Wildlife reduces carbon emissions

Happy Sunday!

For anyone with us for the first time, welcome to Voyage Green News! We provide a weekly dose of news and inspiration for a sustainable life. 💚 

♻️ This week’s sustainability news

Free-roaming animals increase carbon storage

What’s happening: A herd of 170 bison brought back to Romania's Țarcu mountains could help reduce CO₂ emissions. Research has determined the amount of CO₂ reduced could be similar to taking 43,000 cars off the road in the US for a year. The researchers used a model to figure out how much extra CO₂ wildlife species help capture and store in soils through their interactions in ecosystems.

Why it’s happening: European bison vanished from Romania over 200 years ago. However in 2014, Rewilding Europe and WWF Romania reintroduced them to the southern Carpathian mountains. Since then, over 100 bison have been reintroduced to the Țarcu mountains, and now there are more than 170 bison living there freely. The area could support 350-450 bison in the future.

Why it’s important: This research shows the potential for bison and other similar wild animals to help fight climate change by storing CO₂, which warms the atmosphere and causes climate change when released. In the Țarcu mountains, bringing bison back has also encouraged tourism and new nature-related businesses.

📖 Read the full article: Herd of 170 bison could help store CO₂

Vegetarian diets significantly reduce health risks

What’s happening: Eating a vegan, vegetarian, or lacto-ovo vegetarian diet can greatly lower the chances of getting cancer, heart disease, and dying early from heart problems. This is based on a new ‘umbrella’ review that looked at over 20 years of research. An umbrella review examines many existing studies to give a broad overview of what is known about a topic. The study also found that besides reducing heart risks like high blood pressure and cholesterol, there is also a “protective effect” against certain cancers. These cancers include “liver, colon, pancreas, lung, prostate, bladder, melanoma, kidney and non-Hodgkin lymphoma,” as reported by Dr. Angelo Capodici, a health science graduate student at Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa, Italy.

Why it’s happening: One reason a plant-based diet is good for your health is that they are full of vitamins, minerals, and other helpful substances that fight inflammation and protect your cells. Eating more plants and less meat and processed food can reduce inflammation in your body. However, it’s important to avoid diets that focus on unhealthy plant-based foods, such as fruit juices, refined grains, and potato chips.

Why it’s important: Eating a plant-based diet can lead not only to a longer life, but a healthier one too. You won’t just help your own health either, since maintaining a plant-based diet also has a significant positive impact on the environment.

📖 Read the full article: Certain vegetarian diets significantly reduce health risks

🌐 Travel the Ruta Puuc (Puuc Route)

A unique trip in Yucatan, Mexico

Five major archaeological sites: Included on the Unesco World Heritage List, the route is nearly 40 km long and takes you on a journey revealing the architectural splendour and significance of the Maya civilization.

😇 People doing great things

Amplifying Palestinian voices in Gaza

Operation Olive Branch: OOB is a volunteer group that helps support Palestinians by sharing their stories and meeting their needs, like mutual aid requests. This global effort is led by a diverse team, including Palestinian activists, a Jewish grandchild of a Holocaust survivor, and others. OOB has gathered information about mutual aid campaigns for over 800 families in a detailed spreadsheet. The goal is to help these families connect with donors and supporters more easily. The families create and manage their own campaigns, and OOB's job is to promote them. These campaigns can ask for help with things like medical bills, food, living supplies, evacuation costs, or rebuilding homes. The other part of their work happens on social media. They have a growing group of supporters who make videos and host livestreams to raise money for families. OOB helps them by giving them resources and support as part of the bigger online community. You can read more about OOB in these detailed FAQs.

⭐️ Weekly inspiration

Clean energy driving manufacturing in US mid-west

About $30 billion in capital investments: Has been provided by the private sector since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022.

91% of European cities fight climate change with nature

Tool of choice to improve resilience: Survey of 19,000 climate action plans show focus on maintaining parks, urban forests and green roofs.

The state of Vermont passed a bill to make big oil pay

Response to climate-driven disasters: Largest extractors and refiners of fossil fuels will contribute to a Climate Superfund, which will recoup costs incurred from the disasters and build infrastructure to withstand the storms.

US exceeds 5 million solar installations

Significant landmark in shift to clean energy: Four million of the solar installations have occurred since 2016; first million took 40 years.

Ecuador marks 15 years of nature’s right to exist

New challenges with energy transition and drug war: Ecuador was the first country in the world to constitutionally enshrine such rights back in 2008.

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