Sunny climate, stormy climate | Weekly Digest #41
We talk about the UK Royal mint literally turning waste to wealth, extreme weather events wreaking havoc across the world and climate change affecting Matterhorn - the Toblerone peak.
Hello folks!
I need a favour.
If you’ve been following my newsletter, you probably know my mission - take the climate conversation to more people. And I could do with some help. If you enjoy reading my posts, would you consider sharing it on any groups you are part of with people who care about the environment or ones who don’t right now, but you think a nudge could bring them over to this side? :)
Now on to today’s digest.
🌞 Sunny news 🌞
1. UK’s Royal Mint will literally turn waste to wealth
What are we talking about?
The Royal Mint has been the official maker of all coins in the UK for more than 1000 years.
The company has set up a plant at Wales in collaboration with Canadian Clean tech start-up Excir to recover precious metals from discarded electronic devices such as mobile phones and laptops.
Initial use of the technology at The Royal Mint has already produced gold with a purity of 99.9%, and when fully scaled up, the process has potential to also recover palladium, silver and copper.
Why does this matter?
Electronic waste is a rapidly growing problem. UK is the second largest per capita producer of tech trash after Norway according to the UN’s 2024 E-waste report
Traditionally this waste has been shipped overseas.
The recycling offers two advantages:
Electronic waste is treated in an environment friendly way (the alternative is often being burnt in a landfill releasing dangerous gases)
Reduces the need for virgin metal to be mined (Gold recovery from ore is an extremely energy intensive process that uses toxic chemicals)
Sources for further reading
What can ‘I’ do? 😎
This section brings to you a simple action you can do as a step towards leading a more sustainable life
Do a clothes swap!
Have a bunch of clothes in your cupboard that are still good quality but you are bored of or don’t fit into anymore?
Don’t know what to do with them and also want some freshness in your wardrobe?
The magic answer: Participate in a clothes swap!
How does it work?
You can simply gather a bunch of friends, ask everyone to get clothes they want to give up and let everyone choose what they like.
I did one a few months back with my friends and we had the best time!
🌩️ Stormy news 🌩️
2. Hurricane Helene wreaks the US coast and
What is happening?
“Historic” Hurricane Helene hits the US East coast
Over 120 people are dead and millions are still without power (more than 5 days after the storm made landfall)
It affected the states of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia causing a lot of damage. Emergency services were rather unprepared and are still struggling to recover from the damage.
Nepal floods after record rainfall
More than 200 dead after torrential rain caused one of the ‘worst flash floods to hit Kathamandu’
The heavy rains caused the Bagmati River, which runs through the city, to swell more than 2 metres higher than deemed safe.
Why does this matter?
All over the world, extreme weather events are becoming worse because of climate change, more specifically because of increase in global temperatures
In the case of Helene, it has been called “historic”. The warmer waters in the Gulf have made storms in the region more frequent and more intense. What is particularly concerning in this case is the speed with which it intensified, not giving authorities enough time to prepare.
Also, we are in a time of never seen before uncertainty. North Carolina (one of the affected states) was considered to be a place that is relatively safe from climate change with people migrating there just 2 years back!
Even in the case of Nepal, such heavy rainfall is unusual this time of the year when the monsoon is retreating
Sources for further reading
More than 200 dead in Nepal floods, as parts of Kathmandu left under water (The Guardian)
Over 120 dead and a million without power after ‘historic’ Hurricane Helene (The Guardian)
3. A melting glacier is changing the Italy - Swiss border
What are we talking about?
Matterhorn, one of Europe’s tallest mountains and the inspiration behind the icon for the popular chocolate, Toblerone is seeing glaciers melt rapidly.
Significant sections of the Swiss- Italy border are defined by the watershed or ridge lines of glaciers, firn or perpetual snow, including one along Matterhorn. As these glaciers continue to melt and shrink, the border needs to shift.
A bi-party commission agreed in May last year to redraw their frontiers under the iconic Matterhorn peak. The boundaries will be changed in the regions of Plateau Rosa, the Carrel refuge and Gobba di Rollin - all of which are under the Matterhorn peak.
Switzerland on Friday (27th September 2024) signed the treaty agreeing to the alteration in the borders while Italy is expected to do so soon.
Why does this matter?
Europe is one of the fastest warming continents in the world and its glaciers are retreating at an alarming rate. Swiss glaciers lost 4% of their volume in 2023. This situation is yet another reminder.
The melting glaciers is adversely impacting Ski resorts and tourism
Many countries share borders in glacial and mountainous regions and this phenomenon could possibly affect the other nations too (India-Pakistan, India-China, China-Bhutan, Norway-Sweden, France-Italy, Austria-Italy)
Sources for further reading
Sailee’s climate picks
In this section, I bring to you 1 piece of climate content I’d like to recommend
The Comedy Wildlife photography awards
Have a look look at a selection of finalists from the Nikon Comedy Wildlife awards.
This was my favourite!
You can read previous editions of the newsletter -
Sunny climate, stormy climate | News Digest #40
Sunny climate, stormy climate | News Digest #39
Sunny climate, stormy climate | News Digest #38
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