On a recent blog, I mentioned that my favorite subject when I was in college was Ecology. Today, I have the chance to show you how important and fascinating Ecology is!

For those of you who don’t know, Ecology is a branch of biology that studies the interaction of organisms between each other and their environment.

For a biologist, Ecology is the base to understand how things happen in the environment. It helps us understand how our environment works and the impact that change can have in a community or a place.

Today I’m going to share with you the 3 things you NEED to know about Ecology if you want to become an expert on the Environment!

Number 1: In an Ecosystem, everything is connected

What is an Ecosystem? An Ecosystem describes a single environment and every living (biotic) organism and non-living (abiotic) factor that is contained within it or characterizes it. It also embodies every aspect of a single habitat, including all the interaction between its different elements.

Now that we know what an ecosystem is we can understand how change can affect it. The truth is, an ecosystem, like the word says, is a ‘’natural’’ system and, like in every system, if you take one part out it malfunctions.

Every individual has an important rule in making an ecosystem work. The moment something changes drastically, it becomes very hard for an ecosystem to adapt.

In recent blogs, we have talked about invasive species and deforestation, and I think now it’s easier to understand why these two things are so harmful.

If we introduce an invasive species in an ecosystem, we face the risk of destroying the natural food chain of that habitat. Destroying the food chain can cause serious damages and lead to the death and extinction of the native species of that place.

Deforestation destroys the vegetation of these habitats and the problem with that is that vegetation provides shelter for many different animals. Without shelter, they are forced to leave their habitats and look for a shelter somewhere else.

It’s because of this that it is so important to be mindful of SDG 15 — Life on Land — that aims to halt and prevent ecosystem and biodiversity loss.

Number 2: Ecosystem Services are vital for our survival

Ecosystem Services are the benefits that nature provides to society. And they are actually what makes human life possible.

Last week’s blog talked about the services that trees provide us with and how they are important for us. That’s an example of how we can benefit from ecosystem services.

If that’s not enough for you, according to CGIAR, the total economic value of insect pollination is 150€ billion euros. In other words, farmers around the world save, in total, 150€ billion euros in required pollination.

And we are only looking at agriculture and, in the case of the trees, air pollution. Ecosystem Services are also responsible for flood prevention, water purification, and even disease control.

Much like the topic above, this shows us how important it is to work for SDG 15. Because, in the end, making sure that our ecosystems are working correctly also has a huge impact on other SDGs, such as SDG 13 — Climate action.

Like I mentioned in last week’s blog, trees could provide more than one-third of the CO2 reductions needed to keep global warming below 2 °C through to 2030. This would have a huge impact on halting climate change and, consequently, on SDG 13.

But it will only happen if we are mindful of our ecosystems and don’t destroy them, allowing them to provide us with their services that are so vital.

Number 3: Human activity plays an important rule on Ecosystem Health

Human beings are also animals. As animals and living beings, we are also part of ecosystems and our actions also have an impact on our ecosystems.

Pollution generated by fossil fuels and factories can contaminate the food and water supply and potentially change a food web. Or, as I mentioned before, the introduction of a new species can cause serious damage to an ecosystem! These are just two examples of how our actions can impact our ecosystem and we need a healthy ecosystem if we want to survive.

And, these things, are all caused by humans!

The bright side is: we also have the option of creating a positive impact on ecosystems and that’s what we should do!

Many of the threats that the environment is facing today are caused by human activity. From deforestation to ocean pollution, they are all consequences of our harmful actions.

We can’t live without the nature that surrounds us, and it’s time we take action to fix the problems we have caused!

If you check the Young Person’s Guide, you can find numerous ways to take action for SDGs 13 and 15. From buying eco-friendly products to planting a tree, there’s plenty you can do to help!

Take this lesson on ecology and use your knowledge to create a positive impact that both us and the environment can benefit from!

3 things you NEED to know about Ecology was originally published in Youth for Global Goals on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The other day, as I was taking the bus to go to work, I decided to count how many trees I saw on my way there. I only saw 10.

I live in a big city, so seeing 10 trees seemed to be a pretty reasonable number of trees to see on my 25 minutes trip to work. Nevertheless, it sparked some curiosity in me about the subject, and, being the nerd that I am, I decided to do some research about the topic.

I tried to find how many trees a city should have and I couldn’t find anything specific, but I found how much money trees can save for a city. The numbers are fascinating!

According to research done on ten megacities by Dr. David Nowak of the USDA Forest Service and Scott Maco of Davey, on average, a square Kilometer of tree coverage saved $38 per citizen, annually.

They further explain that, after converting all the data, tree services provided can save a city a median value of $967,000 per square Kilometer of tree coverage.

But how do trees save us money?

The answer: it’s all about the services they provide. In nature, everything serves a purpose and that applies to trees.

Because of their physiological and functional characteristics, they provide us ‘’services’’.

Here on this video, you can learn more about those services:

One of the biggest services that trees provide for us, aside from oxygen production, is CO2 sequestration and storage. Trees are able to capture CO2, as part of their carbon cycle, and they store it in their cellulose cells. A single tree can absorb 48 pounds/21,77Kg of carbon dioxide a year.

According to an article published by nature, trees could provide more than one-third of the CO2 reductions needed to keep global warming below 2 °C through to 2030.

This could be huge for SDG 13- Climate Action. In a report from last year on this SDG, scientists mentioned that greenhouse gas emissions keep rising and they are contributing in full force to Global warming.

We get it, trees are amazing, but what is the real issue?

Trees are amazing and it’s true, more and more cities are becoming more aware of the importance of adapting our architecture projects to include trees in cities.

We can take a look at Singapore, which became the world’s first sustainable Garden City. Approximately 50% of Singapore’s land space is covered in trees and vegetation. Not only is the city amazingly beautiful and magical, but it is also one of the greenest cities in the world combining a big population and the green that we need.

Although at the same time many are following Singapore’s lead, trees are being cut down from the world’s forests at an extremely alarming rate!

In the Amazon rainforest alone, a portion of the same size as a Football field is lost every minute!

