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6 Practical Ways to Reduce Water Pollution at Home

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Imagine a world where every drop of water is clean and safe to drink - it starts with you. As the global population soars, the urgency to tackle water pollution intensifies. While you might think that individual actions will not make a difference, the truth is that small, everyday changes can create a ripple effect of monumental impact.

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Any kid who's ever seen The Lion King already knows a bit about food chains and food webs (" It's the CIIIIRRRR-CLE...the circle of LIFE!"). It's a topic that can be a bit tricky to cover, and requires a little finesse on the part of teachers. These activities help students understand how important these concepts are, and why healthy food webs and chains are necessary for the whole planet to thrive.

1. Start with an anchor chart

A food chain follows the direct path of energy between species. Food webs are more complex and involve a give and take between many organisms in an environment. This clever anchor chart helps explain the difference between the two.

Learn more: Shannon McCoy/Pinterest

2. Introduce food webs and food chains during storytime

Books are a great way to segue into discussions about food chains and food webs. Here are some of our favorites.

3. Let The Lion King explain the concept

Seriously, Mufasa's speech in The Lion King is one of the best explanations of food chains and webs around. This video covers the idea in more detail.

4. Put together a food chain puzzle

These free printable puzzles are a fun way for kids to learn a variety of food chains. (For virtual classrooms, try a digital version instead.)

Learn more: A Dab of Glue Will Do

5. Use a paper plate to show the circle of life

Turn kids loose with a stack of magazines, or print pictures from the internet. Then assemble them into food chains around a paper plate.

Learn more: Ofamily Learning Together

6. Try some StudyJams

Scholastic's StudyJams work for both in person and online classrooms. Watch the entertaining video, then use the self-assessment tool to check your knowledge.

Learn more: Food Webs StudyJam and Food Chains StudyJam

7. Create food chain art

This cross-curriculum art project is so fun! Kids choose a food chain to illustrate, then represent each part of it inside the mouth of the next.

Learn more: A Faithful Attempt

8. Construct food chain pyramids

A pyramid can be a helpful way to look at food chains. Kids will have fun illustrating with their own artwork.

Learn more: Education.com

9. Have a digital Food Fight

Use this interactive game with your whole class online or in person. Teams fight it out to see which animal can create the best food web and ecosystem for survival!

10. Assemble food chain links

This very literal interpretation of a food chain is one that kids can easily do on their own, whether in the classroom or at home. All they need is paper, glue, scissors, and a little creativity!

Learn more: Science Sparks

11. Make food chain nesting dolls

Visit the link for a free printable to make these adorable ocean food chain nesting dolls. Then challenge kids to choose another ecosystem and create their own.

Learn more: Super Simple

12. Stack food chain cups

Each of these cups represents one part of a food chain. Stack them to show how they all fit together. Challenge kids to see who can stack their cups correctly in the fastest time!

Learn more: Earth Mama's World

13. Watch a food web video

Videos are always a favorite with kids in every kind of classroom. This one does a terrific job teaching them about food webs and chains.

14. Connect the food web with rubber bands

Use a bulletin board, push pins, and rubber bands to demonstrate how interconnected a food chain can become. Use this in a classroom science station, or complete the activity together as a whole class virtually.

Learn more: B-Inspired Mama

15. Display the food web with model animals

Gather up all those toy animals and put them to good use! Try using different colors of yarn to represent predators, prey, scavengers, and more.

16. Turn the food web into a marble maze

We love how this activity turns a biology lesson into a STEM challenge! Kids will get a kick out of playing with their food webs marble mazes, so the learning never stops.

Learn more: Student Savvy

17. Walk a life-sized food web

Head out to the playground for a socially-distanced interactive food web game! Lay out cards showing all the organisms in a food web and have kids help place arrows for the flow of energy. Then, kids can walk along the web by following the arrows (at a safe distance from each other, of course) to really understand how it all interacts.

Learn more: The Science Penguin
Looking for more biology and ecology ideas? Try these 20 Wild Ways to Explore Animal Habitats With Kids. Plus, The Best Nature Webcams For Science Learning at a Distance .

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17 Cool Ways to Teach Food Webs and Food Chains, In Person and Online

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Any kid who's ever seen The Lion King already knows a bit about food chains and food webs (" It's the CIIIIRRRR-CLE...the circle of LIFE!"). It's a topic that can be a bit tricky to cover, and requires a little finesse on the part of teachers.

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This exhibition teaches us about whales and how they became endangered when people hunted them. You can also learn about how plastic in the water affects whales.

In the Scheepvaartmuseum Amsterdam.

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een griezelig dier?

In de 16e eeuw wisten mensen nog weinig over walvissen. Ze vonden het vooral griezelige zeemonsters. Toen de Nederlandse zeeman Willem Barentsz op expeditie ging naar de Noordelijke IJszee veranderde het beeld van de walvis. In de Noordelijke IJszee wemelde het van de walvissen en het viel Willem op hoe makkelijk ze zich lieten vangen. Steeds meer mensen gingen op walvisjacht, omdat je met de vangst van een walvis veel geld kon verdienen. Het vlees, de olie uit het spek en de baleinen van de walvis brachten op de markt veel geld op.

jacht op de walvis

In de 19e eeuw stopte Nederland met de walvisvaart. Maar toen er na de Tweede Wereldoorlog aan van alles een gebrek was, begon de jacht opnieuw. In 1964 voer de laatste walvisvaarder uit onder Nederlandse vlag. Milieubewegingen over de hele wereld waren inmiddels in actie gekomen tegen de walvisvaart. Tegenwoordig is er veel verzet tegen de jacht op walvissen. De walvis dreigt zelfs uit te sterven!

plasticsoep: de leefomgeving van de walvis

In de laatste zaal van de tentoonstelling, gemaakt in samenwerking met het Wereld Natuur Fonds, leer je meer over plasticsoep: één van de grootste bedreigingen voor de walvis. Een fascinerende mogelijkheid voor jong en oud om te leren over de huidige staat van onze oceanen en de gevolgen voor dit grote zeedier.

wist je dat...

de blauwe vinvis het grootste dier op aarde is? Het is een soort walvis die wel 170.000 kilo kan wegen! Met zo'n groot lijf heb je natuurlijk ook een grote eetlust. Deze walvis eet ongeveer 3.500 kilo plankton per dag! Naast de Blauwe Vinvis zwemmen er nog een heleboel andere grote walvissen rond, zoals de potvis en de noordkaper.

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Ontdek in 'het verhaal van de walvis' hoe er door de eeuwen heen naar de walvis gekeken werd. Leer alles over de walvisjacht en verschillende soorten walvissen.

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This exhibition teaches us about whales and how they became endangered when people hunted them. You can also learn about how plastic in the water affects whales.

In the Scheepvaartmuseum Amsterdam.

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een griezelig dier?

In de 16e eeuw wisten mensen nog weinig over walvissen. Ze vonden het vooral griezelige zeemonsters. Toen de Nederlandse zeeman Willem Barentsz op expeditie ging naar de Noordelijke IJszee veranderde het beeld van de walvis. In de Noordelijke IJszee wemelde het van de walvissen en het viel Willem op hoe makkelijk ze zich lieten vangen. Steeds meer mensen gingen op walvisjacht, omdat je met de vangst van een walvis veel geld kon verdienen. Het vlees, de olie uit het spek en de baleinen van de walvis brachten op de markt veel geld op.

jacht op de walvis

In de 19e eeuw stopte Nederland met de walvisvaart. Maar toen er na de Tweede Wereldoorlog aan van alles een gebrek was, begon de jacht opnieuw. In 1964 voer de laatste walvisvaarder uit onder Nederlandse vlag. Milieubewegingen over de hele wereld waren inmiddels in actie gekomen tegen de walvisvaart. Tegenwoordig is er veel verzet tegen de jacht op walvissen. De walvis dreigt zelfs uit te sterven!

plasticsoep: de leefomgeving van de walvis

In de laatste zaal van de tentoonstelling, gemaakt in samenwerking met het Wereld Natuur Fonds, leer je meer over plasticsoep: één van de grootste bedreigingen voor de walvis. Een fascinerende mogelijkheid voor jong en oud om te leren over de huidige staat van onze oceanen en de gevolgen voor dit grote zeedier.

wist je dat...

de blauwe vinvis het grootste dier op aarde is? Het is een soort walvis die wel 170.000 kilo kan wegen! Met zo'n groot lijf heb je natuurlijk ook een grote eetlust. Deze walvis eet ongeveer 3.500 kilo plankton per dag! Naast de Blauwe Vinvis zwemmen er nog een heleboel andere grote walvissen rond, zoals de potvis en de noordkaper.

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Ontdek in 'het verhaal van de walvis' hoe er door de eeuwen heen naar de walvis gekeken werd. Leer alles over de walvisjacht en verschillende soorten walvissen.

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This exhibition teaches us about whales and how they became endangered when people hunted them. You can also learn about how plastic in the water affects whales.

In the Scheepvaartmuseum Amsterdam.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
een griezelig dier?

In de 16e eeuw wisten mensen nog weinig over walvissen. Ze vonden het vooral griezelige zeemonsters. Toen de Nederlandse zeeman Willem Barentsz op expeditie ging naar de Noordelijke IJszee veranderde het beeld van de walvis. In de Noordelijke IJszee wemelde het van de walvissen en het viel Willem op hoe makkelijk ze zich lieten vangen. Steeds meer mensen gingen op walvisjacht, omdat je met de vangst van een walvis veel geld kon verdienen. Het vlees, de olie uit het spek en de baleinen van de walvis brachten op de markt veel geld op.

jacht op de walvis

In de 19e eeuw stopte Nederland met de walvisvaart. Maar toen er na de Tweede Wereldoorlog aan van alles een gebrek was, begon de jacht opnieuw. In 1964 voer de laatste walvisvaarder uit onder Nederlandse vlag. Milieubewegingen over de hele wereld waren inmiddels in actie gekomen tegen de walvisvaart. Tegenwoordig is er veel verzet tegen de jacht op walvissen. De walvis dreigt zelfs uit te sterven!

plasticsoep: de leefomgeving van de walvis

In de laatste zaal van de tentoonstelling, gemaakt in samenwerking met het Wereld Natuur Fonds, leer je meer over plasticsoep: één van de grootste bedreigingen voor de walvis. Een fascinerende mogelijkheid voor jong en oud om te leren over de huidige staat van onze oceanen en de gevolgen voor dit grote zeedier.

wist je dat...

de blauwe vinvis het grootste dier op aarde is? Het is een soort walvis die wel 170.000 kilo kan wegen! Met zo'n groot lijf heb je natuurlijk ook een grote eetlust. Deze walvis eet ongeveer 3.500 kilo plankton per dag! Naast de Blauwe Vinvis zwemmen er nog een heleboel andere grote walvissen rond, zoals de potvis en de noordkaper.

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Ontdek in 'het verhaal van de walvis' hoe er door de eeuwen heen naar de walvis gekeken werd. Leer alles over de walvisjacht en verschillende soorten walvissen.

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Spoony maakt van gezond leren eten een groot en lekker smaakavontuur. Op het kinderdagverblijf, de bso en thuis: samen voeden we een gezonde generatie op!

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Please watch the interview done by Ziya, Saisha, Leah, Ashley and Milan - lots of interesting information!

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Please watch the interview done by Ziya, Saisha, Leah, Ashley and Milan - lots of interesting information!

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Please watch the interview done by Ziya, Saisha, Leah, Ashley and Milan - lots of interesting information!

