All the good things

World’s Longest Undersea Cable to Send Clean Energy From Morocco to the UK – Powering 7 Million Homes

A tiny English village is to become the center of a ”revolution” in the global energy industry and be connected to Morocco—with the world’s longest undersea cable.

The Xlinks Morocco-UK Power Project says it will import enough sun and wind-generated energy to the UK to supply seven million homes by 2030.

The plan would see 3,800km (2,361 miles) of subsea cabling connect Morocco’s renewable energy-rich Guelmim Oued Noun region with little Alverdiscott, near Barnstaple.

The new electricity generation facility, entirely powered by solar and wind energy combined with a battery storage facility, would cover about 1,500 square kilometers (579 square miles) in Morocco and then be connected to Britain via four HVDC (high voltage direct current) sub-sea cables.

These would plug into Alverdiscott which would host two 1.8GW connections.

Convertor stations in Morocco will change the high voltage alternating current (HVAC) power at the generation site to HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current).

This is then sent through the subsea cable to the converter station in North Devon which changes it back to high voltage power, ready to be injected into the British transmission network.

In total, four cables will form the twin 1.8GW HVDC subsea cable systems.

They will follow the shallow water route from Morocco to Alverdiscott, passing Spain, Portugal, and France.

A technical feasibility study has already been completed to validate the reliability and cost of the project.

The former Tesco boss is also raising £800 million ($1,080 million) to build three UK production facilities to tap into growing demand for the electric cables used for offshore wind farms and undersea interconnectors.

A spokesman for Xlinks said, “This ‘first of a kind’ project will generate 10.5GW of zero carbon electricity from the sun and wind to deliver 3.6GW of reliable energy for an average of 20+ hours a day.

Once complete, the project will be capable of supplying 8% of Great Britain’s electricity needs.

“Alongside the consistent output from its solar panels and wind turbines, an onsite 20GWh/5GW battery facility provides sufficient storage to reliably deliver each and every day, a dedicated, near-constant source of flexible and predictable clean energy for Britain, designed to complement the renewable energy already generated across the UK.” That’s exciting news indeed.

How should countries, especially poor ones, go about making sure that people have access to healthy food?

Recent research from the Wits School of Public Health, the Health Systems Trust and the University of KwaZulu-Natal sheds fresh light on the problem, showing a proliferation of unhealthy food, particularly in poorer communities.
The analysis used a tool called the “modified retail food environment index” and show the proportion of food retailers in Gauteng that were “healthy” and what proportion were “unhealthy”.

One possible strategy is to introduce policies that limit the number of fast-food outlets in communities.
Local governments have extensive powers over planning and zoning. They could be required to consider the impact on the food environment when granting zoning approvals or business licenses.
This would require filling a gap in municipal bylaws. For example, the City of Johannesburg municipality has passed two bylaws regulating informal or street trading and one on spatial planning. But neither of these link municipal planning obligations to the placement of food retailers. This gap can be filled by explicitly taking saturation or scarcity of different food retailers into account. This could include, for example, creating a zoning exemption or special approval for healthy retailers.

Alternatively, national level policies can better guide implementation at a local level. This would require governments to adapt existing business licensing and planning frameworks to take into account the lack of healthy food retailers in a particular area. For example, the framework used to grant business licenses is set out in national legislation, the Business Act, but implemented by local governments. This framework might require conditions that are more stringent for food retailers before they set up shop.

Local governments have already exercised this kind of power to further public health. Cape Town passed a law that prohibited smoking within a certain distance of doors and open windows.

Municipalities could also put regulations in place that restrict the sale of unhealthy food near schools. In addition, they could incentivise retailers to move to under-served areas. Steps like this are already being explored and are set out in detail by the World Health Organisation guidelines.

We are not alone: First possible star-revolving planet found outside our galaxy

The search beyond our own galaxy never fails to keep uncovering new and exciting things about our mysterious universe. One of the most recent potential discoveries is a planet in the Messier 51 (M51) or Whirlpool galaxy. What makes this planet, named M51-ULS-1b, so special is the fact it transmits a star, just like our planet revolves around the Sun. These are termed exoplanets, and before last week, no exoplanets outside our Milky Way had been discovered.

Astronomers use the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton space telescope and NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory to search for these types of planets beyond the Milky Way. Sifting through 55 different galaxies, the team spotted the special planet due to the fact it briefly blocked light and X-ray emissions whilst transitioning in front of the star. These techniques have been utilized to pick up planets to 3,000 light-years all over our galaxy. Though M51 is 28 million light-years away, quite a distance further!

Using the data collected from the X-ray Observatory, the planet has been estimated to be around the size of Saturn and be positioned around twice as far as the ringed giant is from the Sun.

This discovery has the potential to trigger a new era of planet detection and study, allowing more puzzle pieces of the universe to come together. Although M51-ULS-1b will not orbit around its star again for another 70 years, so we have to wait a long time to double check if these results truly are correct. Co-author Julia Berndtsson added a statement about this issue “We know we are making an exciting and bold claim so we expect that other astronomers will look at it very carefully … We think we have a strong argument, and this process is how science works.”

New French law helps independent bookstores compete with online retailers

A French law passed in 2014 that prohibits retailers from discounting new books has helped small bookstores survive amidst heavy competition from powerful online retailers. However, the owners of independent shops are still at a disadvantage because online marketplace giants such as Amazon have managed to evade this law by allowing customers to pay just one cent for shipping.

That’s why France has adopted new legislation that sets a minimum price for book deliveries to further protect small independent bookstores by leveling the playing field.

There is something special about being able to see real books in a shop, an experience that is at the risk of becoming extinct if we don’t work to preserve independent bookstores. According to a small bookstore owner, Americans and other tourists are surprised that her shop still exists and tell her how beautiful it is to visit a bookstore in the flesh, as many of the ones in their own countries have been shoved out of the market by online competitors.

Amazon fought hard against the new legislation, which is yet to be enacted, arguing that it would hurt residents who live in rural areas who cannot easily access a physical bookshop. However, consumer attitudes seem to say otherwise, as many say they understand why the shipping cost is there and don’t mind paying for it while supporting a local business.

“The price of books should be the same everywhere,” says one bookshop customer. “If there are offers online, they also have to take into account the shipping costs, so it’s normal to have to pay a little bit more if we want to have books delivered.”

Bookstores have historically been important places of gathering and idea-sharing in France and around the world, and for bookworms everywhere, small independent bookstores are nestled lovingly in their hearts. Many hope that this new legislation will help independent bookstores meet their online competitors and will allow them to survive for years to come.

11-Year-old is on a mission to clean the Seine

Many people who visit France are drawn to the romantic banks of the Seine, the river that flows through the northern part of the country, inspiring artists and lovers with its glistening waters. The Seine has retained its beauty through history, however, these days it hides the improperly discarded waste of city dwellers in its depths.

Fortunately, there is one young Parisienne that decided that he could not sit by and do nothing while the river suffers under the weight of human-generated pollution. On any given Saturday, 11-year-old Rafael Marinho, together with his father, can be found on the banks of the famous river, pulling out an assortment of metal waste.

“This is a magnet that can lift up to one ton,” he explains to DW, holding the unconventional fishing line in his hands before tossing it into the water. Not long after, the magnet attracts an impressive catch: a shopping cart.

“I started doing this because I thought it would be fun to do,” he says, “but it quickly became some kind of hobby, or rather, a job. Now we are doing this almost every weekend. We have to do it as… adults are doing nothing,” he adds.

Rafael’s father is not surprised that his son has taken up such an activity.
“Rafael has always been close to nature and animals, so if someone does something bad to nature, like polluting it, he will of course step in,” he says.

Over the course of two years, Rafael and his father have fished out almost 20 tons of discarded metal, including 50 bicycles. From this large array of items, Rafael has a selection of favorite finds on exhibition in a pop-up museum next to the river. Every object is accompanied by a little story that Rafael had imagined for each piece.