To top that, in the last 50 years, we’ve lost approximately 17% of the Amazonian Rainforest! And the number keeps on rising!

So, as you can see, deforestation can have a huge impact on climate change! It’s not enough to add trees to the cities, we also have to stop cutting them down from our forests!

The truth is, destroying forests and cutting down trees also contributes to the growing problem of habitat destruction. The same way trees help us with air pollution, they also provide shelter for wild animals.

Why is habitat destruction a problem? If we want to avoid a future pandemic, scientists believe we have to take action towards this issue.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, it is very likely that, since we are destroying wildlife habitats, we are forcing animals into proximity which then leads them to spread diseases between each other — that they never shared before — and, consequently, they end up spreading them to us because they are also forced to be closer to us.

So, what does this mean for the SDGs?

It means we have to own up to our mistakes and take action. Deforestation doesn’t only affect SDG 13, it also affects SDG 15 — Life on Land.

Deforestation is a big contributor to habitat destruction. SDG 15 aims to achieve sustainable management of all types of forests and halt deforestation. You know, we can’t have Life on Land if we don’t have ecosystems where life can bloom.

It’s a very good thing that we fight to make our cities better, make them more sustainable. Especially because according to data regarding SDG 11 — Sustainable Cities and Communities — 47% of the world’s population lives within 400 meters walking distance to open public places.

And, if this is not shocking enough, air pollution caused 4.2 million premature deaths in 2016!

So it’s mandatory that we take action. You can take action by signing urban development petitions or even commute in a more sustainable way by using public transportation!

Step by step we can make our cities and our planet a better place and it’s up to us to be the change that the world needs!

Facts about trees that will blow your mind was originally published in Youth for Global Goals on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

One of my favorite classes, while I was studying biology in college, was ecology. Ecology is a very cool subject because it allows you to understand more about how our ecosystems work and how important it is to keep them balanced.

My teacher was excellent, and he had this idea where he divided us into groups and we picked a topic and present that topic to the class. My topic was invasive species. That’s what we are going to be talking about today.

What are invasive species?

Invasive species, like the word invasive might suggest, are beings such as plants and animals that are not native to a particular area and can cause great economical and environmental harm to that area.

But are all non-native species invasive? NO. To be an invasive species, they have to be able to reproduce quickly, adapt quickly to the new area, and cause harm to the native plants and animals of the area.

Ok, but how does an invasive species invade the new environment?

They are mostly introduced in the new environment by, you guessed it, humans! Most time this happens by mistake, like how it happened with the Zebra Mussels.

Zebra Mussels are native to the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in Central Asia, and they were accidentally introduced in the great lakes of North America by ships that traveled between the two areas and had them stuck to the boats. The Mussels were first discovered there in 1988.

But they can also be introduced as pest control or pets. A great example of species that were introduced as pest control and ended up becoming invasive is the cat. In 1949, five cats were introduced in South Africa as pest control for mice. By 1977, they had reproduced so much that they became invasive and where threatening the local bird population.

Besides that, people often buy or adopt a certain animal that isn’t native to a region and when they no longer have the means to take care of them, they release them into the wild. Or that animal can also escape captivity.

A very good example of that is the Burmese Python. They are native to southeast Asia and they are often acquired as pets in the USA. Many of these ‘’pets’’ are released by their owners into the Everglades in Florida. Since they have very few to no predators, they are reproducing very fast and endangering the population distribution in the area and is disrupting the natural food chain of the Everglades.

Why is this a bad thing?

According to scientists, invasive species have caused dozens of species to go extinct! Since they destroy, consume, infect, and compete with native species, they’ve led to either the destruction or conversion of certain habits. They are making those habitats harmful and uninviting to the native species.

This is a huge deal because it has a big impact on the already existing problem of species extinction and it’s mostly — almost entirely — caused by us, humans!

It also has a negative impact on SDG 15 — Life On Land — that aims to reduce the degradation of natural habitats and protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species.

What can I do to help?

Eradicating these invasive species can be tricky and, sometimes, do more damage than good if not well monitored. So, our best way to help is prevention!

Here’s a small list of things you can do to help prevent this problem:

• Make sure the plants you are buying and bringing into your home are not invasive. You can use EDDMapS to check if a certain plant or animal is invasive for your city.
• When using a boat, make sure you clean it thoroughly before moving it to another body of water.
• Clean your boots before you go hiking in a different area.
• Don’t take home any animals, plants, shells, firewood, or food from different ecosystems.
• Never release pets into the wild.
• Volunteer at your local park, refuge, or other wildlife areas to help remove invasive species. Most parks also have native species restoration programs.

In the end, these are just small things you can do that have a huge positive impact in preventing this problem from growing!

The truth is, everything we do has some sort of impact in the world around us and it is up to us to have a positive impact on our actions!

Everything you need to know about invasive species was originally published in Youth for Global Goals on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

One of my biggest ambitions in life is to have my own business. I’m a huge fan of history and the idea that a single invention can change the course of history and the world forever fascinates me.

I’m also very into the idea that we need to revamp and rethink the way we create businesses nowadays. I think it is time we start to think out of the box and start to look for ways of turning, let’s say, our waste into something useful.

At the same time, I’m also very worried about our environment and, although I want to be successful and make a lot of money, I’m 100% confident that I can do that while following green policies and working on my own green project.

Because this is such an important topic for me, today we are going to be taking a look into some cool and innovative green businesses that are changing the world.

But, before we do that, I think it’s important for us to understand two concepts: what is the Green Economy and what is the Circular Economy.

Green Economy + Circular Economy

The Green Economy is, basically, the idea that businesses work with low carbon emissions, are resource-efficient, and socially inclusive. It’s an idea that our economy becomes more environment-friendly and is still able to be successful.

How do countries achieve this? According to the UN Environment Programme, countries can achieve that through both funding green business and ideas, and also creating laws that favor those businesses that have a low impact on carbon emissions and pollution.

