Foreign Ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin, described the
talks as constructive, with the Japanese side explaining
the security of their plan, based on scientific evidence.
On February 28th, Japan began the fourth stage of the
discharge of some 7,800 tons of radioactive water
into the sea.
So far, China has expressed its strong concern about
this issue and, in fact, canceled the import of all
aquatic products from Japan.
Beijing repeatedly insisted on the need for an international
agreement to independently monitor the Japanese plan.
Another spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, Mao Ning,
recently assured that releasing this water into the
ocean “affects the health of all humanity, the
global marine environment and the
international public interest.”
“The precautionary measures taken by China and some
other countries - in response to Japan’s action - are
aimed at protecting food security” and are
“entirely legitimate, reasonable and
necessary,” she added.
Beijing believes that an independent international
monitoring agreement must involve neighbouring
countries and other stakeholders ----- to avoid
irrevocable consequences ----- arising from
the discharge of radioactive water.
___________________________________
The Arctic could run
out of ice in 2030
March 6th, 10:20am
(Prensa Latina)
The Arctic could run out of ice for the first time in 2030,
according to a new study that indicates that such an
event would occur more than 10 years earlier than
previous projections.
It is expected to occur in August or September 2030
under all scenarios of greenhouse gas emissions
to the Earth’s atmosphere.
In addition, the Arctic Ocean could experience frequent
occurrences of ice-free conditions by mid-century
(between 2035 and 2067), as was published
in the paper journal Nature Reviews
Earth & Environment.
“Our study also focuses on the frequency of ice-free
conditions, rather than just when the first ice-free
conditions are reached,” Alexandra Jahn of the
University of Colorado, Boulder, told the
Down To Earth portal.
Arctic sea ice cover, which includes the area, extent
and thickness of sea ice, has declined since the
beginning of satellite observations in 1978.
Such ice-free conditions are likely
the first in at least 80,000 years.
“The transition to an ice-free Arctic means a regime shift
from a perennial sea ice cover to a seasonal sea ice
cover, or from a white summer Arctic to a blue
Arctic,” the researchers wrote.
To quantify the ice-free projections, the scientists
analyzed sea ice on a monthly basis using
climate models.
Previously there was talk of the almost complete
disappearance of sea ice, but now scientists
have agreed to designate the Arctic as ice-
free when the ocean has less than one
million square kilometres of
frozen surface.
Experts also say the Arctic is resilient
and can return to normal.... if the
atmosphere cools.
_____________________________________
Colombia: Global Biodiversity
Summit ---- to Be Hosted
in October
February 29th (teleSUR)
On Wednesday, Colombia’s Minister of Environment
Susana Muhamad announced that the Latin
American country will host the 16th
Conference of Parties to the UN
Convention on Biological
Diversity (COP 16) from
Oct 21 to Nov 1.
The announcement was made on the sidelines of the sixth
session of the United Nations Environment Assembly
(UNEA-6) underway in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.
"This is an opportunity for Colombia's indigenous
communities to showcase a paradigm shift in
the way the conservation of biodiversity
should be undertaken globally,"
Muhamad said.
The Colombian minister added that COP 16 will be a
mixture of cultural and environmental biodiversity
from Latin American countries.
The launch of the logo of a fresh flower took place
during the official announcement of Colombia's
hosting of the UN biodiversity summit.
A tweet reads, "An everlasting flower, did you know that
the Inírida flower can withstand long floods and
droughts? It is the symbol of resilience!
That is why this flower is the logo of
the COP 16 in Colombia and,
therefore, of Peace
with Nature!"
David Cooper, acting executive secretary of the Secretariat
of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, said that
delegates -- will share experiences, find solutions, and inspire partnerships toward tackling global
biodiversity loss. He noted, COP 16 would
allow local indigenous communities,
to share their experiences.
According to Cooper, indigenous communities in
13 ecoregions of Colombia and neighbouring
countries will share their knowledge of rare
endemic species with the delegates.
The COP 16 -- will accelerate action and show
progress towards turning the four goals and
23 targets of the biodiversity plan into
nationally driven action.
He said, that the delegates are expected
to demonstrate the alignment of their
National Biodiversity Strategies
and Action Plans with the
Biodiversity Plan.
A tweet reads, "Great meeting with the Chinese Minister of
Ecology and outgoing president of COP15, Huang Runqiu,
during UNEA6. His support and experience will be key
to ensure the success of COP 16 Colombia in Cali
this year."
Cooper revealed that the fourth meeting of the Subsidiary
Body on Implementation, which will take place in Nairobi
from May 21-29, will provide an opportunity to review
progress 5 months before COP 16 gets underway
in Cali, Colombia.
According to Cooper, COP 16 will be the first biodiversity
summit since the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal
Global Biodiversity Framework at COP 15 held in
December 2022 in Montreal, Canada.
During COP 16, governments will review the state of
the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global
Biodiversity Framework... develop the monitoring
framework, and advance resource mobilization
for the Global Biodiversity Framework.
In addition, the summit will finalize and operationalize
the multilateral mechanism, for the fair and equitable
sharing of benefits from the use of digital sequence
information on genetic resources.
_______________________________
UN ---calls for more funding for environmental projects
February 28th, 3:09pm
(Prensa Latina)
The planet demands that financial flows be realigned and
business practices be changed in favor of nature, it was
the demand here on Wednesday --- at the 6th United
Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6).
At the opening session of the high-level segment on
strengthening the science-policy interface for
effective implementation of environmental
commitments, UNEP Executive Director
Inger Andersen noted that humanity is
currently financing its ‘own failure’
rather than investing in a ‘better
future by supporting nature’.
Unfortunately, she added, solutions based on environmental
protection are underfunded and receive only 200 billion
dollars globally a year, less than one-third of what is
needed between now and 2030 to meet climate,
biodiversity and land degradation targets.
Given these figures, it is clear that realigning negative
financial flows to nature is the best way to halt and
reverse the loss of nature, and to achieve this we
need to change incentive policies, provide data
on long-term economic losses and change
business practices,’ she said.
The high-level debate on strengthening the science-policy
interface for effective implementation of environmental
commitments ------ is a forum to address the need for
transformational change to address the three
planetary environmental crises: climate
change, the loss of nature and
biodiversity, and pollution.
Participants in the forum will also discuss opportunities
to strengthen science-policy interfaces - as part of
UNEA decision-making.
They will also discuss best practices where scientific
knowledge and evidence have successfully helped
to address environmental challenges.
UNEA-6, which will take place until March 1 in the Kenyan
capital, marks the beginning of a new era of multi-
lateralism focused on environmental issues at
the same level of importance as other global
issues such as peace, security and health,
according to the assembly organizers.
Some 5,000 representatives of governments, civil society
and the private sector are attending the global forum,
which will consider a variety of resolutions covering
challenges such as halting desertification,
counteracting air pollution or limiting
chemical pollution.
_________________________________________
UN agencycalls to reduce
heavy vehicle pollution
February 24th, 00:30am
(Prensa Latina)
The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) called
to take decisive measures to cut pollution generated
by heavy vehicles, especially trucks.
Their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have increased by
30 percent since 2000, according to a report published
on Thursday.
In the document, the head of UNEP’s Sustainable Mobility
Unit, Rob de Jong, emphasized the need to implement
ambitious regulations --- to curb emissions that are
harmful to the environment and human health.
