Congratulations to Malawi Teacher for Global Teacher Prize Recognition!

 Jane Chikapa, a teacher at Maghemo Secondary School, in Karonga, has been recognized as a Top 50 Finalist in the Global Teacher Prize. Congratulations!! She joins Andrews Nchessie and Chifuniro M'manga-Kamwendo as GTP Ambassadors from Malawi. 

Effectiveness of Cover Crops against soil loss of organic matter

 Cover crops have become one strategy to help reduce erosion of topsoil, as well as maintain the level of organic matter and nutrients within the topsoil. Since 95% of the world's food crops grown in topsoil, this is a vital resource that needs to be maintained and treasured around the world, especially with negative effects on some of our best farming topsoil due to accelerating climate change. Here is one example of a summary about the effectiveness of cover crops. 

This is one example of what a cover crop looks like:

Summary of effects of climate change on hunger around the world: Present and predicted

 Check out the Global Hunger Index article on global climate change and its effects on food growth and hunger around the world. With some 820 million people dealing with hunger, 149 million children stunted due to undernourishment, and 2 billion people with deficiencies in one or more micronutrients as of 2019, things are expected to get worse since crops are stressed in more regions around the world, topsoil in some farmland areas are becoming less productive and depleted of nutrients, and more areas are stressed with declining fresh water supplies (including the American west and southwest). 

Mixing trees and farm crops can be beneficial for farmers and climate

 A Science News article that features a farmer in Kenya explains how planting rows of trees in between rows of normal crops helps the crops because it helps the soil retain moisture and nutrients (due to the trees' vast root systems), so the normal crops can grow even during the dry season or droughts. And if one plants fruit trees, it adds to the food yield of the farmland while keeping the soil healthier. 

Of course, trees are the main natural carbon sink of our planet, and more trees can only help in our fight against climate change. This photo presents the concept in France. 

Freerice.com - learn a bit while helping to feed the world!

 If you are not aware of freerice.com, check it out. It is a site where you can answer questions in a number of different subject areas and fields of study, and for every correct answer have 10 grains of rice donated to regions of the world suffering hunger. 

This is a UN World Food Program (winner of the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize) sponsored site, and hundreds of billions of grains of rice have been distributed. 

A Plug for UN SDGs: Sustainable Development Goals

 The United Nations, in 2015, published 17 major issues that face humanity. Nearly two hundred countries signed on and pledged to work on reaching various goals pertaining to each of the 17 issues by the year 2030. The world is lagging behind where we need to be to reach the goals, but these are all something everyone of us can assist in! 

Check out the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and see what grabs your interest! Think about what you can do individually, locally, in schools or community groups, statewide or national efforts and organizations, and even joining in global efforts! There are numerous ideas at all scales listed on the UN website. 

WATER is another MAJOR ISSUE in MANY parts of the world

Our work with Malawi schools began due to a famine, that was the result of a severe drought that prevented existing local crops from being grown or harvested.  

 We now have one in four people on the planet living in regions that have dangerously high levels of water use compared to their water supply. This means some countries, including India with some 1.3 billion people, use 80% or more of its annual water resources each year. If there were to be an extended drought, for example, where the water resources do not refill from one year to the next, think about the consequences for the people living there. This has gotten to the point where organizations, including the U.S. military, run simulated war games to think about possible scenarios and consequences of mass migrations of people should water supplies literally dry up for major cities and regions. They also run similar simulations for coastal regions affected by rising oceans.

Clearly this is serious. Keep in mind that while climate change will be affecting plays some small role in this, the major factors are actually population growth and continued economic growth of the major countries along with increasing economic growth from developing and smaller countries. Since 1960, global population has gone from 3.0 billion to 7.5 billion presently. This is a 250% increase in population who need fresh water. Developing economies use enormous amounts of water for manufacturing plants of all kinds, as well as for agriculture and animals for food supplies. Climate change will assist in making this a bigger challenge, but it is most heavily driven by population and economic factors.

If you want to help make the world better, any type of work or research into clean, fresh water resources and its efficient use are critical areas necessary for our survival that need smart, caring minds working on it! A personal favorite project and innovation is outlined in this video: