Solar power is now the cheapest source of electricity in history. Solar’s success has come from the plummeting cost of making the panels. The next task is to improve the efficiency of the solar cells. Henry Snaith, a physics and serial winner of scientific awards, and the company he has founded, are dedicated to improving the efficiency of the solar cells. His idea is to combine silicon with another material that can harness energy from the blue end of the spectrum so you get more clean , green electricity from each panel. Perovskite is a natural occurring mineral - calcium titanium oxide. It is a semiconductor, with a crystalline chemical structure, which can be made in the lab with much less energy than required to make panel grade silicon. The perovskite silicon sandwich has already achieved 29% efficiency, the theoretical maximum is 45%. Snaith is aware that making perovskite panels stable is critical. Durability also need to be proved. It can be made in very thin layers and used on flexible materials or even glass that still lets through the light. Solar energy is already projected to grow 14 fold and should deliver a 12% cut in our total carbon emissions using existing silicon cells by 2050. With perovskite it could rise to 18% or higher with greater efficiency. The future is bright Sources Wikipedia 39 Ways to save the Planet by Tom Heap

We have been accustomed to seeing roofs covered in solar panels( using the rays of the sun) to heat people’s homes. We have seen them built on large areas of land ( car park size). These are small scale compared with Floating Solar- solar panels on a body of water as large as a reservoir or lake. Across the world, especially in China, these have been developed. See the long lists of advantages:- 1.no land occupancy 2. water conservation and quality 3. increased panel efficiency 4. tracking 5. environmental control 6. using areas already exploited by human activity 7. using power plants Disadvantages anchorage maintenance new technology required significant increased corrosion resistance waves (open sea) (Read detail about each) This is one of the major ways forward to counter Climate Change Sources Wikipedia 39 Ways to Save the Planet by Tom Heap

Protecting the world’s forests is crucial for the climate. Forests absorb vast amounts of carbon dioxide and can be a source of greenhouse gas emissions when destroyed or damaged. Logging in deforestation refers to the practice of cutting down trees for commercial purposes mainly the timber industry. The impact of deforestation, if not controlled, can be devastating. On average for every tonne of wood extracted 6 tonnes (1:6) are damaged or destroyed. It can rise to 1:20. There are a number of ways of stopping it being so devastating. a logger could make a more accurate assessment of tree’s quality -a’plunge cut’. A chainsaw is driven into the base of the trunk to reveal if it is hollow without killing it. n be dropped where it will do least damage to its neighbour. instead of a wide skidway leaving a trail of destruction it can be narrow and sensitive to other trees OR a ‘logfisher’ -an adapted crane with long cables could ‘fish’ the timber out with less skidding logging roads could be reduced to 15 metres instead of 30 metres Combine all these habits and more trees will be left standing to hold more carbon and potentially grow on to be of valuable to the logger (Chapter 11 - Good Logging- 39 Ways to save the Planet by Tom Heap)

Marina Siva and Chico Mendes ( murdered in 1988) are/were activists against the deforestation of the trees in the Amazon forest - Amazonia - the largest remaining rainforest in the world. Amazonia is often called the lungs of the planet- the trees absorb much of the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere -without them climate change would be much more severe. Through her friendship with Chico she saw how her development of region was damaging her beloved rainforest. After university she got a job working with Chico. They set up a rubber tapper’s union. They tried to create protected areas of forest for people made their living by extracting rubber, nuts and medicinal plants from the forest.it would allow development of the rainforest in a sustainable way. Marina and Chico would hold empates (stand offs) to prevent the building of ranches and to protect thousands of acres of rainforests. In 1988 she decided to stand as a local politician and was elected as a a city councilor in Rio Branco. In the same year Chico, aged 44, was murdered by the son of a cattle rancher, In 1991 first extractive reserve was created in the state of Acre. In 1994 elected as a senator to represent her state in the national government In 1996 won the Goldman award - the world’s top environment award. In 2003 she became Environment Minister for Brazil. Between 2004-7 she worked to crack down on illegal logging. She made powerful enemies but deforestation of the Amazon reduced to 60%. In 2007 she was chosen as a ’ Champion of the Earth’ by the United Nations Environment Programme. 2008 resigned post - felt her powers were gradually being taken away. g Since then she has been the most successful Green politician. Stood unsuccessfully to be president 3 times. ‘This courageous and principled woman has no intention of ever giving up.’ Lily Dyu & Amt Blackwell Sources Wikipedia Earth Heroes Lily Dyu & Amy Blackwell