Through funding these initiatives, governments are not only incentivizing new and old businesses to be greener but they also allow the already green businesses to grow in employment and income!

One thing that comes hand-in-hand with the Green Economy is the Circular Economy.

What is the Circular Economy? Well, the Circular Economy is an economy that promotes the elimination of waste by the continued safe use of natural resources.

Basically, it means that instead of continuously having a ‘’take-make-dispose’’ approach to production and consumption, we start to find ways to reuse and revamp the already existing products.

This could have a huge impact on our waste production and even on our resource use! That’s why the Green Economy and the Circular Economy walk hand-in-hand.

They both have huge impacts on our environment — especially on carbon emissions — and they both bring forward a solution that could actually benefit the world economy up to trillions of dollars.

To help you understand better these concepts, let’s take a look at these 3 very innovative green businesses and understand what they do!

1º Lanzatech: Sky-high profit

What does Lanzatech do? They are all about reducing the greenhouse effect while still making something profitable with it! Sounds cool right?

How do they do it? Well, they recycle carbon!

I know, you are thinking that it is impossible, but it isn’t. Lanzatech uses microbes that capture and reuse waste gases from a variety of sources — like industrial plants and landfills — and they turn them into low carbon products we use every day!

According to their website, by doing this, they have helped to reduce the release, to the atmosphere, of harmful nitrous and sulfur oxides by over 85%.

2. Patagonia: ‘Worn again, and again’

Patagonia is a swimwear/surfwear brand that believes that the ‘’take-make-dispose’’ approach to their products should not be an option!

If you go through their website, they offer an incredible option that most ‘’clothing’’ websites don’t include. You can ask for a repair for your ‘’old’’ Patagonia clothing. Have a hole in your jacket? No problem, they fix it and it looks just as good as new!

And now, they took it a step further! They created a line called Worn Wear. Worn Wear has really helped the company dig into the Circular Economy movement.

Basically, they collect your old Patagonia clothing, and then they decide if the clothing is good to be resold or if it can be used to fix other products. This way, no piece of clothing is wasted and, instead of disposing of an old unused item, we are revamping it.

This has a huge impact on waste production, and is also a great way for you to find discount pieces of clothing that have some sort of history to them! It’s a win-win situation for your wallet and the planet.

3. Peerby: Peer-2-peer sharing

Peerby is another approach to how beneficial the Circular Economy can be!

Peerby is a Dutch app that enables people to rent and borrow the things they need from others in their local area. Need a bike? Maybe one of your neighbors has one to borrow you!

This innovative idea helps us reduce our need to buy new things that we would only use once. It’s great for those who believe in minimalism and it’s great for the environment as well!

Sharing is also a great way to reduce waste production and resource use because if there’s smaller demand then there’s smaller production, therefore we need to use fewer resources.

Now that we took a look into these 3 really cool businesses, there’s still one thing that we haven’t talked about. That thing is:

The importance of green businesses for the SDGs

Well, it doesn’t matter how many times I stress this idea because it is never enough, but everything we do has an impact on the SDGs. And, consequently, the SDGs have a huge impact on the world.

These new ideas and ways of production have a huge impact on SDG 13- Climate Action.

According to a report on this SDG, GreenHouse gas emissions keep on growing! If we don’t take serious action towards reducing these emissions, by 2030, the world’s temperature might go up from 1.5º C to 2ºC. THIS IS VERY CONCERNING!

The rise in the world’s temperature can cause a loss of sea ice, accelerated sea-level rise, and longer, more intense heat waves.

But it’s not just about SDG 13. It’s about all of the SDGs!

The moment we start to impact one of them, we impact all of them! It’s like a domino effect and we need to be aware of this.

I don’t know what the future of the planet is. But I do know that we are the future businessmen and women. It’s our responsibility to do better and to do something about it.

3 innovative green businesses that are changing the world was originally published in Youth for Global Goals on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

One of my favorite movies of all time is Hidden Figures. The movie is based on a true story and follows three African-American women who, during the racial segregation in the United States, in 1961, had very important roles in NASA working for the U.S space program.

It’s an incredible movie filled with interesting topics and it’s very empowering for anyone who has ever been denied an opportunity, either because of their skin color or their gender. It really makes us believe that dreams do come true if we work hard to achieve them.

It is a great movie with great POC (People of Color) characters, but what about all the other movies?

Well, I have to say that things look very different once you look into other movies and series. In fact, Hidden Figures is more of an outcast when it comes to POC representation in Hollywood big Box-office movies.

In 2019, according to a study conducted by the Social Sciences department of UCLA, only 2 out of 10 lead actors in broadcasted scripted television were People of Color!

But why does this happen?

In last week’s blog, I talked about the problem with structural and systematic racism. This is one of the consequences of structural and systematic racism, and of living in a society that can’t recognize that certain behaviors can be harmful to minorities. And further, accentuate the already existing inequalities when it comes to race and skin color.

It’s important to understand that this is not a new problem, it’s a recurring situation that has been going on for years. Besides that, there are certain aspects of this situation that we need to confront to understand why many POC actors felt voiceless for many years.

To understand this problem and why it still remains today, we need to take a look at the bigger picture and explore Hollywood’s and film history with POC representation.

Blackface and YellowFace + Whitewashing

What are Blackface and Yellowface? Well, it’s basically when caucasian actors apply makeup to make themselves look like they belong to another culture or ethnicity on screen.

This ‘’trend’’ appeared in the acting world around 200 years ago and it was often used to mock and stereotype enslaved Africans.

If the concept of someone appropriating a culture and ethnicity they don’t belong in, to mock said culture and ethnicity and why this is insensitive and wrong isn’t clear enough, then here is some background information on how this started.

The origins of Blackface date back to the minstrel shows in the mid-19th century. In one of the original minstrel shows, BlackFace was used to depict a very famous character, Jim Crow, that was an enslaved African in the Southern Plantations and it presented Black people as being lazy, ignorant, and cowardly.

This was such a huge problem that, at the time, according to historians, black actors had to do blackface and play foolish characters because that’s the only thing that white audiences wanted to see from black characters.

