Latest news with #InternationalMotherEarthDay
Mail & Guardian
20-05-2025
- Science
- Mail & Guardian
STEM careers are crucial to combat climate change
South Africa needs people with the skills to deal with climate change. Photo: Eric Vidal/Reuters From April to June this year, three international days focus our attention on the environment and on humanity's responsibility to curtail the devastating effects of climate change on the planet. International Mother Earth Day, commemorated on 22 April, raised awareness of the challenges to the wellbeing of the planet and the life it supports, under the theme of 'Our power, our planet' to champion renewable energy. International Day for Biological Diversity on 22 May aims to boost understanding of biodiversity issues, which include the planet's wide variety of plants, animals and microorganisms; and World Environment Day on 5 June is the largest global platform for environmental outreach and puts a spotlight on pressing environmental issues. In light of these, together with the global warming reality that South Africa and the world is experiencing and our clear need for environmental sustainability, it's worth considering how critically important it is to develop careers in ecology and the environment to ensure that efforts to meet the challenges of global warming and climate change increase at a quickening pace. The STEM fields — science, technology, engineering and maths — are crucial to efforts to combat climate change, as they have been for many years. Scientists in a wide range of fields and professions play a key role in both our understanding of global warming and in addressing the effects. The causes, impact and potential solutions to the issues can only be adequately managed by people with intensive and relevant research, knowledge, education and skills. Engineers develop strategies to help communities adapt to the effects of climate change, such as flood defences, coastal protection and appropriate urban planning. They must also ensure that all infrastructure is resilient to the effects of climate change. Scientific learnings and data ensure that mitigation technologies are developed that will go a long way towards combating climate change. Technology is of course vital to finding new ways to tackle problems and innovate for a green future, which means that technologists in numerous fields are needed to join the efforts to ensure the good health of our planet in years to come. The fact is that on South Africa's fairly extensive list of scarce skills are geologists, marine biologists, conservation scientists, environmental scientists, environmental engineers, environmental economists, climate change modellers, soil scientists, solar and wind energy specialists and sustainable energy engineers — and this is just a small sample. This means that investment in the development of these careers is necessary and while many organisations, corporates and individuals throughout South Africa are heeding the call to address the needs of our environment head-on, a lot more can and must be done. We face numerous challenges in South Africa, but protecting and ensuring the health of our environment — from one end of the country to the other, in our oceans and rivers, below ground and the air we breathe — must rate as among the most pressing needs that we and future generations must address. We can work together to assist young people to be well equipped to tackle the needs of the world they will live and thrive in. Balan Moodley is the chief executive of Protec, an independent NPO that provides education support primarily to disadvantaged learners and teachers in STEM-gateway subjects as well as English and World of Work life skills training.
IOL News
13-05-2025
- Science
- IOL News
STEM careers are crucial to combat climate change
PROTEC Next Engineers test a water purification design. Image: Supplied From April to June this year, three international days focus our attention on the environment and on humanity's responsibility to curtail the devastating effects of climate change on the planet. International Mother Earth Day, commemorated on 22 April, raised awareness of the challenges to the wellbeing of the planet and the life it supports, under the theme of 'Our power, our planet' to champion renewable energy. International Day for Biological Diversity on 22 May aims to boost understanding of biodiversity issues, which include the planet's wide variety of plants, animals and microorganisms; and World Environment Day on 5 June is the largest global platform for environmental outreach and puts a spotlight on pressing environmental issues. In light of these, together with the global warming reality that South Africa and the world is experiencing and our clear need for environmental sustainability, it's worth considering how critically important it is to develop careers in ecology and the environment to ensure that efforts to meet the challenges of global warming and climate change increase at a quickening pace. The STEM fields – science, technology, engineering and maths – are crucial to efforts to combat climate change, as they have been for many years. Scientists in a wide range of fields and professions play a key role in both our understanding of global warming and in addressing the effects. The causes, impact and potential solutions to the issues can only be adequately managed by people with intensive and relevant research, knowledge, education and skills. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Next Engineers are tasked to develop wind-powered energy. Image: Supplied Engineers develop strategies to help communities adapt to the impacts of climate change, such as flood defences, coastal protection and appropriate urban planning. They must also ensure that all infrastructure is resilient to the effects of climate change. Scientific learnings and data ensure that mitigation technologies are developed that will go a long way towards combating climate change. Technology is of course vital to finding new ways to tackle challenges and innovate for a green future, which means that technologists in numerous fields are needed to join the efforts to ensure the good health of our planet in years to come. The fact is that on South Africa's fairly extensive list of scarce skills are geologists, marine biologists, conservation scientists, environmental scientists, environmental engineers, environmental economists, climate change modellers, soil scientists, solar and wind energy specialists and sustainable energy engineers – and this is just a small sample. This means that investment in the development of these careers is necessary and while many organisations, corporates and individuals throughout South Africa are heeding the call to address the needs of our environment head-on, a lot more can and must be done. PROTEC, which is a national NPO that provides educational support in STEM subjects to learners from Grade 4 to matric and to teachers, is taking the environmental status quo seriously, and focus is being placed on it in many of our branches and projects. The successful GE Foundation Next Engineers Programme, for example, is enabling the project's high school learners to develop their own prototypes for water purification, solar-powered ovens and other inventions, and the impact is seen in the growing interest in and uptake of engineering as a career. In order to help their learners to better understand the environment, the PROTEC Inanda Branch in KwaZulu-Natal this year addressed the wide range of relevant careers in a World of Work guidance lesson and then took their learners on an environmental science trip to share knowledge on what 'going green' means and information about careers in environmental science. Balan Moodley PROTEC CEO Image: Supplied Among our PROTEC tertiary students at present we have those studying biodiversity, biochemistry, horticulture, environmental engineering, geology, conservation, robotics and many other degrees and diplomas related to this critical issue. Many others have completed their studies and are now in successful careers in these fields. We face numerous challenges in South Africa, but protecting and ensuring the health of our environment – from one end of the country to the other, in our oceans and rivers, below ground and the air we breathe – must rate as among the most pressing needs that we and future generations must address. We can work together to assist young people to be well equipped to tackle the needs of the world they will live and thrive in. Balan Moodley is CEO of PROTEC an independent NPO that provides education support primarily to disadvantaged learners and teachers in STEM-gateway subjects – Maths, Technology and Science
Indian Express
28-04-2025
- Science
- Indian Express
Opinion A revolution of clean energy
International Mother Earth Day was celebrated on April 22. It was established by a resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations in 2009, although its roots lie in the 1970s. The main objective behind this is to promote the Harmony with Nature initiative for the sustainable development of humanity. Earth, as of now, is the only known planet to host life. There is no 'Planet B' for humanity so far, although Elon Musk has ambitions to occupy Mars. The specific conditions and complex biosphere that sustain us are unique to Earth, making it irreplaceable for human survival. So, it is everyone's duty to ensure that in the race for economic development, we take care of Mother Earth's basic resource endowments, be it air, soil, water or biodiversity. But have we done so? The answer, unfortunately, is negative. As Gandhi ji said, 'The earth, the air, the land and water are not an inheritance from our forefathers but on loan from our children. So, we have to hand over to them at least as it was