Fire is the fundamental Human technology, the foundation of everything that came after in Human societies. Controlled fire transformed our diet, physiology, psychology, language, social structure, technologies, and our relationship to the rest of nature. 300.000 years ago, fire-based technologies existed throughout Eurasia. Fire allowed Humans to seize caves previously occupied by other large, fierce mammals. Fired pottery existed ...
Glassy Baby / Glasiges Baby / Bebê Vidrado / Bebé Vidrioso
We began when the light of a candle in hand-blown glass gave hope to Lee Rhodes. This hope helped her heal from cancer three times and inspired a business devoted to giving hope, beauty, kindness, and millions of dollars to help people, animals, and our planet heal. Now that we give back almost $2 million dollars a year, we established the glassybaby white ...
The Forest / Der Wald / A Floresta / El Bosque
Half of the World’s forests have already disappeared, and only 20% of what remains is intact. As it stands, the World loses more than 23 million acres of forest area every year. The window of opportunity to reverse deforestation and protect the World’s remaining intact forests is shrinking. Not only does this have huge consequences for the ...
The Rise / Der Aufstieg / O Aumento / El Aumento
Genetic engineering is the direct manipulation of an organism's genes used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including the transfer of genes within and across species boundaries to produce improved or novel organisms. Accusations that scientists are playing God and other religious issues have been ascribed to the technology from the beginning. Genetic engineering which is without ethical limitation has ...
Plastic Pollution / Plastikverschmutzung / Poluição Plástica / Polución Plastica
Plastic pollution involves the accumulation of plastic products in the environment that adversely affects wildlife, wildlife habitat, or even Humans. Living organisms, including Humans, but particularly marine animals are affected through entanglement, direct ingestion of plastic waste, or through exposure to chemicals within plastics that cause interruptions in biological functions. The Marine Conservancy has predicted the decomposition rates of several plastic products. It is ...
Our greatest Threat / Unsere größte Bedrohung / Nossa maior Ameaça / Nuestra mayor Amenaza
We forget about the many generations we hope are yet to come. Not those who will live 200 years from now, but 1,000 or 10,000 years from now. We face risks, called existential risks, that threaten to wipe out humanity. These risks are not just for big disasters, but for the disasters that could end history. We ...
Turning the Tide / Die Flut Wenden / Virando a Maré / Cambiando la Marea
The ocean is the lifeblood of Earth, covering more than 70% of the planet's surface, driving weather, regulating temperature, and ultimately supporting all living organisms. Throughout history, the ocean has been a vital source of sustenance, transport, commerce, growth, and inspiration. Yet for all of our reliance on the ocean, 95% of this realm remains unexplored, unseen ...
Four Kings / Vier Könige / Quatro Reis / Cuatro Reyes
Ecotourism focuses on socially responsible travel, personal growth, and environmental sustainability. Ecotourism typically involves travel to destinations where flora, fauna, and cultural heritage are the primary attractions. Ecotourism is intended to offer tourists an insight into the impact of Human beings on the environment and to foster a greater appreciation of our natural habitats. The term Ecotourism, like ...
Conserve our Pacific / Bewahre unseren Pazifik / Conserve nosso Pacífico / Conserva nuestro Pacífico
There is the thought that conservation of species is only for the sake of the species, and at the expense of people. In the Pacific region, when you conserve and protect species, it is also for the benefit of Pacific communities. These benefits are not always only economic, they also have cultural and spiritual values. Across several Pacific ...
Lau Islands Seascape/ Lau Inseln Seelandschaft / Paisagem Marinha Ilhas Lau / Islas Lau Marina
The Lau islands lie on the eastern side of the Fiji archipelago situated east of the Koro Sea and is made up of a chain of about sixty islands and islets of which thirty are inhabited. The Lau islands cover a land area of 487 square km, with a population of 10,683. An expedition to the ...
Something to Celebrate / Etwas zum Feiern / Algo para Celebrar / Algo para Celebrar
There are more habitable planets in our galaxy than Humans living on planet. But the nearest one is about 70 trillion miles away, which means that, for now, and for the foreseeable future, Earth is the only life-supporting space we will ever know. It is really not the best idea to let it burn up. Key to ...
I wish for You / Ich wünsche Dir / Desejo para Você / Deseo para Ti
Dear Katharina, There is so much I wish for you. I love the days when you work with me in the garden. I love above all your delight in everything, that wriggly worm you held between your fingers, just you kneeling there in the Earth, so full of joy in being alive. But one day, Katharina, if ...