“There’s a safe that we’ve fished out next to a revolver and a motorbike,” he says, motioning towards the items. “We imagine it belonged to a gangster on the run who crashed with his motorbike, pistol in hand.”

Even French President Emmanuel Macron has extended his congratulations to Rafael on his river

Cape Verde’s sea turtle conservation efforts prove to be a resounding success

The West African island nation of Cape Verde is experiencing first-hand the rewards of years of conservation effort. In the past five years, Cape Verde has seen a surge in sea turtle populations across all 10 of its islands. According to the country’s environment ministry, last year’s nest numbers are at nearly 200,000, a huge leap from the 10,725 nests accounted for in 2015.

These impressive numbers may push Cape Verde from the world’s third-largest nesting site for loggerheads, after Florida and Oman, to either the second or even first place spot.

The increase in nesting numbers is the result of a number of factors, including the Covid-19 travel restrictions and a global decline in shark populations, one of the sea turtles’ predators, however, experts largely attribute the sea turtle boom to conservation measures.

“Conservation efforts in Cape Verde began 20 years ago—that’s the time it takes for baby turtles to come back as adults,” says Albert Taxonera, founder and co-director of Cape Verdean conservation organization Project Biodiversity.

Local patrollers monitor hundreds of miles of coastline every year during nesting season and are responsible for protecting as many sea turtles as they can. They are also tasked with measuring and fitting each turtle with a tracking chip so that researchers can determine how many turtles return safely to sea.

Local communities used to think of sea turtles only as a food source, but educational initiatives have raised awareness of the importance of the creatures for the ocean and their environment.

“Before, I just thought of them as food,” says Semedo, one of the local beach monitors. “But since the first day I saw a turtle, I knew I wanted to protect them.”
Though conservation efforts have been going on for decades, Cape Verde intensified existing laws surrounding the protection of turtles by criminalizing their killing, trade, and consumption in 2018. Perpetrators of these crimes are either fined or sentenced to community service, which sometimes involves beach patrol with the NGO that caught them.

Other beaches in the world from India to the US have observed significant increases in turtle nesting, however, there are still many obstacles that sea turtles have to face to survive. Species, like a number of leatherback subpopulations, have been classified by the IUCN as critically endangered.

Some of these hurdles include fishing nets, which can be fatal to sea turtles, and ocean plastics. Another major threat is coastal development, especially tourist resorts that are constructed near nesting beaches. “We are destroying their habitats and causing global warming, but we are also implementing very strong conservation programs,” says Juan Patiño-Martinez, the scientific coordinator at the Maio Biodiversity Foundation. “So, it depends on the humans. We can cause their extinction, or we can conserve them.”

McDonald’s to phase out plastic toys in Happy Meals by 2025

Many of us have fond memories of visiting McDonald’s with our friends and family as children and receiving the specially packaged Happy Meals. Underneath those cardboard golden arches, we knew that we would find a little toy inside, which we would eagerly anticipate putting together and playing with.

However, if we examine those memories, many will admit that these cheap plastic bits and bobs would entertain us only for a few minutes before they were forgotten and left lying under our beds or deep in the crevices of car seats, and eventually ending up in a landfill.

Well, McDonald’s is finally addressing this problem, saying it will “keep the fun, protect the planet,” by promising to make all Happy Meal toys across the globe with more sustainable, eco-friendly material by 2025. Instead of disposable plastic toys, children can look forward to pop-out paper figurines, board games made with plant-based or recycled game pieces, trading cards, paper coloring patterns, and toys fashioned out of bio-based material.

“Making our toys out of renewable, recycled, or certified materials will result in about a 90 percent reduction of fossil fuel-based plastic in Happy Meal toys, from a baseline of 2018,” a company press release reads. “For perspective, that’s more or less the size of the entire population of Washington, DC, eliminating plastics from their lives for a year.”