handed over to us.' Some major changes in Earth's resources were inevitable as humans multiplied on this planet over the past two centuries. Although it took Homo sapiens almost 3,00,000 years to hit the 1 billion mark for the first time in 1804, we added the next billion in 123 years, by 1927. Between 1927 and 2025, we have multiplied by more than four times to cross 8 billion. India is the most populous country on this planet today, and likely to remain so till the end of this century. This exponential growth of the last century has put unprecedented pressure on this planet to produce more food, housing, clothing, and other needs of travel, etc. Use of fossil fuels for energy and faster travel has been one of the major factors behind global warming and the damage to air quality of the planet. India is not in very good shape on this. The Environment Pollution Index (EPI) 2024, as constructed by Yale University for 180 countries, puts India at 176th rank. The World Air Quality Report 2024 released by the Swiss company IQAir notes that of the 100 most polluted cities and towns globally, 74 are in India. Another report by the University of Chicago's Energy Policy Institute says that people living in Delhi /NCR are cutting short their life expectancy by 11.9 years due to high air pollution. The Indian government may reject these findings, but the facts will not change much. It is an emergency and we know how the NCR becomes a gas chamber in November-December every year. Drastic steps are needed to restore the health of our planet. Air, though most critical for human survival, is only one of the key elements of this planet. Soil, water and biodiversity are other key elements that need to be protected for sustainable development. And these elements are basic for feeding humanity. Despite the rapid rise in population, humans have been able to produce more food for everyone by using science, be it in the form of improved seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, irrigation, or farm machinery, etc. India's Green Revolution has saved millions of lives. But in the process of producing more food for a growing population, we have damaged our soils and water sources and depleted biodiversity. Almost two-thirds of India's soils have soil organic carbon (SOC) of less than 0.5 per cent, while optimally it should be at least 3 to 4 times higher (1.5 to 2 per cent; per Rattan Lal, World Food Laureate). Groundwater in certain pockets like Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan has been depleting at more than 1.5 feet every year for the last two decades or more, and getting contaminated with increasing use of fertilisers and pesticides. Rice-wheat crop rotation in the Punjab-Haryana belt has dramatically reduced biodiversity. All this points to the unsustainable nature of our production system. How can one change this for the better? Policies, practices, and products have to play an important role. Innovative policies of payment for ecosystem services (PES) need to be introduced. Farming practices and products that align with nature need to be rewarded, be it in the form of carbon credits or saving soils and precious water or promoting biodiversity. Productivity growth is important but so is nature's basic resource endowment. Dovetailing growth with sustainability is a challenge, but it can be achieved if we remain focused on achieving these twin objectives. From 2000-01 to 2024-25, India has done pretty well in overall growth of GDP at 6.3 per cent per annum, and agriculture and allied sectors' growth of 3.5 per cent per annum. This has helped India reduce poverty, feed its population, and be a net exporter of agri-produce. But policies like free power and highly subsidised fertilisers, especially urea, coupled with open-ended procurement of paddy and wheat, in places like Punjab and Haryana, are playing havoc with critical agri-ecosystem services. These subsidies need to be repurposed and given directly to farmers' accounts. Then the prices of power and fertilisers can be deregulated. It will help stem leakages and save the environment. Legumes, such as pulses and oilseeds, can be encouraged through PES to bring them back into the cropping system. They are more nutritious, and can foster better agri-ecosystem services as they are nitrogen-fixing, save groundwater, and improve air quality and biodiversity. The theme of this year's Earth Day is renewable energy, and augmenting it by 300 per cent by 2030. If farmers can be incentivised to adopt agrivoltaics as a third crop, it can help produce cleaner energy to conserve ecosystem services as well augment farmers' incomes. It is feasible if the discoms purchase power from farmers at a price that gives a 10-15 per cent premium over the cost of generating thermal power. Then it can unleash a revolution of clean energy on farmers' fields. We hope it can be done to protect Mother Earth and our farmers.
