Interesting Reads is back, after a month off I have a nice long list of things for you to watch and read over the weekend.........
READ:
Let's start with this mind bending natural phenomenon that I had never heard of before! Ball Lightning! WTF!!!!!
This New Scientist piece is beyond eye opening "Ball lightning is so strange it might just come from another dimension" My kind of title! Mysterious floating orbs of light have puzzled scientists for centuries, inspiring no end of creative explanations. A new idea suggests they aren't entirely of this world - read the article here
I'm always on the look out for positive news in the fight against climate change and the damage we are doing to the planet, these piece sounds promising.....
A collaboration from universities and institutions in the UK, China and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, researchers in the Edwards/ Xiao group at Oxford’s Department of Chemistry have developed a method of converting plastic waste into hydrogen gas which can be used as a clean fuel, and high-value solid carbon. This was achieved with a new type of catalysis developed by the group which uses microwaves to activate catalyst particles to effectively ‘strip’ hydrogen from polymers. Read the article by Darrel Moore for Circular here.
We only ever experience three spatial dimensions, but quantum lab experiments suggest a whole new side to reality. Article by Jon Cartwright for New Scientist, read the full article here.
Our ignorance about Amazonian flora and fauna remains staggering. A recent study estimates there are about 16,000 species of trees in Amazonia, of which several thousand have not even been named by scientists, much less evaluated for medicinal potential.
This beautifully laid-out article highlights the unknown richness of the landscape and the impressive medicinal knowledge of the Indigenous peoples that we are rapidly losing. Read the full article by Mark J. Plotkin for The new York Times here.
BOOKS
A book about how we can do our part to help heal the earth. In a single year loggers destroyed an area 5 x as big as London in the Amazon - an ecosystem that takes 4,000 years to regenerate. At this rate the luxury of choosing which changes we prefer to. bring into our lives to fight climate change has a fast approaching expiry date. Yes it's about the big corporations that cause 70% of the emissions but it's also about the choices we can make collectively as individuals. The 4 highest impact things an individual can do to tackle climate change are:
1.) Eat a planet based diet
2.) Avoid air travel
3.) Live car free
4.) Have fewer children
The Planet is a farm.
The average US and UK citizen must consume 90% less beef and 60% less dairy - how can anyone keep track of that? The author has a solution - No animal products for breakfast or lunch. It might not work out to precisely the right figure, but it’s just about right and easy to remember. Great and informative read!
WATCH
Soil is life! A cure for climate change starts with a simple solution right under our feet. You can watch Kiss The Ground on Netflix, it sheds light on a new, old approach to farming called “regenerative agriculture” that has the potential to balance our climate, replenish our vast water supplies, and feed the world.
A 'video call' interview with Al Gore, covering all things climate change and Gore's thoughts about how humanity can create a clean, prosperous future through a focused global effort and a generation of young people committed to change.
LISTEN
Continuing on from Kiss The Ground, this podcast from the awesome 99% Invisible (if you haven't listening to anything from them before check out their other episodes, they cover a vast range if topics) this episode is about how peatlands and carbon storage in the ground is crucial to fighting climate change. Maximising carbon storage without damaging biodiversity in the process!
Ok thats enough for now, hope you enjoy the selection and I would love to hear your thoughts drop me an email or @ me on Instagram.
More next week ✌🏼