This week, the future got a little greener through collective action and inspired policy. In Ethiopia, 14.9 million people joined forces in an audacious bid to plant 700 million tree seedlings, part of an ambitious mission to restore 50 billion trees by 2026. Meanwhile, Japan’s inventive “spogomi” sport is turning litter collection into a global competition, rallying 165,000 participants who’ve picked up almost 200,000 tonnes of trash (who knew rubbish could be this motivating?). And in Malta, half the nation’s eligible youth jumped at the chance for free gym memberships, showing public health can start with community incentives.
Want to know what real environmental bravery looks like? Don’t miss our Deep Dive on Colombia’s Amazon protections, an inspiring blueprint for global change. ⬇️

🌍 Ethiopia's Ambitious Tree-Planting Drive

Key initiative: Ethiopia launched a national campaign aiming to plant 700 million tree seedlings in a single day as part of its Green Legacy initiative.

On July 31, 2025, Ethiopia embarked on an ambitious environmental endeavor to plant 700 million tree seedlings within 24 hours. This effort is a component of the Green Legacy initiative, spearheaded by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed since 2019, with a broader goal of planting 50 billion trees by 2026. As of the early hours of the campaign day, the government reported that 355 million seedlings had already been planted by 14.9 million citizens, though these figures remain unverified. Public offices were closed to encourage participation, and citizens nationwide, including children and the elderly, actively took part.

While the initiative has garnered praise for its environmental intentions and community engagement, some experts have raised concerns about technical aspects, such as site selection, use of non-native species, and tracking seedling survival rates. Despite these challenges, the campaign underscores Ethiopia's commitment to combating deforestation and climate change through large-scale reforestation efforts. (apnews.com)

Quantified benefit: Aims to plant 50 billion trees by 2026 to combat deforestation and climate change.

🌍 Spogomi: Japan’s Competitive Litter-Picking Sport

Key initiative: Spogomi, a sport combining litter-picking with competition, has gained global popularity, turning environmental cleanup into an engaging activity.

Originating in Japan, spogomi merges "sport" and "gomi" (Japanese for rubbish) to create a competitive litter-picking event. Teams of three are given a set time, typically 45 minutes, to collect as much litter as possible from designated areas, followed by sorting and weighing their haul. Points are awarded based on the type and amount of waste collected, with cigarette butts scoring highly due to their environmental impact.

Since its inception in 2008, over 165,000 participants worldwide have collected nearly 200,000 tonnes of trash. The sport has expanded beyond Japan, with international competitions like the Spogomi World Cup held in Tokyo. Participants emphasize the sport's inclusivity and its role in raising awareness about littering and environmental stewardship. By gamifying litter collection, spogomi encourages community involvement and fosters a sense of responsibility towards cleaner public spaces. (positive.news)

Quantified benefit: Over 165,000 participants have collected nearly 200,000 tonnes of litter globally.

🌍 Malta Offers Free Gym Memberships to Youth

Key initiative: Malta's Prime Minister, Robert Abela, introduced a scheme providing free six-month gym memberships to citizens aged 18 to 20 to promote physical activity.

In November 2025, Prime Minister Robert Abela, a former competitive bodybuilder, launched the Youth Fitness Support Scheme to encourage healthier lifestyles among young Maltese adults. The initiative offers free six-month gym memberships to individuals born between 2005 and 2007, allowing them access to 64 participating gyms across the islands. Eligible youths can apply through a dedicated government portal and select their preferred gym.

The €2 million government-backed program aims to instill a culture of regular physical activity from an early age, emphasizing that fitness is for everyone, not just professional athletes. The launch event featured workout sessions, competitions, and appearances by international fitness personalities, highlighting the government's commitment to public health. By mid-2025, over 6,000 young people had registered, representing approximately half of the eligible population, indicating strong community engagement with the initiative. (sportmanual.co.uk)

Quantified benefit: Over 6,000 young people registered, representing approximately 50% of the eligible population.

📖 Deep Dive: Drawing a Line in the World's Richest Forest

In a groundbreaking act of environmental leadership, Colombia has become the first Amazonian nation to ban all new oil, gas, and large-scale mining projects across its entire Amazon biome.

