, many people are eating “food product” rather than actual food and this is probably a good part of the reason for so many people in modern countries being overweight or obese. The article also highlights a range of factors that are externalities such as healthcare or lost farm wages or environmental clean ups that are created by modern large scale industrialized agriculture. All in all, this is an intriguing subject area with no easy answers but which impacts us all. . . .
Image by D. from Pixabay I liked this piece in The Guardian by Jo Clay which brings a healthy dose of realism to the question of what we can and “should” do in terms of changing our individual behaviour as part of a multi-faceted strategy to mitigate climate change. The key point is that rather than go into an attempt to live a life of denial which (as every “dieter” knows is a road to failure), many simple, easy, barely noticeable changes can be made by people that drastically reduce their carbon footprint. We already know we cannot wait for government or business to change at any reasonable pace. So while we continue to force them down those paths we can get on with addressing our own actions over which we have plenty (if not 100%) of control. Jo found she was able to cut her emissions impact by 78%. Imagine the impact if millions of people in advanced economies did that! And while it took some effort at the beginning – to research, to evalu . . .
Image by jacqueline macou from Pixabay Filipino typhoon survivors join 'david and goliath' climate fight (Eco-business) ‘A treasure beneath our feet’: How the Dutch went down the toilet looking for heat (The Guardian) Notpla: Earthshot Prize Winner’s Seaweed Packaging Named ‘First and Only’ Plastic-Free Material Under EU Regulation (greenqueen) This year 'virtually certain' to be warmest in 125,000 years, EU scientists say (reuters) Food Systems: The Missing Piece of the Climate Puzzle at COP 28 (IISD) It’s time to limit how often we can travel abroad – ‘carbon passports’ may be the answer (The Conversation) 'Frugal innovation' and 'boring solutions' can best accelerate climate action, say experts (Eco-business) . . .
Summer attends CDNIS in Hong Kong, one of the strongest schools for sustainability efforts. She is executive Officer for the Habitat for Humanity organization outlet at her school. HfH is dedicated to ensure everyone gets a decent place to live and undertakes lots of learning and practical experiences for schools to be engaged in pushing their mission forward. Summer also volunteers as an English teacher for immigrant families who do not speak either of Hong Kong’s two languages and eed to be able to function in their new home. . . .
Have a look at this Guardian article about Culdesac near Phoenix, Arizona. It is a great example of how design thinking from the very start of a process can lead to much more sustainable outcomes. In this case a designed community with no cars or any of the pollution, danger and waste of space that comes with them. That it has happened in the US, the land of personal mobility as an enshrined right and the love of the large car that has dominated for so long, gives extra cause for hope. It may be wishful thinking, but the benefits are so much more obvious in more densely population places, like most of Europe and any global city, that we can hope this takes hold and we see an exponential impact. . . .
Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay UN Report Offers Guidelines on Localizing SDGs in Europe and Central Asia (IISD) Carbon budget for 1.5°C will run out in six years at current emissions levels – new research (The Conversation) With no worldwide standards, are 'plastic credits' reducing waste or greenwashing? (Eco-business) Claimants take UK government to court over inadequate climate adaptation (The Guardian) Food Waste Needs a Rebrand: From Trash to Treasure, Overcoming The Issue’s Image Problem (greenqueen) Cop28 is a prime opportunity to enhance global cooperation on adaptation (CHN) Climate's 'Catch-22': Cutting pollution heats up the planet (reuters) The ‘Green’ Future of Furniture Is a Sofa Stuffed With Seaweed (Wired) . . .
