On this week's news update...

Sea Turtles

Sea turtles make a comeback…

Transforming Jeans

Transforming old jeans…

Winter Weather

And a winter weather prediction!

First up…

Sea Turtles

Sea turtles have been swimming the world's oceans for the last 110 million years!

Unfortunately, in recent decades sea turtle populations have declined. Turtles can be caught up in fishing nets from which they can't escape. And in some countries, people take turtle eggs from their nests on the beach in order to eat them.

Cape Verde

However, on Cape Verde, a group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean, sea turtles are making a remarkable comeback! Since 2015 turtle numbers on the islands have increased from just over 10,000 to almost 200,000.

Conservation efforts have played an important role in protecting turtle populations across the islands. Volunteers regularly patrol the islands' beaches searching for turtle nests. When they find a nest, they carefully measure the adult female to check if she is a healthy size, and then place a small tracker on her. This enables the turtle's movements to be monitored to ensure the turtle returns safely to sea.

Laws have also been introduced on the islands to make it illegal for people to take turtle eggs for food.

These combined efforts have helped the beaches of Cape Verde become an ideal habitat for baby turtles to hatch from their eggs, and head back out to sea to begin their lives beneath the waves!

Next up…

Transforming Jeans

It's Eco Zone!

Over 1 billion pairs of jeans are sold every year! However, producing so many jeans requires a lot of resources.

fertilizer

The cotton used to produce denim is a very thirsty crop. It is estimated that 2,600 liters of water are needed to grow the cotton to make just one pair of jeans. And cotton plants are fed large amounts of fertilizer, growth promoting chemicals, to make them grow more quickly.

Despite so many resources being used to make our bright blue pants, millions of pairs are thrown away each year.

Now, a group of textile designers have come up with a more sustainable solution to save energy, water and material. The jeans are shredded into small clumps of cotton, before being mixed with fresh cotton and transformed into an upcycled sofa cover!

With jeans and many other clothes requiring so many resources to produce, designers are starting to consider how clothes could be reused after we have finished wearing them.

And finally…

Winter Weather

Meteorologists are scientists who study the weather. They work to predict what future weather conditions are likely to be.

meteorologists

Recently, they have predicted that a major weather system is likely to bring unstable conditions to the United States over the coming winter.

La Niña

Known as “La Niña”, the weather system is caused by cold water rising to the surface of the Pacific Ocean near the west coast of America. La Niña will likely bring a warmer than average winter to south-western parts of the United States, such as Nevada and Texas. And colder than average conditions will affect north-eastern states such as New York and New Jersey.

The effects of La Niña could last several months, and may even spur tornado activity in central parts of the country next spring.

Although it's impossible to predict exactly what the weather in the future will be, you may need to pack an extra sweater, or wear some sunscreen, depending on where you're living this winter!

That's all for this week, we'll see you next time!