#1 Bali’s single-use plastic ban officially takes effect
Back in December, thanks in part to the efforts of the activists at Bye Bye Plastic Bags, Bali announced that they would ban single-use plastics, with a six-month “warm-up” period so that businesses could transition. Well, on Sunday, 23 June, the six months were up and Bali’s ban came into full effect.
With the ban, Bali hopes to reduce the island’s plastic marine pollution by 70%. Hooray!
#2 New lab-grown salmon could help reduce overfishing
Startup Wild Type has been working to develop lab-grown salmon since 2016. And recently, they were able to produce enough of the clean and sustainable salmon to share some with the public. At an event at Portland, Oregon’s Olympia Oyster Bar, the company worked with chefs to debut its salmon in six different ways including in sushi, as tartar and in a ceviche verde soup.
Currently, Wild Type’s salmon is a bit pricey. It cost the company several hundred dollars to produce enough of the fish for the event. However, Wild Type is working on getting the price down to $7 or $8 a pound – comparable to grocery store costs.
#3 Scientists discover a giant freshwater aquifer below the Atlantic
Deep in the Atlantic – off the coast of northeast America, you’ll find an enormous freshwater aquifer. This aquifer was recently discovered and contains at least 2,800 cubic kilometres of water – enough for 1.1 billion Olympic-sized swimming pools.
This is the largest known aquifer on the planet, and it lends hope to the idea that there are other large aquifers out there. It’s a relief considering the global population continues to grow.
Read also: 19 underwater photos that will terrify you or make you want to go freediving
#4 Europe’s airports pledge to hit net-zero carbon emission by 2050
Nearly 200 airports in Europe have backed a pledge to reduce their net carbon emissions to nothing by 2050. A huge step towards managing climate change!
Currently, forty-three of Europe’s airports are carbon neutral. Three of these – all of which are smaller Swedish airports – are already true net-zero.
