text: ​#HERplanetearth's strategy is to organise and promote campaigns and activities to increase visibility of the movement, and to raise funds for programmes that empower and educate underprivileged women, and engage them in environmental issues and conservation activities.
  #HERplanetearth partners with nature lovers, environmentalists, polar explorers, adventurers, women’s rights advocates, feminists and NGOs that have programmes and structures in place dedicated to building a deeper connection between gender equality, genuinely sustainable development and the protection of the environment.
  At the heart of sustainable development is a respect for all fundamental human rights as well as accountability to the earth and future generations. Climate change and environmental degradation are barriers to sustainable development, augmenting existing inequalities. Gender often remains the untold story behind climate change. In many countries, women are among the most vulnerable to climate change and environmental impacts, partly because they make up the larger share of the agricultural workforce and tend to have access to fewer income-earning jobs. The destructive forces of nature, warped by rising global temperatures, manifest in cyclones, floods and other extreme weather conditions, which can act as negative force multipliers in societies already riven by inequality. The onset of droughts, accompanied by heightened food and water insecurity, also have a disproportionate effect on those least able to deal with the resulting increased social strains. While climate change is a global phenomenon, its impact is not spread across a level playing field. Its effects are felt locally, and poor people suffer the most. Among the world’s 1.3 billion poor people, the majority are women.
  During the past few decades, considerable achievements have been made in narrowing the gender gap in many countries. Nevertheless, across the global spectrum, women tend to be marginalised from economic and political power, and have limited access to financial and material resources. This increases their vulnerability to climate change and limits their potential to adapt.
  Studies show that after climate disasters, it is generally harder for poor women to recover their economic positions than poor men. Women’s mortality from climate-related disasters is also higher than that of men. Women have the right to - and need to be - at the forefront of efforts to deal with climate change. While gender equality is often solely associated with female empowerment, it is also important to note that transformative change requires the participation of all members of society. Women, girls, men and boys all need to be part of the solution.
  In January 2018, our self-funded team of six women from Asia, Europe, Africa and North America, embarked on a pioneering expedition to Antarctica to promote gender equality and the integrity of the environment. Our aim was to discover unclimbed routes in Antarctica’s Heritage Range (which we did), as well as shine a spotlight on the urgency of preserving Antarctica for generations to come. Our added objective was to raise money for the United Nations' #WomenLeadClimateAction Sustainable programmes that empower and educate underprivileged women and engage them in environmental issues and conservation activities.
  Our team successfully claimed the first ascent of two unnamed mountains, the first female ascent of one peak and established several new routes in the Larson Valley, nested in Antarctica’s Heritage Range, Ellsworth Mountains. As a result of this pioneering feat, we have decided to name the first summit ‘Mount Gaia’ - ‘Gaia' is ancient Greek for the Goddess Earth and the second summit ‘Mount Malala’ in honour of the Nobel Peace prize winner, Malala Yousafzai, who embodies courage and women empowerment in the face of injustice.
  Antarctica, the world’s largest desert, is 98% covered in ice. In 2014, researchers at the University of California at Irvine and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory showed that the melt-rate of glaciers in the fastest-melting part of Antarctica has tripled over the past decade. Scientists project that the long-term result could be to raise global sea levels by 10 centimetres, or almost four inches.
  The team’s expedition began in Punta Arenas, Chile in South America, where they met their expedition guides. Then they flew to Antarctica and landed at Union Glacier, a full-service private camp operated by Expedition Company ALE (or Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions). The opportunity for exploration was endless and the team’s successfully summited two unclimbed peaks in the Heritage Range, within the Ellsworth Mountains of Antarctica.
  We are building a movement of strong, determined and inspirational women and girls acting on climate change through the way we live. Carbon footprint is the overall amount of greenhouse gas emissions, consisting primarily of carbon dioxide, associated with an organisation, event or production. It is one of the most common measures of the effect of an individual, community, industry, or country on the environment. Offsetting your unavoidable CO2 emissions is a practical and immediate way to take ownership of your personal contribution to climate change. Find out how you can start your low carbon life today read more...
  Plastic pollution is threatening the marine ecosystem worldwide. Over the next ten years, the amount of marine plastic waste will double and if we do not act, in 2050 the oceans will contain more plastic waste than fish by weight.
  Consider a personal ban on plastic bags and plastic bottles. Plastic is not biodegradable. Plastic poses a serious danger to birds and marine mammals that often mistake them for food. Floating plastic bags for instance regularly fool sea turtles into thinking they are one of their favorite prey, jellyfish. Thousands of animals die each year after swallowing or choking on discarded plastic. Read more here.
  Antarctica is the air conditioner of the world; it keeps our planet cool. However, it is clearly under threat and melting at an alarming rate. Unfortunately, warm countries like Singapore have a part in its damage. Nearly 80% of households and 100% of offices, schools and shopping malls have air conditioners - and these are heating up the atmosphere, ultimately melting the continent that is supposed to keep us cool. Join us in turning the set temperature of your aircons #up2degrees so the planet won't have to do it. Find out more about #up2degrees via their website or follow them on Facebook.
  Sharks are in trouble and need our help. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), over 70 million sharks are killed to satisfy our enormous demand every year! Now Singapore has been identified as the world's second largest trader for shark fin. Shark fin soup has been a tradition at Chinese festive celebrations and wedding banquets. But growing demand of shark fin soup is pushing our sharks to extinction and disrupting the balance of our oceans. 82% of people surveyed by WWF think that a shark fin alternative at a banquet is acceptable. So let's reduce the demand for shark fin further! Join thousands of people who've taken the #NoSharkFin pledge. Take the pledge by signing up on the WWF website here.