Eco Minute 13:30

BULLETIN 14 August 1:30 pm

Good afternoon, here is your Eco Minute:

# The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research has developed plastics that are compostable or biodegradable. This is to help the plastic industry reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and help create bio-based industries. CSIR’s doctor Maya John says the aim was to replace single-use plastic products that are not recovered, recycled, or that are contaminated, with compostable or biodegradable alternatives. John says the main benefits of plant-based plastics include a reduced carbon footprint and that they are mechanically recyclable.

# About one in five children globally live in areas that experience at least double the number of extremely hot days each year compared to six decades ago. This is according to an analysis by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund. Last year was the warmest year on record by far, and scientists expect global temperatures to rise further. Unicef found that a total of 123-million children, or 39-percent of children in Africa, experience temperatures above 35 degrees Celius over an average of four months every year.

# And finally, officials in Spain are investigating singer Katy Perry for allegedly filming a music video in ecologically sensitive dunes in the Balearic Islands without permission. The video for her latest single Lifetimes shows the singer on the islands of Ibiza and Formentera. But scenes believed to have been filmed in the middle of the protected dunes on the uninhabited isle of S’Espalmador in Formentera have raised concern. The dunes on the small, privately owned island are of great ecological value.

Stay tuned for more news………….