Here’s today’s good climate and environment news.

🌧️ The benefits of climate pessimism

One of the often-cited roles of the climate movement is to inspire hope – since, the thinking goes, this will galvanise people to action. Yet it can often have the opposite effect, making people feel like it’s OK to take a back seat.

In fact, it’s people who are distressed and scared about climate change, rather than those who feel hopeful, who are more likely to be driven to action. So, if things seem really bleak, the upside is it might spur the changes we need.

🍅 How food banks fight climate change

Every day, one billion meals are wasted – more than enough to feed the number of people who go hungry. By redirecting food that would otherwise go to landfill, food banks can simultaneously tackle both hunger and the environmental problem of food waste, which releases the potent greenhouse gas methane as it rots. The Global FoodBanking Network estimates that every one of its food banks in Mexico and Ecuador avert emissions equivalent to taking 906 cars off the road every year.

 📖 Telling the stories of the foods facing extinction

Around the world, foods by small-scale producers are at risk of extinction – from breeds of cattle and pigs to vegetables, cheeses, and grains. To combat the risk these traditional foods will be lost forever, the Slow Food Movement has been building a crowdsourced catalogue called The Ark of Taste since 1996. As well as keeping the stories of these unique and culturally significant foods alive, the catalogue connects producers with consumers so that they can be rediscovered.