5 IMPORTANT THINGS ABOUT THE OCEAN

1. THE SURFACE OF OUR PLANET CONSINTS OF MORE THAN 70 PERCENT OF THE OCEAN.

Even though the earth is covered by more than 70 % of water, we can only see 20% due to the due the fact that we can only see the water’s surface and not the rest 80%!

2. THE OCEAN IS HOME TO 94% OF ALL LIFE ON EARTH.

Concerning the above, you can imagine that more than 90% of all living creatures call this place home. It is estimated that about 1000000 species of animals live in the ocean.

3. THE OCEAN REGULATES CLIMATE.

The ocean acts as a global climate control system by regulating the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere as it absorbs, stores and releases the greenhouse gas in many ways and places, and therefore Earth’s climate becomes affected.

4. THE OCEAN IS HOME TO THE WORLD’S LARGEST LIVING STRUCTURE.

The world’s largest living structure is the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia. It contains the world’s largest collection of coral reefs, with 400 types of coral, 1,500 species of fish and 4,000 types of mollusc.

5. THE OCEAN PROVIDES MORE THAN HALF OF THE OXYGEN WE BREATHE.

It is estimated that 50-80% of the oxygen production on Earth comes from marine photosynthesis.

Top Tips For A Sustainable Christmas

Presents

1. Quality not quantity: When buying gifts think: less but better. This reduces the chances of gifts going to waste and can be better for your wallet!
2. Gift an experience: Gifting an experience for your loved ones will reduce demand for physical resources. You could buy tickets to shows, concerts or events. Make a restaurant reservation or give a gift card.
3. Think about materials: Look at the materials gifts are made from and keep sustainability in mind.
4. Remove packaging: Reduce waste even further by buying gifts with little or no packaging.
5. Test your wrapping skills: Look for cards and wrapping paper made from recycled or FSC-certified paper. Avoid plastic ribbon and tape or foil-backed wrapping paper.
6. The gift of a better future: If you’re struggling for a gift idea – why not support WWF’s work by choosing an animal adoption? These are perfect gifts for nature and wildlife-lovers wanting to help the environment.

Food

1. Cut your food waste: Try to cut any waste by planning ahead – be realistic about how much food you need and use up leftovers.
2. Eat More Plants: Eating more plant-based meals is good for you and the planet.
3. Know your logos: When shopping for food, look for local produce to reduce food miles. Search for sustainability certifications.
4. Eat seasonally: Make your shopping basket more sustainable by buying locally produced, seasonal products.

Decorations

1. Table Manners: Many Christmas crackers are not recyclable, and the toys inside are often made of plastic. Instead, look out for FSC-certified crackers. Reusable DIY crackers are another great option. Fill them yourself with sustainable options (like chocolates) and personalised festive favours.
   Avoid single-use tablecloths and napkins. Instead, use material versions which have a longer lifecycle. Cranberry sauce stains? No problem! Washing at lower temperatures will help to reduce your environmental footprint.
2. Think about your lights: Use LED lights on your Christmas tree, they use less energy, last longer and look just as good! Also, switch off your lights at night – it’s safer and won’t cost the earth.
3. Make your own decorations: Save yourself some money by upcycling old decorations. Or make your own using spare material around the house.
4. Don’t forget the tree! If buying a plastic Christmas tree, make sure that you’re going to reuse it for at least 10 years. Otherwise, it would have been better to buy a living tree from a sustainable forest. If buying a real tree, make sure it’s FSC-certified.

Out and about

1. Dressing for the party season: Choose the sustainable option and try to use clothing that you already own! If you can’t find anything to wear, ask your friends or family.
2. Reconnect to nature: The festive season is all about spending time with friends and family. Try making one of your festive activities a walk around your local park or nature reserve.

Source: www.wwf.org.uk

7 Reasons To Introduce Office Plants In Your Workplace

A great way to bolster productivity and add some cheer to your office is by including some leafy friends around your workplace. Just like office snacks, office plants are a cost-effective way to brighten up your team’s workday and even improve productivity.