The two sisters were inspired by a school lesson about people who changed the world- Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King. They had already experienced swimming in a bay in Bali and seeing plastic bottles, bags and bits of plastic floating on the water. They went home and did some research. Their research revealed that many countries had banned plastic bags. Why not Bali? They would try to solve the plastic pollution problem on the island by persuading people to stop littering… With 6 friends they started a campaign to ban paper bags… They named it** Bye Bye Plastic Bags** The first thing they did was to set up an online petition asking the governor of the island to support the ban. On day one they had 6, 000 signatures. Over the next few months this rose to 77,000. They asked the airport manager to help and they gained another 10,000. By this time their village of Deso Perenon had reduced plastic bag usage by 60%. The governor had still not responded. They learned, after a visit to the National Gandhi Museum, he had called a strike to force change. They also decided to so something similar-publicly fast from sunrise to sunset - he finally responded. After meeting them he signed an agreement to work towards a plastic-bag free Bali. They now involved businesses -shops, hotels and restaurants. In June 2015 the government announced that by 2018 plastic bags would be band… In 2015 the sisters w ere invited yo give a TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) talk in London. By January 2018 Bali failed to reach target so the government declared a Garbage Emergency -officials 700 cleaners, with 35 trucks, to clear 100 tonnes of debris each day. In December the government announced single-use plastics would be banned from the island from July 2019. The sisters won many awards. Today Bye Bye Plastic Bags is a global youth movement in 45 countries. Sources Wikipedia Earth Heroes by Lily Dyu and Amy Blackwell

Felix is a German environmentalist and founder of the international tree planting and environmental advocacy organization Plant-for-the -Planet. Aged just 9 he was inspired by Wangari Maathai, from Kenya, who inspired a group of women to plant 30 million trees . Aged 9 he gave his first presentation to his class. His classmates clapped and cheered when he planted his first tree. News of the project spread and in April 2007 with help from his family he launched his children’s tree planting campaign. Aged 10 spoke in the European Parliament. In October 2008, with his sister Franziska and Gregory they held a special week-end. 100 children attended to train to be Climate Justice Ambassadors. After just 3 years the initiative resulted in 1,000,000 trees being planted… Met Wangari at UN meeting in New York. They combined efforts. By February 2011 over 12 billion trees planted. 2012 launched Die Gute Schokolade - Change Chocolate bar. The chocolate is Fair Trade and carbon neutral. For every 5 bars bought a tree is planted in Mexico (every 15 seconds a tree is planted). Aged 13 attended the UN General Assembly. Today Felix leads an organisation with 130 employees. Their target is 3,000,000,000, 000 trees ( 3 trillion) by 2030. His/their target is to help slow down climate change. Sources Wikipedia Earth Heroes by Lily Dyu and Amy Blackwell

Observe and interact Catch and store energy Obtain a yield Apply self regulation and accept feedback Use and value renewable resources and services Produce no waste Design from patterns to details Integrate rather than separate Use small and slow solutions Use and value diversity Use edges and value the marginal Creatively use and respond to change Perrine and Charles Herve-Gruyer in 2003 bought a small farm in a village called Hellouin, in France. They were determined to start with goals of self-sufficiency and wanting to grow healthy organic food without the use of chemicals or machinery. Few people had heard of organic farming. This they tried for 5 years but the yield did not make enough money to support the family. An email in 2008 ,about Permaculture, from a friend, changed everything. In the wild twice as much biomass , or plant material, grows naturally compared to farmland without the use of machinery or fossil fuels. It involves observing and learning from nature -how it makes new soil, protects and saves its water resources and how it adapts to climate. Perrine went on a Permaculture course in the UK that winter. They introduced vegetable beds which they did not dig but covered in mulch -plant cuttings and dead leaves. This protected the soil from drying out and made new soil as it rotted down. The result was more worms , fewer slugs and the vegetables grew better. They planted different crops close together, fitting them four times closer then before. They planted an edible forest with mushrooms, berries, fruit bushes and nut trees. They dug ponds, with island gardens in the middle, so the water reached the plants through the ground- no more watering the crops with hoses or watering cans. In their polytunnels they kept hens which eat the unwanted scraps slugs and snails, produced eggs and fertilized in the form of droppings. The French National Institute of Agricultural Research began a scientific research. After 10 years their 6,500 square farm had been transformed into an enormous garden with crops (800 varieties of vegetables, fruit and herbs) , wild flowers, singing birds, ducks, frogs and insects. The Herve-Gruyer family wanted to create something beautiful and the Earth gave back back to them in abundance. The farm, using the Permaculture ideals, produces 10 times more than a normal farm of a similar size. Sources Wikipedia Earth Heroes Lily Dyu and Amy Blackwell

