#2MinuteBeachClean, the Plastic Soup Foundation, Norwegian Electric Boatmaker Wins Award, United Nations University 

#2MINUTEBEACHCLEAN PROJECT

Back in 2007, writer, surfer, and earth lover Martin Dorey?   found himself waist deep in trash while walking along a North Cornwall beach in the UK…Dorey established beach cleaning days and he started the Beach Clean Network, which he ran for six years.

But it was a spate of Atlantic storms in 2013 that inspired him to create the #2minutebeachclean campaign. Six years later, the The 2 Minute Foundation was born. It’s a registered charity that is devoted to cleaning up our planet 2 minutes at a time. The organization and its members believe that simple, achievable acts can add up to make a great difference.

Those acts include the #2minute campaigns (#2minutebeachclean, #2minutelitterpick, #2minutestreetclean and #2minutesolution)

The foundation also focuses on social media and direct action to empower, educate, inspire and enable individuals, groups and businesses to make simple changes or take part in simple actions that will contribute to the planet’s wellbeing, as well as their own.

A really nifty innovation of the 2-minute Foundation is the network of beach cleaning, litter picking and street cleaning stations. The stations make it easier for people to take on the #2minutecampaigns. It’s basically an A-frame signboard with a receptacle from which you can grab a litter pickup bag, and some great signage featuring encouragement, advice and cautions. After all, not all beach litter is benign.

Another reason worth surfing over to are the #2minute Beach School. Surf on over. Or click on the link in the Deeper Dive section of the transcript to this story. All I can say is, “the more you know…”

DEEPER DIVE: The 2-Minute Foundation, 2-Minute Beach School, #2MinuteBeachClean

PLASTIC SOUP FOUNDATION      

The Plastic Soup Foundation was founded in February 2011. Its goal is to make everyone familiar with the phenomenon of plastic soup and to stop it at its source. It is a single-issue organization that focuses entirely on plastics.

Based in Amsterdam but with an international focus, its mission has not only been embraced in the Netherlands but also particularly in the United States, the United Kingdom and India:

• is to prevent plastic from ending up in the environment
•           share knowledge about the health risks related to plastics and plastic additives
•           achieve absolute reduction in the production and use of plastic

BTW, The Plastic Soup Foundation is thrilled to announce the second-ever Plastic Health Summit, to be held on October 21, 2021 in Amsterdam. This year, the theme is One Health, because environmental health and human health are inextricably linked.

Why does this matter to us? Because that plastic soup will soon be sloshing up on our shores, not just those of southern hemisphere countries…

DEEPER DIVE: Plastic Soup, Plastic Health Summit

NORWEGIAN ELECTRIC FERRY WINS MARITIME AWARD

Norwegian boat builder Brodrene AA recently won the Baird Maritime Award for Best Electric Ferry.  Whoever would have thought that a 300-passenger, electric ferry could operate most of the day at 20 knots?

In May, 2020, Brodrene AA DELIVERED the all-electric passenger ferry Rygerelektra. The 297 passenger all-electric ferry measures 42 meters in length and is capable of 23 knots. At full passenger capacity, it has an operational range of 50 nautical miles at a speed of 17 knots and will use less than 70% of her 2.0 MWh battery capacity between charges at this speed.

“The vessel represents a new, ground-breaking step within zero emission passenger transport,” Brødrene Aa CEO Tor Øyvin Aa told Baird Maritime. “The carbon fibre catamaran is equipped with an all-electric energy storage and propulsion system. With her 2MWh battery installation, Rygerelektra also boasts the largest battery pack installed on high-speed vessels we have delivered to date.”

This vessel is breaking barriers for environmentally conscious transportation and serves as a testament to what is possible with all-electric propulsion. Most significantly, the Rygerelektra saves on 270,000 litres (over 71,300 gallons ) of expensive Norwegian diesel each year. And that’s why this innovation matters to us.

DEEPER DIVE: BRAA.no, Baird Maritime, Bloomberg Green

UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSITY

The United Nations University (UNU) is the academic arm of the United Nations and acts as a global think tank. The UNU concept began in 1969  when UN Secretary General U Thant proposed the creation of a “United Nations University, truly international in character and devoted to the Charter objectives of peace and progress”.  A Founding Committee then prepared a draft University Charter and Resolution, both of which were approved by the General Assembly in December 1973.

Why does UNU matter to us? Because of its global reach. Research areas include climate change adaptation incorporating insurance-related approaches, environmentally induced migration and social vulnerability, ecosystem services and environmental deterioration processes, models and tools to analyze vulnerability and risks linked to natural hazards, with a focus on urban space and rural-urban interfaces. Research is always conducted with the underlying goal of connecting solutions to development pathways.

DEEPER DIVE: UN, UNU, UNU/Climate Change