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How the food you eat affects your brain - Mia Nacamulli

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Why is There Uneven Access to Food? Crash Course Geography #42

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Building a Greener Future: Transforming Schools into Eco-Friendly Spaces |

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4 Incredible Sustainable Schools and Their Strategies

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Ski resorts work together to build better eco practices, keep slopes sustainable

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Can Skiing Be Sustainable? | Laax: "Green" Wintersport In The Swiss Alps | Euromaxx

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Switzerland's model for sustainable skiing | Focus on Europe

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Explained | Why Women Are Paid Less | FULL EPISODE | Netflix

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8 Sustainability ideas that will change the world | FT Rethink

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Access to Healthy Food: Why It Matters and How to Improve It - Nutrition and Nourishment Collective

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Access to healthy food is a fundamental part of maintaining a balanced diet and leading a healthy lifestyle. However, many individuals and communities face

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Food security occurs when all people are able to access enough safe and nutritious food to meet their requirements for a healthy life, in ways the planet can sustain into the future. However, food security faces a number of challenges across both production and consumption which research will be essential to solve.

Many countries are facing the double burden of hunger and undernutrition alongside overweight and obesity, with one in three people across the globe currently suffering from some form of malnutrition (ref 1). Indeed it is not unusual to find people with different forms of malnutrition living side-by-side in one country, in one community, or even in the same household.

The prevalence rates of overweight, obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, certain cancers and type II diabetes (ref 2), are increasing in every region, in both developed and developing countries. Globally there are now more people who are overweight or obese than underweight, with the two combined accounting for more than half of the world population: a new normal (ref 3). The estimated cost to the world economy of disease and death from overweight and obesity is $2 trillion (ref 2).

At the same time, around 795 million people face hunger on a daily basis and more than two billion people lack vital micronutrients (e.g. iron, zinc, vitamin A) (ref 1), affecting their health and life expectancy. Nearly a quarter of all children aged under five today are stunted, with diminished physical and mental capacities, and less than a third of all young infants in 60 low- and middle-income countries meet the minimum dietary diversity standards needed for growth.

Climate change will only make things worse as elevated levels of CO2 reduce the nutritional content of grains, tubers and legumes, affecting key nutrients such as zinc and iron (ref 4). The estimated impact of undernutrition on gross domestic product (GDP) is 11% every year - more than the annual economic downturn caused by the global financial crisis (ref 1).

A growing population means more mouths to feed. The expanding global population is getting wealthier, and richer people tend to eat more and demand food that is resource intensive to produce, particularly meat and dairy.

It has been estimated that we need to produce more food in the next 35 years than we have ever produced in human history, given the projected increases in world population, and on the basis that rising incomes will continue to change diets. However, there is by good approximation no new land for agriculture (ref 5), with increasing competition from urbanisation (the world will be 70% urbanised by 2050), sea level rise reducing land availability, and the growing need for land for bioenergy, carbon capture and storage (BECCS) to remove greenhouse gases (GHGs) from the atmosphere. This implies sustainable intensification (SI) of agriculture on the land that is available (i.e. produce more without expanding the agricultural area).

Food production is ultimately dependent on other ecosystem services so it is essential that these are maintained. For example, agriculture uses 70% of all fresh water, produces around a third of all GHG emissions, and contributes to biodiversity loss and soil degradation (around 69% of agricultural land is degraded). If food demand continues to grow as projected, by 2050 we would need 120% more water, 42% more cropland, lose 14% more forest, and produce 77% more GHG emissions. Even with yield gap closure through SI, we would still need 56% more water, 5% more cropland, lose 8% more forest and produce 42% more GHG emissions (ref 6). It is clear that we will need to use every technology available, alongside best practice farming to sustainably increase production, but this has to be accompanied by changes to food demand including measures on both consumption and waste (ref 7).

The Paris Agreement commits signatories to keeping the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, with an aim to limit the increase to 1.5°C. Emissions across all sectors therefore need to decrease by over 80% by 2050 (ref 8), with even greater reductions required for a 1.5°C target.

It has been estimated that on the current trajectory, the food system will account for most of the GHG emissions budget for 2°C, leaving very little space for other sectors, and making it almost impossible to meet the Paris Agreement (ref 9).

Gradual climate change will alter what can be grown and where, but the variability that makes up the average temperature and rainfall will lead to climatic shocks (heatwaves, cold snaps, droughts and floods), significantly reducing yields. Our report estimates that the risk of these kinds of extreme weather events hitting multiple major breadbasket regions of the world at the same time could triple by 2040 (ref 10). This results in a loss of yield that is channelled downstream via market and policy responses into food price spikes, and in some cases civil unrest.

Climate change can also alter the distribution and severity of pests and diseases in crops and livestock and has the potential for severe impacts on food production and animal welfare. Around a third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year gets lost or wasted, whether early in the supply chain through pests and diseases and post-harvest losses, or late in the supply chain at retail and consumption. This impacts on how much we might need to produce in the future.

A major challenge is understanding how can we re-design the food system to be healthy, sustainable, and more resilient to climate change, helping to meet both the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement.

The Global Food Security programme brings together the major UK public funders to address these challenges, increasing coordination and collaboration on research and facilitating its translation into policy and practice.
Further reading on how this might affect the UK:
References

Global Nutrition Report 2016: From Promise to Impact - Ending Malnutrition by 2030 (IFPRI, 2016).

Insight on Overconsumption and Influences on Diet, Global Food Security programme (2016).

Trends in adult body-mass index in 200 countries from 1975 to 2014: a pooled analysis of 1698 population-based measurement studies with 19.2 million participants (Lancet, Volume 387, No.10026, p1377-1396, 2016).

Increasing CO2 threatens human nutrition (Nature, 510, 139-142, 2014).

Foresight. The Future of Food and Farming (2011) Final Project Report. The Government Office for Science, London.

Importance of food-demand management for climate mitigation Bajzelj et al; Nature Climate Change 4, 924-929 (2014).

Bryngelsson et al. How can the EU climate targets be met? A combined analysis of technological and demand-side changes in food and agriculture. Food Policy, 59, 152-164 (2016).

Edenhofer, O. et al. Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2014).

Changing Climate, Changing Diets Pathways to Lower Meat Consumption, Chatham House (2015).

Extreme weather and resilience of the global food system, Global Food Security Programme (2015).

Background image copyright: szefei/iStock/Thinkstock

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Food security occurs when all people are able to access enough safe and nutritious food to meet their requirements for a healthy life, in ways the planet can sustain into the future. However, food security faces a number of challenges across both production and consumption which research will be essential to solve.

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Nutrition: The Challenges of Healthy nutrition | Biron

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Having a healthy diet is a valuable ally for being healthy. Discover our food guide to ensure healthy nutrition.

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As urban expansion quickly replaces natural habitats, façade engineer Alistair Law has discovered a new way to restore native ecosystems for pollinators and create natural spaces for us all within cities – by turning the walls of buildings into meadows.

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At the age of 18, Boyan Slat founded The Ocean Cleanup and set out to clean plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Ten years later, the team is installing catchment systems at the mouths of rivers to stop plastic pollution of the seas at their source.

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At the age of 18, Boyan Slat founded The Ocean Cleanup and set out to clean plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Ten years later, the team is installing catchment systems at the mouths of rivers to stop plastic pollution of the seas at their source.

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At the age of 18, Boyan Slat founded The Ocean Cleanup and set out to clean plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Ten years later, the team is installing catchment systems at the mouths of rivers to stop plastic pollution of the seas at their source.

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Here is a video about the project.

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By relocating baby scarlet macaws to safety, conservationists are shielding these endangered birds from illegal wildlife trade and boosting their chances of survival.

For biologist Diego Noriega, the sleepless nights begin in March.During breeding seasonat Mexico 's Chajul Biological Station, he sets his alarm clock every two hours, each time going to the maternity lab with a flashlight to prepare the formula. He then takes the babies out of the incubators to feed them.

These newborns are scarlet macaw chicks-at times just a few days old, still naked and rosy without the distinct red, blue, and yellow feathers that will grow in over the coming weeks. They're not orphans, but rather rescues: When poachers close in on a nest, scientists extract the fledglings and raise them until they can return to the wild.

Though scarlet macaws live throughout Latin America, their Mexican subspecies, Ara macao cyanoptera, is endangered, with only about a thousand individuals remaining in the wild. This flashy bird once painted the country's skies red along the Gulf of Mexico, from the U.S. border to Guatemala. (Read: Have parrots become too popular for their own good?)

But the rainforest has drastically shrunk over the decades, and macaws are left with just 20 percent of their original range. In addition to habitat loss, the parrots are declining due to the illegal wildlife trade, which removes about a hundred individuals-mostly chicks-a year from their natural habitat in Mexico.

Since 2005, Noriega has led the Scarlet Macaw Protection, Conservation and Reintegration Program to preserve the largest population, which survives in Chiapas State's Lacandon rainforest, in and around the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve.

So far, the program, run by the Mexico City-based nonprofit Natura y Ecosistemas Mexicanos (NEM), has rescued 200 chicks and successfully released them back into the wild. (Watch a film about how the nonprofit is saving scarlet macaws.)

The perfect gift for the history buff in your life. Give now and get a FREE TOTE BAG.

"When I see them fly, I just feel proud to have accomplished that," says Noriega.

"Because I know that without our intervention, they would have ended up very badly-in the best of scenarios, in a cage somewhere; and in the worst, dead along the way."

The Amazon of Mexico

Scarlet macaws are intelligent and charismatic birds, captivating for their stark colors, elegant flight, and raucous chatter. Though the tropical species has a long history as pets, in recent decades an illegal black market has expanded.

This global network uses powerful organized crime groups to target 4,000 animal and plant species, according to the UN's 2024 World Wildlife Crime Report. Parrots and cockatoos are among the most sought-after animal species, making up 2 percent of illegal trade, according to the report.

Though buying and selling scarlet macaws is illegal in Mexico, the legislation lacks enforcement. Selling nestlings to illegal traffickers, which then sell the birds to clients abroad, is an easy source of income for some local people.

Macaw chicks are raised at the biological station until they're old enough to survive on their own in the wild.

Photograph By Russell Laman (Bottom) (Right)

Without government enforcement, "we do what is in our power, which is to take the chicks, grow them ourselves, and raise awareness among the community," says Julia Carabias, a NEM board member and a professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico's Faculty of Science.

There are only two remnant populations of scarlet macaws in Mexico, but one of them, with only around 20 individuals in the Chimalapas region, is considered too small to be viable. So the nonprofit focuses on the last healthy population, which thrives around the Lacantun River Basin, within the Lacandon rainforest, which includes more than 20 percent of Mexico's biodiversity.

The rainforest is also home to the Lacandones, a Maya people who have become important partners in its protection. The nonprofit, NEM, works closely with these communities to raise awareness about the vital role of macaws, for instance as seed dispersers. (Related: This bird's protectors are its former hunters.)

The NEM also offers training for the Lacandones to develop ecotourism projects, which ultimately is more profitable than poaching or destroying the forest to farm, says Carabias.

"This is part of a wider program to protect this ecosystem. Without it, we'd have no macaws, jaguars, tapirs, or all the biodiversity here," she says.

"This is the Amazon of Mexico, and our main task is to protect it."

Dramatic rescues

Scarlet macaws, which live up to 50 years in the wild, are monogamous birds that nest in large cavities of the tallest and oldest trees. As long as these nests remain available and undisturbed, macaw pairs use the same sites year after year.

