Work Less For The Planet? Sign Me Up!

Four-Day Workweek Trial Has Climate Benefits

😊 The Good News - Last year, 70 companies in the UK trialed a four-day workweek, and 50 of them will be keeping the shortened workweek moving forward. This led to workers driving their cars 10% less which is equivalent to an 8.6% decrease in carbon emissions, and emissions associated with sending and storing data also decreased.

🥾 Follow This Path - The rise of work-from-home culture as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has opened the doors for non-traditional work schedules and spaces. But it’s also helping our climate. Ever since I started working remotely, I’ve noticed a significant decrease in my personal carbon footprint, and now I’m conducting my own four-day workweek trial to see if it will help further.

Thailand Bans Plastic Waste Imports

😊 The Good News - The Thai government recently announced a complete ban on the import of plastic waste starting in 2025 citing environmental concerns. Much of the world has shipped their plastic waste to Asia for years to be recycled, and following China’s own ban on plastic waste imports in 2017, Thailand has seen a nearly 1700% increase in imports.

🥾 Follow This Path - The way the world manages its plastic waste is a massive climate injustice because it puts countries already vulnerable to climate change, like Thailand, at risk of further environmental impact. I applaud Thailand for telling big plastic waste producers to find somewhere else to send their waste, and I hope this pushes countries to rethink their waste management practices because shipping waste abroad isn’t sustainable or ethical.

Biden Administration Releases Funding To Address Orphaned Oil And Gas Wells

😊 The Good News - The Biden Administration has released guidance to states on how to apply for the $500 million set aside in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill to clean up orphaned oil and gas wells. These wells have no current owner, which means there is no one other than the government to plug them in order to prevent them from further contaminating air, water, and soil. There are over 100,000 known orphaned wells throughout the country.

🥾 Follow This Path - Abandoned wells as a whole, which includes orphaned wells, emit between 7.5 and 11 million tons of CO2 equivalent every year, and as scary as those numbers are, it makes me feel better that there will now be more funding to plug these wells.

Scottish Loss And Damage Fund Helps Malawi

😊 The Good News - Following Scotland’s announcement of a loss and damage fund in 2021, developing countries are starting to receive money, and one of those is Malawi. Climate change has been making flooding worse in the country, and the money they have received from Scotland so far is being used for flood mitigation projects.

🥾 Follow This Path - Climate change is impacting the countries that have contributed the least to global emissions, and these countries have been calling for loss and damage financing for decades now. I applaud Scotland for being one of the first countries to not only announce, but actually send loss and damage funds to countries in need.

26 Australian Species No Longer On Brink of Extinction

😊 The Good News - Populations of 26 species in Australia that were once on the brink of extinction are now bouncing back, a recently published study found. Researchers attribute the population growth to years of conservation efforts, including those managed by indigenous groups. Although climate change and habitat loss are still putting a wide variety of species in Australia at risk, this study has shown it is still possible to make a difference.

🥾 Follow This Path - Far too many people believe that saving species from extinction is a hopeless cause, but this is proof that conservation efforts do work. It is also refreshing to see scientific studies acknowledge the conservation efforts of indigenous groups, considering their work has historically been ignored and Australia’s brutal treatment of indigenous peoples.

Send me a story!

Submit it below and you just may see it in the newsletter next week.

Written in partnership with Pique Action. Tired of doom-scrolling? You've found your people. Find Pique's positive, educational climate content on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube.