Hi, my name is Jackson Selby and I’m the founder of trees4humans. I discovered some great websites about climate change, trees and CO2 that are worth visiting. I will continue to add more website reviews and hope you will check out the following sites for yourself by clicking on the link for each of these organizations.
EARTHDAY.ORG
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The
Canopy
Project
Hi, it’s Earth Day 2021 and I’m here to talk about earthday.org., a site which hosts The Canopy Project. It’s a massive reforestation effort that spans across nations to help replenish forests.
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This is a pretty big deal: They’re an established site and they plant all over the globe and on every continent except for Antarctica which is really impressive. And they actually plant their trees with care. The Canopy Project makes tree placements by considering the local climate conditions and tree diseases, so that the trees can thrive. And instead of putting seeds in the ground and just hoping they grow, they have community groups on the ground at their planting sites. These groups are trained and committed to nurturing the trees to maturity with lifespans that can last 100 years or more.
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There’s a lot of interesting facts on climate change and tree planting methods and how reforestation can help the world reach NET ZERO. I personally think this is a great site to donate to, because with even just $1 they can plant a tree with excellent conditions and in places where it’s most needed.
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As always with any site, you should go see it for yourself.
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https://www.earthday.org/campaign/the-canopy-project/
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Climeworks
Today, I’m talking about Climeworks and their machine called ORCA as a way of reversing climate change. I first heard about this company, when I discovered and watched a PBS video (with a link on my site).
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So, what is Climeworks? Climeworks is a nonprofit organization that works to reverse the cycle of CO2. On their site, I read they do this by removing CO2 out of the atmosphere and mixing it with water, then pumping it underground. Through natural mineralization, the carbon dioxide reacts with the basalt rock and turns into stone within a few years.
Their system works through big machines and the first one is called Orca, a direct air capture and permanent storage plant. It’s a giant machine being built in Iceland powered by renewable energy and energy from waste!
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According to the website, ORCA will capture 4,000 tons of CO2 a year. That’s pretty impressive, huh? And it's an exciting new climate-positive solution towards making our planet healthier.
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The company views their direct air capture of CO2 as action that is complimentary to planting trees.
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Until next time... here's a link to this innovative process https://climeworks.com
and while you're on their website, take a look at me featured on their Community Spotlight page
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Climeworks direct air capture plant
Photo copyright Clilmeworks
Basalt core containing mineralized CO2
via Carbfix method
Photo by Sandra O. Snaebjornsdottir.
Copyright
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Today I’m not talking about a specific website. I want to talk about something I find really cool and interesting.
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It’s about new developments in forest monitoring technology used in forests like the canopies in the Amazon Rain Forest. The sensors are placed to monitor when anyone is going to chop down trees to alert the rangers. However with current technology monitoring systems, it can take up to 14 days for the rangers to get the information which would be too late to save the trees.
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With new breakthrough technology, forest monitoring systems are set up to provide a baseline of forest noise. Then, the sensors will be able to detect any changes in noise (e.g. sound of chain saws) in the forest being monitored and relay that alert in real time to the rangers to stop the would-be tree thiefs.
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There’s a lot of information about other cool and innovative technologies - hydrogen airplanes, vertical farms, alternative animal feed, solar powered desalination - on that site that you might want to check out for yourself.
8 Green Innovations Set to Shake Up Sustainability 2021
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Uhtil next time...
July 2021
I have a great website for kids to learn about cllimate change.
This site is easy to understand and is a fun approach to important topics involving climate change.
I recommend it as a good beginning point to help younger children learn why our generation needs to be aware of the impact of climate change on our planet. It's our future!
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Remember: Discover all the hands-on activities on my site for kids as young as kindergarden Great ideas to explore for kids of any age that demonstrates even young kids can help make the world a better place. By learning about climate change and sharing their ideas, activities and information with other kids and even adults, we can make a difference. There is a variety of activities across lots of subject areas which are great for students in kindergarten to high school whether attending a brick-and-mortar school or being homeschooled.
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One of the last major projects I completed at the end of the 2020-2021 school year was using the Harkness Method of learning. My assignment was to research, then provide written sources and documentation in answer to this question:
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Which is better:
Planting trees for reforestation for climate change or planting trees for the economy?
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I presented my findings during a homeschool session and the discussion was recorded.
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This was one of the few homework assignments that I really enjoyed! I got to teach myself as I did the research and follow any ideas or sources that I found interesting. I was leading this project, not being taught by an adult. (The Harkness Method can be summed up like this: The one who does the work, does the learning.)
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Here are links to some of the more interesting things i learned from that project:
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Animated Video, "What Makes Cities So Hot?
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Free Trees (Seedlings/Saplings): Check your State's Department of Natural Resources and community free tree programs or urban forestry programs in your state, county, township or city. Some programs operate during certain times of the year. Go online or check with your State, county or local government offices like the Department of the Environment or even Parks programs as well as local/State environmental groups. My home state of Maryland offers free tree saplings to plant around your home to help cool your home.
Climate
Visuals
October 2021
I've got a review of a different kind of climate change website for you today. ​
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Climate Visuals, a project of Climate Outreach, is a wonderful collection of photographs of real people of different ages and backgrounds from countries across the world working to improve the planet by actively doing things to help fight climate change. It's very uplifting with projects that can give you ideas of what you can do in your own community.