According to the study, heavy-duty vehicles are responsible
for over 40% of nitrogen oxide emissions on the roads, as
well as 60% of PM2.5 particulate matter and 20% of
black carbon, both of which are associated with
heart and lung problems.
The situation is aggravated in developing countries that
depend on imports of used heavy-duty vehicles, often
in precarious and polluting conditions.
The text also warned, that the increase in exports of
such used equipment from industrialized economies
to developing nations --- contributes to increased
pollution in the southern nations.
Although heavy vehicle exports represent a modest 3.6% of the total value of world trade in automobiles, their associated CO2 emissions have increased by over 30%, since 2000 ----- with trucks contributing 80 percent of that increase.
CO2 is the main greenhouse gas, the consequence
of which, is global warming... that accelerates
climate change.
The UNEP report, along with the Climate and Clean Air
Coalition, provides the UN’s first global overview of
the scale and regulation of used heavy vehicles.
On their contribution to global air pollution ----- traffic
accidents, fuel consumption and climate emissions,
the research ---- recommends ways to reduce the
harmful aspects ---- for people’s health and
the climate.
_________________________________
Humanity ''celebrates''
World Energy Day
February 14th, 10:10am
(Prensa Latina)
Coinciding with the date of Valentine's Day, humanity
also celebrates World Energy Day, to support
the sustainable use of energy resources
--- in every corner of the planet.
The ephemeris also promotes the use of clean energies
obtained from nature, through the sun and water,
highlighting its favorable impact on
the environment.
This celebration aims to contribute to the achievement of
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), included in
the UN Agenda 2030, such as ensuring universal
access to affordable and modern energy
sources, expanding the use of
renewable energy sources,
and improving energy
efficiency.
The date was created in 1949 to raise awareness among
the world’s population about the use of alternative and
renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and
biomass, reducing the burning of fossil fuels
like oil, gas, and coal, which cause
global warming.
According to data from the United Nations Environment
Program, more than a third of the world’s population
has no access to advanced forms of energy, while
the 30 most developed countries on the planet
consume more than 60% of this energy daily
and without interruption.
It is estimated that currently 13% of the world’s population,
approximately 1.1 billion people, do not have access
to basic electricity services. Meanwhile, the use of
fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal is estimated
at 80%, while only 2% of renewable energies are
generated, which is why the aim is to reverse
a ''reality'' that harms nature and
the environment.
__________________________________
5.5 Tons of Fukushima Radioactive
Water .....Leak Into the Ocean
February 7th (teleSUR)
On Wednesday, Fukushima Central Television reported that
approximately 5.5 tons of water containing radioactive
materials have leaked from a piece of equipment at
Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
At about 8:53 a.m... workers discovered water leaking from
the outlet of a device used to purify nuclear-contaminated
water during the inspection of the equipment, the local
TV reported, citing the plant's operator Tokyo Electric
Power Company (TEPCO).
The amount of water that leaked, was approximately
5.5 tons, which may contain 22 billion becquerels of
radioactive materials such as cesium and strontium.
Most of the leaked water appeared to have seeped into the
soil, but monitoring of a nearby drainage channel did not
show any significant radiation level changes.TEPCO has
made the area where the water was leaked a no-go area.
Hit by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and an ensuing tsunami
in 2011, the Fukushima nuclear plant suffered core
meltdowns that released radiation, resulting in a
level-7 nuclear accident, the highest on the
International Nuclear and Radiological
Event Scale.
The plant has been generating a massive amount of water
tainted with radioactive substances from cooling down
the nuclear fuel in the reactor buildings, which are
now being stored in tanks at the nuclear plant.
In August 2023, Japan started to discharge the Fukushima
wastewater into the Pacific Ocean, despite numerous and
repeated objections by governments and communities,
environmental groups, NGOs and anti-
nuclear movements.
_________________________________________
Venezuela Destroys Illegal Mining
Camps ----- in the Amazon Region
February 7th, 2pm
(teleSUR)
On Tuesday, the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB)
informed that six makeshift mining camps set up by
illegal miners were destroyed in the state
of Amazonas.
Previously, on Monday, Venezuelan President Nicolas
Maduro launched Operation "Fog 2024" for the
protection of the Amazon region and
its ecosystems.
The facilities destroyed were used "to prey on and
contaminate the environment," said Gen. Domingo
Hernandez, the head of the FANB's Strategic
Operational Command.
Besides the mining camps, the army also destroyed eight
illegal rafts used by criminal groups along the banks of
the Cunucunuma River in Duida-Marahuaca
National Park.
A text reads, "During the Operation Fog 2024, the FANB
found eight mining ponds on the banks of the
Cunucunuma River, in the state of Amazonas,
which were used to predate and contaminate
the environment. They also found and
incinerated six logistics camps."
Venezuela will not tolerate the existence of illegal groups
in its territory "nor the indiscriminate and arbitrary
depredation of the environment," Gen.
Hernandez pointed out.
“The FANB will deploy 20 Quick Reaction Units, which
have the strength and means to dismantle and
destroy illegal mining structures,” he added.
The Operation Fog 2024 is a comprehensive intervention
that will cover all national parks and forest reserves
located in areas important for the security of the
Venezuelan State.
_____________________________________
Chilean scientists warn of
climate change effects
on wheat
January 11th, 11:56am
(Prensa Latina)
Research by Chilean scientists published here today warns
of the negative effects of global warming on the yield of
wheat crops, a cereal of which this country is one of
the largest consumers.
Climate change, associated with phenomena such as El
Niño, are pushing temperatures to record levels and
heat waves have increased from nine to 62 in the
last 10 seasons, and 2024 will be no exception,
the research states.
According to Dr. Anita Arenas, from the Millennium Institute
of Integrative Biology and Talca University, responsible for
the research, these episodes affect both the weight and
quality of wheat grain ------ key to world food security.
One of the main results, he said, was that in response to
the high temperatures, so-called durum wheat suffered
a weight loss of -23.9 percent, the starch content
decreased and the protein level increased.
Arenas indicated that on this last point, further analysis
will be necessary to determine whether the increase
in protein ---- is accompanied by a change in the
gluten composition.
______________________________
Panamanian Farmers Reject
the Indio River Reservoir
January 9th, 6:41pm
(teleSUR)
On Monday, the Farmers for Life Coordinator, the Donoso &
Omar Torrijos Awake Movement, and the Farmers for the
Earth Coordinator agreed to reject the Indio River
reservoir and demanded the closure of
Minera Panama.
The producer organizations rejected the different projects
presented by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), which
insists.. on creating a multipurpose reservoir in the
Indio River to accumulate water and facilitate
the transit of ships through the
interoceanic route.
Panamanian farmers maintain, that water is of utmost
importance for life and that the arguments presented
by the ACP --- are neither sufficient nor convincing.
They also mentioned that the construction of the Indio
River reservoir would generate disastrous
environmental consequences.
At their meeting, the farmers presented a detailed
document containing their joint demands, which
have been substantiated with the support of
the Catholic Church and professionals
from different technical areas.
Among the demands presented are the defense of their
lands, rivers and lives from the threats caused by
large metal mining projects.
The producer organizations also demand that the
Panamanian state immediately create a social
and technical commission for the closure of
Minera Panama.