Yin, aged 20, living on the edge of the** Mu Us Desert*, in northern China, decided, following being caught in a sandstorm, to try to reclaim the lost land taken by the desert. It was 1986. She had moved there the previous year to live with her husband, Bai Wanxiang. It was an arranged marriage. Her father’s best friend was dying and he agreed for her to marry his son. , She left behind her village Jinber Tang, which had green fields and wild flowers, for a dwelling in the desert, dug out of a slope, half buried in sand. Each day they had to shovel the sand from their front door to get outside. Climate change was making things worse. She started to plant trees when he left for work to overcome her loneliness. She was delighted they survived the winter. Bai sold his goat for 600 saplings but only 10 survived. They knew nothing about growing trees. They bought more trees and learned that Mongolian pine grew better in the desert. She learned to plant shrubs which held water before planting trees. She planted willows and lost them! Bai learned that the government had given the village 500, 000 saplings. The villagers were not interested. They had all of them. It was a round trip lasting 6 hours and took 20 days to collect all of them. It took months to plant them. Half of them survived thanks to the rain and grew into strong trees… They named them Yin’s Forest. As the forest grew neighbours, who originally laughed, started to plant saplings to control the sand… TV reporters came to see the forest, followed by government officials. Forest stratification has grown from 5.05 % in 1977 to 12.4 in 2012. Many attribute this feat to Yin. Nearly 40 years on Yin’s Forest is nolonger a desert but a flourishing village full of colour, fruit and other different variations of wildlife. Yin is now both a mother and grandmother but still continues to plant saplings . The trees she has planted feel like her children. She has been nominated by the Chinese Government for a Noble Prize. In 2020 her afforestation efforts were recognized by the Chinese Communist Party. Sources Wikipedia **Earth Heroes ** by Lily Dyu and Amy Blackwell

Isobel, from Portugal, saw an advert for a competition that would benefit her country This got her thinking about the amount of food which is wasted becomes it does not come up to standard - it looks ugly. (30 % of all food crops grown in Portugal are trashed.) It might look ugly but it could taste the same. or even better! She came second in the competition and won 15,000 euros. She set up** Fruta Feia She asked farmers to sell her their imperfect fruit or vegetables. They were suspicious to begin with but eventually agreed. !0 agreed to sell their unwanted produce to Fruta Feia. Fruta Feia started on November 18th 2013. Today it has 16 delivery points, around 350 farmers and 9,000 customers. It prevents 24 tons of fruit and vegetables ending up in the trash EVERY DAY. Sources Wikipedia Earth Heroes by Lily dyu and Amy Blackwell

Doug’s love for wolves began when he was a child. He read books about them and puzzled why humans could wipe out an entire animal species. He had to wait until he was 18 to take a volunteer position to help raise wolf pups in Indiana. He went to university to study biology and spent his summers working with wolves. He finished his studies in 1994 and joined the Yellowstone Wolf Project, becoming project leader in 1997.killed In 1995, almost 60 years after the last native wolves were killed, 14 wolves from Canada were released into the park’ Doug until he retired in 2024, watched the positive influence the reintroduction of wolves had on the ecosystem of the park. The number of elk fell in the park - which they had expected. The wolves changed the eat habits of the elks- they now now grazed and browsed instead of staying in one place. With less elks the land had a chance to recover. Trees which had been stunted in their growth now grew into dense forests. The berries and the insects from the trees brought back the birds Beavers flourished, their dams created deep pools and caused the rivers to slow down and meander The new trees stabilised the riverbanks The wolves had changed the landscape itself. Sources Wikipedia Earth Heroes by Lily Dyu and Amy Blackwell

14 year old boy William from Malawi, with very little education picked up a library book Using Energy. He found a picture of a windmill and read the instructions on how to make electricty by using the wind . He already had collected together lots of junk .His friends thought he was ‘dirty’. His mother was horrified that he would hoard scrap in his bedroom. By following the instructions in a library book, using some of his junk and his friend Gilbert buying the extra pieces needed, he created a working windmill. His friends were impressed. The finished mill was nearly 3 metres wide. A 5 metre wooden tower was built to hold the windmill. The spinning windmill worked. His former primary teacher asked him to run a science club for the students. An education official, Dr. Hartford Mchazime, was impressed when he saw the mill when he visited the school. He helped William return to school. The news of the boy and his windmill spread across Malawi. Internet coverage followed. He was invited to join a TED conference in Arusha, Tanzania for young innovators. Ted Rielly paid for his education for the next 7 years. He studied at Dartmouth College in the USA. His dream to help his family and others has been turned into a film. He gave his family security against hunger. He has recently created online teaching material to help other developing countries find ways to solve problems for their communities. Sources Wikipedia Earth Heroesby Lily Dyu and Amy Blackwell