This also happened, in the mid-20th century, to Asian Characters. Caucasian actors would be cast to play Asian roles that depicted wrong stereotypes of what an Asian person is.

Asians were often depicted as being unattractive, not speaking English well, owning sketchy stores, and always knowing martial arts.

All of this is demeaning and harmful to both these ethnicities and cultures. Not only that but it also discouraged many POC actors who were many times led to believe that they would never be good enough to belong to this world of acting.

This also contributed a lot to the growing problem of racism and structural racism because it emphasizes the wrongful idea that only white people are competent and capable of understanding and developing the world in the right direction. Almost as if not being white is a ticket to be incompetent and only worth for laughs.

You would think that, by now, we would have eliminated all these kinds of practices, right?

Apparently, we like repeating the same mistakes because, in the most recent years, a new ‘’trend’’ has come up in the movie industry that is just as harmful.

It’s called whitewashing. This term is used to describe a situation where a character from a book, a cartoon, or a game is a person of color but in the movie adaption, the actor playing the character is white.

Basically, it’s when in movies they turn colored characters into white characters. I’ve seen this in a not so old movie starring Scarlet Johansson. The movie is called Ghost in the Shell and Johansson plays the lead character, who is supposed to be Japanese in the original animated film.

I know it doesn’t seem as bad as the cultural appropriation that comes with Black and Yellow facing, but it’s just as harmful. It harms POC representation in movies.

Can you imagine looking forward to seeing a female lead that looks like you in an action movie only to have that taken away because the lead role was handed to someone who doesn’t represent your culture?

I can’t imagine that because, as a privileged white woman, I see myself being represented often in movie screens. But that isn’t the reality for everyone, and that’s not ok!

I hope that, while reading this, you noticed that I have been talking about stereotypes because that’s our next topic of discussion.

Another very important thing when we talk about POC representation is racial Stereotyping.

Racial Stereotypes

What is a Stereotype? According to the Cambridge Dictionary, it’s ‘’a set idea that people have about what someone or something is like, especially an idea that is wrong’’.

Racial Stereotypes are often set ideas about a specific group of people based on their culture or ethnicity.

There are certain stereotypes that we frequently see in movies and television shows that are constantly being perpetuated. And they are harmful to the people they represent.

For example, in almost every movie where a Latino character is depicted, they are from a generic part of Latin America, they have a troubled home and they are often seen as very straight forward and thoughtful. Latina women are often portrayed as being sexy, unmarried, with a child, and ‘’bossy’’.

Or, if you consider any Asian in a movie, they know martial arts, they own a sketchy store and they often are portrayed as nerdy and unattractive.

These are just two examples. Do you really think they are accurate with the reality that they represent?

I remember that when I was in 3rd grade there was a Chinese boy that joined my class. His parents moved to Portugal from China looking for better job opportunities and he happened to come to my school.

The reason that I am bringing this up is that, a few days before he came into our class, my teacher sat us down and started introducing the topic. She said we would have a new student and that he was different from us.

She explained that he was from a different country so he might have some trouble with the language and she proceeded to say this: ‘’But don’t worry class, he’s Chinese and it’s like we see in movies, he’ll do great in math. He probably is already ahead of all of you’’.

Why is it important to mention this? A grown woman teaching a class of 8-year-olds relied on a racial stereotype to make light-hearted humor about the fact that we were welcoming a Chinese student. This is absolutely not ok!

Not only is it harmful to the communities that are being represented by these stereotypes, but it’s also extremely dangerous for movie representation of these cultures.

It’s like what happened with blackface, when you start to watch a series with a character who looks different you will be expecting this character to follow under a certain stereotype. That shouldn’t happen!

We need to normalize the idea that people who aren’t white and who don’t belong to a majority can play non-stereotypical roles. That they deserve to be represented just as people rather than Stereotyped people. Enough is enough!

Ok, but how can I fight this problem?

Well, the first and very easy thing you can do is educate yourself. It’s ok to not know everything about every single topic, but that doesn’t give you a free pass to not learn about certain topics when they are brought up to you.

This blog is a very good start but you should look for more information. There is this really good TED Talk that really helps you understand the privilege of opening a book and relating to all the characters there. And it helps you understand how it feels to not feel represented.

Besides that, there are some really good movies and series that you can watch, with POC, leads and produced and written by POC, that are just incredibly amazing.

From Black writer and producer Jordan Peele, you have the movie Get Out, an amazing thriller movie that explores racism in an incredible way. You can also watch his other thriller movie, US, that, not only is musically excellent but also shines a light on oppression and some other important topics.

If you are not into thrillers and like to laugh every now and then, there’s Crazy Rich Asians which welcomes you to the world of Asian traditions in a funny and light-hearted way. You can also watch Black-ish who shows you the struggles a Black man faces in raising his black kids in a predominantly white upper-middle-class neighborhood.

If like me, you also like to have some food for thought when watching a series, Dear White People is an amazing option. The series not only explores police brutality, white privilege, and racism, but it also portrays the struggles and the positioning of Youth on these matters.

For those who like true crime documentaries, there’s When They See Us, it’s about a group of five young black boys who were wrongfully accused of committing a crime in Central Park. It’s really interesting and it’s also based on a true story, which makes it even more heartbreaking.

Also, for you, my Netflix lovers, here are four shows that can educate you on black oppression and racism: Explained: The Racial Wealth Gap (you can watch it if you click the link), Time: The Kalief Browder Story, 13th, and Who Killed Malcolm X?.

Another really cool series that delves into the problem of stereotypes and how they can be harmful is Master of None. The series follows the life of an Indian actor in New York and his struggles to find a job in the acting world as an Indian man.

Gentefied is also a great option if you want to have a look at how life is for Latinxs in America and also have a privileged look into the Latino culture.

Now, to another important question, how will this help the SDGs?

Much like last week’s blog, this has a huge impact on SDG 10 — Reduce Inequalities!

The more we share and allow these kinds of stereotypes and behaviors to come into our houses and spread into our society, the hardest it will be to beat certain inequalities.