________________________________________
2023 ----- shatters climate
records in 125,000 years
January 2nd, 12:14pm
(Prensa Latina)
The 2023 year was declared as warmest on Earth in 174
years, and most probably of the last 125,000 years, an
evidence that global warming is surging and affecting
the whole planet much faster.
According to climate experts: “What we’re looking for is
a lot of corroborating evidence that it’s all pointing in
the same direction,” said Chris Smith, a climate
scientist at England’s University of Leeds.
Unrelenting heat waves roasted Phoenix and Argentina.
Wildfires raged in Canada. In Libya, floods killed
thousands of people, noted an article in
the newspaper.
Winter ice cover on the seas around Antarctica reached
record lows, while global temperatures this year not
only broke previous records.
According to June-November analysis, temperatures
reached new highs month after month & December
temperatures remained largely above normal.
Global temperatures have long risen and fallen
around a steady warm trend due to cyclical
factors such as El Niño.
__________________________________
IUCN -------- warns on
danger of extinction
of freshwater fishes
January 2nd, 10:38am
(Prensa Latina)
Climate change threatens a growing number of species,
from freshwater fishes to Atlantic salmon and green
turtles, according to IUCN's Red List of Threatened
Species released today at COP28. The IUCN Red
List now includes 157,190 species, of which
44,016 are threatened with extinction.
“Climate change is menacing the diversity of life our planet
harbours, and undermining nature’s capacity to meet
basic human needs,” said Dr. Grethel Aguilar, IUCN
Director General.
“This IUCN Red List update highlights the strong links
between the climate and biodiversity crises, which
must be tackled jointly. Species declines, are an
example of the havoc being wreaked by climate
change, which we have the power to stop with
urgent, ambitious action to keep warming
below 1.5 degrees Celsius.”
Today’s update.. completes the first comprehensive
assessment of the world’s freshwater fish species,
revealing that 25% (3,086 out of 14,898 assessed
species) are at risk of extinction.
At least 17% of threatened freshwater fish species
are affected by climate change, including
decreasing water levels, rising sea
levels causing seawater to move
up rivers, and shifting seasons.
This compounds threats from pollution, which impacts
57% of freshwater fish species at risk of extinction,
dams and water extraction, which affect 45%,
overfishing, which threatens 25%, and
invasive species and disease, which
harm 33%.
Kathy Hughes, Co-Chair of the IUCN SSC Freshwater Fish
Specialist Group said: “Freshwater fishes make up more
than half of the world’s known fish species, an
incomprehensible diversity given that fresh
water ecosystems comprise only 1% of
aquatic habitat. These diverse species
are integral to the ecosystem, and
vital to its resilience.
“This is essential to the billions of people who rely upon
freshwater ecosystems, and the millions of people who
rely on their fisheries. Ensuring freshwater ecosystems
are well managed, remain free-flowing with sufficient
water, and good water quality is essential to stop
species declines and maintain food security,
livelihoods and economies in a climate
resilient world.”
Produced by a variety of organizations including WWF, the
World’s Forgotten Fishes details the dazzling diversity of
species and how critically important they are to the
functioning of their ecosystems, other species and
people – with over 200 million relying on them for
food security and 60 million for their livelihoods.
“Freshwater fishes are in freefall with one quarter of
all species now threatened with extinction. This
devastating news - is the clearest sign of the
damage we have done to our rivers, lakes
and wetlands – ecosystems that not only
sustain freshwater fishes and a dazzling
diversity of other wildlife but also
underpin our societies
and economies.
“Out-of-sight and out-of-mind, freshwater fishes have always
been undervalued ---- even though they are critical to the
functioning of their ecosystems --- and provide food for
200 million people and livelihoods - for 60 million. The
shocking state of the World’s Forgotten Fishes must
serve as a wake up call: decision makers must
urgently scale up investment in protecting
and restoring healthy rivers, lakes and
wetlands. This will safeguard our
vanishing freshwater fishes, but
will also enhance water and
food security, reverse
nature loss and
accelerate our
climate action.
“Here at COP28, 38 countries have now joined the
Freshwater Challenge – the most ambitious fresh
water protection and restoration initiative in
history. We need all countries to follow their
lead because reversing the degradation of
freshwater ecosystems will pave the way
to a net-zero, nature-positive, and
resilient future.”
____________________________________
UNEP considers slow progress
in human-nature interaction
January 2nd, 10am
(Prensa Latina)
In spite of more global awareness about the environment
and fossil fuels, there is still little and slow progress in
human interaction with nature and the consumption
of its resources, said UNEP.
With only six years to go before the end of 2030 for
meeting the UNEP Agenda set in 2015 with 17
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - it is
true that global awareness over biodiversity
protection has surged, but unfortunately
efforts to transform global awareness
are lagging behind in terms of speed
and scale.
According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP),
by 2023, three-quarters of the planet’s terrestrial
ecosystem and about 66% of the marine
environment had been significantly
altered by human action.
Over one-third of the world’s land area and nearly 75%
of freshwater resources are now goal-oriented to crop or livestock production.
Combined with dizzying levels of pollution, natural habitat
degradation and biodiversity loss -- have serious impacts
on communities around the world. In 2023, from 100 to
300 million people were at increased risk of flooding
and hurricanes --- given the loss of coastal habitats.
There were examples of efforts to address these threats,
many communities improved their reconstruction actions
such as Pakistan with the launch of the largest climate
initiative in the country’s history or the United Nations
with its new ¨Early Warning for All¨ global project.
According to UNEP, clean energy made some progress and
although 91% of the world now has access to electricity
such a progress has not been fast or inclusive enough.
Nevertheless, the number of people with power
access ramped up to 675 million since 2015.
Other data pointed to global investment in clean energy
reaching near-record levels of USD$1.7 trillion, so
renewables now account for --- over 28% of
global electricity, growing by nearly 5%.
But nowadays, 2.3 billion people still depend on coal,
kerosene or solid biomass as the main cooking fuel,
so the lack of clean cooking contributes to nearly
3.7 million premature deaths annually, with
women and children being most at risk.
Plus ---- about 80% of the world’s population with
no electricity lives in rural areas, predominantly
in sub-Saharan Africa.
Current studies have shown that reaching these
clean energy targets will require the world to
triple its annual investments by 2030.
_____________________________________
Paraguay:Pasubio Not to
Buy Leather Affecting
Indigenous Lands
December 20th, 5:14pm
(teleSUR)
On Wednesday, Survival International --- celebrated the
decision of the Italian tannery Pasubio, to refrain from
purchasing leather ------whose production is linked to the deforestation ------ of the ancestral territory of the Ayoreo Totobiegosode Indigenous people.
In South America, the Ayoreo people is part of the last
Indigenous community voluntarily isolating itself
outside the Amazon Basin.
"We are pleased to know that Pasubio has committed to
boycotting leather from suppliers that threaten the
lives and territories of the Ayoreo people, in
Paraguay. We hope that other companies
will follow their example," Survival
International Director, Caroline
Pearce said, warning that her
organization will monitor to
ensure full compliance
with the commitment.
"We hope that this news.. contributes to speeding up the
very slow process.. of recognizing the territorial rights
of the Ayoreo, which has already lasted thirty years,"
she added.
