I have heard friends say that they have stopped listening to the news. It is always full of bad things and disasters that it just makes them feel worse so they give up. I have a good deal of sympathy for this view as I often find myself either shouting back at the TV or quietly banging my head on the wall (metaphorically, no animals were harmed in the making of this article!) at the idiocy and sadness of it all. The other day, however, as I watched the news there was an interview with Prince William telling us about the Earthshot Prize.
If you haven’t come across this, it is a 10-year international project designed to “incentivise change and help to repair our planet”. Each year there will be five £1 million prizes given out to people who come up with ideas that will help solve the environmental problems we are facing. It was so refreshing to hear some good news. Prince William said that he first had the inspiration to start it when he was in Namibia and saw local people with good ideas about how to improve the environment, but no way of funding them. He also knew of rich people who wanted to help but didn’t know how. He just joined the dots. It is called “Earthshot” after US President Kennedy’s Moonshot project which united millions of people towards the goal of putting a man on the moon and catalysed the development of new technology.
There were over 750 nominations this year leading to a shortlist of 15 groups. They include: –
stopping poachers in Africa by showing them the harm it does, and helping them feed their families in other ways.
The Costa Rica government paying citizens to plant trees and protect forests after they realised how important they are. They now include urban areas to make the whole country greener.
An app developed by a man in China that shows air and water quality all around the world to help people advocate for change in their local communities.
A 14-year-old girl in India who has built a solar-powered ironing cart as a clean alternative to the charcoal irons that are usually used.
A group in Kenya who take the waste from dry toilets and recycle it to make animal feed by growing maggots and then make fertilizer from the rest.
All of the examples show how one person or a small group is doing something really positive. Do have a look at the website and see all of them (https://earthshotprize.org/ ). They are all really inspiring.
If we all did one good thing to help the planet and one kind thing to help another person every day, that would soon add up to a whole heap of happiness.
Prayer – We give thanks Lord, for this beautiful planet and for all the people around the world who are working to help save it. Help us to learn more about it, to act in a way that makes a difference and inspire hope. Amen