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Show the Love

Shakespeare’s words have been given a new meaning in a short film created by Ridley Scott Associates, launched yesterday as part of the Climate Coalition’s new campaign ‘Show the Love’.  The video features some of the UK’s biggest stars quoting Shakespeare to show their love for all things Earthly.

Amongst others, the video features David Harewood, Emilia Fox, Meera Syal and Stephen Fry in a short film for the Climate Coalition’s new campaign ‘Show the Love’ – show the planet some love and turn Valentine’s Day green.

Visit the site for further information.

 

Living on One Dollar launched on Netflix

StFF beneficiary – Living on One – produced an inspirational film: Living on One Dollar, which launched on Netflix on 1 January 2015 in the US and Canada.

 

End of Year Waste Ventures Update

In 2010/11 Waste Ventures was awarded first prize in StFF/MYOO’s Beat Waste Challenge and reports on 2014’s work:

2014 was an exciting year for Waste Ventures Charities as it marked critical additions to the team and the development of some tremendous initiatives.We have hired a new Executive Director for Waste Ventures Charities. Jo Hill was the Director of Ventures at UnLtd, the foundation for social entrepreneurs where she raised £10 million to support the most ambitious social ventures in the UK. She has developed a high impact strategy for Waste Ventures that brings together funders and pioneers to scale up waste picker led services. Already, under her leadership, Waste Ventures has secured investment to replicate the Waste Ventures model in Nepal.

To support our work, we have received generous funding from the Peery Foundationand were recently selected for the Grand Challenges Canada ‘Stars in Global Health’ funded by the Government of Canada.

Outlook for 2015

We are incubating a new set of waste picker initiatives that have the potential to create transformational impact in India. Our current projects include:

Waste Picker Franchise
This is a low cost, high impact model that moves waste pickers off the dump into dignified green jobs, doubling their incomes and diverting 83% of waste away from landfill. We are partnering with Hasiru Dala, a network of 5000 waste pickers and I Got Garbage, an online performance management platform that tracks data daily. We are currently raising funds to grow the franchise model. To set up one franchise costs $10K, generates 10 jobs and creates a long term livelihood for waste pickers.

Waste Impact Bond
We are developing a structured, results based financing mechanism to provide patient capital for the delivery of waste services at scale. The waste sector lends itself to an Impact Bond due to the tangible, measurable results such as:

  • Number of dignified, green jobs created for waste pickers
  • Volume of waste composted and recycled
  • % of waste diverted from landfill

The Waste Impact Bond has the potential to be a future game changer in terms of unlocking millions in long term private finance to mainstream the implementation of waste picker led services across India.

Thank You

In addition to the gratitude I have for our funding partners, I also want to wish you – my friends, family, colleagues, and mentors – a heartfelt thank you for your support to help us tackle one of the world’s biggest social and environmental challenges. If you would like to know more about our initiatives, feel free to reach out to me at parag@wasteventures.org or Jo at jo@wasteventures.org. We are also humbled and grateful for your continued support and contributions.

Happy Holidays and Warmest Greetings,

 

Parag Gupta
Founder and Board Chair
Waste Ventures Charities

 

Parrys Raines – website relaunch and news of Antarctica Conference

Parrys Raines is a MYOOZE, team member of the Plastiki Expedition and supporter of StFF – and she’s still only 19 years of age.

 

Parrys’s CV includes:

Environmental Law Student
Environmental Educator and Adventurer
3 times Australian Representative to UNEP
Sustainability Leader
Climate Reality Leader
Ambassador for Aim for the Stars Foundation
WWF Youth Ambassador and Earth Hour Ambassador
Team member of the Plastiki Expedition
Partner & Aust. Rep. International Youth Accord on Biodiversity
Enviroweek Ambassador

Visit her new website and learn more about the Antarctica Conference here.

 

The Lonely Himalayas – project at editing stage

StFF beneficiary – The Lonely Himalayas team – reports on progress so far.

A small grant was made to help enable Ryan Stock and his team film a documentary to explore climate change, industrial farming and urban migration on remote Himalayan landscapes.

Click here for the update.

 

 

New ways to monitor our sick planet

ClimateScience.com reports that leading scientific journal Nature says the global warming target of 2oC is “tenuous” and calls for it to be “ditched” in a major comment article published in the 2 October 2014 edition of the influential publication.

As work begins to draft an agreement ahead of the next year’s United Nations climate summit in Paris next year, the authors conclude that the 2°C goal should be abandoned and replaced with a new set of achievable targets.

Read ClimateScience.com feature here.

Rachel Sussman – Feature

The Online version of the weekly magazine, The New Yorker, provides current articles, cartoons, blogs, audio, video, slide shows, an archive of articles and abstracts back to 1925.

Its latest issue carries a feature on StFF beneficiary, Rachel Sussman and her ‘Oldest Living Things in the World’ project and contains the shocking news that:

Of the thirty ancient living things that Sussman has photographed, two have since died.

The article is headed ‘Survivors’ and  is written by Raffi Khatchadourian.  Read the article here.

Rachel Sussman CREDIT ILLUSTRATION BY TOM BACHTELL

 

 

People’s Climate March in NYC on 21 September 2014

The People’s Climate March is being organized by an ever-growing coalition that comprises more than 1,000 organizations demanding world leaders take action to combat climate change. Because this is a “movement of movements” moment, the People’s Climate March is being organized in a participatory, open-source model.

The March – 11:30 am, Sunday 21 September

Assembly Location: Central Park West, between 65th and 86th Streets.

    • Enter on 65th, 72nd, 77th, 81st, or 86th Street.

March Route:

    • The march will begin at 11:30 am.
    • March down Central Park West and go east on 59th Street
    • Turn onto 6th Ave. and go south to 42nd Street
    • Turn right onto 42nd Street and go west to 11th Ave
    • Turn left on 11th Ave. and go south to 34th Street

End Location: 11th Ave. in the streets between 34th Street and 38thStreet

The partners want to make sure the People’s Climate March tells the story of today’s climate movement in all its parts – so is trying something new, and arranging the contingents of the march in a way that helps thread its many messages together.

If YOU’RE simply looking to march through the streets of New York with more people than have ever come together before to demand action on climate change, head to 86th St and Central Park West.

UNEP Reports Good News on Ozone Layer

StFF Supporter, Mr Achim Steiner, comments on the recently released UN Report on the scientific assessment of the ozone layer 2014.

The report, produced by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), indicates that the ozone layer is repairing, but Achim Steiner warns that:

“The challenges that we face are still huge,” UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said in a news release. The success of the Montreal Protocol should encourage further action not only on the protection and recovery of the ozone layer but also on climate.”

Read the article in Nature World News here.