We need to understand that skin color, ethnicity and culture can’t be deciding factors when it comes to opportunities. We are all the same species. We all have the power to be whoever we want to be.

It’s extremely unfair that a big chunk of the world’s population lives either in fear or not believing that they’ll ever be worth the same opportunities as a white person.

SDG 10 aims to achieve a world where we are equal. Where someone doesn’t have to worry about their skin color or sexual orientation.

I don’t know what the future holds for me or for you, but I do know that I don’t want to live in a world where I have to live in fear for my friends or my children’s lives because of their skin color.

Enough is enough and we own ourselves and the future generations a society that is fair, equal, and just.

Hollywood: a complete guide to POC representation was originally published in Youth for Global Goals on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Have you ever heard about the veil of ignorance? The veil of ignorance is the answer, proposed by philosopher John Rawls, to make unbiased decisions about a moral and ethical problem.

But, how does the Veil of ignorance work?

Imagine that, all your life, you’ve been using a pair of pink glasses so you’ve always seen the world in several different shades of pink. Although the world is not pink, you don’t know that, because, due to the glasses, you’ve never seen its true color.

What this means is: because of the circumstances of the environment you grew up in, you are unaware that other people lived a different experience growing up in the same world as you did.

I feel like, lately, we have all been living under a really big veil of ignorance.

Why have we been living under a big veil of ignorance?

In case you don’t know, there is a lot going on right now because of systemic racism.

George Floyd was a 47-year-old black man that was brutally killed by four police officers after being accused of trying to use a fake 20 dollar bill.

His death was the culprit to several different protests against police brutality, not only in the USA, but around the world. Not only that, but it also sparked a worldwide conversation about racism and what that entitles.

With the spark of this conversation, I realized how out of touch and unaware some people are about the reality that many others live every day. We are so unaware that it took a wrongful death (after so many others that have happened) to spark such an important conversation again.

Because, as I mentioned before on a previous blog, I refuse to live and raise my future children in an unequal and unfair world, I decided that I was going to break down some of the major problems I’ve found while all of this was happening.

White Privilege: What it is and what that entitles

I went on twitter and I asked young people what their opinion on White Privilege was. This is what they had to say:

There’s a lot to unpack here. The first thing we should unpack is the meaning of privilege.

Privilege is, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, ‘’an advantage that only one person or group of people has, usually because of their position or because they are rich’’.

What does this mean? It means that, in certain situations, something like your wealth, your gender, or even your skin color can make you privileged.

So, when we talk about White Privilege, we are talking about the privilege that is given to white people because of their skin color.

For example, ley’s take a look at the Pay Gap between men and women. Even though both white and black women are affected by the pay gap, women of color still earn 21% less than white females do.

You see, even in a situation where women struggle, the color of their skin can make them struggle even more.

If it is still not clear to you how people benefit from their skin color, this is a really good example to help you understand:

But why does this happen? How can I have all this privilege and not acknowledge it?

Well, it happens because, if you are white, you are part of a majority that benefits from the privilege that being part of that majority gives you. And it’s hard to understand other realities when we know we would never be under those circumstances.

It also happens because of racism and structural racism and all that that entitles.

So, what is racism and structural racism and what does that mean for the world?

I’m Portuguese and, for a really long time in school, I was taught that Portugal was the greatest country in the world because we ‘’ discovered’’ Brazil, Mozambique, Angola, and so many other countries.

I learned in school about colonization and slavery but I was never taught about the consequences of that. We were taught as if we were the saviors of the world and these people in all these countries. Since they had a different culture, imposing ours, ‘’that was better’’ than theirs was a good thing, right? Wrong!

Of course, it isn’t a good thing! Especially because this contributed a lot to the growing problem of structural racism.

But, what is structural racism? Structural racism is ‘’the normalization and legitimization of an array of dynamics — historical, cultural, institutional, and interpersonal — that routinely advantage whites while producing cumulative and chronic adverse outcomes for people of color’’.

What’s wrong about this? Well, it means that we don’t see dangerous stereotypes about people of color that are wrong and further contribute to them being denied the same opportunities that white people do.

Ok, but why is this a problem?

Well, it’s a problem because people shouldn’t be denied opportunities because of their skin color or culture or nationality. We should be denied opportunities because we are not qualified and never because of something we can’t control.

If we are trying to fight for a fairer and just world, we can’t keep on perpetuating behaviors that favor people because of their skin color.

What can I do with my privilege?

First, we can educate ourselves on the subject. It’s very important to be informed and to understand what the problem is so we don’t spread misinformation. It’s also important to stop these kinds of ideas:

We can access information with the click of a finger in this era of digital technology. Information is everywhere and it’s extremely important to educate yourself even if you grew up in an environment that was racist.

We can also empower the silenced voices of the people who need to be heard. Like this person said on my twitter thread.

You can also sign petitions. You can access this link where you will find a compilation of several different petitions that you can sign to help this problem and to help change the world.

Besides that, you can also buy from Black-owned businesses, don’t support racist brands, call out inequalities, and even hire people of color if you ever are in a position that allows you to do that.

Last question: How will this help the SDGs?

The 2030 Agenda was created to make the world better for everyone. To tackle problems that are structural in our society and need to be fixed in order to allow our planet to strive.

The 10th Sustainable Development Goal — Reduced Inequalities — aims to do just that, reduce inequalities, make us equal.

The first time I worked with this SDG, I thought it was only about people who were unfavored because they either had a disease or another health condition that made them different and made it harder for them to have access to opportunities. But then I realized that inequalities can also be your gender or your skin color. Because, unfortunately, those things still make it harder for some people to have access to different opportunities.

One of the targets of SDG 10 is to achieve equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies, and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies, and action in this regard.

We will only be able to achieve this if we start to demystify and destroy structural problems that constantly hurt people who are not part of a majority.

It is ok to be white, but we need to acknowledge that privilege and use it to help those who are suffering. It is important that we use our privilege so that, in the future, we won’t have to be here discussing what privilege is.

