COVID-19

The Great Emissions Rebound

Chrystal Carbon Footprint, Climate Change, Climate Science, Emissions, Environment, Sustainability July 27, 2021July 27, 2021Clean Jobs America, COVID emissions, COVID-19, Global Energy Review 2021, Mauna Loa Atmospheric Baseline Observatory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, renewable energy growth, stay at home orders, UNEP

Car exhausts and man holding speed limit sign saying CO2

There were fears during 2020 that the dip in carbon emissions we were experiencing would be short-lived, and that 2021 would bring a bounce back of global CO2e. And, indeed, that fear has been realized.

Are you one of the hordes jumping on your new e-bike? If not….why not?!

Chrystal Carbon Footprint, Health, Pollution, Sustainability, Transportation April 6, 2021April 7, 2021Barcelona's Superblocks, bicycle lanes, bicycle shortage, cargo bikes, COVID cycling, COVID-19, e-bike batteries, e-bikes, Huffy bicycles, increasing bicycle activity

Looking for the environmental silver linings of the COVID-19 pandemic is not a new angle from here in The Hive. But I can’t think of another which offers an equally impressive positive outcome for your health too.

Lockdown & Carbon Emissions: The Truth of 2020

Chrystal Carbon Footprint, Climate Change, Emissions, Environment, Global Warming, Recent October 27, 2020October 27, 20201.5 celsius, 2 degrees, Coronavirus, COVID, COVID-19, Met Office, ocean acidification, Sea ice loss, sea level rising, severe storms, the Earth is Healing, UNEP, UNESCO, United Nations, World Meteorological Organization

I’m sure I can’t be the only one who’s sick to the back teeth of the words ‘unprecedented’ and ‘uncertain’. The fact of the matter, despite my new personal aversion to such words, is that they’re on

A Sustainable Trip into a World of COVID-19

Ben Carbon Footprint, Climate Change, Climate Science, Sustainability, Transportation July 24, 2020August 14, 2020Cape Cod, Climate Change, Climate Science, COVID-19, Pandemic, Sustainability, Sustainable Holiday, sustainable travel, Travel

Since we’ve all been in lockdown, many of us have been wondering how our efforts to continue living within a sustainable world would fair once things started to open up. What would our challenges be due to

The Unwanted Renaissance of Single-Use Plastics

Chrystal Current Events, Personal Care, Pollution, Sustainability July 7, 2020August 14, 2020#plasticfreejuly, #saynotosingleuse, cloth mask, Coronavirus, COVID-19, disposable gloves, disposable mask, FDA food washing, medical waste, parcel delivery, surgical mask, virus on surfaces, World Health Organization COVID recommendations

4 people wearing masks in front of the Monda Lisa wearing a mask

Plastics, and particularly single-use plastics, had been starting to decline in popularity all over the world. More and more countries have been introducing bans on plastic bags, plastic straws, plastic cutlery and so on, like France, Australia, England, 15 countries in Africa, China (who banned bags thinner than 35 microns in 2008, and are now going all in on plastic bags) and 8 states in the Unites States. But then 2020 came along, bringing COVID-19. Suddenly, here was an opportunity for purveyors of plastic to sneak the product back in front of us, under the guise of public health and safety. But is this based on science, or is it merely opportunistic fear mongering? We lay out some evidence and advice, and dispute some cheap tactics.

Is Coronavirus going to cause a viral awakening?

Chrystal Climate Change, Food, Health, Sustainability May 19, 2020May 18, 2020Avocado Green Mattress, COVID-19, Food Security, food waste, Meat processing plants, OnePoll, Recycling, WHO, working from home

Although there’s been plenty of images posted to social media by Fakey McFake and others, there are actually some real stories which demonstrate a silver lining to these unprec… uncer… downright scary times.

The seas are rising, but we’re running out of water

Dan Climate Change, Environment, Health, Water April 14, 2020July 29, 2020clean water, COVID-19, drinking water, drought, rising temperatures, saltwater intrusion, water scarcity, wetlands

The trend of freshwater use worldwide over the last 100 years resembles that of exponential growth. It is a trend that is troubling because water is a finite resource that will only become scarcer as more of it is used. Such a contrast is the reason that awareness about water scarcity has become impossible to avoid. Environmental factors such as drought and saltwater intrusion are generally thought of first in regard to water scarcity, but the infrastructure and institutions tasked with delivering water to people can also cause water scarcity. Furthermore, climate change will only cause added stress to water resources, as more frequent and longer lasting droughts can be expected with rising global temperatures.