In today’s Squirrel News, more than 70 species of sharks and rays win wildlife trade protections in a conservation first, the UK becomes the largest world economic power to ban new oil and gas exploration, and guerrilla urbanists in Los Angeles take pedestrian safety into their own hands.
More than one third of sharks and rays are under threat of extinction, their numbers decimated by overfishing. The world’s top wildlife trade organisation has now extended greater protection to more than 70 species, restricting trade to only what is sustainable.
The UK is the largest world economy to ban new oil and gas exploration. It is part of a newly released strategy for transition away from fossil fuels that moves slower than previously portrayed by allowing new drilling in existing fields of the North Sea. There is to be no expansion into other areas and no new contracts.
The repurposed oil field will be the first fully operational EU offshore carbon storage site. It is part of a strategy for the bloc to reach ‘net zero’ on carbon emissions by 2050, in which campaigners emphasise that reducing emissions could be primary.
The founder of Algenie has built a helical photobioreactor, an innovative arrangement of spiral tubes in which billions of algae cells can grow at speed. Its inventor says it’s cheap to build and produce on an industrial scale and could replace petrochemicals as the basic source of plastics, food, and fuel.
In a unique case study, Mannheim is creating fuel strong enough to power maritime transport out of the city’s treated waste. Biogas creation from sewage has been used for heating, but the innovation behind this project is to use renewable energy to capture CO2, which, combined with hydrogen can form methanol.
Tucson had one of the first school gardening projects in the US. Now 10 schools are taking part in the city initiative Scraps to Soil, composting to divert food waste and contributing to the circular economy as school lunch leftovers help grow food for future meals.
To keep cultural diversity, Santa Fe is taking steps to make housing more affordable, the most unique being the new way to set minimum wage. It will now be tied both to consumer prices and average rent. The city is also issuing more building permits, because the housing shortage drives rents higher, and has a mansion tax to fund affordable housing.
People’s Vision Zero is painting guerrilla crosswalks in Los Angeles in protest of the lack of street safety. They say the city takes far too long to get through the red tape to make safe crossings. They are not the first LA group to be doing it, and now the mayor’s office is recommending to decriminalise vigilante crosswalk creation.
A Washington state NGO with a mission to prevent suicide in veterans with PTSD helps pair them with service dogs that help them manage stress and improve their lives. The dogs train for five months to identify things like panic attacks, seizures and low blood pressure caused by diabetes.
Grace Richardson endured teasing and bullying in school due to her sexual orientation but went on to rise above the negativity and is now proud to have ‘achieved her dream’ of becoming Miss England. She is the first openly gay woman to achieve the title.