In the end, we all benefit from a world that is fair and just and we should do more to achieve a world that we are proud to call our home.

White privilege and racism are real and we need to do something about was originally published in Youth for Global Goals on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

When I was in High School I had a Philosophy teacher who often encouraged us to discuss our opinions on several different topics. And I will never forget the class where we discussed, for the first and last time, homosexuality.

I don’t remember what led to the topic but I remember how one of my classmates said something along the lines of: ‘’If I had a son that was gay, I wouldn’t accept him until he turned straight. If that never happens, then he would not be my son’’.

The discussion went on and on about how that would be neglect and how he would love his son too much to do something like that.

I asked to speak and I said: ‘’It’s called sexual orientation and not sexual choice. You don’t choose the gender of the people you love and feel attracted to. Same-gender relationships are just as normal as heterosexual relationships’’.

Just as I said this I was brutally shut up by the teacher, as if I had said the most stupid thing in the world. So much so that everyone laughed at my argument. It was a joke for weeks. That’s why I remember this moment so vividly.

It has been five years since this incident and I still remember it like it was yesterday. How can I forget that my classmates, in 2015, at the age of 16, were quicker to judge me for defending a minority than our classmate that judged someone for their sexuality?

I guess it was hard for some people to understand that, just because they are part of a majority, that doesn’t make them ‘’normal’’ and on the right.

I wish that I could tell you that, in the five years that followed that event, things have changed. But they haven’t.

Can you imagine being denied food during a pandemic, because your same-sex relationship doesn’t fit someone’s definition of family?

Because that’s the reality of Rhed Francisco, a Philipino woman who was denied food at a food bank because they didn’t recognize her relationship with a woman, as a family.

Did you know that there are only 29 countries in the world where same-sex marriage is legal? That’s concerning considering there are over 100+ countries in the world!

Since many countries in the world don’t recognize same-sex marriage, people who share a different sexuality are often victims of prejudice and are denied access to things such as medical care and even food for their families.

According to a report from OutRight, during this pandemic, LGBTQ+ people around the globe have been more severely impacted by COVID-19 because of their sexuality. OutRight also points out that people who are part of the LGBTQ+ community are being denied access to healthcare, safety, and livelihoods.

A few weeks ago we talked about privilege during a health crisis, it never even occurred to me, while sitting on my high-horse of privilege, that my sexuality may give me access to BASIC HUMAN NEEDS that are DENIED to some people who have a different sexual orientation.

As a white, cisgender, heterosexual woman living in a peaceful and safe country, it sometimes is hard to understand the levels of my privilege. I guess it might be hard for other privileged people to see it too sometimes. That’s why we need these kinds of reality checks.

Just because we have never lived this harsh reality, that doesn’t mean we can live in the wrong idea that everyone knows the world as we do. That’s simply unrealistic.

SDG 10 — Reduced Inequalities aims to achieve a world with equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies, and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies, and action in this regard. I really hope we can achieve a world where this is possible!

Scotland is already leading the way for change. In this country, it is now required that LGBTQ+ issues are taught in schools. And Costa Rica just became the first Central American country to legalize same-sex marriage.

All of this is great but we need to keep fighting and speaking more about these topics! Change is important and we should be demanding change to happen now!

We are the future of this planet and, as the future parents of the future generations, we have an obligation to make this world a better place! I refuse to raise my future children in a world where love is judged based on gender.

Enough is enough and change is long overdue. Can I count on you to make a difference?

How your sexuality can make you privileged was originally published in Youth for Global Goals on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

This week we celebrate World Environment Day! World Environment Day has been happening every year, on June 5th, since 1974, and is used for engaging governments, businesses, celebrities, and citizens to focus their efforts on a pressing environmental issue.

Unfortunately, this year we can’t strike for the climate or go out in the wild to see it and celebrate it. We have to stay at home where it’s safe and do nothing.

So you want us to stay home and do nothing? But, aren’t you constantly telling us to take action?

Yes, I want you to stay home and do nothing because ‘’ doing nothing’’ can actually help the environment! Yeah, that’s right!

Today I am bringing you 5 ways you can help the environment by doing nothing!

1 — Don’t eat as much meat!

Did you know animal products are responsible for 15% of greenhouse gas emissions? Yeah, that’s right.

The amount of methane livestock releases into the atmosphere is equivalent to emitting 3.1 gigatonnes extra of carbon dioxide every year!!

Methane and Carbon dioxide are both gases related to the greenhouse effect. If you don’t know what the greenhouse effect is, it’s a process that occurs when the gases in the atmosphere trap the sun’s heat making the earth a lot warmer.

The greenhouse effect is a normal process that needs to occur in order to maintain the earth’s temperature and it is what makes it livable. However, due to human activity, it’s changing and the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is contributing to global warming.

Like you can see in this graphic one of the top 10 ways to reduce your carbon footprint is switching to a vegan diet.

Overall, reducing your meat intake will directly affect greenhouse gas emissions and, therefore, it will affect global warming in a positive way.

You will also be contributing to SDG 13- Climate Action that aims to end climate change and reduce the impacts caused by it.

2- Don’t hoard

How many times have you found yourself keeping things just because they might come in handy? How many times have you bought more food than you were planning just because there was a sale?

Well, I can tell you that I’ve done both of those things multiple times in the past — and I still fall into this trap sometimes — but, the truth is that avoiding this hoarding behavior is very good for the environment.

Food hoarding can lead to food waste if you don’t consume all the items you bought before they go bad. As we have talked before food wasting is a huge problem!

Besides that, hoarding can turn your house into a small dumpster and, if you don’t dispose of your accumulated items properly through recycling, you will be adding to the landfill problem.

Landfills are also big contributors to the greenhouse effect because, like livestock, they produce a lot of methane that is released in big quantities to the atmosphere.

All of this has a huge impact on the SDGs!

Just like reducing your meat intake, if you stop hoarding you will also be contributing a lot to SDG 13- Climate Action.

