5 things we wish were April Fools jokes
And what you can do about it
Sometimes we read news that we find hard to believe. From the effects of climate change to a plastic pollution crisis affecting marine life and threatening our health, here are some facts that we wish were April Fools jokes, but unfortunately are not. Luckily there’s plenty we can do to change this and fight for a safe and just future for all of us.
- Nestlé produced 1.7M tons of plastic in 2018
Plastic pollution has become an international crisis. Uninhabited islands are filled with plastic that gets washed up on its beaches; studies have found microplastics even in the salt we consume; and about 12 million tons of plastic are dumped into the ocean every year, harming marine life everywhere and being a threat to our health.
Yet, big corporations like Nestlé, Coca-Cola, and Unilever keep producing more and more products that come in single-use plastic packaging. Nestlé alone produced 1.7M tons of plastic last year! We can’t allow that to happen anymore. Tell Nestlé to stop producing single-use plastics, and instead innovate and shift to a sustainable system.
2. An area the size of two soccer fields is deforested every minute in the Amazon rainforest
From the beginning of the 2000s until 2012, the Amazon saw a substantial decline in deforestation. However, since then, the destruction of the forest has only risen. In 2018 alone, the equivalent of 1.1 million soccer fields of the Amazon was cleared out. Industrial agriculture is the main driver of deforestation, but other industries such as mining and logging contribute not only to the destruction of the forest but are also a threat to Indigenous Peoples and traditional communities who depend on the Amazon for their livelihoods and are facing constant violence from a greedy industry.
The Amazon rainforest is crucial for the fight against climate change and losing it affects all lives on Earth. Stand with the guardians of the forest. Join the fight to protect the Amazon.
3. Oil and gas companies spend 200M US dollars every year lobbying to block climate change policies
Two. Hundred. Million. Dollars. That’s how much the world’s five largest publicly owned oil and gas companies spend approximately every year lobbying to block or delay policies designed to fight climate change. The fossil fuel industry is dying fast and this is just further proof of how desperate they are to stay relevant. Each year, it gets cheaper and cheaper to invest in renewable energy. Can you imagine if all that money was put towards building an energy grid that is safe for people and the planet?
We can’t allow the fossil fuel industry to continue with “business as usual”. Climate change is a threat to everyone’s lives, and governments and corporations should be taking it seriously and acting towards a safe and just future for everyone in the world. Demand world leaders to end the age of oil.
4. Energy-related CO2 emissions hit a record high last year
It has been almost four years since countries came together in Paris and signed an agreement to make sure Earth’s temperature doesn’t reach 2.0 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times. How to accomplish this is simple: we need to reduce our carbon emissions, the main driver of climate change. The reality, however, has been a little bit different.
In 2018, instead of reducing our carbon emissions, we actually hit a record high. We are already seeing the effects of climate change all over the world. From floods and hurricanes to heatwaves and forest fires, climate change is making extreme weather events stronger and more destructive, and affecting communities who have contributed to it the least. Governments and corporations must stop putting profits over the lives of people. Demand climate justice now.
5. Only 1% of the global oceans are protected
When you think of the oceans, it’s easy to think there’s only water out there. But that’s not true. The oceans are an amazing world teeming with life that we have barely started understanding. One thing is unfortunately true, though: the high seas, which are the oceans beyond national borders, are almost completely unprotected. That means about two-thirds of the blue on our planet and all the life in it. And because of overfishing, pollution, oil exploration and even seabed mining, all that is at risk.
Scientists call for at least 30% of the world’s oceans to be protected by 2030, both within and beyond national borders, and now we have the chance to push for it. For the next two years, governments will negotiate for a Global Ocean Treaty, which would allow the creation of a network of ocean sanctuaries with effective protection measures across the global oceans. Join us to put pressure on world leaders and protect the high seas. All lives on the planet — including ours — depend on it.
Diego Gonzaga is a content editor for Greenpeace US.
