🦥 Sloth rescue, how-to herb garden, and student river pioneer

Happy Friday my friend,

🎥 Today I’m introducing a new ECL Global Solution Video Series featuring off-grid, permaculture, and sustainable living experts from all over the world! Filmed by our international teammate Sara Goudsblom, we’ll showcase easy-to-digest tutorials covering a wide range of practices to inspire a regenerative future. This is only for the Earth Conscious Life Membership and we’re aiming for several per month (ideally 1X/week if enough readers join 🤞)!

🌿 Today’s is how to make a spiral herb garden!🌿

REMINDER: There’s only a few more days to become a Founder for 30% off for life. The video library will accumulate, alongside exclusive deep dive articles, monthly meditations, expert interviews, and much more. LEARN MORE and join our global family of solutionists today. <<

ECL TRIVIA: What common household food item can be kept fresh for over a year if stored properly? (Answer below)

🌎 Planet Health

🐒 RESCUE IN RIO: The Vida Livre Institute in Rio de Janeiro rescues and rehabilitates animals victimized by the illegal wildlife trade. Driven by the global demand for exotic pets and traditional medicine, environmental damage and animal cruelty from illegal trade means stronger laws, increased enforcement, and public awareness and rescue centers like this one are essential to protect wildlife. They’ve proudly helped over 13k animals including monkeys, armadillos, sloths, and even a puma with a “second chance at life.”

🐠 ECUADORIAN ECOSYSTEMS: Ecuador was the first country to establish that nature held legal rights. This week’s latest ruling marks the first time that Ecuador's rights of nature have been applied to coastal marine environments. According to the UN, “Ecuador has introduced a series of ecocentric principles: principle of precaution, prevention, in dubio pro natura, non regression, tolerance, among others which have been key to stopping development projects threatening the integrity of Nature and preserving biodiversity under an ecosystemic oriented governance.”

🦠 SOIL-BREATHING BACTERIA: Can bacteria really produce electricity, clean up pollutants from water, and lower atmospheric methane levels? For microbes that lack access to oxygen, Yale researchers say “tiny protein filaments known as nanowires” can be used to “breathe” minerals in soil, and the biology behind how these nanowires are “assembled” has just been uncovered. Learn more here about the possibilities within this research, which the study authors express as “biotechnology applications for bioenergy, bioremediation, and bioelectronics, such as sensing environmental contaminants and controlling pathogen growth.”

🧑‍⚕️ Human Health

🍄 MYCELIUM MAGIC: “Arguably the most efficient form of agriculture that will ever exist,” according to the founder of Maia Farms, this new mushroom mycelium-based protein company is becoming an increasingly popular “nutrient-dense” protein supplier for food manufacturers. Maia’s mycelium protein takes “just seven days to produce and emits 84% less carbon dioxide than chicken,” making it a viable protein for an expanding population.

🧠 BRAIN HEALTH CHECKLIST: The American Academy of Neurology recently released a 12-question brain health checklist, encouraging individuals to take proactive steps to ensure they can prevent cognitive decline. Factors and questions about diet, exercise, sleep, genetics, and mental health are all represented, including specifics about monitoring blood sugar and cholesterol, drinking well water, and wearing seatbelts. Learn about all 12 points on the brain-health checklist here.

🥣 ULTRA-PROCESSED GROCERIES: A recent study discovered that “most foods” in major U.S. grocery stores are ultra-processed. Using an algorithm, a team of researchers “evaluated store products and assigned scores based on their degree of processing. They also examined various food categories to compare product options across different stores,” and published their findings in Nature Food. Click here to see which three major grocery stores were evaluated, and to see how data-driven tools are being created to improve access to this type of information for consumers.

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Photo of the week

😊 Conscious Corner

Other earth-conscious stories you may have missed…

🐘 WILDLIFE REVEAL: Survey finds rich biodiversity in Cambodian park despite growing threats (more)

💦 ECOSYSTEM FLOW: Environmental rejuvenation projects show positive impact on waterway health (more)

🦅 BIRD COUNT: Military base contributes to conservation with annual bird count, spotting 73 species (more)

🌿 CONSERVATION: Scientists develop new catalog of 400 ways to help species survive changing ecosystems (more)

👨‍🎓 STUDENT IMPACT: Environmental science graduate pioneers sustainable solutions for river ecosystems (more)

Trivia Answer:

Apples. When kept cold enough, apples can remain fresh for over a year, which is useful knowledge for reducing food waste and maximizing the shelf life of produce.

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