Prince William Announced the 15 Finalists for the Earthshot Prize

There are 15 finalists competing for a £1 million environmental award founded by the Prince of Wales, and among them are the creators of a bubble pump that collects garbage before it reaches the ocean. Additionally, the Earthshot Prize is granted to creative environmental concepts. Next month, five winners will be revealed in Boston, and each will get £1 million to further their initiatives. There are "many reasons to be optimistic" about the future of the globe, Prince William said when announcing the selection. He called the individuals on the shortlist for the Earthshot Prize, which is now in its second year, "innovators, leaders, and visionaries." According to Prince William, "They are directing their time, energy, and talent towards bold solutions with the power to not only solve our planet's greatest environmental challenges, but to create healthier, more prosperous, and more sustainable communities for generations to come."

Initiatives present on the shortlist for the prize

One of the initiatives on the list is the Great Bubble Barrier from the Netherlands involves pumping air through a perforated tube to produce a bubble barrier that raises plastic to the surface and into a trash collection system. [caption id="attachment_59200" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] image credit: townandcountrymag[/caption] Additionally, there are also candidates from the UK for the first time, including the London start-up Notpla Hard Material, which creates packaging from plants and seaweed as an alternative to single-use plastic. The company has already produced one million biodegradable food cartons for the online meal delivery service Just Eat. Furthermore, in County Durham, Low Carbon Materials (LCM) produces concrete blocks without emitting carbon dioxide by using non-recyclable plastic trash. Dr. Natasha Boulding, a co-founder of LCM, stated, "Until now, construction has been one of the hardest industries to decarbonize. With LCM, that could all change. We've turned concrete net zero and now we need the world to start using it." [caption id="attachment_59199" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] image credit: yahoo[/caption] Moreover, the City of Amsterdam Circular Economy group, which aspires to see everything recycled in the Dutch capital by 2050, is one of the other finalists. In addition, Kenyan company Mikuru Clean Stoves offers safer cooking methods and cleaner burning stoves to prevent dangerous indoor pollution. Charlot Magayi, who used to sell charcoal for fuel, launched the initiative after she kept getting respiratory infections from using charcoal and her daughter suffered a severe burn by a stove. Her eco-stoves, she claims produce 90% less pollution than an open fire and use processed biomass generated from charcoal, wood, and sugar cane. She wants to develop a version that burns ethanol that is even cleaner. What's more Other nominees for the Earthshot Prize include the Indigenous Women of the Great Barrier Reef group from Australia, who use a combination of traditional knowledge and modern technology to protect the land and sea; Hutan, an organization that builds wildlife corridors for orangutans in Malaysia; 44.01, based in Oman, who eliminate CO2 by mineralizing it in rock; and Fleather, a leather made from floral waste in India. [caption id="attachment_59198" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] image credit: circularonline[/caption] Prince William and the Princess of Wales will meet the finalists and winners at the awards gala on December 2. Additionally, the Earth shot Prize will see £50m handed out over a span of ten years. There are five categories - preserve and restore nature; purify the air; resuscitate the oceans; create a world without waste; and address climate change. Lastly, a project in Costa Rica that paid locals to rebuild natural ecosystems and a portable device made in India that transforms agricultural waste into fertilizer were among the winners from the previous year.