Good afternoon! Here’s your Wednesday issue of The Green Light.

🐳 How a unique sponsorship model is protecting the ocean

One of the tiniest island states in the world, Niue, has raised over £3m through a unique initiative that allows people and businesses to sponsor its surrounding ocean, at £116 per square kilometre. A hotspot for whales, dolphins, sharks, and other marine life, this cash will be put towards conserving these pristine waters and supporting local economies, which rely largely on fishing. 

‘“It is something different from the normal channels of going to global funds and organisations [for money], and that is because we know the difficulty of accessing those funds,” he says. “This is our initiative and we are proud of it.”’

 👩‍🍼 Why midwives are a climate solution

Working with often vulnerable people at possibly the most momentous occasion of their lives, midwives are on the frontlines of climate change – even in the midst of drought, fires, and floods, the show must go on. In the most climate-vulnerable places around the world, midwives are educating communities about the health impacts of climate change, providing emergency care in the wake of extreme weather, and promoting sustainable practices in healthcare, often with very little resources.

🔋 Turning trash into energy-storing treasure

Scientists at Northwestern University have turned the industrial waste product triphenylphosphine oxide into a storage agent for energy, meaning that it could one day replace metal-based batteries. Many types of these so-called redux flow batteries – which use a chemical reaction to store energy – are in production, but this is the first time they’ve been developed with a waste product, of which thousands of tons are created every year. The battery was tested for 350 cycles and remained in good health.