Remember Eyjafjallajökull? The massive erupting volcano in Iceland that brought travel across Europe (and beyond) to a grinding halt last year? If you were one of the many travelers stuck in an airport, chances are you do. It turns out the very same volcano that caused so many problems might soon be key to a green-friendly future!

 

Officials in Iceland are looking at building a massive power cable to Scotland that would send large amounts of geothermal and hydropower to Europe. The country has vast amounts of untapped green energy potential, especially hydropower and geothermal sources–an estimated 75% of Icelandic energy is undeveloped according to the government. The new power cable could produce enough energy to power 5 million homes in Europe.

 

Our Global Ideas reporter Jenny Hoff is in Iceland covering the future of the country's geothermal revolution, so stay tuned for her report coming soon!

 

 

 

Sometimes it's easier to understand a complicated issue if you can play with it. Take climate change as an example. To garner support for climate action a video game is released today. The game is called Fate of the World that and it is based on state-of-the-art climate models, the developers say. Red Redemption from Oxford have created that strategy game in cooperation with the global TckTckTck campaign. People who are downloading the game are literaly ‘players’ in the climate change debate and can contribute towards real-life changes. In the game users must find a way to deal with Earth’s resources and the climate crisis. At the same time the needs of the growing world population need to be minded, such as more food, energy, and living space. TckTckTck and Red Redemption seek to increase the understanding and awareness of climate change by providing gamers with the opportunity to learn and explore the subject. More informations you will find here: http://tcktcktck.org/fotwgame/

In cooperation with the British Council GLOBAL IDEAS will periodically present you with portraits and updates of the 'International Climate Champions'. The Climate Champion programme recognizes young people from all over the world, who are doing an outstanding job in campaigning and working for the protection of our climate.

Today, please meet Anoka Abeyrathne, a Climate Champion from Sri Lanka:

Anoka has been given the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Youth Award 2010. At the age of 14 she started working on the protection of the wetlands of Sri Lanka to combat Climate Change. Until today Anoka has helped replant more than 12,000 Mangroves in Sri Lanka. She is an activist in the South Asian Youth Climate Action Network. In 2010 she became a British Council International Climate Champion and was the Sri Lankan delegate to the Youth Forum on Climate Finance 2010 in Shanghai.

When you turn on your radio most likely you will hear music. A lot of the songs you hear surely are insignificant. Most of them are about the usual issues like love & hate and who is the biggest pimp or has the lowest lowrider… But sometimes you will stumble upon a song that contains more than just blah blah. We are talking about popular music refering to climate change and how humans have an impact on the environment. Here's a short list that definitely needs to be extended. So if you know a song that matches this list, add a comment and let everyone know!

The first song we would like to present is from some time in the 80s by a band called Tower of Power. The idea is pretty easy to get: Stop driving that much, oil won't be available forever: "There's only so much oil in the ground / Sooner or later there won't be much around / Tell that to your kids while you're driving downtown / That there's only so much oil in the ground"

Punkrock of course is the class A music for controversial issues and Bad Religion is the band if we are talking about fairness, human rights and, obviously, climate change.

Cake on the other hand are more plain and simple:

"Car after bus after car after truck / After this my lungs will be so f*** up…"

Depeche Mode, the synthi-gods of ancient music times have written a song that is quite catchy as well. It says: "The landscape is changing, the landscape is crying / Thousand of acres of forest are dying…" Sounds pathetic in a way but who cares if the message is delivered right, right?

And last but not least the old but still heavy Heavy Metal band Megadeth has a heart for biodiversity. The song "Countdown to extinction" is a call to save the animals of our planet (because they can't take revenge for themselves). We don't know if the WWF would like this kind of music very much. Anyway, here's a quote from the lyrics: "Endangered species, caged in fright / Shot in cold blood, no chance to fight…" The song goes on with a martial (and metal-like) description of mankind: "You pull the hammer without a care / Squeeze the trigger that makes you Man…" Hell, yeah!

Do you know more songs like these? Do let us know! 🙂 You can add a comment right here with YouTube links to your favorite climate song or video.

It's no secret that coral reefs around the world are under threat because of climate change. Coral reefs represent some of our most important natural resources, providing livelihood, food and protection for marine biodiversity. And now environmentalists say 75% of our existing coral reefs are in the danger zone.

 

According to a report called "Reefs at Risk Revisited," overfishing, warmer waters and pollution are among the biggest culprits endangering reefs today. Also, pwards of 500 million depend on reefs for sustenance and income. And it's only going to get worse in the next 20 to 50 years.

 

So what can we do? Cutting down on water consumption and pollution will in turn slash our CO2 emissions, which is a big plus. But also support reef-friendly businesses whether you're fishing, boating or snorkeling! And raising awareness is also key. Here's one way to spread the word: send coral reef e-cards from The Nature Conservancy!