Today’s eco snapshot👇🏽
This country has doubled its forest size
Startup of the week: Tradewater
5 Brands That Are Promoting The Circular Economy
News That Lifted My Spirits This Week
Community Asks
This country has doubled its forest size
We are talking about Costa Rica today, a country in Central America.
Towards the mid-20th century, indigenous woodland covered most of the country, but extensive logging cleared much of it for profit.
By the early 1980s, two-thirds of the forests were destroyed, impacting habitats of creatures like the golden toad and poison dart frog.
But deforestation eventually slowed, stopped, and the trees began to return.
So what caused this return?
Well, Costa Rica began to realize the potential of its rich ecosystems and set about safeguarding them.
Policy-makers restricted the number of logging permits and created a national forestry commission to police forest activity.
The National Forestry Fund was established in recognition that a healthy rainforest provides numerous benefits such as removing and storing CO2 from the atmosphere, and water filtration.
The fund offered landowners per-acre financial incentives to conserve their land and prevent it from degrading, which led to improved land management and reforestation.
Both individuals and communities could benefit from the fund, which helped create tens of thousands of jobs.
Safeguarding natural resources has now become a priority for policymakers. They have even extended the protection to secondary rainforests, which regrow naturally after being cleared or degraded.
Shows how incentivizing the right stakeholders along with strong policies can actually help the planet heal!
⌛ Time for the quiz of the week
Seven countries now generate nearly all of their electricity from renewable energy sources.
Answer at the end of the newsletter. No one (including me) can see your response so feel free to vote 😉
✨ Startup of the week: Tradewater
There are greenhouse gases that are 10000 times more potent than CO2. This company is on a scavenger hunt to find and destroy them ❌
Gas grabbers…When we think of greenhouse gases, we often think of CO2. However, other greenhouse gases are much more potent, such as refrigerants. These gases, commonly found in cooling systems like gas tanks, fridges, ACs, and industrial chillers, are thousands of times more potent than CO2.
Unfortunately, these systems are often disposed of without regulation, with their parts removed and sold as scrap, releasing the gases into the atmosphere and adding to the existing greenhouse gases.
That’s where Tradewater comes in.
Gas hunt…It searches for equipment containing these potent gases, such as gas tanks, intact fridges, or industrial chillers, which are often found in old warehouses or waste disposal sites. This search process is akin to a scavenger hunt!
Capture & credit…If the team arrives on time, they capture, control, and destroy the gas, preventing it from entering the atmosphere. In return, they create carbon credits that can be purchased by businesses or individuals to offset their impact.
✅ 5 Brands That Are Promoting The Circular Economy
Thousand Fell: Makes sneakers from recycled bottles, natural rubber & food waste.
Raylo: Leases and reuses electronics, making them more sustainable.
ManyMoons: A circular retailer that takes back your old clothes.
Kern Tec: Upcycling fruit pits into plant-based foods.
Pluck: Sustainably and ethically sourced fresh teas made by upcycling waste.
😹 News That Lifted My Spirits This Week
Power Surge: South Korea aims to generate 70% of its electric power from carbon-free energy sources like renewables and nuclear by 2038, up from less than 40% in 2023.
Carbon Cutback: China’s State Council unveiled a plan to cut carbon emissions in 2024 and 2025, aiming to reduce CO2 emissions by about 130 million tons by the end of 2025.
Poll Results: Most US voters support lawsuits against major oil companies, with nearly half also favoring criminal charges for their role in the climate crisis.
🙋 Community Asks
Sonam is looking for designers who are passionate about working in the sustainability space to create her brand logo and other branding materials.
If you would like your request to be featured here, please comment below or reply to this email (it’s free!).
💁🏼 3 Ways I Can Support Your Sustainability Journey
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Enjoy your weekend, and see you next week😊