1. Office plants can improve the health of employees and reduce sick days

An immediate effect that office plants can have on employee well-being is the reduction of sick days taken. Plants naturally filter toxins from the rooms that they grow in and help freshen up the place. If your office has poor ventilation, then your team may be at risk of developing the “sick building syndrome” and believe us when we say – it is a real thing! Symptoms include headaches, nausea, difficulty concentrating, and even flu-like symptoms. Although plants alone cannot fix all of the problems associated with this office phenomena, they can help relieve the burden just a little bit.

Try sprucing up your workplace with Peace Lilies, Devil’s Ivy, and Spider Plants, all common office plants that are known air purifiers and will help everyone in the office breathe a little easier.

2. Office plants can play a role in increasing productivity

Did you know that offices with zero decor are considered “the most toxic” spaces for humans? Dr. Chris Knight and his fellow psychologists at Exeter University say that employees perform better when household plants are added to their work spaces. In fact, after studying this concept for 10 years, the team concluded that workers are 15% more productive when there are houseplants and decor around. Reason? Employees who engage with their surroundings tend to achieve a greater output and have an easier time staying focused.

Consider setting up some communal office plants in places where people can see them from their desk. Eye-catching varieties like the Zebra Plant, Red-Edge Dracaena, or the Bamboo Palm are great for sprucing up common spaces.

3. Certain plants can boost creativity

Creative blocks are no joke. Whether you’re out of ideas or stuck on the same one for a little too long, office plants can provide inspiration. Bright colors and vibrant smells are key to making sure your leafy buddy has a positive impact on your creativity. It’s been widely recognized that stimulating our senses can open up the flow of ideas and taking the time to literally smell the flowers can help pull you out of your slump.

Try scrounging up some Hens and Chicks, Chamaedorea Elegans, or a Cypress Vine, as these plants are eye-catching and smell lovely.

4. Office plants can help absorb background noise

With open-concept offices dominating the workforce and the inarguable distractions employees experience when there’s too much noise, having plants in the office can help absorb some of the background office chatter. This is especially true if your work space has hard surfaces such as exposed concrete walls or floors, since there are no other means of absorbing the excess noise.

Positioning larger plant pots, around the edges and corners of a room is the best way to reap the benefits. Some of the taller plants include the ‘Anita’ Dragon Tree, Snake Plant, and the Weeping Fig.

5. Office plants can help reduce stress

Even if you love where you work, sometimes stress is unavoidable. Office plants have been shown to reduce stress levels in employees when introduced into the workplace. The UTS study conducted in 2010, found that offices that were spruced up with plants saw the following benefits:

1. 37% reduction in anxiety.
2. 44% reduction in office hostility.
3. Reduced chronic fatigue by nearly 40%.
4. 58% reduction in reported depression.

Since the color green can have a soothing effect, try picking up plants like the Pincushion Cactus, the Desert Gem, or Blue Barrel Cactus.

6. Plants can help attract talent

Did you know that nearly 50% of employees have no natural light in their place of work? In addition, one in five people said they have no natural elements in their office, whatsoever. That means that a lot of us are working in a dark, lifeless space, which if you ask me, doesn’t seem like an appealing place to be. That’s why there is an upward trend of potential employees taking the physical space into consideration when searching for new opportunities.

Impress candidates with natural decor or even go as far as evaluating if a living green wall is right for your office.

7. Office plants help reduce the use of energy

Turns out, when plants breathe they raise the humidity levels in the building, and enough of them can lower the temperature inside by 10°C (50°F) or more. One study showed that a single healthy tree can cool a building by the same amount as 20 air conditioning units working for 20 hours a day.

Try some larger species of indoor trees to max out this effect and reduce the use of your office AC. This may not be the all-in-all solution to reducing your energy use, but it can sure set the office on a more eco-friendly path.

Conclusion

These are just a few of the many ways that office plants help with workplace stress, productivity, creativity and overall health of your team. You don’t have to go all out right away, maybe pick up a few plants are easy to care for and go from there. Start building your collection of office plants and discover all the wonderful ways that they benefit your day.

Source: www.hoppier.com/

Water is important!

