TO CELEBRATE ON EARTH DAY
Earth Day is a time for everyone to think about our planet. EcoMall.com felt it would be great time to focus on the many positive achievements recently made to help save our Mother Earth!
1) Shell abandons Alaska Arctic drilling Oil giant’s US president says hugely controversial drilling operations off Alaska will stop for ‘foreseeable future’ as drilling finds little oil and gas.
2) SeaWorld to end it's orca whale breeding program and phase out orca whale performances in its three parks over the next three years. SeaWorld has been criticized for breeding, penning and training the animals for entertainment.
3) Solar and Wind power are booming. A record-breaking $286 billion invested in renewable energy in 2015, more than double fossil fuels
America's solar market has grown every year for the last 15 years. And 2015 was no different. According to GTM Research's Solar Market Insight report, the U.S. installed nearly 7.3 gigawatts of solar capacity last year.
4) The US vegan population more than doubled in the past two years. The retail market for vegetarian foods has doubled to $1.6 billion! Meat consumption is declining, over the past 10 years, American meat consumption has declined by 10 percent!
Animal agriculture is an extremely inefficient and resource-intensive way to produce food for the growing human population. It pollutes our environment while consuming huge quantities of water, grain, petroleum, pesticides, and drugs.
A global move to a vegan diet would prevent millions of deaths, cut planet-warming emissions and save a billion dollars annually in healthcare costs and climate damage.
• avert 8.1 million premature deaths every year;
• reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 70%; and
• save up to $1 billion per year in reduced global healthcare costs.
Being Vegans is good for our health - for our animals - for our environment - for our future.
5) Americans finally believe climate change is real. A recent poll shows 76% of Americans now know climate change is happening. Even a majority of Republicans, whose party has been in aggressive denial about this issue, now understand it’s a problem.
6) Paris Climate Accord, which effectively signaled the end of the fossil fuel era.
2015 marks a pivotal moment in the history of global environmental policy. According to the New Climate Economy Report,
The planet got its first universal climate treaty. It was the outcome of years of negotiations: For the first time in history, all UN member states, not only industrialized countries but also developing countries committed to cutting green house gas emissions and to cut global warming together. The Paris agreement is due to enter into force in 2020 and shall limit global warming to below 2 degrees, if possible even 1.5 degrees. The adoption of the agreement itself won’t save the planet. But it’s a roadmap for environmental action in the years to come.
"This gives me even more hope that humankind will be able to work together to combat climate change, the most important threat facing us today" - IEA’s lead economist, Fatih Biro
7) More people have access to clean water.
The number of people without access to improved drinking water fell below 700 million for the first time in history. It means that more than 6.6 billion people, or 91% of the global population now uses an improved drinking water source, up from 76% in 1990.
8) More people are buying healthy and green products.
LOHAS is an acronym for Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability. It is a $355 billion market segment in the United States alone (growing about 10% a year) and a $546 billion market worldwide.
LOHAS consumers are those who are passionate about the environment, the planet, social issues, health, about human rights, relationships, fair trade, sustainable practices, peace, spiritual and personal development.
LOHAS now represent 23% of the population (about 50 million adults) in the United States. Almost seven in ten consumers use some type of organic product, a trend that has been moving steadily upward over the past 9 years.
The future of our planet is in our hands. In many respects things are inproving. This list of positive achievements demonstrates this.
Happy Earth Day!
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