Following Burger King’s example, which eliminated all plastic toys from kids’ meals in the UK back in 2019, McDonald’s has been working on phasing out plastic toys in the UK, France, and Ireland. The plastic trinkets have since been replaced with longer-lasting items such as soft plush toys, books, and paper-based toys. These changes have resulted in a 30 percent reduction in virgin plastic use.

McDonald’s has also been toying with the idea (excuse the pun) of recycling old Happy Meal toys into restaurant trays. In Japan, trays have been manufactured using 10 percent old toys.

The idea to scrap the plastic toys actually came from two little girls, Caitlin and Ella, who petitioned the company to get rid of plastic Happy Meal toys in England. While these tiny toys are only a small fraction of the gigantic plastic problem we face today, McDonalds’ shift away from plastic still prevents a significant amount of plastic waste from being generated. Plus, it speaks to the power of the smallest and youngest members of our community to change our world for the better.

Paris to become a 100% bicycle-friendly city by 2026

As cities are around the world increasingly step away from car-centric urban planning, it’s safe to say that cycling will soon become a primary mode of transportation for a growing number of people. In Paris, at least, that will definitely be the case.

Starting this year, Parisians are expected to see significantly more bicycle-friendly infrastructure in the French capital, thanks to a new plan aiming to increase the number of protected bike lanes and bicycles parking spots.

The new plan, called Plan Velo: Act 2, represents a follow-up of the existing $174 million cycling plan which has been getting more and more ambitious with each update. Paris Mayor Anne Hildago was elected for a second term last year after successfully passing a number of bicycle-friendly initiatives.

The 2021-2026 cycling plan aims to transform Paris—which until recently was a toxic city for people on bicycles—into a 100 percent bike-friendly city. In addition to the installation of extra facilities for cyclists, the new $260 million plan also pledges to maintain them with promises of “cleaning and snow removal from cycles paths,” reports Forbes.

The city will also increase the number of bicycle parking spaces, while strategically removing car parking spots. As part of Plan Velo: Act 2, residents will see the installation of 30,000 parking stands with an additional 1,000 spaces reserved for cargo bikes. What’s more, there will be 90,000 new secure cycle parking spaces near rail stations, 50,000 of which are expected to be installed by the private sector with the help of incentives and grants.

The plan comes alongside a number of other initiatives seeking to remove cars from the center of the city, including transforming the iconic Champs-Élysées avenue into a huge community garden.

The lord of rewilding: Irish Baron turns his estate into a nature preserve

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the world would need to rewild and restore a territory the size of China over the next decade to meet commitments on nature and tackling climate change. In Ireland, a landowner, and holder of one of the oldest surviving Irish peerage titles, is doing his part towards that ambitious rewilding goal.

His name is Randal Plunkett and he is the 21st Baron of Dunsany, one of the last surviving medieval baronies in Ireland. His hereditary estate, located in the east of Ireland, is now an oasis for wildlife after he has allowed the wilderness to return to the area. The land is currently the only Irish rewilding project recognized by the European Rewilding Network.

An environmental advocate, Plunkett has evicted livestock and moved away from kept lawns in an effort to turn his 750 acres of land into a nature preserve, teeming with flora and fauna. According to Plunkett, his experiment began about eight years ago.

“When I started this it was a secret. For the first five years, nobody knew what I was doing. In fact, the locals thought I was a moron. They thought I was just decadent, destroying the land for no reason.”

His efforts, however, turned out to have an incredibly beneficial effect on local plants and animals. For example, pine martens—a very rare species related to the weasel—have already been spotted on the estate. According to euronews, otters and red deer also thrive there. Other animals that now call the country manor their home include buzzards, peregrine falcons, sparrow hawks, red kites, kestrels, and even woodpeckers.

“Every year I’m getting at least one animal back. And it’s been wonderful because we’re bringing the wild back to Ireland, a place that used to be remembered for being green, and we’re bringing that bit of green back,” says Plunkett.