Arab Times
23-04-2025
- General
- Arab Times
Kuwait Diving Team removes 8 tons of waste from Ushairij coast
KUWAIT CITY, April 23: The Kuwait Diving Team, affiliated with the Environmental Voluntary Foundation (EVF), has successfully concluded the first phase of its coastal cleanup initiative along the Ushairij coast. During this phase, the team removed eight tons of plastic waste, discarded fishing nets, wood, iron debris, barrels, and tires—materials that pose significant environmental and navigational hazards. Team leader Waleed Al-Fadhel explained that this effort is part of the activities commemorating International Mother Earth Day, observed annually on April 22. He emphasized that Ushairij is a vital environmental area in southern Kuwait Bay, serving as a habitat for wildlife and a crucial stopover for migratory birds traveling from North Asia to Africa. The area also hosts the Umm Al-Naml Island Nature Reserve and holds historical significance for Kuwait. Al-Fadhel noted that the cleanup efforts are expected to continue for several days due to the substantial amount of waste present, requiring coordinated efforts for this comprehensive environmental operation. He highlighted that the team's projects focused on waste removal from Kuwaiti beaches are progressing successfully. This initiative aligns with the team's objectives since its establishment in 1986 and supports the global "Clean Seas" campaign launched by the United Nations Environment Programme's Regional Office for West Asia. The campaign aims to protect seas from plastic and other waste and safeguard marine life. The team is preparing to submit its periodic report to the office, headquartered in Beirut. Al-Fadhel mentioned that the team responds promptly to reports and coordinates directly with relevant government agencies and volunteers to complete the work. Over the past four months, several projects have been completed to remove waste from Kuwaiti coasts, including areas such as East Al-Judayliyyat, Sulaibikhat, Kuwait Towers, Al-Salam, Nuwaiseeb, Al-Zour, Bnaider, and Khiran. He urged beachgoers and the community to contribute to preserving the marine environment, as it is a source of livelihood, and to protect its coasts as tourist destinations while maintaining ecological balance. Al-Fadhel stressed the need for increased environmental monitoring by authorities to deter violators. He expressed gratitude to government agencies assisting in this voluntary and environmental work, notably the Environment Public Authority, the General Directorate of Coast Guard, the Kuwait Ports Authority, Kuwait Municipality, and the Public Authority for Agriculture and Fish Resources, in addition to private sector institutions and volunteers. Al-Fadhel also acknowledged the government's efforts and pioneering environmental initiatives to protect the Ashirj and Kuwait Bay areas. These include removing the fishing village and Ashirj port, limiting industrial activity, and halting overfishing in Kuwait Bay, resulting in the recovery of the coastal environment and the smooth movement of water currents and beach sand. The Kuwait Diving Team continues to play a pivotal role in marine conservation, demonstrating a steadfast commitment to preserving Kuwait's coastal and marine ecosystems through proactive cleanup efforts and community engagement.
Borneo Post
23-04-2025
- Climate
- Borneo Post
Alena Murang's latest single ‘Borneo Rain' out in time for Mother Earth Day
Alena says through her latest single, she aims to bring listeners back to the rainforest, showing that rain is not something to avoid but something that gives life to everything around us. KUCHING (April 23): Singer-songwriter and sape player Alena Murang has released her latest single, 'Borneo Rain' just in time for International Mother Earth Day. The song, now streaming on all major listening platforms, is sung in the Kelabit language, an endangered language spoken by fewer than 6,000 people from the highlands of Sarawak. Alongside it, Alena has also released the Malay and instrumental versions of 'Borneo Rain'. 'I aim to bring listeners back to the rainforest, showing that rain is not something to avoid but something that gives life to everything around us. 'Borneo Rain is a song that celebrates rain as a blessing – for the land, and in turn, for all of us. 'Growing up, I have learned through songs and stories from my elders that the rain isn't troublesome weather, but it's necessary for life. 'When the rain falls, it nourishes the earth, and that's something to be grateful for,' she said in a promotional release. According to Alena, Borneo is one of the wettest places on Earth, and home to some of the oldest tropical rainforests in the world. 'With this song, I hope listeners would feel both joy and a quiet sense of peace – the kind of calm we often find when we're truly immersed in nature.' The music video visualiser, released on Monday, features Alena wearing a 'Samit' — a traditional raincoat worn in the Kelabit Highlands, made from palm leaves and stitched by hand with bark cloth or pineapple fibre. The music video can be watched on YouTube. Alena Murang entertainment lead music rainforest
