Starting the year by talking about positive environmental news seems like a good tradition, so I’ve decided to continue it. As with last year, I’ve broken these into three sections – legislation and community, wildlife and plants, and technology.
Legislation and Community
1. Maine conservation success stories
Starting local, Maine saw many exciting conservation successes in 2021. These included:
- $40 million in funding for the Land for Maine’s Future
- More than $22 million raised to protect headwaters for Atlantic salmon
- Expanded acreage for the Downeast Community Forest and Rogue Bluff State Park
2. California tackling plastic
California got serious about tackling problems with plastic with landmark bills. This included addressing problems with recycling, such as putting the “chasing arrows” symbol on plastic that isn’t truly recyclable, banning the use of PFAs (aka forever chemicals) in children’s products, and requiring that products break down in real-life conditions if they’re marked as compostable.
3. Ecuador considers the rights of nature
Plans to mine for gold and copper in a protected cloud forest in Ecuador have been canceled after the highest court ruled that such mining would violate the rights of nature, which are part of Ecuador’s constitution.
4. Deb Haaland the first Indigenous secretary of the interior
Indigenous representation in government has been scanty at best, which is one reason why it’s so refreshing to have Deb Haaland as the first Indigenous secretary of the interior. But she’s more than just an icon – she’s already worked on removing derogatory terms from landmarks, helped retore the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, and moved forward a plan for offshore wind development. I look forward to seeing what she’ll do in the coming years.
Another Maine connection, JustME for JustUS was launched in 2020 as a project of Maine Environmental Changemakers in collaboration with Campaign Earth. They’re working to create a youth-led network focused on civic engagement and climate justice, with the goal of making Maine’s youth key players in the work of building a just and sustainable Maine.
6. Environmental justice gains ground
For a long time, the term environmental justice was unknown to many Americans, but that’s finally starting to change. One example of that is the inclusion of environmental justice in climate change policies at the federal level. Early in his term, President Biden issued an executive order called Justice40. Thanks to this, disadvantaged communities will see at least 40% of the benefits from federal investments in climate adaptation and clean energy.
7. America the Beautiful Initiative
The Biden administration announced the America the Beautiful Initiative in May 2021, and it included the goal of conserving 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030. This is the first-ever national conservation goal, made in recognition that we must support our land, water, and wildlife in order to sustain our nation.
8. $5 billion investment in Protecting Our Planet Challenge
In September 2021, nine organizations came together to make the greatest funding pledge to biodiversity conversation. These organizations – Arcadia, Bezos Earth Fund, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Nia Tero, Rainforest Trust, Re:wild, Wyss Foundation, and the Rob and Melani Walton Foundation – have pledged more than $5 billion over the next ten years to support conversation efforts.
Wildlife and Plants
9. Expanded protection around Galapagos Islands
The Galapagos Islands have been inspiring people for well over a century (including me on my visit in 2008), but it’s been a challenge at times to protect the islands and the many species that live there, such as marine iguanas, frigatebirds, sea lions, and the finches that helped Darwin develop his theory of evolution. That’s why is such good news that in November, the protected area around the Galapagos expanded by 60,000 square kilometers.
10. Australian marine parks established
Australia’s government announced the creation of two new marine parks, which combined will be twice the size of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The parks will be around the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island, and this will increase the amount of Australian waters protected to 45%.
11. UN Decade on Ecosystem Reforestation begins
The UN Decade on Ecosystem Reforestation began last year and runs through 2030, to protect and revive ecosystems. It calls for a specific goal of restoring 1 billion hectares (2.5 million acres) of land that’s been degraded.
12. Trees for Jane
Trees for Jane is an initiative by Jane Goodall to plant 1 trillion trees by 2030, partnering with the Trillion Tree Campaign and the German NGO Plant-for-the-Planet. To ensure that the tree planting is done responsibly, Goodall is advising the Trillion Tree Campaign, and they’ve also developed guidelines to determine which projects the initiative can finance.
13. Giant Pandas no longer endangered
Several species made a comeback last year, but none is more iconic than the giant pandas of China. Although they’re still listed as vulnerable, the species has rebounded significantly, due to many years of dedicated effort. Here’s hoping that process continues.
14. 12-year-old starts community garden
Jordan Wilson of Christchurch, New Zealand, is working to make a community garden to help those in need. He’s applied and received a lease to work on the land, and with the help of local businesses, he’s created several garden beds and wants to do more, and he’d like to provide the food to those in need.
Technology
15. New tech helps reduce agriculture emissions
Agriculture is one of the biggest generators of carbon emissions, so it’s a great place to focus in terms of reduction. Old technology can help with that, but so can new technology, including electric vehicles, digital agriculture, and crop genetics. According to one study, a combination of these new technologies used on row-crop agriculture over the next 15 years could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 71%.
16. Ford F-150 EV could be a gamechanger
For a long time, a stumbling point for electric vehicles (EVs) has been that they don’t include trucks, leaving out a big part of the market. That’s changed, now, with the Ford F-150 Lightning. The gas-powered F-150 is the best-selling vehicle of all time, so the fact that there’s now an electric alternative is a huge benefit for EVs.
17. Addressing food waste with tech and pricing
Food waste is a significant problem when it comes to emissions, and while some emissions come from households, a lot of that waste is from grocery stores that have to throw out food past its expiration date. So an Israel-based company called Wasteless has developed technology that will offer electronic pricing based on the expiration date. Products closer to expiring will be slightly cheaper, while those that are fresher will cost a little extra. The goal is to encourage people to buy food at a lower price before it has to be thrown out by the store and thus reduce emissions.
18. Renewable energy continues to rise
Even though renewable energy also faced some supply chain issues in 2021, the world added 290 gigawatts of production by renewable energy. This includes wind farms, new solar installations, and other renewable technologies.
19. LEGO bricks made from recycled bottles
Discarded plastic bottles are a continual problem, so it’s always encouraging to see a company find ways to use them. In this case, LEGO has begun creating bricks using recycled PET plastic, not only from plastic but from clothing. The company also has a goal that by 2030, all of its core products will be made from sustainable materials.
20. Pairing solar farms and crops
Agrivoltaics is the fancy word for pairing solar panels with agriculture, and it’s an exciting way to go. Not all crops can be paired this way, of course, but things like berries are a natural fit since the solar panels can provide some protection to the berries and help reduce evaporation. I’m looking forward to seeing more about this in the coming years.
What will 2022 bring? After the past two years, I’ve given up trying to predict what will come in the future years. But whatever else may come, I think we can look forward to more exciting technologies and other encouraging stories about people working to make a positive environmental impact.