The Livewell diet for a healthier planet

Have you ever considered how your diet affects the environment? WWF UK has come up with Livewell diet to encourage people to take up a healthy diet for a healthier planet. How we eat is also a significant aspect when thinking of climate change: for example in the UK around one third of the CO2 emissions are related to food production.

Many of us would like to eat in a more environmentally friendly way, but the amount of information is often overwhelming. This time, the WWF and their research partners have tried to make it simple: they provide the readers with shopping lists and a weekly menu.


Picture from the Guardian.

More information: The Livewell report

Mapping global ecological footprint

A recently published Living Planet 2010 report by WWF shows that the Earth's population is using the equivalent of 1.5 planets' worth of natural resources and that biodiversity has fallen nearly 60% in low-income countries in less than 40 years. The report also states that carbon now accounts for over half the global ecological footprint. This somewhat depressing information should encourage us to find solutions and tools to halt the biodiversity loss and diminish our carbon footprint.

Luckily there are some good news, too. In non-tropical parts of the world, there’s actually been an increase in species numbers, by around 30% on average. This is due to greater conservation efforts and pollution control.

In this Ecological Footprint Index below you are able to search footprints by country.


The global average of the ecological footprint is three hectares, meaning the area required to provide the resources consumed by the population or average person in a year. The consumption of natural resources in the rich countries is on average five times higher than in the poorest countries.

More information: WWF Living Planet Report 2010

Lights off on Saturday: It's Earth Hour!

Earth Hour 2010 is taking place on Saturday the 27th of March, 8:30 PM (local time) and switching off the lights around the world for an hour. The idea is not to save electricity but to take a stand against climate change. Individuals, businesses and communities all over the world are called to action: to take responsibility and get involved in the fight against climate change.

In 2009, over 4 000 cities in 88 countries took part in Earth Hour making it the largest climate change initiative in the world. This year, many global landmarks such as the Eiffel tower in Paris, Big Ben in London, Empire State Building in New York City and Sydney Opera House are going to stand in darkness.

Earth Hour has been visible in social media such as Facebook and Twitter and there's a lot of enthusiasm around the event.One could ask if Earth Hour is really making a change. Turning off your lights for an hour per year is a great way to seem green to the public without really committing to mitigate climate change in everyday actions. But at the same time it is an easy way to show that you care.

One of the aims of Earth Hour is to show politicians the concern of the general public. Especially after the failure in the Copenhagen Summit, this kind of global campaign and enthusiasm is hopefully a way of giving world leaders the mandate they need to make the right climate deal.



More information on the campaign: Earth Hour website
Earth Hour is organized by WWF.