14 curiosities about the environment that will surprise you

Environment and ecology are some of the most important topics of our society. As we learn more about our planet and how our actions impact it, it is important to keep informed. For this reason, we have compiled some interesting curiosities about the environment that will amaze you.

1. Did you know that 80% of marine debris is composed of plastic? Plastic takes hundreds of years to decompose, that means plastic is damaging our oceans and endangers sea life.

2. The solar rays that get to The Earth in an hour contain enough energy to supply the energy needs of the world’s population for a year. In just a day, The Earth gets enough energy from the sun to meet the energy needs of the world’s population for 27 years. 

3. The Swiss company Climeworks has developed a technology that allows the capture and storage of CO2 from the atmosphere in solid form, so it can be used by the food and beverages industries.

4. In Australia, they are using drones to seed wildfire affected areas, so they can accelerate the regeneration of the fauna and flora.

5. The japanese artist, Azuma Makoto, has sent plants and flowers to space on an aerostatic balloon, to see how they react to a zero gravity environment. 

6. The biotechnology company Modern Meadow has been developing an alternative to leather, by using the cells of living animals to produce high quality synthetic leather.

7. In Antartida, there is a subglacial lake called Vostok Lake that has been isolated from the outside world for millions of years. The scientists are interested in studying it to see if there is life in the lake and how they have evolved.

8. The ice of the glaciers is so dense that it can make The Earth sink. For example, the weight of the ice from Greenland is so big that it has made the island sink almost 30 meters.

9. The city of Copenhagen, in Denmark, has a system of connected bicycle lanes covering a total of 390 miles, that makes it one of the most bicycle friendly cities in the world.

10. In Switzerland, the Stockholm city hall has implemented a system of “intelligent recycling”, where the citizens receive a card that allows them to access a net of automatic recycling containers and obtain discounts for local stores.

11. The British company Bio-bean has developed a technology that transforms coffee grounds into biofuel that can be used to heat homes and buildings.

12. In Indonesia, the environmental group Conservation International has created a campaign to reforest mangroves that uses a drone to spread seeds and fertilizer from the air.

13. In the United Kingdom, the Company Biohm has developed a construction sustainable material made from organic wastes as wood and mushrooms.

14. The “Rewilding” practice consists of restoring natural ecosystems as forests and rivers, allowing the species that inhabit them to recover and develop their ecological functions.

These are only some interesting curiosities about the environment. We hope they have surprised you and have motivated you to learn more about how to protect our planet. 

Caring for the environment is everyone’s job!