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March 2021
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Earth
Earth
↳ Our planet. Our home.
Our planet is filled with rich natural wonders, diverse cultures, iconic species and wildlife spectacles, that in our modern times have never been more accessible. But with accessibility comes complacency. In times of great uncertainty, it pays to step back, reflect and take stock of what our planet has to offer, our impact on it, and what we can do to improve its outlook for humankind and all the species that inhabit it.
Our incredible world
Planet Earth, its sheer existence and its ability to sustain life itself can only be described as a miracle. The combination of an unfathomable number of factors and events over 4.5 billion years has allowed life to evolve and thrive, ultimately leading to the modern environment and climate we live in today. Everywhere we look, we see new marvels to learn about, and to share.
↳ Globally, nature provides services worth around US$125 trillion a year.
↳ A quarter of all the life on Earth can be found beneath our feet — in the soil.
↳ A quarter of all the life on Earth can be found beneath our feet — in the soil.
↳ There are over 3,000 fruits found in rainforests. People in the Western world make use of about 200 of them, but the indigenous tribes of the rainforest make use of over 2,000.
In awe of animals
↳ African buffalo herds are known to select the direction they'll travel by voting.
↳ Cows kill more people than sharks. Sharks kill an average of four people per year, while cows kill an average of 22 annually. Though some are due to road accidents, 75 percent were premeditated attacks.
↳ Cows kill more people than sharks. Sharks kill an average of four people per year, while cows kill an average of 22 annually. Though some are due to road accidents, 75 percent were premeditated attacks.
↳ Armadillos are bulletproof.
↳ The river Thames is home to harbour seals, grey seals, harbour porpoises, seahorses and two kinds of sharks.
↳ The river Thames is home to harbour seals, grey seals, harbour porpoises, seahorses and two kinds of sharks.
The earth’s cry for help
Despite our infinitesimally small window of existence, today, humans have become the greatest threat to the health of our planet. As the human race continues to exploit finite natural resources, the Earth, its environment, and our fellow inhabitants are becoming increasingly threatened as climate change and its impacts loom overhead as a result.
↳ Tropical deforestation is now responsible for 11 percent of the world’s CO2 emissions. If it were considered a country, tropical deforestation would be the third-largest emitter after China and the United States.
↳ Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in 1750, the acidity of surface ocean waters has increased by about 30 percent. This increase is the result of humans emitting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and hence more being absorbed into the oceans. The amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the upper layer of the oceans is increasing by about 2 billion tons per year.
↳ Sea levels are rising at the fastest rate in 3,000 years, an average 3mm per year. The two major causes of sea-level rise are thermal expansion — the ocean is warming, and warmer water expands — and melting of glaciers and ice sheets that increases the flow of water.
↳ Due to rainforest destruction, the Earth loses an estimated 137 plant, animal and insect species every day, including many that could potentially have medicinal potential.
↳ In the 20th century, freshwater fish had the highest extinction rate worldwide among vertebrates.
↳ In May 2019, sensors at the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii — which has tracked Earth’s atmospheric concentration of CO2 since the late 1950s — detected a CO2 concentration of 415. ppm. The last time Earth's atmosphere contained this much CO2 was more than three million years ago when sea levels were several metres higher, and trees grew at the South Pole.
↳ In the past 40 years, about one-third, or approximately 2.4 million square kilometres of Arctic sea ice has disappeared — this is roughly the size of Algeria.
↳ One and one-half acres of rainforest land is lost every second.
↳ The world’s tropical forests are shrinking at a staggering rate. In January 2020 alone, the Amazon lost an area 2 times the size of Paris.
↳ Today, 90 percent of the world’s seabirds are estimated to have fragments of plastic in their stomach.
Time to act
We are the first generation that has a clear picture of the value of nature and the enormous impact we have on it. We may also be the last that can act to reverse this trend. With the threat of extreme heat, drought, floods, poverty, biodiversity loss, habitat degradation and global instability, there is no time to lose. Our actions can change things, and need to. The time to act is now.
↳ Nearly 200 million people depend on coral reefs for protection against storm surge and waves.
↳ Although cities occupy only 3 percent of the Earth's surface, they consume 78 percent of energy and emit 60 percent of carbon dioxide.
↳ More than half the world's population now lives in cities, and by 2050 almost 70 percent of the world will be urbanized.
↳ Some parts of Jakarta are sinking as much as 25 centimetres per year. Jakarta’s precarious position is thanks to a combination of two factors – rising global sea levels and land subsidence as underground water supplies have been drained away to meet water needs.
↳ Forests mitigate climate change by absorbing CO2, and they are a haven for biodiversity.
↳ 80% of all land-based animals live in forests. The Amazon alone is home to 10% of all the wildlife species we currently know about.
We can all do our part
We are all kaitiaki (guardians) entrusted to protect our world’s natural treasures.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that irreversible and catastrophic climatic shocks can still be avoided if we don’t surpass a 1.5°C increase in global temperature. To achieve this, an unprecedented and coordinated response is needed to hit zero emissions by 2050.
Protecting the earth requires system-wide change and will challenge us to establish a new sustainable ‘norm’. We believe it happens from government and institutions down, from the grassroots community up, and from businesses outwards. Our inherent ways of current thinking must change at every level as we call upon everyone to do their part.
Education is a vital tool in creating the awareness and engagement necessary to drive change. When we better understand our planet and the challenges it faces, we not only come to appreciate why nature is so important, we are much more likely to take action to protect our environment. Through education, we can create a future where people and nature thrive. This philosophy has become increasingly important in the work we do. At Aquamarine, our expertise is in celebrating and sharing the natural world with people in an accessible way. So nature’s destruction and the need for protection is front-and-centre for us. We all have our role to play, and Aquamarine’s is in helping to grow awareness and appreciation for natural habitats, to support the push for change.
What’s good for the planet is good for business
Increasingly, businesses around the world are responding to the imperative consumer demand to go ‘green’ — and those who don't will soon become remnants of a bygone era. In the face of much-needed change, significant economic opportunities exist for businesses willing to adapt.
↳ Sustainable Initiatives by businesses are in high demand worldwide by consumers and also offer a significant opportunity for business. According to the World Economic Forum, work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals could represent a $12 Trillion opportunity for business.
By other calculations, the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate says “Bold climate action could deliver at least $26 trillion in net cumulative benefits from now until 2030 compared with business as usual.”
↳ One acre of rainforest timber yields an owner US $60. One acre for grazing yields an owner US $400. One acre of renewable medicinal plants and fruits yields an estimated US $2,400 (looking beyond the immediately obvious, and often destructive, uses of land can yield great opportunity and greater returns).
↳ The cost of inaction: many of the world’s largest companies report a total of close to US$1 trillion in projected losses due to the impacts of climate change, which will only heighten over time.
The vanguards of change
Governments, businesses, communities and individuals all over the world are already innovating green technologies, products, services and policies. Collaboration, connection and change — with and for the environment and people. When we work together and learn from each other, we can collectively lead the way towards a brighter future.
↳ The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals highlight a global call to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. With 17 interconnected goals in place, the UN is coordinating the effort to achieve them by 2030.
↳ Fridays For Future global school strikes for climate had humble beginnings. Starting with a solo protest by Greta Thunberg in 2018, the demand for urgent action on the climate crisis has rapidly spread among those most exposed to the fallout, with regular youth-led protests now happening all over the world.