Isatou initiated a recycling project called One Plastic Bag in Gambia. She noticed that the main streets of N’jau in Gambia were plagued with high piles of trash consisting of all forms from discarded plastics , tins, tyres, house waste and especially plastic bags were surrounded with puddles of water and malaria infected mosquitoes. Isatou brought to life the idea of recycling plastic bags to make purses that could be sold for money. Plastic bags were collected, dried out and then torn into small yam like threads called ‘plam’. These threads would be weaved together to make small hand held bags, It took 10 plastic bags to make a bag. Initially they were ridiculed but it worked. The money generated meant women living in poverty were now able to take care of their families. N’jau Recycling and Income Generation Group (NRIGG) was born. Today they recycle other waste to make jewelry, beads, armchairs, stools, even compost! Today Isatou works with more than 11,000 people and NRIGG is based in 4 separate communities across The Gambia She has travelled the world to share her story. Her village is now clean and tidy. Sources Wikipedia Earth Heroes by Lily Dyu and Amy Blackwell

Chewang from Ladakh in India, who had a diploma in civil engineering (1960), noticed a small stream in his yard had frozen solid under the shade of a group of popular trees, though it flowed freely elsewhere in his yard. He realized that the flowing water was moving too fast to freeze while the sluggish water beneath the trees was slow enough to freeze. Seeking money for his idea villagers and officials thought he was pagal or crazy. Based on this he created an artificial glacier by diverting a river into a valley, slowing down the stream by constructing checks. The next spring the villagers were amazed to find it worked. The artificial glaciers increase the ground water recharge, rejuvenating the spring and providing water for irrigation By 2012 he had built 12 artificial glaciers (there are now15) The largest one is in Phuktsey village - 1000ft long, 150ft wide and 4 ft in depth. Source Earth Heroes by Lily Dyu and Amy Blackwell

Rok Rozman, a former Olympic rower, who is concerned about climate change, has dedicated his life to protecting wild rivers. Too many rivers have had dams built on them.- Dams destroy the natural environment. To build a dam, hydroelectric dams especially, a valley is flooded to create a reservoir, destroying the plants and animals which live there, plus the homes and communities of the inhabitants would be lost… At a rivers conference, without stopping to think, he announced that he and his friends would paddle the affected rivers the following spring.It was to be called the Balkan Rivers Tour. The kayakers tour, which lasted 39 days, began in April 2016. Rok and his friends were joined by 500 kayakers and 1,500 activists from 18 countries- some for days , others fro weeks. TV , radio and newspaper reporters followed the tour - the stories of the local inhabitants were finally heard. On the last day Rok, in Tirana, Albaniia’s capital city gave a speech. The police stopped him from delivering his kayak to the Prime Minister. Source Earth Heroes by Lily dyu & Amy Blackwell

Andrew and Pete, both surfers, came up with an idea to collect rubbish out of the sea. They invented/created a ’ seabin’ a rubbbish bin designed to clean up litter from open water. The team hope that in the future seabins will be able to trap microfibres. They hope to recycles the plastic waste to make future seabins. They hope to have them in the open ocean by 2027. Sources wikipedia Earth Heroes by Lily Dyu and Amy Blackwell

Mohammed is the Founding Executive Director of Ahidhula Swanirvar Sangstha. He lives in Bangladesh which lies on a huge river delta where 3 rivers meet the sea. The country is low lying and flooding is now more frequent and severe due to climate change. It is estimated the country will permanently lose one fifth of its land under water. In the monsoon season children could not get to school. He had a dream to build floating schools. He studied Architecture. Once he had finished his studies he set about creating a charity. No money came forward so he collected waste - like plastic and glass. It took 4 years, by recycling waste, to buy 4 traditional boat hulls. In 2002 his first floating school was launched.In 2004 he received his first international funding. He now has 26 floating schools 8 other countries now have floating schools Source Earth Heroes

Tom Pidcock and Bethany Shriever have just been named. 3.2.2024 Included:- Official sheet 6 Phrase and Voc. sheets ( all slightly different) Sheet on Mountain Biking Poetry Aid 2 ‘blanks’ for best copy 2. Word searches -with answers) 2 profiles from Wikipedia for Tom Pidock and Betn Shriever Hope ,these sheets prove useful. The official sheet will be lengthened and more profiles added as more competitors are revealed in the coming days/weeks.

I have put together phrases and vocabularies to encourage children) to write about the up and coming major Summer Olympic Sports in Paris, France. I have included :- Great Britain at the 2024 Summer Olympics Diary idea The day of the event Dream and an example Poetry Aid 2 versions - differentiated -plus 2 liners Sports Words Thesaurus of useful words Thesaurus relating to Feelings Positive and negative thoughts -from the competitor & spectator’s point of view Record breaker ideas plus eg. Usain Bolt Parade of Champions voc. 4 blank comic strips Clip Art Plus 5 word searches

I have included:- Phrase and Vocabulary sheet. Tennis word list A Poetry Aid 7 GB tennis profiles from Wikipedia Plus some clip art ideas

Sport climbing only became an Olympic event in 2020 in Tokyo. I have included: - Pictogram Background notes Phrase and Vocabulary list Poetry Aid Climbing vocabulary Climbing gear voc. Word Search for Climbing Gear (answers included) Clip Art images I hope these pieces prove useful.