Fifteen benefits of drinking water

1. It lubricates the joints
2. It forms saliva and mucus
3. It delivers oxygen throughout the body
4. It boosts skin health and beauty
5. It cushions the brain, spinal cord, and other sensitive tissues
6. It regulates body temperature
7. The digestive system depends on it
8. It flushes body waste
9. It helps maintain blood pressure
10. The airways need it
11. It makes minerals and nutrients accessible
12. It prevents kidney damage
13. It boosts performance during exercise
14. Weight loss
15. It reduces the chance of a hangover

Tips to reduce water waste

1. Turn off the tap while washing your face, brushing your teeth and shaving
2. Fix leaks
3. Avoid mid-day plant and lawn watering
4. Shorten your showers
5. Only run your washing machine and dishwasher when full

Sources: www.medicalnewstoday.com
greenactioncentre.ca

Everyday chemicals contribute to air pollution mortality

• Air pollution is responsible for the deaths of around 7 million people each year — and 91% of the global population is exposed to air that exceeds the limits on pollution levels set by the World Health Organization (WHO).
• Fine particulate matter is a key source of air pollution. This can be directly produced or indirectly produced when other pollutants react to chemicals in the atmosphere.
• In a new study, researchers highlight another type of pollutant, called anthropogenic secondary organic aerosols (ASOAs), which also react with other pollutants.
• The researchers show that ASOAs are likely to significantly contribute to mortality associated with air pollution.

In a new study, a team of scientists has shown that an under-researched type of pollution, ASOAs, make a significant contribution to air pollution mortality.

For the researchers, their findings, published in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, highlight the need for greater focus on these types of aerosols and the need for further research into how, when, and where they react with other pollutants to cause air pollution.

Fine particulate matter

According to the WHO, about 7 million people die each year due to air pollution. The organization also reports that over 90% of the world’s population breathes air that exceeds the WHO’s safety standards for air pollution.

Researchers have found that fine particulate matter is a leading cause of this pollution — and that deaths due to fine particulate matter have increased from 3.5 million per year in 1990 to 4.2 million per year in 2015.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, fine particulate matter can be caused directly or indirectly. Some direct sources of fine particulate matter include fires and construction sites.

Indirect sources include chemicals such as nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide, which can be emitted from the burning of fossil fuels and react with other chemicals in the atmosphere to produce fine particulate matter.

Strong correlation

The researchers found a strong correlation between the production of ASOAs and volatile organic compounds, which react in the atmosphere to create fine particulate matter.
Using the models, the researchers estimate that ASOAs cause between 340,000 and 900,000 premature deaths each year. According to Dr. Nault, “[That is] more than [10] times as many deaths as previously estimated.”

While regulations on air pollution emission have increased over time, ASOAs have seen relatively little regulation.

Source www.medicalnewstoday.com

Human health ‘intricately linked’ to ocean health

In the paper, which appears in the American Journal of Public Health, the authors say that restoring the health of oceans should not just be the priority of marine scientists but also the medical community and the public more broadly.

Ocean health

The ocean covers 71% of the Earth’s surface and is crucial not only for environmental health but also for the health of humans.

However, human actions have significantly damaged the health of the world’s ocean. The issues that it currently faces include:

• marine pollution
• ocean acidification
• overfishing
• rises in sea level

According to the researchers behind the present article, as well as damaging the health of the world’s ocean, these issues also negatively impact human health.

Human health

The researchers highlight that around the world, swimming in polluted seas is linked with over 250 million cases of respiratory illness and gastroenteritis each year.

Furthermore, Arctic indigenous peoples have become exposed to a build-up of organic pollutants. Coastal communities are exposed to indirect damage to their health when fish stocks collapse, restricting access to food and severely reducing livelihoods.

The researchers argue that responding to this damage to ocean health will also improve people’s health. However, oceans can also promote human health in their own right.

The scientists point out that seafood provides a key source of omega-3 fatty acids, while extracts from marine organisms can play a role in medical treatments. Additionally, “blue spaces” — locations near water — also have links with improvements in people’s physical and mental health.

Source www.medicalnewstoday.com