Posts Tagged ‘climate change’

The Sustainable Thinking Platform has launched a multimedia competition aimed at young people between the age of 18 and 30 years old. The challenge is to take a picture, write an essay or to create a video that can inspire others to embrace sustainability as a way of life and answers the question: ‘ Faced with increasing resource scarcity, how can young people contribute to the promotion of sustainable production and consumption?’. The winner will receive a laptop computer, photo camera or a camcorder depending on the category competing in. The submission deadline is 31 July 2010, but the Sustainable Thinking Platform plans to give away a brand new Apple iPad to one lucky person who registers to participate in the competition before 30 June!! Find out more..

The Sustainable Thinking Platform has been created to continue promoting a wide debate about sustainability issues. This community, comprised of young people from all the around the world, gives you the opportunity to exchange ideas, share artistic creations and connect woth hundreds of people interested in building a better future for our planet.

Stop climate change and make adjustments in your lifestyle so future generations can enjoy clean air, water, safe food plus overall health and well-being. By taking small steps, you can contribute to the global climate change effort – and save money on your energy and heating bills! Learn how easy it is with these 10 simple tips:

1. Turn down the heat, programme your thermostat, replace your old single-glazed windows with double-glazing and don’t let heat escape from your house.
2. Switch off the lights when you don’t need them, let the light shine in, use energy-saving light bulbs and do not leave appliances on standby.
3. Recycle: Bring used glass to the bottle bank and sort paper and cardboard, reduce waste, choose products that come with little packaging and buy refills, reuse your shopping bag and say no to paper towels.
4. Unplug your mobile charger when you’re not using and turn off your computer during your absence from the office.
5. Switch to green electricity.
6. Save water: Use the washing machine or dishwasher only when they are full and take a shower instead of a bath.
7. Print less!
8. Try one of the following ways to get to work: cycling, walking, car-pooling or taking public transport.
9. Play board games by candlelight, ride your bike or take a walk in nature.
10. Learn more or test your knowledge in the European Commission fun quiz!

Next Thursday, April 22 marks the 40^th anniversary of the modern environmental movement, Earth Day 2010. Earth Day is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment. How to spend Earth Day?

• Join the official Earth Day 2010 Campaign. You can sign up for a campaign in your area or submit an event in your town;
• Participate in the Earth Day 40 Campaign to help raise awareness about Earth Day. For just $40 you can make a positive difference. The money will go towards planting trees organized by Plant a Tree Today (PATT) Foundation;
• Shop at myEARTH360.com. Everything you buy, counts for our earth. For every $40 you spend, a tree will be planted (with PATT);
• Talk about what the earth means to you and learn about ways to take action for the earth.

The European Commission has recently published a Eurobarometer survey which shows that many Europeans do not understand what is meant by biodiversity and do not feel well informed about biodiversity loss. The Commission has at the same time launched a Biodiversity campaign to raise awareness about the loss of biodiversity in the EU through a website, a video clip, PR actions, street art and media, including social media. The campaign is built around the slogan: ‘Biodiversity – we are all in this together. Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik said: “Biodiversity is the natural engine for our future, and we must learn to treat it with care. I hope this campaign will help do that, and raise awareness about the need to be kinder to the natural world we depend on.” Find out more on the campaign website or join the Biodiversity Facebook community.

According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Earth Hour 2010 was a great success. On Saturday, in over 4.000 cities and towns in 88 countries between the hours of 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m (local time), the lights were turned out in observance of Earth Hour. The WWF claims lights were out in Acropolis, the Eiffel Tower, The London Eye Ferris wheel, The Pyramids of Egypt, Niagara Falls, The National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., The Golden Gate Bridge, The Las Vegas Strip, New York City’s Broadway Theater signs, Rockefeller Center, and all the way to the Empire State Building. Visit the Earth Hour media library for access to Earth Hour 2010 videos from all over the world.

On 27 March 2010 at 8:30PM people from all around the world will be switching off their lights for Earth Hour 2010! Earth Hour is a call to take a stand against climate change. Show your support right now by creating a colorful lantern or by signing up on the Earth Hour website.

NANOYOU invites young people between the ages of 16 and 25 years to take pictures of the nanotechnologies applications they discover in their environment and upload them to the picture gallery. A jury composed of designers, engineers, architects and scientists will select the best three pictures that portrait how nanotechnologies are becoming part of our lives. The three winning photographers will get cash prizes and also be invited to NANOYOU’s public debate in Paris on April 8, 2010, to present and comment on their images and exchange opinions with the public. Submission deadline: 1 July 2010. Find out more.

The winners of the Sustainable Energy Europe Awards were announced today at the Sustainable Energy Week in Brussels. The five winners were chosen from among 272 projects, one for each of the five award categories. Do you want to know more about the five award winners? Please check out the European Commission press release.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) kicked off in Copenhagen last Monday on 7 December and will last until 18 December. During the conference youth climate leaders will make their voice heard by youth-led actions, events and presentations and thursday 10 December will be the Young and Future Generations Day. On the European Youth Forum page on COP15 you can find the most updated news, such as a number of short interviews with European youth delegates in Copenhagen. Below you can watch the presentation movie from youth of the world with important messages from young people to the politicians of the world at COP15: ‘Youth Voices on Climate Change’.

You (young people between 14 and 29 years old from 10 EU countries) are invited by the European Commission to act against climate change by planting your own tree! On the campaign website Click a Tree it’s possible tot register and receive free seedlings to plant your own tree. To win a trip to an environmental learning camp you need to take a picture of yourself planting the tree and upload it on the website, where all participants can vote for their favorite photo. If you are one of the 10 participants which get the most votes, you are the lucky one to win this interesting trip!

Make a difference and enter the competition on the website before 15 November!!