Saffron production in Kashmir is at an all-time low. In the push and pull between traditional practices and modern methods endorsed by the government, Kashmir’s most coveted crop is losing out to climate change and unplanned urban development.
Shepherds and their flocks are integral to the history of European culture and ecology. Now, a new generation of pastoralists – from migrants escaping underpaid care work, to science graduates looking for tangible ways to protect the planet – are rewriting patriarchal traditions to preserve it for the future.
Microfinance loans were meant to offer a pathway out of poverty in countries like Nigeria, particularly for women. But as climate change makes weather patterns more unpredictable, the risk of falling into further debt falls onto the shoulders of women farmers who face not just erratic farming conditions but social stigma from default.
Arrests of high-profile campaigns suggest that even those working on government-approved green initiatives with international backing aren’t safe from Vietnam’s crackdown on environmental activism. But some warn that staying below the radar can be even more dangerous.
Heating, driving, storing electricity: Hydrogen could replace oil, gas and coal in a completely climate-neutral way. The fact that this will probably not happen is due to a better alternative.
“During the third week of the first Covid-19 lockdown, we ran out of the little food we had. We spent two days on empty stomachs and this forced me to join a group of children from my village who were going to pan for gold along Odzi River. I have not stopped since then,” she said.
In Kenya, the startup Gjenge Makers is transforming plastic waste into useful paving bricks. But can this solution make a dent in the piles of imported plastic plaguing the country?
Using recycled plastics as a building material is already normal in other regions of the world and can solve two problems at once. A text for those who have had enough of concrete.
“Well the truth is, everything in Caribbean life almost has an outdoor existence. So climate becomes so much a part of our life but it also drives a big part of our economy; agriculture, tourism. When you have any kind of storm event it disrupts life totally.”
Seasonal, organic and increasingly plant-based food in schools not only helps children, but also the climate. A unique window of opportunity has just opened up in the EU.