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This website focuses on visualizing (literally) climate change. Click on a photograph and read about the project or people in the photo. Here are just a few examples of what people around the world are doing:
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solar cooking
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geothermal energy
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urban gardening
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wooly pocket vertical garden
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sea wall defense
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organic waste for composte
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solar panels on a lake
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energy efficient biomass cookstoves
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remote rainforest reforesting
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greenery on rooftops
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flood plain tree planting
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and lots more!
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When you go to the site's homepage, click on 'Browse Our Image Library'. Next, you will see a lot of different topics. Choose a topic, then click on that image to see examples of different activities and work being done related to climate change. Click on individual photos to learn the details about the project or activity and where it is located.
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I highly recommend you check out the website for yourself, because a bunch of the things are really interesting and will help you learn more about climate change impact; causes; and solutions.
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It's Jackson here with my first review of 2022.
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When you think of a cow, what do you think of? Milk? Perhaps their patterned hides? Maybe a nice steak?
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Now, one thing you may not associate with cows is burping. Turns out, cows
are incredibly gassy. When cows are being raised,, the amount of feed it takes
to get them up to market weight has an effect on their digestive system. And
so cows end up burping a lot. In fact, so much burping that of the 14.5% of
humanity's annual gas emission produce by livestock, cows produce 65% of
those emissions from burping methane gas. That's a huge amount.
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Read more about why researchers around the globe are working on solutions to reduce the amount of methane gas from cows. (The change in their feed may surprise you. It did me.)The site has a video that helps explain why cows emit methane gas when burping and why reducing the amount of methane gas emissions on our planet is critical to fighting climate change..
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Research continues on how to reduce the amount of methane emissions by cows since this 2018 article was published. In July 2020, CLEAR Center at University of California/Davis reported why their research has shown that cow methane emissions warm the earth's climate differently than fossil fuels. For one thing, the emissions last 12 years! Learn more about current research by using the second link below.
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https://clear.ucdavis.edu/explainers/why-methane-cattle-warms-climate-differently-co2-fossil-fuels
This site is very interesting. While it may seem a bit complicated, by taking tips from this site there are things you can do and share with your parents to make a change by reducing your carbon footprint.
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Although the Foundation is located in Canada, there are good tips here to use
wherever you live besides riding your bike instead of using the car. The site gives
you new ways to reduce your carbon footprint by rethinking
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the food you eat;
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using energy in your home; and
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the stuff you buy.
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Definitely worth visiting this website and sharing the information with your family members and
friends.
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https://davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/four-places-cut-carbon/
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As I have been researching the various competitions for another page on my website, I stumbled across two winning ideas that caught my eye and want to share these websites with you. For more information about innovative climate change projects, go to my Blog for Humans, Climate Innovators Inspire Our Generation,.
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The first is about NOTPLA, an alternative packaging company that makes its packaging products out of seaweed gel with a goal of replacing plastic.
From small, single-use liquid containers that replace plastic cups and bottles at sporting events to fast food takeout boxes, NOTPLA’s ideas have all kinds of uses for everyday life.
And, unlike plastic, seaweed is biodegradable, ensuring no lasting environmental impact. NOTPLA even
won the 2022 Build a Waste Free World Earthshot. NAPLA products were used in a recent London
Marathon, reducing the number of plastic bottles used for that event by over 200,000.
I encourage you to check out their site for yourself, if this interests you:
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The other project which caught my eye was Kheyti.
Kheyti is a startup in India which revolves around making small,
affordable greenhouses in a box. Most farmers in india are poor,
lacking the money needed to buy greenhouses to protect their crops.
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Kheyti’s greenhouses are affordable, easy to construct and provide
thorough protection to crops. Kheyti has won both the Elevate
Prize’s Get Loud Award, and the Protect and Restore Nature Earthshot.
If you want to learn more about how Kheyti is helping farmers,
click here: https://www.kheyti.com/
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watch this amazing nova video
Is it new science? Or is it magic?
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Find out what scientists around the world are doing to help 'cool our planet' and fight climate change by working to reach Net CO2 Zero with these innovative techniques:
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​Direct Air Capture of CO2
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Injecting C02 from our air into rock to store it in the ground
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Recycling our CO2 emissions to create synthetic fuels
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Making everyday items out of recycled CO2 emissions like clothes, car parts and even toothpaste!
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'Cloud Brightening' using salt water sprayed into marine clouds to help reduce amount of CO2 in our atmosphere
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Solar geo engineering that includes reflecting sunlight back into space.
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AND new ways to use one of nature's oldest inventions that have been around for centuries. Can you guess what I'm talking about?
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TREES! Yep, trees. Trees absorb CO2 from our air and store it, releasing oxygen in return.
Now, scientists have developed new AI to identify the location of the best ecosystems around the world that can support planting of more more trees.
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As one scientist on the video states, "The potential for new forests is vast!"
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This video is for middle and high school students, I think. And it's available for free on PBS and it should play just fine. However, you may need an adult who has an account or creates a new FREE account on PBS to log into PBS.
The video is about 54 minutes long and all of us kids need to watch it! Here's the link to the site. Remember, an adult needs to have a FREE PBS account and the video is available until October 2024. (This may take a bit longer to load on a mobile device.) Click on this link:
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