Sustainability

Greenland is seeing rain, not snow, and the Alpine glaciers are diminishing all the time. How likely is it that there will no longer be any ice sheets at the Poles in the foreseeable future, and what would that mean for us? An interview with Dr Maria Hörhold, a glaciologist at the Alfred Wegener Institute.
 

Positive visions of and narratives about the future are rare, yet these are precisely what we need if we are to move away from polarization and a sense of hopelessness and embrace a proactive approach. An appeal for constructive climate communication.
 

They pick up, sort through and gather together recyclables. Without its 300,000 waste pickers, the city of Mumbai would probably drown in its own rubbish.

Sophisticated building technology and wall insulation have for some years been considered a panacea for reducing CO2 emissions in the building industry. But it doesn’t take much to construct houses with a good climate balance. Also in building the truth is: less is more.

In the last two years, Brazil has set a sad new record: 30 percent of the Pantanal ecosystem has been burned in just one year. An artist from São Paulo wants to draw attention to this.

All over the world, regions affected by structural change are struggling to make a fresh start. Some have succeeded, others are finding it harder. There is no magic formula, but experience has revealed some promising approaches.
 

Over the past 20 years, the fossil fuel industry  has been responsible for three-fourths of human-caused carbon emissions on the planet. Part of the cultural sector also draws its funding from fossil fuels. The Fossil Free Culture initiative wants to tackle this.

Coral reefs are ecosystems that boast very great biodiversity but are highly endangered. The “climate refugee” super corals could offer some unexpected help and possibly ensure the survival of the reefs.

Plastic bans, disposable dinnerware made of bioplastics, and streets made of plastic waste: countries, companies and private citizens are all pursuing initiatives that show what the world would be like without plastic.

Industry is increasingly under pressure to meet demand for both economic production and environmental protection. Robert Miehe from the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA explains whether and how this might be possible.

Greenwashing not only dupes consumers; it also stands in the way of real change. Ecological promises and voluntary certifications have long led the public to believe that the global economy is getting greener all on its own. But that is simply not the case. A new law is being passed to fix it.
 

Wars and climate catastrophes are creating food shortages around the world. Nonetheless, an equitable global food supply is possible – though only if we change our production methods and consumer behaviour.

Many international institutions refer to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. But what do the SDGs really mean for work on the ground? That is what we talked about with Ashish Kothari, founder of the Indian NGO Kalpavriksh.

Freedom – an inviolable human right – is increasingly regarded as indispensable in our treatment of animals, too. The Chilean activist Mauricio Serrano Palma is fighting for the right to freedom for all sentient beings.

What is it like to grow up next to and live your life in harmony with the river? And how is it changing today? Artist and writer, Tanja Koistinen, has been watching the river in various locations during the summer and wrote a letter.