Let's balance out

It isn't as bad as you think. Or maybe it is.

Another week has passed and we're back with the climate updates! This is "Let's balance out" and you'll read one good news and one bad news about the climate crisis. Shall we begin?

So what do you want first? The good news or the bad news?

Officially, everything we do harms nature. In this article by The Guardian we learn that also a natural soundscape is essential to marine life, and noise pollution causes as much harm as overfishing, pollution and the climate crisis to animals living in the sea.

But this is way too overlooked, and since marine animals can hear over much greater distances that they can see or smell, sound is crucial to them.

The noise that humans produce damages marine life, and this is also increased by carbon dioxide emissions, which make the sea more acidic, so they basically make the sea bring sound way further (I guess that's how science works), and the ocean becomes even nosier. The good thing is that noise can be stopped without many consequences on how we normally do things, unlike fishing or pollution.

Iron Man is alive and well, and he's on a climate mission now.
Of course I'm not talking about the actual Iron Man, but the actor who plays him: Robert Downey Jr.

At the moment he is leading the Footprint coalition, which is an investment fund that will try to spot green technology businesses. They already have invested in some green businesses. The actor in the beginning was planning to focus on AI and robotics, but eventually turned to transport, energy and consumer products. He has said he wants to raise awareness on the issue to his fans (which are like a lot), and hopes that businesses they back will produce some technology that has real impact on the world.

Illustrations by Gabriela