Climate Champ–Dr. Alfred Apau Oteng-Yeboah, Consider Electric Food Scrap Composters, Climate Champ–Maria Tereza Jorge Pádua

 CLIMATE CHAMPION, DR. ALFRED APAU OTENG-YEBOAH

 CLIMATE CHAMPION Professor Alfred Oteng-Yeboah is a Professor in Plant Biology with special interest in taxonomy, systematics and vegetation studies and a strong advocate for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity at the national and international levels.

He was educated both at the University of Ghana and University of Edinburgh, where he received a BS and PhD, respectively. His specialty is Plant Biology with primary interest in taxonomy, systematics and vegetation studies. He’s a strong advocate for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. To that end, Professor Oteng-Yeboah has written almost 200 articles and contributory chapters in books, scientific journals, conference proceedings and other popular information outlets.

His interest in biodiversity spans several decades of research and advocacy in various subject areas, including local and traditional knowledge systems in Ghana. He contributed to the development of the 2016 to 2030 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and has published extensively on the Environment and Biodiversity for both local and international audiences. His outstanding contribution to international conservation was publicly recognized in 2020, when he received the John C. Phillips Memorial Medal, the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s highest conservation award.

Why does Professor Alfred Oteng-Yeboah matter to us? He’s one example of the reality that many of today’s climate change leaders are emerging from the developing nations, not from developed ones. And because he’s also a founding bureau member and a former Vice-Chair of Intergovernmental science policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), representing Africa.

He’s a Fellow of the Linnaean Society of London, the Ghana Institute of Biology and the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. 

DEEPER DIVE: BIO, AROCHA, Oteng-Yeboah CV

CONSIDER ELECTRIC FOOD SCRAP COMPOSTERS

Ever thought seriously about composting your food scraps but were stopped because you live in an apartment, condo, or house with no yard? Or worse, the place where you live has no compost infrastructure? We at The Climate Daily just discovered electric composters! Here’s why they matter, and why we’re going to give one a whirl!

Nearly all electric composters use a three-part process of drying, grinding and cooling to make compost, which is highly effective and requires much less effort on your part. Electric composters offer several advantages over conventional composting methods:

1. ‌They’re fast:‌ Instead of taking weeks, most electric composters turn your food scraps into nutrient-rich compost in a matter of hours—often in half a day or less. Some slower-working models may take two weeks, but that’s still much faster than traditional composting methods.
2. ‌They’re compact:‌ Electric composters usually have a pretty small footprint, typically taking up less than three square feet of space on your kitchen counter. Using an electric composter instead of a traditional compost pile can help you save space in your yard and keep it neat and clean.
3. ‌They’re versatile:‌ Electric composters aren’t also known as food recyclers for nothing! They’ll take pretty much anything—fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, processed foods, egg shells and even some bones. Conversely, traditional compost piles or composting bins aren’t as all-encompassing. Food recyclers are a great way to reduce food waste in your home.
4. ‌They reduce or eliminate odors:‌ Electric composters largely eliminate odors using activated carbon filters. They also eliminate methane. While pure methane has no odor of its own, when combined with the sulfur compounds present in many of the foods you’re probably composting, it can reek.
5. ‌They eliminate methane:‌ Methane emissions also drive climate change. Compost piles and composting bins release methane into the atmosphere, which contributes to global warming. Electric composters, however, eliminate methane through their aeration process.
6. ‌They reduce food waste:‌ Instead of throwing away food scraps that will eventually take up space in landfills (which are already overflowing), you can repurpose your food waste by turning it into fertilizer. The drying and grinding process of an electric composter already shrinks your food waste considerably, so even if you do end up occasionally throwing out a batch of compost, it makes a difference.

Whether you’re experienced with composting or new to the concept, if you’ve got a home garden, investing in an electric composter can help your green thumb thrive.

DEEPER DIVE: UN on Methane, The Truth About Gas

CLIMATE CHAMPION, MARIA TEREZA JORGE PÁDUA

Climate champion Maria Tereza Georgee Jorge Pádua is a Brazilian ecologist and environmentalist. She’s known as the “mother of Brazil’s national parks” and is considered responsible for “practically half of all protected areas in Brazil.” Georgee Jorge Pádua was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil. She studied agronomical engineering and in 1972 earned her master”s degree in ecology from the University of Rio de Janeiro.

According to Encyclopedia.com, In 1970, she became a director of Brazil’s national park system, where she worked to  establish nearly 20-million acres of parks and reserves in Amazonia. In 1986, founded Fundação Pró-Natureza (Foundation for the Protection of Nature) which seeks to expand protected areas while exploring environmentally sound options to develop Brazil’s resources. She is president of FUNATURA, a global nature conservancy organization. 

Why does Maria Tereza Georgee Jorge Pádua matter to us? Her work to protect the wilderness provoked death threats from those wishing to exploit the environment. In 1981, Georgee Jorge Pádua received the Jean Paul Getty Wildlife Conservation Prize with Paulo Nogueira Neto for her role in establishing national parks, advancing environmental legislation in Brazil and supporting an ecological research station network.

She is a John C. Phillips Memorial Medal winner and is a recipient of the J. Paul Getty Award for Conservation Leadership. If that weren’t enough accolades, the Amazonia frog species Brachycephalus mariaeterezae is named for her.

DEEPER DIVE: Encyclopedia.com, PraBook