Not only that but, it hoarding also has a huge impact on SDG 12 — Responsible production and Consumption — that aims to both halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and sustainably reduce waste generation.

And, overall, it also has a huge impact on SDG 2 — Zero Hunger that aims to achieve sustainable food production and distribution systems.

3- Don’t throw out your Leftovers

How many times have you cooked more food than you could eat? Well, I used to do that all the time when I first started to live alone.

But, what do you do with all those leftovers? I hope you are not trashing them because, if you are, you are adding to the already existing problem of food wasting.

According to the World Food Programme, 1.3 Billion tons of food are wasted in the word! Being more mindful of our food intake has a huge impact on SDG 2 — No Hunger, which aims to end hunger and ensure access to safe food for everyone, all year round, by 2030.

It’s really important that you learn to love your leftovers because it’s not that hard! If you don’t feel like eating the same thing every day, you can look up this incredible website that has amazing ideas on how to turn your leftovers into completely new dishes!

Not only will you be eating something different, but you will also be taking action for SDG 2 while not leaving the comfort of your home!

4- Don’t use single-use tableware

So, how many single-use straws do you have in your kitchen from the many times you order a take-out? How many napkins would you have if you didn’t throw them away? And maybe even some forks and spoons?

Well, let’s be real, we all have plenty of these single-use items. But that has to change!

Single-use items such as straws or disposable forks and spoons end, in most cases, in the ocean, where they are very harmful to marine life. In 2018, at a beach cleanup, volunteers collected, in just one day, 2 million single-use tableware.

It’s very harmful to SDG 14 — Life Below Water that aims to prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds.

How can you fix this? It’s easy! Just ask your take-out services not to include any disposable items such as forks, napkins, and straws. Instead, you can just use your own silverware that you already have at home.

Another great alternative is cooking it yourself, that way you won’t be needing disposable items any time soon!

5- Don’t buy any more plastic water bottles

Did you know that, on average, humans buy 1,000,000 plastic bottles per minute? That’s a lot of plastic bottles for just one single minute!

Just like the disposable items mentioned above, most of these plastic bottles end up in our oceans where they end up causing a lot of harm to marine life.

A great way to overcome this problem is by switching to a reusable water bottle! Yes, that’s right! It is that simple!

Besides that, there’s a trend going around where people are customizing their water bottles which could also be a good thing to occupy your time during this social distancing!

In the end, all of these are really small things that have a huge impact on the planet!

We need to start to recognize that, sometimes, just changing some of our old habits can have a huge impact on the planet and completely change it for the better.

Sometimes we fear that small action is the same as doing nothing but, frankly, it’s the small actions that make the difference. Next time you want to do one of these things, just don’t!

So, stay home and safe and do ‘’nothing’’ while still helping our planet.

5 ways YOU can help the environment by doing NOTHING was originally published in Youth for Global Goals on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

For the past few weeks, we have been talking about how the world is changing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There’s been a lot of ‘’good news’’ surfing the internet about how social distancing is helping the climate change problem. According to the World Economic Forum, just in China, CO2 emissions have decreased by 25% — which is huge!

Unfortunately, this means nothing if we don’t tackle climate change during the recovery of COVID-19. Which means we have to take action!

Taking action for the climate made me think about the things we’ve learned during this pandemic about Climate Action. Because, if you think about, if we are seeing some really drastic changes for the climate that means that we are, somehow, taking action.

I think our first lesson came with Doctor Jane Goodall’s message. Protecting Wildlife Habitats is a priority.

Lesson 1: Protecting Wildlife Habitats is more important than we thought it was!

In a statement to National Geographic, Doctor Jane Goodall defended that we need to take action to protect wildlife habitats.

She goes further on to explain that, as we destroy these habitats, we force different species into proximity — not only between themselves but also with humans — exposing us and them to pathogens that can have highly unwanted effects — like COVID-19.

If this is not enough for you, a team of researchers led by Christine Kreuder Johnson of the One Health Institute at the University of California, just proved that some of the new diseases that have jumped from animals to humans can be traced back to changes in the land or wildlife hunting.

This calls for immediate action if we want to prevent future pandemics and if we want to preserve our Wildlife, according to TIME.

It is also very important that we take this topic seriously because of SDG 15 — Life on land. SDG 15, foresees the reduction of the degradation of natural habitats. So, it’s very important that we take this Lesson seriously.

Jumping to Lesson number 2, I think we need to take a look at this blog I wrote about the future of the World’s Economy. In this blog, I talk about renewable energies and the green economy and I’m 100% confident that’s lesson 2.

Lesson 2: Governments need to invest in renewable energies and the green economy!

If you don’t know who Jennifer Morgan is, she is a scientist and she works at Greenpeace.

According to her, in a recent statement to the World Economic Forum, Morgan defended that Governments should invest in sustainable and green energies.

One of the ways she says that Governments could do that, is by funding the renewable energy switch. According to her, the switch could be a great way to help the world’s decarbonization.

If you don’t know, decarbonization is the act of ‘’reducing the socioeconomic carbon inputs or the greenhouse gas emissions of CO2 or CH4’’. This has a huge impact on the greenhouse effect and, consequently, on climate change.

But, if this is not enough for you, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency, this transformation in energy production could create 42 million jobs worldwide.

Besides all of this, the switch to renewable energies represents a step forward for SDG 7 — Affordable and Clean Energy, which foresees the switch to more sustainable energy sources by 2030.

After this, I think we are ready for Lesson number 3. Lesson number 3 was given to us by the legend herself, Climate Activist Greta Thunberg. And it’s about crisis management.

Lesson 3: Governments CAN act fast in a Crisis!

In an online interview with Thomson Reuters Foundation, Greta mentions that ‘’ The Corona Virus is a terrible event… But it also shows one thing: That once we are in a crisis, we can act to do something quickly, act fast’’. And that is true.

Over the past couple of months, we have seen governments all around the world take quick action towards the Corona Virus crisis and dealing with it like pros. So, this comes to show that we are in fact prepared to deal with a crisis.