1. Problem Solved (The Big Idea): 
This landmark policy protects a vast, biodiverse, and globally critical ecosystem from future destruction by extractive industries, aiming to halt deforestation and preserve one of the planet's most important defenses against climate change.

2. The "Pantry Protection Plan" (A Food Metaphor): 
Why is this such a big deal? Imagine your home has a massive, shared pantry that not only feeds your family but also magically purifies the air for the entire neighborhood. For generations, anyone could take whatever they wanted from it, and some were drilling holes in the walls and spilling toxins on the shelves to get at the most valuable spices, threatening to ruin the whole pantry for everyone.

Colombia has just put a permanent lock on its section of this pantry. It's not kicking out the responsible family members already using it, but it has declared that no new drilling or destructive rummaging will be allowed. This decision safeguards the pantry's core structure, ensuring it can continue providing clean air and resources for generations to come. By doing this, Colombia is also asking its neighbors who share the pantry to consider putting locks on their sections, too.

3. Global Potential (The Sobering Metrics): 
This is no small gesture. The ban covers over 48 million hectares (an area roughly the size of Sweden), which makes up 42% of Colombia's national territory and 7% of the entire Amazon basin. This immediate action prevents 43 prospective oil blocks and 286 large-scale mining requests from ever breaking ground, protecting a region that is home to 10% of the planet's known species and is a vital carbon sink for regulating the global climate. The move is a powerful statement on the world stage, especially as neighboring countries consider expanding their own fossil fuel operations in the Amazon.

4. Wisdom from the Source: 
Announcing the decision at the COP30 climate summit, Colombia’s Environment Minister, Irene Vélez Torres, framed it as a collective responsibility: "This declaration is an ethical and scientific commitment. It seeks to prevent forest degradation, river contamination and biodiversity loss that threatens the continent's climate balance... We do this not only as an act of environmental sovereignty, but as a fraternal call to the other countries that share the Amazon biome, because the Amazon does not know borders and its care requires us to move forward together.”

Why is this important for you? 
This decision proves that nations, even those facing economic pressures, can choose to prioritize the long-term health of our planet over short-term profits from extraction. It redefines what's possible. When you support policies and leaders that champion such bold conservation, you're helping build the global momentum for this kind of decisive action. Just like eating one salad can create the positive feedback loop that gets you to the gym, Colombia’s courageous move inspires other nations and empowers communities worldwide to demand similar protections, helping us collectively safeguard the "lungs of the Earth.”

Search Sources
➡️ miningreporters.com
➡️ noticiasambientales.com
➡️ goodnewsnetwork.org
➡️ impactful.ninja
➡️ mongabay.com
➡️ impactful.ninja

💡 5 Quick Wins

🔌 Lower your boiler flow temperature to 55°C: Saves ~150 kg CO₂/year
If you have a gas condensing boiler, setting the radiator/flow temperature to ~55°C (instead of 70–80°C) lets it condense more often, boosting efficiency by ~5–10%. Same warmth, less gas, perfect for European typical hydronic systems for example.

🔌 Cut shower time by 2 minutes: Saves ~45 kg CO₂/year per person
With a typical 8 L/min shower on gas hot water, trimming just 2 minutes saves ~0.12 kg CO₂ each day you shower. Two people? ~90 kg/year. Faster mornings, smaller bills, no comfort sacrifice.

🔌 Only boil the water you need in the kettle: Saves ~25 kg CO₂/year
Boiling a full kettle for one mug wastes energy. Filling for cups only (and putting a lid on pots when simmering) quietly trims dozens of kWh per year. It’s a daily habit with compounding returns.

🥦 Switch weekday milk to oat milk for coffee/cereal: Saves ~50 kg CO₂/year per person
Dairy milk is ~1.3 kg CO₂e per liter; oat milk is ~0.3. Swapping ~1 liter/week (your weekday coffees and muesli) avoids ~1 kg CO₂e weekly. Same routine, lower footprint, no recipe rewrites required.

✈️ Replace one 5 km car errand per week with a bike or e‑bike: Saves ~90 kg CO₂/year
A 10 km round trip by car emits ~1.8 kg CO₂. Do that errand by bike/e‑bike once a week and you’ve banked savings equal to a short domestic flight in a year. It turns “just a quick drive” into fresh air, fewer parking hassles, and real emissions avoided.

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