As another coal-fuelled ‘airpocalypse’ engulfs northern China, Nut Brother hopes his ‘smog bricks’ will raise awareness
His idol is Subcomandante Marcos, the masked Mexican rebel; his weapon of choice a 1,000-watt vacuum cleaner.
Meet Nut Brother, the Chinese activist-artist attempting to vanquish toxic smog by sucking it up through a black plastic nozzle.. As the latest coal-fuelled “airpocalypse” engulfed northern China this week and world leaders gathered in Paris to debate the fight against climate change, Nut Brother hit the streets of Beijing hoping to raise awareness of his country’s deadly smog crisis.
For the last 100 days, the activist, whose real name is Wang Renzheng, has used the industrial appliance to extract dust and other lung-choking pollutants from the city’s atmosphere before transforming them into a dark brown “smog brick”.
“I want to show this absurdity to more people,” Wang, 34, said on Tuesday as pollution levels in the Chinese capital soared to levels 40 times higher than those deemed safe by the World Health Organisation.
“I want people to see that we cannot avoid or ignore this problem [and] that we must take real action.”
The Goldman Environmental Prize honors grassroots environmental heroes from the world’s six inhabited continental regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands & Island Nations, North America, and South & Central America. The Prize recognizes individuals for sustained and significant efforts to protect and enhance the natural environment, often at great personal risk. The Goldman Prize views “grassroots” leaders as those involved in local efforts, where positive change is created through community or citizen participation in the issues that affect them.
A public interest lawyer and mother of two, Zuzana Caputova spearheaded a successful campaign that shut down a toxic waste dump that was poisoning the land, air and water in her community, setting a precedent for public participation in post-communist Slovakia.
In one of the most dangerous countries in the world for environmental activists, Leng Ouch went undercover to document illegal logging in Cambodia and exposed the corruption robbing rural communities of their land, causing the government to cancel large land concessions.
A subsistence farmer in Peru’s northern highlands, Máxima Acuña stood up for her right to peacefully live off her own property, a plot of land sought by Newmont and Buenaventura Mining to develop the Conga gold and copper mine.
In a community whose environmental rights had long been sidelined to make room for heavy industry, Destiny Watford inspired residents of a Baltimore neighborhood to defeat plans to build the nation’s largest incinerator less than a mile away from her high school.
Luis Jorge Rivera Herrera helped lead a successful campaign to establish a nature reserve in Puerto Rico’s Northeast Ecological Corridor—an important nesting ground for the endangered leatherback sea turtle—and protect the island’s natural heritage from harmful development.
Edward Loure led a grassroots organization that pioneered an approach that gives land titles to indigenous communities—instead of individuals—in northern Tanzania, ensuring the environmental stewardship of more than 200,000 acres of land for future generations.
Up to three-quarters of fish sampled from the River Thames have been found to have plastic fibres in their gut.
The Royal Holloway study was small and looked at just two species - but it highlights, say scientists, the pressing issue of plastic waste in London's great waterway.
It wants public support to stop plastic from getting into the Thames.
The PLA has teamed with other groups, including the charity Thames21, to ask people to "Do The Right Thing" and make sure any rubbish they have goes securely into a bin.
"This is not just a problem along the river; it's affected by litter from across London," explained the authority's environment manager, Tanya Ferry.
"So you might discard plastic near Buckingham Palace or Selfridges but if it gets into the drains, those drains could potentially discharge into the Thames and carry those plastic pieces with them."
The PLA has 16 barges positioned on the river to catch floating debris. Called "passive driftwood collectors", these devices are increasingly catching plastic, not fallen tree branches.
Some 400 tonnes of rubbish are being caught annually, and while that mass has stayed fairly stable over time, its volume has shot up, indicating that discarded plastic is on the rise.
Suzanne and I spent the weekend catching up with one of her old friends who is living in West Virginia. He is a traveling doctor. We enjoyed showing him our home, taking two nice hikes in nearby areas and showing him water falls. We parted company in Asheville after doing a walking tour that allowed us to see the different architecture and discover some of the history of the city. It was a fun morning and early afternoon.
He was a great source of information on modern day travel and communications via internet and cell phone. We explored together how to address the insect population we will encounter in South Africa and started getting prices on the cost to properly equip ourselves.
Suzanne and he shared professional opinions on the status of medical care in the United States and we all shared our opinions of the state of the world.
We came home via the Blue Ridge Parkway and looked for rainbows. The clouds skirted up the mountain side and around the peaks as we drove around curves and looked out across the landscape below.
The week ended with receiving word I now have a part time position doing demonstrations at Walmart and Sam's Club. I will one of those people showing off new products. It is here in town and will allow Su Suzanne and I to help with child care once a month.
I learned how to change the well water filter by climbing into the well house after watching a couple of videos and help from a neighbor who offered to figure it out together. It truly was not that difficult once in there and actually doing it.
Suzanne and I worked on the yard trimming the bushes and trees. We are working on how to leave the house and continue maintenance while away for our time in South Africa. It is all coming together.
Life is resolving itself and Suzanne and I are enjoying preparing for our adventure.