"The Paraguayan authorities must - once and for all -
respect national and international rights, expel all
ranches from Ayoreo territory, and return the
land to this indigenous people."
Previously, the Pasubio Group communicated its decision
to exclude leather suppliers linked to deforestation in
the Chaco region, where the Ayoreo Totobiegosode
Natural and Cultural Heritage (PNCAT) is located.
Currently, the Ayoreo territory is "an island of forest
surrounded by a sea of deforestation, as the land
around it has been deforested to make room for
livestock farming," explained Survival
International --- and warned that
numerous fires, have been
occurring in that forest
since the beginning
of the year.
"An undetermined number of Ayoreo Totobiegosode
Indigenous people, live without contact in their
forest, and many others - have been forced to
abandon isolation and now live in settled
communities," it added.
In February 2016, the Inter-American Commission
on Human Rights (IACHR) issued precautionary
measures -- demanding that the Paraguayan
State halt deforestation in the Chaco and
protect the Ayoreo Totobiegosode
Indigenous people, from
potential unwanted
contacts.
____________________________________
COP28 Draft DealRaises Nuclear
Energy as a Climate Solution
December 12th, 12:20pm
(teleSUR)
In the latest draft of the Global Balance presented by the
Climate Summit Presidency (COP28), nuclear energy is
included as one of the options for the planet's
decarbonization.
Greenpeace, Ecologists in Action, and World Wide Fund for
Nature (WWF) denounced that the inclusion of this option
is a response to the growing presence of nuclear
"lobbyists" at climate summits ------- since the
COP26 in Glasgow, with the complicity
of major atomic powers such as the
United States or France.
The presence of pro-nuclear advocates has been "even
more noticeable in Dubai," and it appears that their
"management has been successful," said WWF's
Global Climate and Energy Director -- Manuel
Vidal-Pulgar, who believes that the COP28's
central goal should be to accelerate the
ecological transition.... with a "clear
reference to phasing out
fossil fuels."
In his opinion, nuclear energy is not a viable option for this
transition. Apart from the fact that only 32 countries have
atomic plants, nuclear energy generates hazardous
waste and poses serious security issues, as
demonstrated by past accidents.
"In COP28, there has been talk from the outset about the
need for low-emission technologies to justify the use of
technologies that are not yet proven, are expensive,
or are not ready (such as nuclear fusion), and that
is unacceptable," he lamented.
"Clearly, this is a tremendous mistake," said the Ecologists
in Action's Energy and Climate Director, Javier Andaluz,
who pointed out that the climate impact of a nuclear
power plant throughout its life cycle, is between 6
and 15 times greater than the impact related to
its operation.
"This is a clear concession ------- to the lobbying of large
companies - nuclear power is in the hands of electric
companies," according to Andaluz, who criticized
the high presence of accredited pro-nuclear
advocates in Dubai, to whom "recognition
similar to that of neutral observer
organizations" is being given.
"Nuclear power is not a solution to climate change because
it is slow, taking more than 10 years to build a plant - plus
all the licensing and preliminary studies; it is expensive
and relies on public funds, and there is no private
insurance to cover the plants due to their
hazardous nature," said the Climate
Change Director of Greenpeace
Spain, Pedro Zorrilla.
Any accident at a nuclear plant has "very serious
consequences for health and the environment,"
according to Zorrilla, who added that these
plants are not suitable to support the
deployment needed in renewables
as they cannot provide backup
for wind or solar variability -
turning on or off a nuclear
plant takes several days
or even weeks.
__________________________________
Brazilto host COP30 by 2025
December 11th, 5:21pm
(Prensa Latina)
Brazil, was formally elected on Monday as host country
of the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference
(UNFCCC – COP30), scheduled to be held from
November 10 to 21, 2025.
“The decision was made --- by a consensus at the COP28 plenary session in Dubai”, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Brazil´s Foreign Ministry pointed out that, “after the
decision, the Minister of Environment and Climate
Change and head of the Brazilian delegation
Marina Silva formally announced that
COP30 will be held in the city of
Belem,” capital of the northern
Amazonian state of Para.
Silva defended, “a collective construction of an energy
matrix that the planet and humanity demand --- for
its survival.”
________________________________
Initiative to Protect Glaciers
Launched at COP28
December 4th, 1:11pm
(teleSUR)
On Sunday, an initiative to protect the world's glaciers
was launched at the China Pavilion of the COP28
climate change conference.
At the side event of COP28, or the 28th session of the
Conference of the Parties to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change,
delegates and scientists... shared their
views on the risks of melting glaciers,
and ways to slow down that process.
A project named "Memory of Glaciers: Global
Exploration Initiative" was launched to step
up research and protection of glaciers, as
well as raise public awareness.
Glaciers bear witness to the history of climate change
on the planet, and melting glaciers will bring a series
of risks aside from rising sea levels, delegates said.
Potential risks will include ------- damage to high mountain
ecosystems, increased hazards of landslides and floods,
as well as losses of tourism and cultural assets.
Measures that need to be taken include limiting global
warming through reducing greenhouse gas emissions
and enhancing adaptation strategies which can help
reduce hazardous impacts.
According to the report "Ten New Reflections in Climate
Science" ----- which was prepared by Future Earth, The Earth League and World Climate Research
Programme, humanity is about to exceed
the limit of 1.5 degrees of global
warming ----- set in the
Paris Agreement.
Therefore, it is essential to reduce as much as possible
the magnitude and time in which the world is above
1.5 degrees to reduce losses, damages, and the
risk of irreversible changes.
______________________________________
Ethiopia to host the largest wind
farm in the Horn of Africa
Dubai, December 4th, 12:43pm
(Prensa Latina)
The Aysha wind energy project, an 18,000-hectare wind
farm considered the largest in the Horn of Africa, will
be built in Ethiopia in conjunction with an Emirati
company, it was announced here.
The Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and the United Arab
Emirates renewable energy project operator AMEA
Power signed an agreement to build the site with
an investment of $600 million, which, according
to the state ministry, represents an important
milestone in the country’s sector.
The project is expected to produce approximately 1.22
terawatt hours of electricity per year, which will
contribute significantly to Ethiopia’s power
generation capacity.
It will also create approximately 2,000 jobs during the
construction and operation phases for the benefit
of the local economy, a joint statement revealed.
The document stated that the agreement demonstrates
Addis Ababa’s unwavering commitment to renewable
energy and its dedication to attracting private
investment in the energy sector.
Ethiopian Electric Power and the Ministry of Finance, are
working together to harness the region’s abundant wind
resources and generate clean, sustainable electricity,
to meet the country’s growing demand for electricity.
___________________________________________
There is real hope out there,
COP28 President al-jaber
says
Dubai, December 4th,
(Prensa Latina)
In the first four days of COP28 we set high standards
for results; there is real hope out there, said the
president of the 28th UN Climate Change
Conference, Sultan Al Jaber.
During a press conference, Al Jaber revealed the hope
expressed by people he has spoken to, that this
meeting, will be a major turning point and not
missing the opportunity to deliver a real and
tangible paradigm shift to correct course
towards the right path of keeping 1.5
degrees Celsius within reach.
December 4, 2023
10:21
“Let’s remember why we are all here. We are all here
because we have issued a very clear call to action.
The UAE takes on this task with humility and
responsibility and fully understands the
urgency of this issue,” he stressed.
