Lottery winner donates €200 million to environmental charity 

The winner of €200 million EuroMillions jackpot of 2020 has used his prize money to found an environmental charity that seeks to preserve existing forests and increase biodiversity. The anonymous winner wrote in a letter that he was inspired to act after the unebbing tide of forestry trucks in the Ivory Coast. As such, he has decided to name the foundation “Anyama”, after the city in Ivory Coast. He also wrote, “So that’s what I’m doing today by creating Anyama, which acts for the benefit of the common good of all, with one watchword: protect the living.” 

England’s sorry state 

The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP), established in 2021 to hold the government to account, has reported that existing laws have failed to reduce environmental damage to land, air, and water. Execution of the 25-year environment plan, introduced in 2018, has been poor, says the OEP, “Our rivers are in a poor state, bird and other species numbers are in serious decline, poor air quality threatens the health of many, and our seas and sea floor are not managed sustainably”. The OEP has suggested six “building blocks”, which, if implemented, could protect and enhance the environment more efficiently.  

Solar panels…that work at night? 

Researchers at Stanford University have developed solar panels that also generate electricity at night. During the night, solar panels radiate heat back into space, making them cooler than the ambient temperature. This temperature difference can be exploited by adding a thermoelectric generator to the solar panels, which has been demonstrated to generate 50 milliwatts per square metre, which is enough to charge a phone or to enable a low-wattage LED light to function.  

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