But this behavior makes them vulnerable to poachers, which sometimes build permanent infrastructure, such as wooden ladders, to climb up and pluck chicks-usually two or three in a clutch-from their nests.

"Our aim is not to confront these people, who are usually armed. It's a competition to get to the nesting sites first," says Noriega. (Learn how poaching is destroying wild populations of the African gray parrot.)

Local landowners and NEM monitors keep track of nesting sites and report when there is a family inside. If there is high risk of looting-for instance, if it the nests have been raided in the past or if there is poacher-built infrastructure-the team will intervene and remove the chicks.

Each year, the team raises several dozen chicks at the biological station, releasing them after they're about 90 days old and start taking their first flights with other macaws. Before returning to the wild, the birds are fitted with leg rings and a microchip, which allows scientists to monitor them over time.

A positive impact

The NEM program is smart, says conservationist Patricia Escalante, because by saving the chicks, the scientists keep the existing Lacandon population from aging, allowing it to renew itself naturally.

Ideally, chicks would be raised by their parents, but that's not always realistic. "It's a dilemma. Breeding pairs are the best parents, but there is no surveillance against poachers," says Escalante, who in 2014 founded a program to reintroduce captive-bred scarlet macaws to Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve in Veracruz State, where they disappeared 50 years ago.

Escalante, a researcher at National Autonomous University of Mexico's Biology Institute, says the project released 200 macaws into the wild between 2014 and 2018, of which around 75 percent survived. Since 2018, they started to breed naturally, and there are at least 10 chicks born to this new population every year.

Sam Williams, who runs the Macaw Recovery Network in Costa Rica, says NEM is achieving positive results without jeopardizing human safety.

"It's evident to them that if they don't protect the chicks, the nests are going to get robbed," says Williams. (See how the illegal wildlife trade has moved online.)

"There have been projects that hired guards to keep watch over nesting sites, which is labor intensive and risky. [The nonprofit] found a relatively low-risk, non-confrontational way of tackling the problem. I applaud that."

Learning to be a parrot

There is a downside to the NEM method, Williams says: Macaws are very social birds that pass knowledge down from one generation to the next, and separating babies from their parents can disrupt that cycle.

Noriega acknowledges his strategy is traumatic for the parrot parents, but they believe it is the only option to save the chicks. He adds that the parents that lose their chicks show no sign of being discouraged and seem to bounce back: If it's early days in the breeding season, they may even lay a new clutch of eggs again.

The rescued chicks also mingle with a resident wild population of parrots that were raised at the Chajul Biological Station and like coming back to a familiar place.

"The fledglings follow the more experienced individuals, who teach them tips and tricks key to their survival and encourage them to take longer flights," says Noriega.

"They may have lost their blood connection with their parents but will have a good life within their own species in their natural habitat."

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This unorthodox method is saving baby parrots from extinction

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By relocating baby scarlet macaws to safety, conservationists are shielding these endangered birds from illegal wildlife trade and boosting their chances of survival.

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Cleaning the World’s Oceans – Boyan Slat of The Ocean Cleanup

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Where Does Plastic Waste in Oceans Come From?

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Where Does Plastic Waste in Oceans Come From?

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Where does plastic waste in oceans come from?

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Scientists investigating the plastic waste drifting in the oceans say they’ve discovered more about where it comes from.

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Where Does Plastic Waste in Oceans Come From?

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Where Does Plastic Waste in Oceans Come From?

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Where does plastic waste in oceans come from?

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Scientists investigating the plastic waste drifting in the oceans say they’ve discovered more about where it comes from.

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We develop and scale technologies to rid the oceans of plastic

Our cleaning technologies are deployed around the world as we conduct the largest cleanup in history. For over ten years, The Ocean Cleanup has been researching, extracting, and monitoring plastic pollution in oceans and rivers globally - with millions of kilograms removed to date.

A planet-sized problem

Trillions of pieces of plastic pollute our oceans today, and the problem is worsening. This plastic has a devastating impact on marine wildlife and ecosystems. Plastics can persist for many decades, continuously degrading into microplastics. These can be ingested by wildlife and later enter the human food chain. Plastic pollution is a global crisis requiring urgent action.

We aim to clean up 90% of floating ocean plastic pollution

The Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit organization developing and scaling technologies to rid the oceans of plastic. To achieve this objective, we use a dual strategy: intercepting plastic in rivers to cut the inflow of pollution, and cleaning up what has already accumulated in the ocean and won't go away by itself. When the oceans are clean, we can put ourselves out of business.

The Ocean Cleanup is cleaning up floating plastics caught swirling in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a plastic accumulation zone with over 100,000,000 kilograms of plastic.

Learn more

To clean the oceans, we also need to stop new trash from flowing into them. By tackling 1000 rivers around the world, we can halt 80% of riverine pollution reaching our oceans.

Learn more

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The Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit organization developing advanced technologies to rid the oceans of plastic. We aim to remove 90% of the floating plastic with the help of ocean cleanup systems and river interception technologies.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cleaning the World’s Oceans – Boyan Slat of The Ocean Cleanup

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
We develop and scale technologies to rid the oceans of plastic

Our cleaning technologies are deployed around the world as we conduct the largest cleanup in history. For over ten years, The Ocean Cleanup has been researching, extracting, and monitoring plastic pollution in oceans and rivers globally - with millions of kilograms removed to date.

A planet-sized problem

Trillions of pieces of plastic pollute our oceans today, and the problem is worsening. This plastic has a devastating impact on marine wildlife and ecosystems. Plastics can persist for many decades, continuously degrading into microplastics. These can be ingested by wildlife and later enter the human food chain. Plastic pollution is a global crisis requiring urgent action.

We aim to clean up 90% of floating ocean plastic pollution

The Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit organization developing and scaling technologies to rid the oceans of plastic. To achieve this objective, we use a dual strategy: intercepting plastic in rivers to cut the inflow of pollution, and cleaning up what has already accumulated in the ocean and won't go away by itself. When the oceans are clean, we can put ourselves out of business.

The Ocean Cleanup is cleaning up floating plastics caught swirling in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a plastic accumulation zone with over 100,000,000 kilograms of plastic.

Learn more

To clean the oceans, we also need to stop new trash from flowing into them. By tackling 1000 rivers around the world, we can halt 80% of riverine pollution reaching our oceans.

Learn more

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The Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit organization developing advanced technologies to rid the oceans of plastic. We aim to remove 90% of the floating plastic with the help of ocean cleanup systems and river interception technologies.

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Plastic Pollution in Australia is decreasing.

If people know where to bring their plastics, they are much more likely to throw it away in a place where it won't go into nature.

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Plastic pollution along Australia’s coastline decreases over last decade

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Plastic pollution along Australia’s coastline has dropped by more than a third over the last decade, according to new research from CSIRO which found 39% less debris on beaches compared to ten years ago.

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Plastic Pollution in Australia is decreasing.

If people know where to bring their plastics, they are much more likely to throw it away in a place where it won't go into nature.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Plastic pollution along Australia’s coastline decreases over last decade

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Plastic pollution along Australia’s coastline has dropped by more than a third over the last decade, according to new research from CSIRO which found 39% less debris on beaches compared to ten years ago.

# data[].attributes.body
Plastic Pollution in Australia is decreasing.

If people know where to bring their plastics, they are much more likely to throw it away in a place where it won't go into nature.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Plastic pollution along Australia’s coastline decreases over last decade

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Plastic pollution along Australia’s coastline has dropped by more than a third over the last decade, according to new research from CSIRO which found 39% less debris on beaches compared to ten years ago.

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How do ocean currents work? - Jennifer Verduin

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How do ocean currents work? - Jennifer Verduin

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How do ocean currents work? - Jennifer Verduin

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When 28,000 rubber ducks fell into the ocean, it helps us to learn how trash moves around the ocean.

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How 29,000 Lost Rubber Ducks Helped Map the World's Oceans

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When 28,000 rubber ducks fell into the ocean, it helps us to learn how trash moves around the ocean.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How 29,000 Lost Rubber Ducks Helped Map the World's Oceans

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When 28,000 rubber ducks fell into the ocean, it helps us to learn how trash moves around the ocean.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How 29,000 Lost Rubber Ducks Helped Map the World's Oceans

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Engagements RSE - Bilan Carbone du Domaine Skiable de La Rosière

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Engagements RSE - Bilan carbone du Domaine Skiable de La Rosière

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Découvrez le bilan carbone du Domaine Skiable de La Rosière. Avec 2257,4 tonnes de CO2 émises, apprenez comment les scopes 1, 2 et 3 répartissent les émissions de gaz à effet de serre et l’impact d’une journée de ski à La Rosière.

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First carpooling, then powdering: Will this make winter sports greener?

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On-site e-fleet, discounts for train travelers, and carpool benefits: What winter sports communities are doing to make the road to the slopes greener and which destinations are already leading the way.

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How To Make Your School More Sustainable

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The Most Eco-Friendly Schools | Green Schools Around the World

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Mark Harris mentioned mercury as an important chemical which is harmful to the food chain.

# data[].attributes.body
Melanie - Put them into groups Boy/Girl - writing tool How many students do they have?

Before - Prepare boys and girl stickers - 6stickers for boys and 4 stickers for girls.

We are Grade 5 students our names are...

We want to do a fun activity with you today. All you need to do is work in teams.

Slide - Math colouring sheet - You will each have your won colours, but you have to work as a team to complete the challenge. You have to do the same amount of learning!

Off you go! (5-10minutes!)

Everyone finish - Well done! You did all so great - working as team, doing the exact same thing. You have won your prizes! YAY!

For being so great you have earned these amazing stickers (show pictures on slide!)

Go around and hand stickers (here you go, you have 6 stickers! Well done, you worked the same, here are 4 stickers!)

Whats the problem? is this not fair? Why?

Grade 2 friendly information about unequal pay (use lots of visuals!) 3 facts

How could we make this fair?

Reflection - Blank face - Draw a face to show how you felt - write why (image different emoji faces)

To do:

Create presentation

Colouring sheet - How many of each colour

get resources ready for the class (sheet, reflection sheet, colours, stickers, groups)

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Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: In the Wake of Disaster | Retro Report | The New York Times

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Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: In the Wake of Disaster | Retro Report | The New York Times

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Contamination of seawater due to an oil pour, as a result of an accident or human error, is termed an oil spill.

Oil is among the most important energy sources in the world and because of its uneven distribution, it is transported by ships across the oceans and by pipelines across the lands. This has resulted in several accidents in the past while transferring the oil to vessels, during transportation, breaking of pipelines, as well as while drilling in the earth's crust.

While massive and catastrophic spills receive most of the attention, smaller and chronic ones occur on a regular basis. These spills contaminate the coasts and estuaries and can cause serious health problems to human beings.

Oil is a mixture of hydrocarbon compounds, which are the decayed remains of marine animals and plants, died and drifted to the bottom.

For the past 600 million years, under intense pressure and temperatures, these remains changed into complicated hydrocarbons called petroleum.

Crude oil is a mixture of gas, naphtha, kerosene, light gas, and residuals, which causes hazardous health effects if consumed by any life forms.

The production of petroleum products rose from 500 million tons in 1950 to over 2,500 million tons in the mid-1990s, which resulted in massive transportation and associated oil spills.

The number has been increasing with the increasing rate of oil transportation, ageing of oil tankers, as well as an increase in the size of oil tankers. Oil accounts for over half the tonnage of all sea cargo.