Do you know what is a big crisis that has been going on for years? Climate Change.

I think that now that we know that our governments can take serious action towards crises, it’s time we demand — while recovering from this pandemic — that they take similar bold moves towards the huge problem that is climate change.

According to a report on SDG 13- Climate Action, GreenHouse emissions keep on growing! If we don’t take serious action towards reducing these emissions, by 2030, the world’s temperature might go up from 1.5º C to 2ºC. THIS IS VERY CONCERNING!

One of the reasons why most people don’t believe that there is a problem with the climate is because they are not educated on the consequences of climate change. That needs to change, fast!

As human beings, we need to see the impact of our actions to understand how bad a situation is. That’s one of the reasons why many people can’t understand why climate change is a crisis. Because we don’t see the impact in numbers, every day.

This pandemic is helping us be more conscious about the climate and how we can change the world we live in by doing simple things, and we need to take advantage of that.

Right now, it’s very important that we spread awareness about this topic and, a great way to do that, is by sharing this blog.

Besides that, next week, on June 5th, we will be celebrating World Environment day! This is a great opportunity for you to connect even more with the environment and start taking action!

3 Climate Action Lessons we learned during this pandemic was originally published in Youth for Global Goals on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

At the start of the year I shared with you a guide to (sustainably) decluttering your life. Today, we are going to take a look at what minimalism is and I’m going to give you 3 Easy Steps to Live a More minimalistic life.

To start and, for those of you who don’t know, minimalism is a lifestyle where people rid themselves of things that they don’t need in order to live a life more focused on only owning what is necessary. As Marie Kondo puts it, it’s living a life where you only own and buy what sparks you with joy.

Ok, but how can minimalism be relevant in my life?

Let’s picture this scenario: you have a jam-packed schedule for this week, you know you have a test by Friday and, somehow, you need to find time to study for that same exam. What do you do?

You look through your schedule and you clear out all the things that you can either postpone or not do at all. Basically, what you are doing is cleaning out what you don’t need in order to focus on what is really necessary.

Once you start to recognize the things that you don’t need, you start to live a life that is more focused on what is necessary.

In my journey to a more minimalist lifestyle, I was able to use this concept in order to be more financially sustainable. Once you start to be more aware of what you need and what you don’t, it also starts to be more clear to you the money you could be saving.

Using a minimalist way of thinking helped me to, so far, save enough money to pay a year of college tuition in just 6 months.

So, it can be really helpful!

Right, can you tell us the 3 Easy Steps To Live a More Minimalist Life now? I’m super eager to change to a more sustainable lifestyle!

Of course, I can!

So, we don’t drastically change our lifestyles from day-to-night. Like Donkey says in Shrek, change “is like an onion, it has layers’’. That applies to minimalism as well.

There are different ‘’layers’’ that you go through when you opt for this new way of living. And, today, I’m going to share with you what the 3 Easy steps to Live a More Minimalistic Life are!

Step 1: Set your rules for minimalism

I know that it sounds odd that you get the chance to choose the rules for your minimalist lifestyle, but it’s very important that you do.

Minimalism can have several different levels and, if you don’t set the rules for yourself, you can feel trapped and unhappy living like that. And that can lead to you switching back to your old habits.

So, you should start by deciding what you are willing to let go of, while always having in consideration that the idea of being more minimalistic is to be more sustainable.

It’s also important to understand that sustainability is not only about the environment. Being sustainable is also about living a life that you are able to sustain over a certain period of time.

Step 2: Decluttering (sustainably)

For those of you who don’t know, decluttering is the act of ridding ourselves from the things that we don’t need.

Decluttering is the second step to a more minimalistic lifestyle because it helps you let go of all the things that you don’t need. It’s basically a great way to let go of that extra weight that is pulling you down from being more focused on the things that make you happier.

But there’s one thing that you need to have into consideration: sustainability. Decluttering can be very unfriendly to our environment if you just throw out all of the items you don’t want anymore.

If you want to learn a little bit about how to declutter sustainably, you can click here and read a complete guide to do just that.

Step 3: Revamp and Re-use

I know, it sounds weird that revamping and reusing items can actually help you have a more minimalist life. But it does!

Revamping and re-using are actually great ways to help you give a new life to things you already own, rather than buying new ones.

This is also a great way to reduce your clutter and waste, which ultimately helps decrease your footprint. And this is a great thing for our planet.

Now that you have the three steps to become a minimalist, I think there is one question left to answer.

How does having a more minimalistic lifestyle help the SDGs?

I’m glad I get to answer this question.

Minimalism is all about being more mindful of our ‘’stuff’’ consumption. It’s about knowing when to recognize what we really need and what we don’t. Being mindful that what we consume has a huge impact on our planet.

For example, the more mindful we are about the food we eat, the easier it is for us to reduce our food waste.

According to the World Food Programme, 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted in the world. That’s enough food to feed all the hungry people in the world.

A world where we don’t waste food is a world where we are working towards SDG 2 — No Hunger, that aims to end hunger and ensure access to safe food to everyone, all year round, by 2030.

Being mindful of our clothing choices has a huge impact on SDG 12 — Responsible Consumption and Production.

I’ve talked about this before here, but it takes approximately 20,000 liters of water to produce just one pair of jeans and a t-shirt. That is a lot of water.

SDG 12 aims to achieve sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.

Can you imagine the impact that changing to a more minimalistic lifestyle and opting to reduce your clothing consumption might have on SDG 12?

Besides that, as you know, the SDGs are all connected. For example, both these SDGs have an impact on SDGs 13 — Climate Action. And, SDG 2 alone, can have a huge impact on SDG 4 — quality education and SDG 10 — Reduced Inequalities.

The truth is, everything we do has an impact on the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda. That’s why switching to more sustainable and minimal lifestyles is important.

Being in tune with what our planet needs is a very brave way to ensure a better future for us and the next generations. Be mindful and remember that we are in this journey together, every step of the way.

3 Easy Steps to Live a More Minimalistic Life was originally published in Youth for Global Goals on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.