Water gives Life / Wasser gibt Leben / Agua dá Vida / Agua da Vida
The highest good is like water. Water gives life to the ten thousand things and does not strive. It flows in places men reject and so it is like the Tao. In dwelling, be close to the land. In meditation, go deep in the heart. In dealing with others, be gentle and kind. In speech, be ...
The end of Decadence / Das Ende der Dekadenz / O fim da Decadência / El final de la Decadencia
The word Decadence, which at first meant simply 'decline' in an abstract sense, is now most often used to refer to a perceived decay in standards, morals, dignity, religious faith, or skill at governing, among the members of the elite of a very large social structure, such as an empire or nation state. It may refer ...
An Inconvenient Truth / Eine unbequeme Wahrheit / Uma Verdade Inconveniente / Una Verdad Incómoda
More than ten years ago An Inconvenient Truth prompted millions around the World to start asking questions about the climate crisis and doing something about it, What can we do? or What can I do? Do not wait another ten years, just watching what happens on climate action this year. Be part of the solution. People in ...
Listen to your Body / Hör auf Deinen Körper / Ouça seu Corpo / Escuche a Tu Cuerpo
There is widespread public belief that Organic Food is safer, more nutritious, and better tasting than conventional food, which has largely contributed to the development of an Organic Food culture. Consumers purchase organic foods for different reasons, including concerns about the effects of conventional farming practices on the Environment, Human health, and animal welfare. Demand for Organic Food is ...
Save the Planet / Rette den Planeten / Salve o Planeta / Salve el Planeta
The planet does not need saving. Even if we had a nuclear war that wiped out all living organisms, the planet would still survive. The planet may look more like Uranus but would still be around. What anti-pollution efforts really are trying to do is save the Humans. Humans are not that powerful. At any given time, ...
One in a Thousand / Einer in Tausend / Um em Mil / Uno en Mil
The chance that asteroid 1999 RQ36 could hit our planet is one in a thousand. On average, an asteroid with a diameter of 500 m can be expected to impact Earth about every 130,000 years. The current (as of 2014) best estimate of the impact probability is of 0.037% in the interval 2175 to 2196. If you are born a ...
Battery Revolution / Batterie Revolution / Revolução da Bateria / Revolucion de la Bateria
Small battery storage called solar batteries with few kWh storage capacity, are mostly in the private sector. In conjunction with similarly sized photovoltaic systems to daytime they bring revenue surpluses in yield poorer or unproductive hours in the evening or at night, and strengthen their own consumption. Tesla installed this large battery storage power plant like the ...
The Day after Tomorrow / Übermorgen / O Dia Depois de Amanhã / Pasado Mañana
The film The Day After Tomorrow depicts catastrophic climatic effects following the disruption of the North Atlantic Ocean circulation in a series of extreme weatherevents that usher in global cooling and lead to a new ice age. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeP6gwmzBPs Eventually, a storm system forms in the northern hemisphere develop, splitting into three superstorms above Canada (Katia), Scotland (Irma), ...
Rally for Rivers / Rally für Flüsse / Rally para Rios / Rally para los Ríos
Our rivers are dying. We can no longer turn a blind eye as we stand on the threshold of the gravest crisis of our times. Water scarcity affects every continent and around 2.8 billion people around the World at least one month out of every year. More than 1.2 billion people lack access to clean drinking water. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tg1OaK_JzM Rally ...
Overpopulation / Überbevölkerung / Superpopulação / Superpoblación
Overpopulation refers to the relationship between the Human population and its environment, the Earth, or to smaller geographical areas such as countries. Overpopulation can result from an increase in births, a decline in mortality rates, an increase in immigration, or a depletion of resources. Scientists suggest that the Human impact on the environment as a result of overpopulation, profligate consumption ...
My friend the Tree / Mein Freund der Baum / Meu amigo a Arvore / Mi amigo el Arbol
About 30% of Earth's land surface is covered by forests. Between 2000 and 2012, 2.3 million square kilometres of forests around the World were cut down. As a result of Deforestation, only 6.2 million square kilometres remain of the original 16 million square kilometres of forest that formerly covered the Earth. Deforestation causes extinction, changes to climatic conditions, ...
Human / Mensch / Humano / Humano
Yann Arthus-Bertrand is a French photographer, journalist, reporter and environmentalist, best known for his book Earth from Above (1999) and his film Home (2009). At age 17 he became an assistant director, then an actor in movies. He gave up the movie industry, left the country with his wife and lived amongst the Maasai tribe for ...
Evolution / Evolution / Evolução / Evolución
The Earth is about 4.54 billion years old and the earliest undisputed evidence of life on Earth dates from at least 3.5 billion years ago. More than 99% of all species, amounting to over five billion species, that ever lived on Earth are estimated to be extinct. Estimates on the number of Earth's current species range from ...