It is estimated that approximately 706 million gallons of waste oil enter the ocean every year, with over half coming from land drainage and waste disposal; for example, from the improper disposal of used motor oil.

Offshore drilling and production operations and oil spills or leaks from ships or tankers typically contribute less than 8 percent of the total. The remainder comes from routine maintenance of ships (nearly 20 percent), hydrocarbon particles from onshore air pollution (about 13 percent) and natural seepage from the seafloor (over 8 percent).

Public health impacts include illnesses caused by toxic fumes or by eating contaminated fish or shellfish. However, there are other less obvious public health impacts, including losses and disruptions of commercial and recreational fisheries, seaweed harvesting, boating, and a variety of other uses of affected water.

Any nation or tourist destination close to oil drilling or shipping lanes is at high risk of experiencing economic collapse and the disastrous environmental effects of oil spills and needs to be properly prepared to clean up.

To prevent oil spills is the topmost priority; and the responsibility lies equally on individuals as well as on governments and industries because the sources of oil waste in the ocean is due to carelessness, rather than an accident.

Integration of preventive measures in an industrial process, operation, or product should be a part of the cost of daily operations.

Before starting any fueling, de-fueling or internal transfer operation, all machinery and piping systems should be properly checked for tightness and for signs of leaking glands, seals and gaskets.

While changing the oil or adding oil to machinery, proper care should be taken to avoid oil spills.

Dreadful oil spill results in great damage to the marine environment and sometimes ends up with destroying a complete species.

It is said that the largest known oil spill incident was not an accident but a result of a preplanned war. As per statistics, there was a recorded discharge of billions of gallons of oil from the largest oil spill.

We all are familiar with "the Gulf War" of 1991 in which the forces from Iraq quit their invasion of Kuwait. After that, for blocking the forces from the United States, the Iraqi forces left the oil pipelines and wells of oil open and set it to fire. The fire was so massive that it begins in January and ended after four months in April.

In this incident, as per reports, more than 200 million gallons of oil was thrown in "the Persian Gulf". This oil spill incident not only harmed marine species but also destroyed major oil reserve in the world, thus diminishing oil availability.

This oil spill not only resulted in marine water pollution but also fouled the coastlines, damaged the fisheries, killed the aquatic life especially non-mobile life and ruined the aesthetics of the place and thus reduced the capital generation from tourism.

It had a long-lasting effect on the marine life of the area. The after-effects of this oil spill were even more terrific, as it even took months to clear the affected area and bring it back to its normal condition.

Due to such destruction caused by this oil spill, it became a burning issue and a matter of grave concern for almost all the countries around the globe.

On the basis of outcome and reasons for these incidents, maritime authorities are becoming more careful in handling oil with the latest technical advancements.

It is generally referred to as fighting Oil Spill on Ship. The ship should be equipped with all required precautionary measures and the crew on the ship should be accustomed to oil spill safety drill prior to the voyage. These safety measures will help in catering accidents which break-in during the voyage without any prior warning.

Before making preparation for the prevention of oil spills or fighting with oil spillage it is essential to know about different types of oil spillage.

These accidents are of two types - in one oil does not go overboard and the other in which oil goes on board.

The later one causes maximum damage so it is considered a dreadful incident as compared to the former one.

There are two most common reasons for oil spills which are as follows:

Oil can spill when oil is being transferred internally, that is when oil is passing through a sounding pipe or oil vents

Bunker operation is the second major event when oil can spill. It implies that there is more probability of oil spill while discharging sludge

If appropriate equipment is used and the personnel is trained in this concern, we can control marine pollution to a certain extent and for less dangerous events this marine pollution can be completely avoided

The basic actions to be followed and checked during any oil spill drill is summed up as below:

The side scuppers of the ship should be shut down immediately when there is seen any oil on deck. Turn the alarm on and bring it to notice of duty officer

The points such as the sounding point or vents where the spillage started should be located and must be looked for its solution. All the processes of oil transfer should also be put off from these points or tanks

Muster list should be prepared in advance and all personnel should be trained for handling spillage. The shipmaster should call the emergency muster when they noticed any spill

The ship should be equipped with SOPEP equipment which can contain the spill within the ship. After collecting all the spilt oil in SOPEP drums, clear the affected area at the earliest

Tanks should be filled within permissible level so as to avoid spills

Scupper plug should be properly tightened, and sometimes sawdust supplements the tightness of plug. This will not let the oil to rush overboard but act as an additional barrier.

After fighting victoriously from the incident of an oil spill, a report should be prepared and discussed in a meeting and preventive measures should be detailed in the meeting to fight and prevent such an incident in future

Additional training on oil spill during sludge discharge or bunkering covers the below checks and actions to be taken:

Bunkering manifold should have a supervising officer to check it for leakage intermittently on short regular intervals. There should be a remote switch which can send an alarm to STOP BUNKER SUPPLY. Put off the sludge transfer operation with immediate effect

Bring oil spillage in the notice of Chief engineer and the officer on duty

Drip tray should be checked regularly for overfilling

Portable foam firefighters should be made available for any discrepancy in case it occurs

The biggest threat to the safe marine environment is "oil spill" from ships.

Every year the government of different countries spend dollars in billions and trillions in inspecting and clearing major oil spills from tanker ships.

Problems of an oil spill can be prevented at a preliminary stage by ensuring proper working of all active hoses and fuel lines, and also all the connections should be leak-proof or tight.

All the safety valves should be in proper working condition so that supply line which leaks can immediately be shut off when spill or leak encounters.

Oil tankers are not cleaned after every voyage, but they are cleaned once a decade or at the time when there is some clogging or other operational issues.

If there is noticed building up of sludge or deposition of water in tanker it should be cleaned immediately otherwise it may result in corrosion of tanker parts or body.

Sometimes, even oil spills of small ships add up to a huge quantity. These fishing vessels, ferries or recreational boats are comparatively smaller in size but are a major cause of pollution.

Spills in small vessels is mainly a result of refuelling activity or bilge discharging operation. During these operations, oil mounts up with water in the bottom part of the vessel and gets pumped out.

Oil spills can be prevented by the following measures:

Engine crew should ensure engine bolts to be properly tight to avert the trickling of oil. When an engine is in use this causes vibration in bolts and results in loosening of bolts. The engine should be equipped with dripping pan or cookie sheet (or oil tray). There should be ample oil absorbent pads to soak discharge of oily water. Defected parts and fittings should be replaced before their complete failure. Lines can fail due to severe heat and water exposures

Measures should be taken while refuelling the tank. The tank should not be overfilled and some clearance space should be left for fuel expansion. Bilge pump should be turned off properly after done with refuelling

If spill transpires it should be maintained by the vessel master. He/she should collect the spilt oil and keep it within the ship and clear the affected area with absorbent pads. A record should be maintained regarding spill and all legal post-spill formalities should be cleared

Oil is a necessity and a major revenue-generating resource for many countries with vast oil reserves. Therefore, shipping of oil from the sea can never be put to an end rather we must look for safer expeditions. We must be ready for any emergency related to an oil spill and oil clean up from the sea.

As water is denser than oil, the latter floats when discharged in a water body. It forms a skimming layer over the water surface and therefore it is comparatively easier to decant oil from the sea than other chemical pollutants.

Different methods of cleaning sea after an oil spill are briefed as under:

Oil Booms are the most common and popular equipment used in oil clean-up due to their simpler design and easier execution. These are also called "Containment Booms" which encloses the oil to a smaller area and not let it spread further.

They have three parts namely: Freeboard; Skirt and Cable or Chain.

Freeboard is the portion which is extended beyond the water surface and thwarts splashing oil above the top.

The skirt is positioned at a place down the water surface and squeezes the oil under the boom and not let it escape or spread.

For stabilization and strengthening of a boom, a cable or chain is provided, until it is completely filled.

Other features of oil booms are as follows:

This method is employed when the area of spill is comparatively smaller

It is used where the containment booms are locally available because if the boom is to be transported from a faraway site, the spill can expand to a larger area and become difficult to manage

Also, it is used in the water where wave velocity is constant because fluctuating tides make it difficult for an oil boom to perform clean up properly

Once the oil is bounded by oil booms, it can be extracted or skimmed easily with the help of skimmers or oil scoops. These skimmers are fitted onto boats and remove the floating oil or greasy contaminants.

These are the mechanical equipment which works on the same principle as a vacuum cleaner. It sucks all the oil which is spread over the confined surface of the water in oil booms.

These use physical separation of oil and water and make it available for further use. Other main features of skimmers are as follows:

It is an economical method of oil cleanup because the equipment used for skimming oil are relatively cheaper.

There is a major loophole in the use of skimmer in oil decantation is that if debris is present in the confined region it can choke or clog the skimmer easily.

The materials which can adsorb or absorb the liquid are termed as sorbents. It is an easy process of oil cleanup. Most common sort of sorbents we all are familiar with are peat moss, vermiculite (straw) and hay.

Some other features of sorbents are as follows:

These are the materials which result in the least wastage and prevent the progression of pollution

These are highly useful for the small spills with the highest efficiency

These are also used to remove the small tints of large spill cleanups

There is also a difficulty in working with sorbents that are sorbents become denser than water after absorbing oil and may possibly sink to the bottom of the sea

It is similar to burning rice husk after yielding rice crop. In this method, the floating oil is set to fire by igniting it safely. It is the most proficient method of oil clean up as it can efficiently remove 98% of total spilt oil.

Other features of burning in-situ the spilt oil are briefed as under:

It works safely and efficiently for the oil spread with a thickness of 3 millimetres and larger spread

This method is not eco-friendly as it releases toxic gases from the burning of oils to the environment

When oil cannot be confined with booms then we are left with the last option of oil disintegration. Dispersals are the chemicals which are spread over spilt oil to initiate disintegration of oil.

After disintegration, the surface area of oil molecules increases and it becomes easier for them to form a bond with water. This will take the bonded molecules deeper in water and make them available for microbes which degrade them later on.

Some additional features of removal of oil from the sea by dispersants are as follows:

They can efficiently remove the large oil spills easily. Dispersants convert the oil in tarballs when oil gets bonded chemically with water. But sometimes these tarballs become larger in size and get to the seashore

Sometimes these chemical dispersants adversely affect non-mobile marine species

Some other methods employed for safer oil spill cleanups from the sea are hot water washing or washing with high-pressure water; manual labour; bioremediation and natural recovery.

Hot water washing is used when it is quite impossible to remove oil from mechanical or manual methods.

With high-pressure sprayers, water at about 170-degree Celsius is sprayed and this hot water at high pressure flush the oil to the water surface and make it available for mechanical equipment such as booms, shovels and skimmers.

In manual labour oil cleanup method, hand-held tools or mechanical equipment are used for oil cleanups. It is a time consuming but an economical method of decanting oil from sea shoreline. Also, the places where other methods seem inaccessible, this method serve victoriously.

Bioremediation method involves removal of oils by application of specific microorganisms. These microorganisms disintegrate the oil complex into simpler molecules whose decomposition and cleaning is easier.

Sometimes fertilizers are used for degrading the oil which may result in other harms to the marine ecosystem. Natural recovery is the simplest as well as no negative effect method of oil spill cleanups.

The major principle underlying this method is the principle of self-cleansing action of rivers which lead to auto removal of oil by evaporation or natural disintegration by aerobic or anaerobic biological organisms.

It is the most eco-friendly and cheaper method amongst all. It is a time-consuming process and employed usually for small oil spills.
You may also like to read:
Disclaimer: The authors' views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of Marine Insight. Data and charts, if used, in the article have been sourced from available information and have not been authenticated by any statutory authority. The author and Marine Insight do not claim it to be accurate nor accept any responsibility for the same. The views constitute only the opinions and do not constitute any guidelines or recommendation on any course of action to be followed by the reader.
The article or images cannot be reproduced, copied, shared or used in any form without the permission of the author and Marine Insight.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Contamination of seawater due to an oil pour, as a result of an accident or human error, is termed an oil spill. Oil is among the most important energy sources in the world and because of its uneven distribution, it is transported by ships across the oceans and by pipelines across the lands.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Contamination of seawater due to an oil pour, as a result of an accident or human error, is termed an oil spill.

Oil is among the most important energy sources in the world and because of its uneven distribution, it is transported by ships across the oceans and by pipelines across the lands. This has resulted in several accidents in the past while transferring the oil to vessels, during transportation, breaking of pipelines, as well as while drilling in the earth's crust.

While massive and catastrophic spills receive most of the attention, smaller and chronic ones occur on a regular basis. These spills contaminate the coasts and estuaries and can cause serious health problems to human beings.

Oil is a mixture of hydrocarbon compounds, which are the decayed remains of marine animals and plants, died and drifted to the bottom.

For the past 600 million years, under intense pressure and temperatures, these remains changed into complicated hydrocarbons called petroleum.

Crude oil is a mixture of gas, naphtha, kerosene, light gas, and residuals, which causes hazardous health effects if consumed by any life forms.

The production of petroleum products rose from 500 million tons in 1950 to over 2,500 million tons in the mid-1990s, which resulted in massive transportation and associated oil spills.

The number has been increasing with the increasing rate of oil transportation, ageing of oil tankers, as well as an increase in the size of oil tankers. Oil accounts for over half the tonnage of all sea cargo.

It is estimated that approximately 706 million gallons of waste oil enter the ocean every year, with over half coming from land drainage and waste disposal; for example, from the improper disposal of used motor oil.

Offshore drilling and production operations and oil spills or leaks from ships or tankers typically contribute less than 8 percent of the total. The remainder comes from routine maintenance of ships (nearly 20 percent), hydrocarbon particles from onshore air pollution (about 13 percent) and natural seepage from the seafloor (over 8 percent).

Public health impacts include illnesses caused by toxic fumes or by eating contaminated fish or shellfish. However, there are other less obvious public health impacts, including losses and disruptions of commercial and recreational fisheries, seaweed harvesting, boating, and a variety of other uses of affected water.

Any nation or tourist destination close to oil drilling or shipping lanes is at high risk of experiencing economic collapse and the disastrous environmental effects of oil spills and needs to be properly prepared to clean up.

To prevent oil spills is the topmost priority; and the responsibility lies equally on individuals as well as on governments and industries because the sources of oil waste in the ocean is due to carelessness, rather than an accident.

Integration of preventive measures in an industrial process, operation, or product should be a part of the cost of daily operations.

Before starting any fueling, de-fueling or internal transfer operation, all machinery and piping systems should be properly checked for tightness and for signs of leaking glands, seals and gaskets.

While changing the oil or adding oil to machinery, proper care should be taken to avoid oil spills.

Dreadful oil spill results in great damage to the marine environment and sometimes ends up with destroying a complete species.

It is said that the largest known oil spill incident was not an accident but a result of a preplanned war. As per statistics, there was a recorded discharge of billions of gallons of oil from the largest oil spill.

We all are familiar with "the Gulf War" of 1991 in which the forces from Iraq quit their invasion of Kuwait. After that, for blocking the forces from the United States, the Iraqi forces left the oil pipelines and wells of oil open and set it to fire. The fire was so massive that it begins in January and ended after four months in April.

In this incident, as per reports, more than 200 million gallons of oil was thrown in "the Persian Gulf". This oil spill incident not only harmed marine species but also destroyed major oil reserve in the world, thus diminishing oil availability.

This oil spill not only resulted in marine water pollution but also fouled the coastlines, damaged the fisheries, killed the aquatic life especially non-mobile life and ruined the aesthetics of the place and thus reduced the capital generation from tourism.

It had a long-lasting effect on the marine life of the area. The after-effects of this oil spill were even more terrific, as it even took months to clear the affected area and bring it back to its normal condition.

Due to such destruction caused by this oil spill, it became a burning issue and a matter of grave concern for almost all the countries around the globe.

On the basis of outcome and reasons for these incidents, maritime authorities are becoming more careful in handling oil with the latest technical advancements.

It is generally referred to as fighting Oil Spill on Ship. The ship should be equipped with all required precautionary measures and the crew on the ship should be accustomed to oil spill safety drill prior to the voyage. These safety measures will help in catering accidents which break-in during the voyage without any prior warning.

Before making preparation for the prevention of oil spills or fighting with oil spillage it is essential to know about different types of oil spillage.

These accidents are of two types - in one oil does not go overboard and the other in which oil goes on board.

The later one causes maximum damage so it is considered a dreadful incident as compared to the former one.

There are two most common reasons for oil spills which are as follows:

Oil can spill when oil is being transferred internally, that is when oil is passing through a sounding pipe or oil vents

Bunker operation is the second major event when oil can spill. It implies that there is more probability of oil spill while discharging sludge

If appropriate equipment is used and the personnel is trained in this concern, we can control marine pollution to a certain extent and for less dangerous events this marine pollution can be completely avoided

The basic actions to be followed and checked during any oil spill drill is summed up as below:

The side scuppers of the ship should be shut down immediately when there is seen any oil on deck. Turn the alarm on and bring it to notice of duty officer

The points such as the sounding point or vents where the spillage started should be located and must be looked for its solution. All the processes of oil transfer should also be put off from these points or tanks

Muster list should be prepared in advance and all personnel should be trained for handling spillage. The shipmaster should call the emergency muster when they noticed any spill

The ship should be equipped with SOPEP equipment which can contain the spill within the ship. After collecting all the spilt oil in SOPEP drums, clear the affected area at the earliest

Tanks should be filled within permissible level so as to avoid spills

Scupper plug should be properly tightened, and sometimes sawdust supplements the tightness of plug. This will not let the oil to rush overboard but act as an additional barrier.

After fighting victoriously from the incident of an oil spill, a report should be prepared and discussed in a meeting and preventive measures should be detailed in the meeting to fight and prevent such an incident in future

Additional training on oil spill during sludge discharge or bunkering covers the below checks and actions to be taken:

Bunkering manifold should have a supervising officer to check it for leakage intermittently on short regular intervals. There should be a remote switch which can send an alarm to STOP BUNKER SUPPLY. Put off the sludge transfer operation with immediate effect

Bring oil spillage in the notice of Chief engineer and the officer on duty

Drip tray should be checked regularly for overfilling

Portable foam firefighters should be made available for any discrepancy in case it occurs

The biggest threat to the safe marine environment is "oil spill" from ships.

Every year the government of different countries spend dollars in billions and trillions in inspecting and clearing major oil spills from tanker ships.

Problems of an oil spill can be prevented at a preliminary stage by ensuring proper working of all active hoses and fuel lines, and also all the connections should be leak-proof or tight.

All the safety valves should be in proper working condition so that supply line which leaks can immediately be shut off when spill or leak encounters.

Oil tankers are not cleaned after every voyage, but they are cleaned once a decade or at the time when there is some clogging or other operational issues.

If there is noticed building up of sludge or deposition of water in tanker it should be cleaned immediately otherwise it may result in corrosion of tanker parts or body.

Sometimes, even oil spills of small ships add up to a huge quantity. These fishing vessels, ferries or recreational boats are comparatively smaller in size but are a major cause of pollution.

Spills in small vessels is mainly a result of refuelling activity or bilge discharging operation. During these operations, oil mounts up with water in the bottom part of the vessel and gets pumped out.

Oil spills can be prevented by the following measures:

Engine crew should ensure engine bolts to be properly tight to avert the trickling of oil. When an engine is in use this causes vibration in bolts and results in loosening of bolts. The engine should be equipped with dripping pan or cookie sheet (or oil tray). There should be ample oil absorbent pads to soak discharge of oily water. Defected parts and fittings should be replaced before their complete failure. Lines can fail due to severe heat and water exposures

Measures should be taken while refuelling the tank. The tank should not be overfilled and some clearance space should be left for fuel expansion. Bilge pump should be turned off properly after done with refuelling

If spill transpires it should be maintained by the vessel master. He/she should collect the spilt oil and keep it within the ship and clear the affected area with absorbent pads. A record should be maintained regarding spill and all legal post-spill formalities should be cleared

Oil is a necessity and a major revenue-generating resource for many countries with vast oil reserves. Therefore, shipping of oil from the sea can never be put to an end rather we must look for safer expeditions. We must be ready for any emergency related to an oil spill and oil clean up from the sea.

As water is denser than oil, the latter floats when discharged in a water body. It forms a skimming layer over the water surface and therefore it is comparatively easier to decant oil from the sea than other chemical pollutants.

Different methods of cleaning sea after an oil spill are briefed as under:

Oil Booms are the most common and popular equipment used in oil clean-up due to their simpler design and easier execution. These are also called "Containment Booms" which encloses the oil to a smaller area and not let it spread further.

They have three parts namely: Freeboard; Skirt and Cable or Chain.

Freeboard is the portion which is extended beyond the water surface and thwarts splashing oil above the top.

The skirt is positioned at a place down the water surface and squeezes the oil under the boom and not let it escape or spread.

For stabilization and strengthening of a boom, a cable or chain is provided, until it is completely filled.

Other features of oil booms are as follows:

This method is employed when the area of spill is comparatively smaller

It is used where the containment booms are locally available because if the boom is to be transported from a faraway site, the spill can expand to a larger area and become difficult to manage

Also, it is used in the water where wave velocity is constant because fluctuating tides make it difficult for an oil boom to perform clean up properly

Once the oil is bounded by oil booms, it can be extracted or skimmed easily with the help of skimmers or oil scoops. These skimmers are fitted onto boats and remove the floating oil or greasy contaminants.

These are the mechanical equipment which works on the same principle as a vacuum cleaner. It sucks all the oil which is spread over the confined surface of the water in oil booms.

These use physical separation of oil and water and make it available for further use. Other main features of skimmers are as follows:

It is an economical method of oil cleanup because the equipment used for skimming oil are relatively cheaper.

There is a major loophole in the use of skimmer in oil decantation is that if debris is present in the confined region it can choke or clog the skimmer easily.

The materials which can adsorb or absorb the liquid are termed as sorbents. It is an easy process of oil cleanup. Most common sort of sorbents we all are familiar with are peat moss, vermiculite (straw) and hay.

Some other features of sorbents are as follows:

These are the materials which result in the least wastage and prevent the progression of pollution

These are highly useful for the small spills with the highest efficiency

These are also used to remove the small tints of large spill cleanups

There is also a difficulty in working with sorbents that are sorbents become denser than water after absorbing oil and may possibly sink to the bottom of the sea

It is similar to burning rice husk after yielding rice crop. In this method, the floating oil is set to fire by igniting it safely. It is the most proficient method of oil clean up as it can efficiently remove 98% of total spilt oil.

Other features of burning in-situ the spilt oil are briefed as under:

It works safely and efficiently for the oil spread with a thickness of 3 millimetres and larger spread

This method is not eco-friendly as it releases toxic gases from the burning of oils to the environment

When oil cannot be confined with booms then we are left with the last option of oil disintegration. Dispersals are the chemicals which are spread over spilt oil to initiate disintegration of oil.

After disintegration, the surface area of oil molecules increases and it becomes easier for them to form a bond with water. This will take the bonded molecules deeper in water and make them available for microbes which degrade them later on.

Some additional features of removal of oil from the sea by dispersants are as follows:

They can efficiently remove the large oil spills easily. Dispersants convert the oil in tarballs when oil gets bonded chemically with water. But sometimes these tarballs become larger in size and get to the seashore

Sometimes these chemical dispersants adversely affect non-mobile marine species

Some other methods employed for safer oil spill cleanups from the sea are hot water washing or washing with high-pressure water; manual labour; bioremediation and natural recovery.

Hot water washing is used when it is quite impossible to remove oil from mechanical or manual methods.

With high-pressure sprayers, water at about 170-degree Celsius is sprayed and this hot water at high pressure flush the oil to the water surface and make it available for mechanical equipment such as booms, shovels and skimmers.

In manual labour oil cleanup method, hand-held tools or mechanical equipment are used for oil cleanups. It is a time consuming but an economical method of decanting oil from sea shoreline. Also, the places where other methods seem inaccessible, this method serve victoriously.

Bioremediation method involves removal of oils by application of specific microorganisms. These microorganisms disintegrate the oil complex into simpler molecules whose decomposition and cleaning is easier.

Sometimes fertilizers are used for degrading the oil which may result in other harms to the marine ecosystem. Natural recovery is the simplest as well as no negative effect method of oil spill cleanups.

The major principle underlying this method is the principle of self-cleansing action of rivers which lead to auto removal of oil by evaporation or natural disintegration by aerobic or anaerobic biological organisms.

It is the most eco-friendly and cheaper method amongst all. It is a time-consuming process and employed usually for small oil spills.
You may also like to read:
Disclaimer: The authors' views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of Marine Insight. Data and charts, if used, in the article have been sourced from available information and have not been authenticated by any statutory authority. The author and Marine Insight do not claim it to be accurate nor accept any responsibility for the same. The views constitute only the opinions and do not constitute any guidelines or recommendation on any course of action to be followed by the reader.
The article or images cannot be reproduced, copied, shared or used in any form without the permission of the author and Marine Insight.

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Contamination of seawater due to an oil pour, as a result of an accident or human error, is termed an oil spill. Oil is among the most important energy sources in the world and because of its uneven distribution, it is transported by ships across the oceans and by pipelines across the lands.

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Palm oil: How is it threatening orangutans?

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Palm oil is found in about half of the products you might find at the supermarket. But sometimes it is produced in a way that is damaging to the environment.

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Amazon rainforest: Football-pitch-sized area cleared every minute - CBBC Newsround

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Satellite images show an increase of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil in the first half of 2019.

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How does our supermarket food cause the Amazon Rainforest to be destroyed?

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How does our supermarket food cause the Amazon Rainforest to be destroyed?

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Tesco is a supermarket in England; like Albert Heijn in The Netherlands.

This video explains how our supermarket food is connected to the destruction of the Amazon Rainforest.

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Brazil: How is Tesco chicken linked to deforestation in Brazil?

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A new report from an environmental campaign group found that some of the chicken sold in Tesco, is linked to deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.

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Saudi Crown Prince builds artificial skiing resort in the desert

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New artificial skiing resort in Arabian desert

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Reza explained that plastic is organic because it comes from fossil fuels.

What is a fossil fuel? Watch the video.

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Reza explained that plastic is organic because it comes from fossil fuels.

What is a fossil fuel? Watch the video.

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Reza explained that plastic is organic because it comes from fossil fuels.

What is a fossil fuel? Watch the video.

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Promote healthier choices | Danone Group

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Find out how we use transparent labelling, transparent marketing and educational initiatives to help consumers make more informed nutritional choices.

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Bij de Ceuvel organiseren we privé rondleidingen voor geïnteresseerden individuen, scholen, bedrijven en anderen. Of je nou een architect bent, technisch ingenieur, scholier of in het algemeen in duurzaamheid bent geïnteresseerd: er loopt iemand rond op de Ceuvel die ons verhaal kan vertellen op een manier die relevant is voor jouw achtergrond. De Ceuvel is een zelf-gebouwde broedplaats waar duurzaamheid en de circulaire economie centraal staat. Het is een stedenbouwkundig experiment in stadsvernieuwing, een creatieve en culturele broedplaats, een circulair testlab, en een plek om te ontspannen en geïnspireerd te raken. Er is een smart-grid van zonnenpanelen waar onderling stroom uitgewisseld kan worden middels blockchain technologie, een aquaponics groentekas, een biogasvergister (in aanbouw), 16 tot creatieve werkruimtes omgebouwde boten op het droge, en een gezellig café-restaurant dat steevast benoemd wordt tot ‘het meeste duurzame restaurant van Europa’. De zwaar vervuilde grond waar alles op gebouwd is, wordt ondertussen schoon gemaakt middels een speciale mix aan zuiverende planten die de zware metalen en oliën van de oude scheepswerf opnemen.

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Posters are one of the oldest, most tried-and-true types of marketing collateral. Posters are an effective way to draw attention to your sales, events, fundraisers and more.

While there is no one right way to make a poster, there are still poster design best practices that you should follow.

So we decided to take it upon ourselves to write the ultimate, most in-depth poster design guide out there. If you want to learn how to design a poster from scratch (or with our professionally designed poster templates), you're in the right place.

These poster design tips can be applied to virtually any poster you design. So let's get into it!
Click to jump ahead:

Identify the goal of your poster

Consider your target audience

Decide where to share your poster

Select a professional poster template

Pick a relevant or branded color scheme

Include a clear call to action

Use fonts to create a hierarchy of information

Use icons to visualize concepts and grab attention

Add high-quality images & stock photos

Download & export in the right format

How to design posters for different occasions

How to design a poster from scratch

1. Identify the goal of your poster

The most important step in the poster creation process is to understand why you are creating this type of promotional material in the first place.

Is it because of advertising purposes for a new product? To grab the audience's attention about a concert in the area? To highlight important details about a campaign? Or even just because there's a sale coming up? All of these are goals that some engaging poster templates can help you achieve.

If you think about your main goals from the beginning, you can use those goals to guide your choices like a professional designer would.

For example, if the goal of your poster is to invite your community to a fundraising event , then your poster should be designed strategically to help you achieve this goal. A common rule for written communication is that simplicity wins.
Just so you know, some of our to use and some require a small monthly fee. is always free, as is access to Venngage's online drag-and-drop editor.
Now, if you're looking for information posters for your fundraising event, here's another example you can keep in mind:

Start with a goal and plan your custom poster around it.

2. Consider your target audience

Next, you should consider who you are trying to reach with your poster. Answering this question will probably remind you of all the important details you should highlight while you make your poster.

For example, say you're advertising an event for women's rights like below:

Now compare it to this other design below:

The goal and audience on each of these templates are different and both designs will appeal to distinct groups of people. Make sure you have decided exactly who you want to appeal to, before jumping into your online poster creator tool and starting your creation process.

A perk of these eye-catching posters is that we can see inclusive visuals, maximalist elements and bold shapes - which happen to be some of this year's biggest .

Also, remember that you can make multiple posters that cater to different . You don't have to use one for every type of customer!

The final thing you should determine to save time - before designing your poster - is where it will be shared.

Would you like to hang it up on a wall? Or just share it with your followers on social media so they can leave comments and send it to other friends?

It's important to decide where you want your poster to be seen before you start working on your online poster maker. This is because, as you will see below, optimizing a poster properly for print is slightly different than for Twitter or Facebook.

Optimize your poster for print

You probably have an idea of where you're going to share your poster. Where you decide to pin it up can help you make a few design decisions.

If you're planning on printing out your poster, there are some basic guidelines you should keep in mind.

Visualize where you will pin up your poster

If it's going on a wall with a bunch of other movie posters though, print your poster in a larger size so it will stand out:

But if it's going on a relatively bare wall, print it in a smaller size and pin up a bunch of them to then create posters with a larger footprint like the minimalist poster templates below:

If you're looking for more ideas to present your findings effectively, search through our selection of scientific poster templates.

Select a standard paper size

Unless you want to create a big poster background, you probably don't want to spend money on getting it printed. You can print it yourself by simply designing your custom poster to fit the standard ISO A1-A5 printer paper.

With Venngage you can magically resize any of our poster templates into Letter, A3, A4, A5 and any custom dimensions with a few clicks. First, click on the Settings tab and then select what size you would like:

The page resize option will also reformat your poster content to fit the new size you select - if you want it to. This simple feature will save you a TON of time in the long run, so be sure to try it out.

You're more than welcome to manually resize your poster the old-fashioned way, by updating the page size:

You can also set the size of your poster background in Pixels, Inches, or Centimeters as well.

That said, for most of the posters that you're going to print out, it's best to use the preset sizes. This will ensure that your printer can actually print out a beautiful poster.

Set bleed marks for printing

In printing, "bleed" is when you have an image or object touching the edge of the page. When you design a poster with an image that is flush with the edges of the poster, your printer will automatically leave a thin white space around the edge of the paper.

When your document has bleed, it needs to be printed on a larger sheet of paper than the design and then trimmed down to your intended dimensions.

Like with resizing in the previous section, you can automatically add bleed marks to your poster with a single click. Just click this checkbox in the Settings tab and the bleed marks are automatically added:

As you can see in the poster example above, there's now a white border added to your design. This is - you guessed it - the bleed marks!

Optimize your poster for social media

There are fewer restraints when designing a poster for web than for print. This is a great opportunity to do something really fun with your design. Still, there are some guidelines you should follow.

Remember, a square or portrait orientation looks best for mobile viewing. People are used to scrolling up and down on mobile, rather than side to side.

These are the ideal dimensions for each of the big social media platforms:

Facebook: 1200 x 628, or 1200 x 1200 for square

Instagram: 1080 x 1080, or 1080 x 1350 for portrait

Pinterest: You have more wiggle room here for length, but try to use a ratio of 2:3 to 1:3.5.

Or if you're looking for awareness campaign poster ideas to share on a Pinterest board:

4. Start with a professional poster template

A poster template will give you a foundation to create your own poster stand, your own design.

Look for a poster template with a layout that fits your vision and goals (ex. header placement, image placeholders, icons and more).

Pick a poster sample with the right dimensions for where you will be sharing your poster (ex. on a wall, on Facebook, in an email marketing campaign, etc).

Remember that you can always customize your templates if there are aspects of the design that you don't like.

For example, if you want to create a poster for your job fair, you would want to focus on the location, date, and jobs available:

However, if you're creating information posters to raise knowledge and awareness about an important holiday or event:

If you're creating an advertisement poster to promote a sale, the discount and date are probably should be the most eye-catching parts of your poster:

As you can see, these are all great poster templates, but each example is designed to help you achieve a unique goal. So just make sure you are picking a template that fits your goal and you will save a ton of time.

Now if you want to learn how to create an event poster, business poster, sales poster and more, jump to the last section. There you will find a more in-depth guide on creating a killer poster.

5. Pick a relevant or branded color scheme

One of the first things that someone will probably notice about your poster is the color scheme.

In most cases, the appropriate color scheme will be obvious. So try not to overthink it!

For example, if you're creating a poster for a winter event, then a color scheme of warm green, red, and white will evoke the feeling of the holidays.

If your company has strict brand guidelines you need to follow, then you can incorporate your brand colors into your custom posters.

Now if you want to use your brand colors on any of our poster templates, just click the tab on the left side of the screen:

Then click one of your branded colors to add them to any poster template:

Click the palette again to change where the branded colors are used:

With a few clicks, you can create a ton of variations of your poster, like so:

However, if you're still struggling to come up with a relevant color scheme, take a look at the meanings and emotions of each color.

Green is associated with energy, the environment, and tranquility. It would make sense to use a green color combination on a nonprofit or fundraising poster, like below:

Red is associated with strength, courage, and joy. It also is super eye-catching, which you can see in the minimalist but stunning poster below:

As you can see, color theory should help you pick the right color palette in no time. Now if you're not sure where to start when it comes to pairing colors, a color scheme generator tool like can be helpful.

6. Include a clear call-to-action

Once you have someone's attention, you need to make it very clear what their next steps are to help. This is commonly known as a Call-To-Action (CTA).

Every poster, no matter the topic or type, should have a CTA. Otherwise, what is the point of creating a poster in the first place?

In this marketing poster template, the CTA is the " Register Online " at the bottom:

The designer made sure this CTA would stand out from the rest of the poster by highlighting it in blue and using a unique font.

Additionally, they made the CTA very simple to follow. You don't want to make your CTA a chore, especially if your poster wants them to visit a website.

The same can be said about this fitness poster template:

But in this example, the creator of this poster made the CTA stand out even more!

As you can see these CTAs are both near the bottom of the poster. This is on purpose and allows the reader to get more information before taking action:

Can you imagine if the first thing you read on a poster was CTA? It would be very confusing and probably make you ignore the rest of the poster.

Not all CTAs require the reader to visit a website, call a business or make a purchase immediately.

That action may be as simple as telling their friends about what they learned on the poster. Or about when a garage sale happens to be:

The call to action on this poster is actually the entire black section of the poster. The top section informs the reader and the bottom helps them take an action.

In this case, the action is visiting the garage sale, but it still is a CTA. Without it, no one would know what this poster was trying to get them to do.

7. Use fonts to create a hierarchy of information

What information you choose to include on your poster will depend on the goal of your poster.

But if you're creating a fairly standard poster, it's best practice to follow a hierarchy of information.

For example, if you are creating an event poster the information on your eye-catching posters should be read in this order:

The name of your event.

The date and time of your event.

A short description of the event or a catchy tagline.

The location of your event (if you choose to include it).

A simple call to action like a website, social media page or contact number.

The name of your company, department, organization, etc.

As you can see in this event poster design, the designer used a handful of different fonts to organize the information:

The title of the event obviously uses the largest font, because it will hopefully catch someone's attention. It also will give the reader context for the other information on the poster.

But if they aren't interested in learning more, they can quickly move on with their day after reading the title.

If they are interested in the event, they can move on to the next piece of information, the date.

The designer used a bright yellow to catch your eye directly after reading the title of the event. If they would have used a simple white, the information would have been easily overlooked.

The tagline of the event is italicized below the title, giving the reader a little more context about the event. Again, if this sounds interesting to the reader, they can move on to the next piece of information, and so on.

This process will help eliminate people who don't really need to see the CTA at the end of your poster.

And finally, after moving through all the information, the CTA at the bottom uses another bold font and color so that people will not miss it.

Can you imagine how hard it would be to navigate this poster if they would have used the same font throughout? It would look like a term paper that no one wants to read.

Now if you're struggling to decide what the hierarchy of your poster should look like, think about the most important info you want the reader to walk away with.

In this example, the title of the event, the location and the CTA seem to be the most important.

Additionally, the font color used in this design contrasts exceptionally well with the color. If you choose a font that doesn't contrast, it will be very difficult to read your poster.

As you can see below, a good rule of thumb is to use a light font color on a dark background:

Or a dark font on a light background:

Even if you use a single font on your poster, you can quickly create a hierarchy of information just by changing the font's color, size or weight. So again, don't overthink it!

8. Use icons to visualize concepts and grab attention
Keep these best practices in mind when using icons in your poster design:
Icons are used in design to represent concepts. Icons are the perfect way to enhance your custom posters. You can to embellish points and, in certain cases, replace text.

They're also great for illustrating ideas quickly. Or you could make icons the main focal point of your design, like the template below:

Pick icons with a consistent style (line thickness, flat or illustrated, line art or filled).

Use icons sparingly and allow for plenty of whitespaces to let your design breathe.

Add a simple border or background shape to your icons.

If you do replace the text with icons, make sure that the meaning is very obvious.

Let's take a look at some of those best practices in action, starting with keeping your icons consistent.

As you probably know, there are a few different kinds of icons that you can use. Some are flat, and can be changed to match the color of your poster very easily:

While others are illustrated, and the colors can't be changed:

Whatever icons you choose to use while designing a poster, just make sure the styles are consistent, like in the examples above.

So if you use a flat icon in one section, use flat icons throughout your poster and vice versa.

Next, let's talk about using whitespace correctly when it comes to icons. If you're not aware, whitespace is the open space around a design element like a block of text, a title or an icon:

Without it, your poster design will feel exactly cramped and unprofessional. It will also make your poster very hard to read or navigate. Check out how odd the poster below looks without adequate whitespace:

It looks like a mess, so be sure to take the time to use whitespace throughout your poster!

One very easy way that you can create this whitespace around your icons is by using a background or border shape. Each icon in the template below uses a background shape:

Using background shapes in this way will not only give your icons some room to breathe, but it will also make them a lot more eye-catching. Without the border shapes in the example above, the icons would have just faded into the background.

Plus, if you're using illustrated icons it will make the design feel much more consistent across the poster:

And the finally best practice, be sure that if you replace text with an icon, the reader will actually understand it. The poster example below illustrates this tactic well in the contact section:

Readers are going to be able to decipher those icons because they are used a lot in the real world already. Others might not be so easy to understand, so you might have to add a label or title to them. Like below:

With Venngage, you can quickly swap any icon on your poster or one of our customizable poster templates, with just a few clicks as well. First, select on any icon on your poster and then click the button:

Then just search for the icon that you want, and click on it to replace:

It's really that simple and can help you turn any template into your own unique graphic in no time.

9. Use high-quality images & stock photos

If you have been paying attention to the templates and examples in this article you may have noticed that they use a lot of premium images.

Venngage's free poster maker tool offers free and premium images, icons and graphs to help you edit poster designs with ease - no prior design skills needed. Here are some examples of stock images in the background:

While others make it one of the main focal points of the poster:

But all of them use very high-quality images, no matter the type of poster.

If you plan to print out the poster or enlarge it, using high-quality photos is important. The slight blurriness or pixelation will quickly become a nightmare.

It doesn't matter if you are using a stock photo or one that you took, all of them should be very crisp and clear. Sometimes it's better to use a professional stock photo in place of a blurry personal photo as well.

Plus, Venngage's free poster maker tool is integrated with Pixabay and Pexels to elevate your design. Access stunning, professional photography with just one click.

Just head over to the left sidebar and click the Photos tab to bring up the search bar:

Once you find the perfect stock photo just click the photo to add it to your poster.

Additionally, like with icons, you can swap any photo on your poster using the button:

After you select , you can search for any stock photo in our library and insert it into the poster with one click:

Now if you don't want to use any of our stock photos, you can upload your own images by dragging it on the screen or by selecting Image Upload in the left sidebar:

As you can see, adding your own photos to your poster is very easy, just make sure you pick the right ones.

10. Download & export your poster in the optimal format

After you have finished your poster, it's time to share it with the world. On Venngage you can quickly download your poster by clicking the Download button on the right side of your screen:

Then select what type of file you would like your poster downloaded as:
Phew, that was a lot of info! Need a quick recap or want to share this information with your team? We have you covered with
Downloading your poster as a PNG should be fine for emails or social media.

But if you want to print out your poster, download it as a PNG HD. This will make sure your poster is crisp and perfect once it gets back from the printer!

How to design posters for different occasions

All of the advice we outlined above can be used on almost any poster. But in this final section, we are going to get a little more specific.

But instead of waxing poetically on each type of poster, we are going to outline a simple checklist for each type of poster!

So let's get into it!

How to make an infographic poster

Choose a powerful topic you'd like to inform about.

Do your research and gather relevant facts.

Select an outstanding template that'll help you grab attention.

Add icons and graphs. Data visualization is key in an infographic poster.

Create a content hierarchy and highlight the most interesting insights.

Add your logo and company's branding.

Download in multiple formats and share.

Related: What Is an Infographic Poster and How To Make One?

How to make an event poster

Related: 10 Event Poster Design Ideas [+ Free Templates]

How to make a marketing poster

Arrange the 4 P's of your strategy: your product, price, promotion and place.

Choose a design that will mark your audience and look good in your selected place.

Make your campaign details the focus of the poster.

Add high-quality images of your product or service.

Include a relevant call to action.

Incorporate your branding.

If you want to dig deeper into the steps to create a marketing poster and find campaign poster ideas, read this article: How to Design a Marketing Poster (10+ Templates Included).

How to make a sales poster

How to make an HR poster

Summarize important information, helpful resources, processes or events information.

Define the department you're referring to.

Include only the key information.

Choose the best layout to showcase your announcement.

Customize a brand-aligned design.

Optimize your poster for distribution.

Related: 17 Essential Human Resources Poster Templates (Updated).

How to make a conference poster

How to make a medical poster

Select your health awareness topic or medical information theme.

Write a catching title with bold fonts.

Highlight important data, stats and recommendations.

Add images and icons to ease retention.

Invite your audience to a website or to access more resources.

Related: 15 Medical Poster Templates for Patient Education.

How to make a real-estate poster

If you want to learn more about designing these types of custom posters, start with these articles:

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How to Make a Poster in 10 Steps (2023 Poster Design Guide)

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Where does plastic waste in oceans come from?

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Scientists investigating the plastic waste drifting in the oceans say they’ve discovered more about where it comes from.

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Read to find out what happens if we don't clean our water properly.

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Sewage pollution: Why has Windermere lake turned green?

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Sewage in Lake Windermere is causing problems for people and animals, according to zoologist Matt Staniek. He wants to see the government do more to protect the wildlife in the lake.

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Read to find out what happens if we don't clean our water properly.

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Sewage pollution: Why has Windermere lake turned green?

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Sewage in Lake Windermere is causing problems for people and animals, according to zoologist Matt Staniek. He wants to see the government do more to protect the wildlife in the lake.

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Read to find out what happens if we don't clean our water properly.

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Sewage pollution: Why has Windermere lake turned green?

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Sewage in Lake Windermere is causing problems for people and animals, according to zoologist Matt Staniek. He wants to see the government do more to protect the wildlife in the lake.

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Creating a leaflet about healthy nutritious snacks is a wonderful project for grade 5 students! Here's what they could include:

A catchy title and colorful illustrations of fruits, vegetables, and other healthy foods

Brief, simple explanations about:

Why healthy snacks are important for growing bodies and brains

Basic food groups and nutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, etc.)

How healthy snacks give you energy for school and play

Lists of snack ideas organized by categories:

Fruits and vegetables (apple slices, carrot sticks, grape tomatoes)

Protein-packed options (yogurt, cheese sticks, hummus)

Whole grain choices (popcorn, whole grain crackers)

Easy combinations (apple with peanut butter, veggies with dip)

Fun facts about different foods and their benefits

A simple recipe or two that kids can make with minimal adult help

Tips for packing snacks for school

A "build your own snack" guide with mix-and-match options

A small section addressing how sometimes treats are okay in moderation

The leaflet should use simple, kid-friendly language and bright, engaging visuals to make healthy eating appealing to their peers. They might also consider including a small interactive element like a snack tracker or a challenge to try a new healthy food.

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More than eight million tonnes of plastic goes into the world’s oceans each year. That’s a lot of plastic which can harm animals and the environment. So what’s being done about it?

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More than eight million tonnes of plastic goes into the world’s oceans each year. That’s a lot of plastic which can harm animals and the environment. So what’s being done about it?

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March 18th is Global Recycling Day!

Read the article, watch the video and take the quiz to see how much you know about plastic pollution.

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The yearly celebration is all about getting people to wasting as little as possible, reuse whenever possible, and encouraging world leaders to work together to recycle more.

The Global Recycling Foundation, which organises the annual day, says recycling is so important because it stops 700 million of tonnes of carbon emissions each year.

Carbon emissions contribute to climate change, which causes big problems for everything on the planet.

Read on, then try our quiz at the bottom of the page.

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Today is Global Recycling day, we've got all the facts and figures as well as a tricky recycling game for you

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North Sea collision: Oil tanker and cargo ship collide

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Rescue teams were called to the East Yorkshire coast after reports the two boats were on fire.

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North Sea collision: Oil tanker and cargo ship collide

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Rescue teams were called to the East Yorkshire coast after reports the two boats were on fire.

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The cement that could turn your house into a giant battery

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The cement that could turn your house into a giant battery

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Concrete is perhaps the most commonly used building material in the world. With a bit of tweaking, it could help to power our homes too.
On a laboratory bench in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a stack of polished cylinders of black-coloured concrete sit bathed in liquid and entwined in cables. To a casual observer, they aren't doing much. But then Damian Stefaniuk flicks a switch. The blocks of human-made rock are wired up to an LED - and the bulb flickers into life.

"At first I didn't believe it," says Stefaniuk, describing the first time the LED lit up. "I thought that I hadn't disconnected the external power source, and that was why the LED was on.

"It was a wonderful day. We invited students, and I invited professors to see, because at first they didn't believe that it worked either."

The reason for the excitement? This innocuous, dark lump of concrete could represent the future of energy storage.

The promise of most renewable energy sources is that of endless clean power, bestowed on us by the Sun, wind and sea.

Yet the Sun isn't always shining, the wind isn't always blowing, and still waters do not, in megawatt terms, run deep. These are energy sources that are intermittent, which, in our energy-hungry modern world, poses a problem.

It means that we need to store that energy in batteries. But batteries rely on materials such as lithium, which is in far shorter supply than is likely to be needed to meet the demand created by the world's quest to decarbonise its energy and transport systems. There are 101 lithium mines in the world, and economic analysts are pessimistic about the ability of these mines to keep up with growing global demand. Environmental analysts note that lithium mining uses a lot of energy and water, which nibble away at the environmental benefits of switching to renewable energy sources in the first place. The processes involved in extracting lithium can also sometimes lead to toxic chemicals leaking into local water supplies.

Despite some new discoveries of lithium reserves, the finite supply of this material, the over-reliance on just a handful of mines around the world and its environmental impact have driven the search for alternative battery materials.

This is where Stefaniuk and his concrete come in. He and his colleagues at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have found a way of creating an energy storage device known as a supercapacitor from three basic, cheap materials - water, cement and a soot-like substance called carbon black.

Damian Stefaniuk has been able to use a carbon cement supercapacitor to power a handheld gaming device (Credit: Damian Stefaniuk)

Supercapacitors are highly efficient at storing energy but differ from batteries in some important ways. They can charge much more quickly than a lithium ion battery and don't suffer from the same levels of degradation in performance. But supercapacitors also release the power they store rapidly, making them less useful in devices such as mobile phones, laptops or electric cars where a steady supply of energy is needed over an extended period of time.

Yet according to Stefaniuk, carbon-cement supercapacitors could make an important contribution to efforts to decarbonise the global economy. "If it can be scaled up, the technology can help solve an important issue - the storing of renewable energy," he says.

He and his fellow researchers at MIT and Harvard University's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, envisage several applications for their supercapacitors.

One might be to create roads that store solar energy and then release it to recharge electric cars wirelessly as they drive along a road. The rapid release of energy from the carbon-cement supercapacitor would allow vehicles to get a rapid boost to their batteries. Another would be as energy-storing foundations of houses - "to have walls, or foundations, or columns, that are active not only in supporting a structure, but also in that energy is stored inside them", says Stefaniuk.

But it is still early days. For now, the concrete supercapacitor can store a little under 300 watt-hours per cubic metre - enough to power a 10-watt LED lightbulb for 30 hours.

The power output "may seem low compared to conventional batteries, [but] a foundation with 30-40 cubic metres (1,060-1,410 cubic feet) of concrete could be sufficient to meet the daily energy needs of a residential house", says Stefaniuk. "Given the widespread use of concrete globally, this material has the potential to be highly competitive and useful in energy storage."

Cement production is responsible for 5-8% of carbon dioxide emissions from human activity globally

Stefaniuk and his colleagues at MIT initially proved the concept by creating cent-sized 1V supercapacitors from the material before connecting together in series to power a 3V LED. They have since scaled this up to produce a 12V supercapacitor. Stefaniuk has also been able to use larger versions of the supercapacitor to power a handheld games console.

And the research team are now planning to build larger versions, including one up to 45 cubic metres (1,590 cubic feet) in size that would be able store around 10kWh of energy needed to power to power a house for a day.

The supercapacitor works due to an unusual property of carbon black - it is highly conductive. This means that when carbon black is combined with cement powder and water, it makes for a kind of concrete that is full of networks of conductive material, taking a form that resembles ever-branching, tiny roots.

Capacitors are formed of two conductive plates with a membrane in between them. In this case, both plates are made of the carbon black cement, which were soaked in an electrolyte salt called potassium chloride.

When an electric current was applied to the salt-soaked plates, the positively-charged plates accumulated negatively charged ions from the potassium chloride. And because the membrane prevented charged ions from being exchanged between the plates, the separation of charges created an electric field.

As supercapacitors can accumulate large amounts of charge very quickly, it could make the devices useful for storing excess energy produced by intermittent renewable sources such as the wind and solar. This would take the pressure off the grid at times when the wind is not blowing, nor the Sun shining. As Stefaniuk says, "A simple example would be an off-grid house powered by solar panels: using solar energy directly during the day and the energy stored in, for example, the foundations during the night."

Supercapacitors are not perfect. Existing iterations discharge power quickly, and are not ideal for steady output, which would be needed to power a house throughout the day. Stefaniuk says he and his colleagues are working on a solution that would allow their carbon-cement version to be tuned by adjusting the mixture, but they will not disclose the details until they have finalised the tests and published a paper.

The researchers at MIT are working on scaling up their carbon cement supercapactor so it can be used in a number of different applications (Credit: Getty Images)

There could be other issues to overcome too - adding more carbon black allows the resulting supercapacitor to store more energy, but it also makes the concrete slightly weaker too. The researchers say any uses that have a structural role to play as well as energy storage would need to find an optimum mix of carbon black.

And while carbon-cement supercapacitors could help to reduce our reliance on lithium, they come with their own environmental impact. Cement production is responsible for 5-8% of carbon dioxide emissions from human activity globally, and the carbon-cement needed for the supercapacitors would need to be freshly made rather than retrofitted in existing structures.

Nevertheless, it seems to be a promising innovation, says Michael Short, who leads the Centre for Sustainable Engineering at Teesside University in the UK. The research "opens many interesting potential avenues around the use of the built environment itself as an energy storage medium", he says. "As the materials are also commonplace and the manufacture relatively straightforward, this gives a great indication that this approach should be investigated further and could potentially be a very useful part of the transition to a cleaner, more sustainable future."

But more research will be needed to move this from the laboratory into the real world.

"Often, new discoveries are problematic when considerations are made to move from lab or bench scale to wider deployment at larger scales and volumes. This can be due to manufacturing complexities, resource scarcities, or sometimes due to the underlying physics or chemistry. Desirable properties occurring at smaller scales may reduce or even vanish when attempts are made to make it larger."

But there may be a way of overcoming the problem of environmentally-unfriendly cement, adds Short. His colleagues at Teesside University are already working on low-emissions cement that is made from the by-products of the steel and chemical industries.

Projects such as low-emissions cement and energy-storing concrete raise the prospect of a future where our offices, roads and homes play a significant part in a world powered by clean energy.

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The cement that could turn your house into a giant battery

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Concrete is perhaps the most commonly used building material in the world. With a bit of tweaking, it could help to power our homes too.

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VR can help to make people take action to save nature

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VR can help to make people take action to save nature

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A virtual reality pangolin made me cry and care more about the planet: Is this the real power of VR headsets?

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Research suggests that a new type of immersive storytelling about nature told through virtual reality (VR) can both build empathy and inspire us to act.

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The Environmental Impact of Skiing: Minimize Your Footprint – snowcatclothing

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Skiing and snowboarding are beloved winter sports, but they do have an impact on the environment. From the construction and maintenance of ski resorts to the emissions produced by transportation to the mountains, skiing and snowboarding can contribute to climate change and damage natural ecosystems. However, there are

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Michael ShortBBC Sport Senior Journalist

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Climate change: Ski sport chiefs launch new sustainability guide for resorts

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Snow farming and solar panels on ski lifts are among the initiatives resorts are being urged to adopt to help meet the challenges of climate change.

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Behind the scenes of sustainability in winter sport: Tackling challenges and driving change

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Can winter sports be sustainable? As climate change threatens snow seasons and disciplines, sports organisations must act.

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How to deal with the global human sewage problem? | Mongabay Explains

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Cleaning the World’s Oceans – Boyan Slat of The Ocean Cleanup

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We develop and scale technologies to rid the oceans of plastic

Our cleaning technologies are deployed around the world as we conduct the largest cleanup in history. For over ten years, The Ocean Cleanup has been researching, extracting, and monitoring plastic pollution in oceans and rivers globally - with millions of kilograms removed to date.

A planet-sized problem

Trillions of pieces of plastic pollute our oceans today, and the problem is worsening. This plastic has a devastating impact on marine wildlife and ecosystems. Plastics can persist for many decades, continuously degrading into microplastics. These can be ingested by wildlife and later enter the human food chain. Plastic pollution is a global crisis requiring urgent action.

We aim to clean up 90% of floating ocean plastic pollution

The Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit organization developing and scaling technologies to rid the oceans of plastic. To achieve this objective, we use a dual strategy: intercepting plastic in rivers to cut the inflow of pollution, and cleaning up what has already accumulated in the ocean and won't go away by itself. When the oceans are clean, we can put ourselves out of business.

The Ocean Cleanup is cleaning up floating plastics caught swirling in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a plastic accumulation zone with over 100,000,000 kilograms of plastic.

Learn more

To clean the oceans, we also need to stop new trash from flowing into them. By tackling 1000 rivers around the world, we can halt 80% of riverine pollution reaching our oceans.

Learn more

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The Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit organization developing advanced technologies to rid the oceans of plastic. We aim to remove 90% of the floating plastic with the help of ocean cleanup systems and river interception technologies.

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25 Healthy Snacks pairings to maximize nutrition and promote fullness in kids.

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What happens after you flush the toilet?

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What happens after you flush the toilet?

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Find out how sewage gets treated.

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The liquid or solid body waste material taken away and processed.