He noted that so far at COP28 they were able to bring the
United States and China together in an unprecedented
commitment to reduce methane and other non-carbon
dioxide (CO2) gases across the economy. These
gases are more than 80 times more harmful
than CO2, he warned.
Al Jaber also revealed pride - in having issued the first
declarations on health and food systems, considered
two huge priorities for the presidency’s action
agenda. Three additional statements on
hydrogen, refrigeration and gender,
will be announced in the coming
days, he confirmed.
__________________________________
COP 28:The G77+China
Summit - is Inaugurated
December 2nd, 4:47pm
(teleSUR)
This Saturday, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez
inaugurated in Dubai the historic Summit of Leaders of the
Group of 77 and China, within the framework of COP28.
On his opening speech he highlighted that: "The gap
between the irrationally opulent North - and the
increasingly impoverished South - widens - with high human costs ---- while the resources that nature makes available to us, are squandered".
It is our responsibility to assert the voice of the peoples
of the South -- and to defend their legitimate interests
and aspirations, Diaz-Canel, president pro tempore
of the organization, posted on his X account.
"In inaugurating the G77-China Leaders Summit in the
context of COP28 -- President Diaz-Canel called for
reflection, concerted action on the basis of what
unites us and respect for our rich diversity, and
together act now - to advance the legitimate
demands of the South," said the Cuban
Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez.
Also, the Website Presidencia Cuba, emphasized that
this is the first time the Group has met at a COP to
agree positions for climate change negotiations.
The COP28 Summit opened in Dubai on Thursday with
the announcement of the creation of the loss and
damage fund ---- to compensate the most
vulnerable countries in the face of
the climate crisis.
The largest global meeting to address climate change
officially endorsed the resolution to operationalize
the fund, It also received financial pledges from
the United Arab Emirates, Germany, the UK, US and Japan.
______________________________________
Pope Francisspurs:to speed up
the ecological transition ------
after COP28
Dubai, December 2nd, 1:45pm
(Prensa Latina)
On Saturday, Pope Francis requested in his speech sent to
the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP28),
as he was unable to attend here for health reasons, his political willingness...... to speed up the
ecological transition.
In the document, read in that forum by Cardinal Pietro
Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State.... which was
published on Saturday by the Holy See Press
Office, Francis stated that, in that sense,
that COP28 should be a turning point,
as it is now urgent to return to the
right track and give “a sign
of hope.”
The Pope assured that this transition must be efficient,
obligatory and easy to monitor, as well as -- it must
cover the fields of energy efficiency, renewable
sources, the removal of fossil fuels ------- and
education must be directed towards
less dependent lifestyles on
fossil fuels.
“Are we working for a culture of life or a culture of death?”
Pope Francis asked those attending the event ------ which
opened in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates on November
30 and will last until December 12, with the presence
of over 150 heads of State and Government.
The Pope underscored that the ambition to produce and
possess --- has turned into an obsession, leading to a
boundless greed -- that has made the environment
the target of unbridled exploitation. Finally, the
senior Catholic authority noted --- “the
disturbed climate is a warning to us
--- to stop such a delirium of
omnipotence.”
___________________________
Lukashenko urgesWest:
to use money it wastes
on wars....to better
the environment
December 1st, 1:08pm (TASS)
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, has suggested
using the resources that Western countries waste on wars
to address environmental issues around the globe.
"Those speakers who were the first to take the floor, talked
about peace. They were saying -- that the planet must be
kept clean -- and the future of grandchildren taken care
of, while it is their countries that have unleashed and
are waging ------ the worst war on the planet," the
Belarusian leader told the World Climate
Summit in Dubai.
"This is many trillions of dollars. Well, let's use this money to
make and keep the planet clean. Then there will be no
need to go door to door and beg for it."
Lukashenko stressed that "wars are the
main source of filth on our continent."
"Let's put an end to this. The most important thing
is to talk less ----- and do more," Lukashenko said.
He urged the summit participants, especially the leading
countries of the world, to carry "the burden of
historical responsibility."
"First, make a proportionate contribution to solving the
issues of climate security to repair the harm caused
by a centuries-long thoughtless attitude to nature.
Second, step up support for developing countries
and economies in transition. Third, stop paying
lip service to nature conservation and start
acting in the name of preserving life on
Earth," Lukashenko said.
________________________________________
Colombia, Uruguay, and
Ecuador ------- receive
OEI awards
November 28th, 12:11pm
(Prensa Latina)
The Organization of Ibero-American States for Education,
Science, and Culture (OEI) has awarded innovation
prizes to Colombia, Uruguay, and Ecuador.
In a press release, the OEI announced on Tuesday that
among 200 candidates from 14 countries, it selected
CaféLab, Ecofusion, and Pedagogy Without Limits
as the best for “Innovation and the SDGs in
educational centres.”
CaféLab, developed by the Municipal Montessori Educational
Institution-San Francisco Headquarters in Pitalito, Huila,
Colombia, won first place. The project aims to take
advantage of the waste generated by coffee
production to promote entrepreneurship
and reduce pollution.
The second prize has gone in an equal state to two
projects: Ecofusion from Uruguay and Pedagogy
Without Limits, from Ecuador.
The jury has awarded special mentions to other
projects from Cuba, Spain, Honduras, and Peru.
The awards recognize the efforts of schools in the region
to promote the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
of the 2030 Agenda.
This edition awarded 10,000 Euros for the first place
and 5,000 euros for each project in second place.
_____________________________________
Report --------- Climate Crisis, Energy Costs
Fuel £600 Rise in UK Household Food Bill
November 27th, 12:11pm (FNA)
British households’ food bills have been driven up by more
than £600 over the past two years by the global climate
emergency and soaring energy prices, according to
a report warning of further increases to come
in 2024.
Sounding the alarm over the impact from increasing extreme
weather patterns for food production, the Energy and
Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) thinktank said that
global heating ----- is directly contributing to the
cost of living crisis, The Guardian reports.
According to the analysis carried out by researchers from
the universities of Bournemouth, Exeter and Sheffield,
more extreme or unseasonal weather accounted for
a third of all food price inflation in the UK this year.
While energy prices have fallen back this year, it warned that the impact from the climate emergency, is increasing.
Tom Lancaster, land analyst at ECIU, said, “Climate change
is playing havoc with global food production, and this is
inevitably feeding through to higher prices at the tills.
Across 2022 and 2023, the climate emergency alone
added the equivalent of six weekly shops to the
average household food bill.”
The cost of the climate crisis rose from £171 in 2022 to £192
in 2023, more than offsetting the effects of falling energy
prices this year and having a greater impact than rising
energy bills, according to analysis.
Official figures show ---- inflation in food and drink prices peaked at an annual rate of almost 20% earlier this year, the highest level since the 1970s, amid disruption to food supplies from weather events and soaring energy costs for producers.
Food price inflation has fallen back in recent months, but remains at historical highs of close to 10%. Prices are also still near record highs after recent storms – including Storm Babet ----- flooded swathes of farmland, hitting UK potato and vegetable harvests in the run-up to Christmas.
In 2022, drought hit production of basic foodstuffs such as potatoes and onions in the UK, followed by an unusually wet harvest in 2023, and then the hottest September on record.
It comes after heatwaves across the Mediterranean, India & South America this year all had a major impact on food production and prices. Staples including sugar, rice and tomatoes were affected by extreme weather, such as droughts in India, while olive oil rose in price by 50% after two years of drought and heatwaves in Spain and other major exporters in southern Europe.
The situation could be worse next year with the El Niño
weather system leading possibly to more severe
weather and further increases in food prices.
Prof Wyn Morgan of Sheffield University, one of the report
authors, said, “Given we expect climate impacts to get
worse, it is likely that climate change will continue to
fuel a cost of living crisis for the foreseeable future.”
Anna Taylor, executive director at the Food Foundation, said
that the government needed to “think more seriously how
households can become more resilient to price volatility”
in the light of the likely impact of the climate crisis.
She called on the government to revive its plans for a
horticulture strategy, that would build production of
fruit and vegetables in the UK and reduce reliance
on crops grown in Southern Europe which is
becoming increasingly vulnerable to
drought and extreme heat as a
result of the climate crisis.
A separate report from the Food Foundation warned that
retailers and hospitality venues in Britain are failing to
create a food environment where healthy choices
are affordable, readily available and appealing.
It found healthy food ----- is already twice as expensive as
unhealthy food per calorie, while the cost of sustainable
alternatives to meat and dairy... can also be high.
Most main meals offered by many pub chains regularly
exceed... 50% of the recommended daily intake for
calories, saturated fat, salt and sugar, according
to the report. Meanwhile, just 1% of food
advertising spend goes towards fruit
and vegetables compared with 9%
on meat and dairy while 21.5% of
buy-one-get-one-free deals are
on meat and dairy compared
with just 4.5% on fruit
and vegetables.
Lancaster said that the dependence of the UK’s current
farming system on volatile oil, gas and fertiliser prices
had created a “perfect storm of extreme weather,
high gas prices and global instability” --- to food
price inflation.
He said, “The good news is that steps to make farming more
sustainable cannot only cut emissions but also make our
food production more resilient to the extremes of
flooding and drought. Government plans --- in
England - to support greener farming with
more hedgerows, improved soil health
and tree planting schemes are
therefore vital to our future
food security.”
__________________________________
Pesticides Found in US Baby Food
November 27th, 11:21am
(teleSUR)
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) published a study
showing that baby food in the United States may still
contain potentially harmful pesticides, but is less
toxic than it was about 30 years ago.
Some 38 percent of conventional, or non-organic, baby food
in the United States, is found to contain toxic pesticides,
the EWG said, adding that at least one pesticide
residue was detected in 22 of the 58
conventional baby foods.
It warned that "babies and young children are particularly
vulnerable to potential health harms from consuming food
that contains residues of agricultural pesticides."
The NGO said it tested products from three popular brands in
the United States -- Beech-Nut, Gerber, and Parent's Choice.
While the findings are alarming, the good news, according to
the EWG, is that the pesticide levels in baby foods have
been decreasing compared to a similar study
conducted in 1995.
In the 1995 study, "an eye-popping 53 percent of 72 baby
food products sampled --------- had residue of at least one pesticide," and the pesticides discovered were, overall,
far more toxic and dangerous than the ones the
latest tests uncovered.
One toxic pesticide the EWG no longer found in baby food
was the brain-damaging bug killer chlorpyrifos, which
in very small amounts can permanently damage
the health of babies and children.
[Rhondda Records adds:
the article soft soaps on how much pesticide is STILL POISONING US
methinks ''someone'' is very scared of an ''eye-popping'' reaction to this !!!]
______________________________________
Germany Not to Reallocate
COVID-19 Funds for
Climate Actions
November 15th, 6:41pm
(teleSUR)
On Wednesday, Germany's Federal Constitutional Court
annulled the national government's decision... to
reallocate 60 billion euros from a COVID-19
relief fund to be used for measures
combatting climate change.
The law under which the funds were retroactively shifted
to the Climate and Transformation Fund (CTF) at the
beginning of 2022 for the previous year's budget
"does not meet the constitutional requirements
for emergency borrowing," the court ruled.
With its so-called debt brake, Germany has an instrument
that prevents the government from taking on new debt,
except in crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The
court found that transferring the funds for another
purpose circumvents this regulation.
The "de facto unlimited" continued use of emergency-
related credit authorizations in subsequent financial
years ---------- is "inadmissible," the ruling added.
Since the 60 billion euros will now be withdrawn from
Germany's climate fund, financed projects will have
to be covered by other budget resources.
"The Federal Government will pay close attention to this
ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court," Chancellor
Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday. However, the 2024
budget meetings scheduled for Thursday -- are to
take place as planned.
The CTF has a total budget of 211.8 billion euros for the
next four years. The German government wanted to
invest 57.6 billion euros from the fund into green
projects in areas such as transport, buildings
and the switch to renewable energies
in 2024.
Germany is aiming to achieve climate neutrality by 2045,
five years ahead of the European Union (EU) target. As
part of this process, Germany wants to achieve an 80
percent share of renewable energies in its electricity
supply by 2030, up from about 53 percent currently.
"This ruling is a bitter setback for climate protection," said
Martin Kaiser, managing director of Greenpeace Germany,
adding that all budgetary leeway must now be used on
the path to climate neutrality, "because we are
already in the midst of the climate crisis."
___________________________
Namibia ------ Launches First Seed
Bank for Biodiversity Protection
November 14th (teleSUR)
On Tuesday, the Environment Investment Fund (EIF), a
Namibian environmental fund, said the country has
launched its first Community Seed Bank in
Kavango West, one of the country's 14
regions ------ to safeguard local seed
varieties to promote biodiversity
and ensure food security.
EIF spokesperson Lot Ndamanomhata stated that the main
objective of the seed bank is to protect natural resources
by preventing overexploitation of different seed varieties.
"This proactive intervention not only prevents depletion of
resources, but also ensures seed conservation for the
benefit of future generations. Community seed banks
play a crucial role in collecting, storing and
safeguarding local seeds," he said.
"In times of crop damage or destruction, these banks act as
an emergency seed supply, allowing farmers to access
seed for the next planting season," he added.
According to official reports, beyond preserving seeds, the
project emphasizes a broader goal of protecting natural
resources, promoting environmental sustainability, and
ensuring that Namibia's future generations have
access to diverse and resilient
agricultural resources.
Furthermore, Ndamanomhata highlighted that this initiative
goes beyond financial support, representing a shared
commitment to environmental sustainability and the
preservation of the country's natural heritage.
The EIF was officially launched in 2012 and is currently
funded by a government allocation with the mandate
to tap into local conservation fees and
environmental levies.
These funds will be used to invest in the protection of the
environment, its biological diversity and ecological life-
support functions; and the promotion of sustainable
natural resources use - for economic development
by supporting green & environmental enterprises.
Namibia intends to expand the establishment of such
infrastructure, with plans for upcoming projects in
other regions within the next five years.
While Namibia introduced its inaugural community seed
bank in 2023, neighboring countries such as Zambia,
South Africa, and Zimbabwe have already largely
embraced this practice, with Zimbabwe now
boasting 26 community seed banks.
______________________________________
Bolivian President begins
Green Lungs program
November 11th, 9:53am
(Prensa Latina)
Bolivian President Luis Arce has launched, today, in
the municipality of El Alto, the Pulmones Verdes
(Green Lungs) project by planting the first
tree of a forest of native species to
counter climate change.
The initiative was presented ---- by the Vice Minister of
Coordination and Government Management - Gustavo
Torrico, who initially proposed to start with a certain
amount of trees to generate a small forest in El Alto,
Gabriela Arauco, Director of Public Management in
that government agency, explained.
In an interview granted to Prensa Latina, Arauco said that
the support of other ministries made it possible to advance towards, a larger and more ambitious project.
'It will be the first forest with five hectares, five thousand
seedlings, and it will not only be the planting stage, but
the commitment of caring for them, so that these trees
reach the necessary size and give the expected result:
to improve the microclimate, the ecosystem and
increase water levels and forestation in that
environment’, she said.
The director explained to this news agency that the most
important thing is that Pulmones Verdes will provide the
community with access to cleaner air.
Pulmones Verdes promotes an effort to mitigate global
warming, the greenhouse effect, the reduction of
permafrost, the loss of water and the climatic
crisis, and for this the State and the society
of Bolivia receive the support of the youth
of El Alto, as well as public and private
business people.
______________________________________
Deforestation in Brazilian
Amazon drops to 22.3%
November 9th, 4:47pm
(Prensa Latina)
Deforestation rate in Brazil´s Amazon scaled down 22.3%
from August 2022 to July 2023 -- the lowest figure in a
12-month term since 2019, according to official data.
The National Institute for Space Research -- revealed that
about 9,001 square kilometres of the Amazonian forest
was deforested at that stage.
Such statistics were supported by the Real-Time
Deforestation Detection System (DETER) which
produces daily signals of alteration in forest
cover for areas larger than three hectares
(0.03 square kilometres).
Indications occur for totally deforested areas as well as
for those in the process of wild degradation (logging,
mining, burning and others).
DETER is not the official deforestation data, but
an alert on where the problem is occurring.
The devastation in the Amazon increased under the
government of former President Jair Bolsonaro
(2019-2022).
___________________________________________
Luzhsky breeding centre.....
sent 500,000 pine saplings
to the new region
November 8th, 6:54pm
(Komsomolskaya Pravda)
500 thousand pine seedlings were brought to the Donetsk
People's Republic from the Luzhsky Forest selection and
Seed production Centre.
The Leningrad Region, helps the Donetsk People's
Republic restore forests lost during the fighting.
500 thousand pine seedlings were delivered to
the new region of Russia from the Luzhsky
Forest selection and seed Centre.
Seedlings of coniferous trees
were grown in the nursery
for two years. Now their
new home will be
the DPR.
The region participates in the restoration of Donetsk
forests on behalf of Governor Alexander Drozdenko.
The project is supervised by the Committee for
Natural Resources of the Leningrad Region.
"When in April of this year, together with the head of the
DPR, Denis Pushilin, we planted spruce and pine trees
from the Leningrad region at the foot of Saur-Mogila, I promised that the supply of seedlings would be
regular," said Governor Alexander Drozdenko.
''This is part of our assistance to the Donbass... it's
systematic in nature. Today, the Leningrad Region
continues to work at facilities in Yenakiyevo,
Mariupol, and Makeyevka. We already
perceive the residents of these
localities.... as our own.''
''There is already a "Leningrad Quarter" in Mariupol,
and there will eventually be a "Leningrad Forest"
in the Donbas.''
Alexey Shebalkin, Chairman of the Forestry and Hunting
Committee of the Donetsk People's Republic, said that
the "green" cargo... has successfully arrived at its
destination. This... is the second campaign to
send seedlings from the Leningrad region
in 2023.
Earlier, in April, 70 thousand seedlings of scots pine and
30 thousand seedlings of European spruce were
brought to the Donetsk People's Republic.
According to Governor Alexander Drozdenko, the young
coniferous trees planted on Donetsk's land will help
restore the forests damaged during the fighting.
"Leningrad kids" - in a decade - will turn into 250 hectares of forest.... traces of the war in the Donetsk People's Republic.
''The April batch of 100 thousand pine and spruce saplings
has already taken root in a new place, including at Saur-
Mogila. Seedlings with a closed root system, were
shipped from the Luzhsky breeding Centre - so
that they could move on the road and adapt
more easily to a new place," the head of
the region noted.
Before taking the seedlings to the DPR, the planting
material... is carefully checked. The best seedlings
with high survival rates are selected for shipment.
________________________________________________
China’s initiative - wins
UN’s most prestigious
environmental prize
October 30th, 2:02pm
(Prensa Latina)
China's Blue Circle initiative has won the United Nations
Environment Program's 2023 Champions of the Earth
award for its innovative marine plastic treatment
technology, Xinhua reported on Monday.
The Blue Circle initiative won the award in the
Entrepreneurial Vision category --- for its
contributions to monitoring the entire
lifecycle... of plastic pollution in
the oceans - comprehensively,
encompassing collection ---
as well as regeneration, re-manufacturing,
and re-sale.
Over 6,000 individuals and 200 enterprises from East
China’s Zhejiang Province are involved in the project.
To date, it has successfully gathered about 10,700
tons of marine debris.
According to Xinhua, these data, make Blue Circle China’s great marine plastic waste collection program.
A study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in the United
Kingdom.... estimated that -- oceans could carry more
plastic than fish - by 2050, leading to more pollution.
The organization, founded in 2010 to accelerate the
transition to a circular economy, pointed out that
such materials take about 1,000 years to
degrade -- which has very negative
impacts on the oceans and
the environment.
[R.R. adds: Well done, China - we're all gonna die!]
_________________________
Ozone hole over Antarctica grows
-- to one of the largest on record
October 4th, 4:36pm
(Prensa Latina)
The annual ozone hole that forms over Antarctica has ballooned to near-record size, scientists say.
Measurements from satellite imaging taken on Sept. 16
--- showed that the ozone depletion area had reached
26 million square kilometres — roughly three times
the size of Brazil, according to Copernicus, the
European Union’s Earth observation program.
Every year, an ozone hole forms over the Antarctic due to
the presence of ozone-depleting substances in the
stratosphere and the specific conditions of
the region, according to Copernicus.
The size of the ozone fluctuates from August to October,
typically reaching maximum depletion between mid-
September and mid-October.
This year, the ozone hole got off to an early start and has
grown “rapidly” since mid-August -- “making it one of the
biggest ozone holes on record,” Copernicus Atmosphere
Monitoring Service senior scientist, Antje Inness, said in a statement. The size of the ozone hole is largely
determined... by the strength of a strong wind
band that flows around the Antarctic area -
a result of the rotation of the Earth and
the oppositional temperature
differences between polar
and moderate latitudes.
Ozone levels usually return to normal by mid-December,
after temperatures high up in the stratosphere rise in
the southern hemisphere, slowing ozone depletion
and weakening the polar vortex, according
to Copernicus.
There is some speculation that the unusual behaviour
of the ozone layer in 2023, is a result of the Tongan
underwater volcano eruption in January 2022.
The immense amount of water vapour that was injected
into the atmosphere likely just started reaching the
south polar region after the end of the 2022
ozone hole, Antje said.
The water vapour could have led to a heightened formation of polar stratospheric clouds --- allowing chlorofluorocarbons to react and accelerate ozone depletion.
The impact of the widespread use of damaging
chlorofluorocarbons in products such as
refrigerators and aerosol tins in the
1970s and 1980s -------- led to the
depletion of the ozone high in
the atmosphere, allowing for
the ozone layer above
Antarctica - to open
up, according to
Copernicus.
_____________________________
The scientist declared deterioration ofall
global ecological characteristics
September 30th, 1:47pm
(RT.ru)
All global indicators in the field of ecology, except for the
problem of ozone holes, are getting worse, said Viktor
Danilov-Danilyan, a Russian scientist and scientific
director of the Institute of Water Problems of the
Russian Academy of Sciences.
"Absolutely all global environmental characteristics are deteriorating, except ----- and this is the only
exception ----- that characterizes the state of the ozone layer," RIA Novosti quotes
Danilov-Danilyan as saying, at
the Altai Economic Forum
"Thread of Nature".
He noted that the situation with the ozone layer is
improving, after the adoption of the Montreal
Protocol --- and the implementation of
its obligations.
The scientist added that the concentration of
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is
growing in the world, the area of
forests is decreasing, and the
chemical poisoning of soils
...continues.
Earlier, US President, Joe Biden, said that
global warming.... remains the only real
threat to humanity.
_____________________________________
Japanese scientists find ---
microplastics are present
in clouds
September 27th, 9:03pm
(Prensa Latina)
Researchers in Japan have confirmed - microplastics
are present in clouds, where they are likely affecting
the climate in ways that aren't yet fully understood.
In a study published in Environmental Chemistry Letters,
scientists climbed Mount Fuji and Mount Oyama in order
to collect water from the mists that shroud their peaks,
then applied advanced imaging techniques to the
samples to determine their physical and
chemical properties.
The team identified nine different types of polymers and
one type of rubber in the airborne microplastics —
ranging in size from 7.1 to 94.6 micrometres.
What’s more, “hydrophilic” or water-loving polymers were
abundant, suggesting the particles play a significant
role in rapid cloud formation and thus,
climate systems.
“If the issue of ‘plastic air pollution’ is not addressed
proactively, climate change and ecological risks
may become a reality, causing irreversible
and serious environmental damage in
the future,” lead author, Hiroshi
Okochi of Waseda University
warned in a statement
on Wednesday.
Microplastics — defined as plastic particles under 5
millimeters - come from industrial effluent, textiles,
synthetic car tires, personal care products, and
much more.
These tiny fragments have been discovered inside fish
in the deepest recesses of the ocean peppering Arctic
sea ice and blanketing the snows on the Pyrenees
mountains between France and Spain.
But the mechanisms of their transport have remained
unclear, with research on airborne microplastic
transport, in particular, limited.
“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on
airborne microplastics in cloud water,” the authors
wrote in their paper.
Emerging evidence has linked microplastics to a range of
impacts on heart and lung health, as well as cancers, in
addition to widespread environmental harm.
____________________________________________
South Koreato increase
radiation meters in
the ocean
September 18th, 11:38am
(Prensa Latina)
South Korea will strengthen emergency radiation tests to
ease public concern over the discharge into the ocean
of contaminated water from Japan's Fukushima
nuclear power plant, it was announced.
South Korean Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Cho
Seung-hwan told a news conference that more
coastal measurement points will be added
for this purpose.
''We chose the points where the released waters are expected
to arrive first, given the ocean currents. We will add more
locations to the list, especially in the East Sea, to
ensure safety further,'' he said.
Cho explained that in addition to the 75 spots in territorial
waters, radiation tests are conducted in 33 more distant
areas, and the ministry plans to increase the number
to nearly 250 by next year.
South Korea began conducting emergency radiation tests in
July on samples from 75 coastal points in the east, west
and south of the country, as well as in the waters off
the southern island of Jeju.
The monitoring began about a month before Tokyo began
discharging treated radioactive water into the sea.
In 2011, Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant was
severely damaged by a strong earthquake and a
subsequent tsunami.
_________________________________
Angola plans to eliminate
refrigerant gases by 2030
September 17th, 9:17am
(Prensa Latina)
Angola plans to eliminate, by 2030, the use of refrigerant
gases belonging to hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs),
according to sources from the Ministry
of Environment.
Since 2012 the country began to apply the schedule for the
gradual elimination of these gases, which are harmful to the ozone layer --- and cause global warming, in compliance with the Montreal Protocol,
Ivone Pascoal ---- the person in charge
of the issue in the aforementioned
ministry ---- explained to the
Angolan Press Agency.
It is expected that the application of the measure of
not importing these gases and their exclusion from
consumption... will be completed by 2025, leaving
a margin until 2030 for their total disappearance.
Reaching this point, required intense awareness-raising work
on good refrigeration practices, the introduction of new
techniques, and the implementation of rules on the
export, re-export and import of ozone-depleting
substances and equipment, among
other actions.
However, the challenge remains, as the country sets out to
reduce the consumption of substances that contribute to
global warming until 2050, in compliance with the Kigali
Amendment --- an agreement that provides for a phased reduction in the consumption of
Supplies of depleted uranium ammunition, from the West,
have already led to radiation contamination of Ukrainian
territory...... which is turning into uninhabitable land.
This is stated in an article by the official representative
of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova,
published on Komsomolskaya Pravda's website.
"The threat that Russia has repeatedly warned the
Ukrainian population about, is also confirmed on
Ukrainian territory,"the diplomat said.
According to her, radiation contamination of
the soil, is already taking place in Ukraine.
Zakharova also said that the Ukrainians
should demand the export of depleted
uranium shells.
_____________________________________
Japan’s residents - intend to file
lawsuit: over discharge of nuke
water from Fukushima NPP
August 23rd,3:56pm (TASS)
Residents from the Fukushima, Miyagi and Ibaraki
prefectures, which are located on the Pacific
Coast of Japan, intend to file a lawsuit
against the state, on September 8,
demanding that the treated water
from the Fukushima 1 Nuclear
Power Plant (NPP) not be
discharged, Kyodo news
agency reported
on Wednesday.
The lawsuit will include the Tokyo Electric
Power (TEPCO) company, which operates
the nuclear power plant.
According to the plaintiffs, the discharged water would mean
the spread of destructive substances and would inflict harm
on the region's residents. Local fishermen are among those
who intend to launch the legal action, Kyodo added.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said earlier that the
discharge of water that was used to cool the reactors at
the plant would begin on August 24, barring any
obstacles in terms of the weather or
sea conditions.
According to the Kyodo news agency, in the 2023 fiscal
year (ending on March 31, 2024) as many as 31.2
metric tons of wastewater will be released into
the ocean. The overall concentration of
tritium in it would be about
5 trillion becquerels.
In March 2011, a tsunami caused damage to power supply
and cooling systems at the Fukushima 1 Nuclear Power
Plant, which caused a nuclear fuel meltdown in three
reactors, accompanied by explosions and the
emission of radiation into the atmosphere.
Vast territories were contaminated,
forcing the evacuation of tens of
thousands of people.
The reactors used water for cooling, and storing this water
has become problematic due to its large volume — over
1.25 million tons.
In April, 2021, the Japanese government authorized the
discharge of a large amount of this water, which is
said to be mostly cleared of radioactive
substances, but still contains tritium,
a radioactive hydrogen isotope.
TEPCO underscored --- that the tritium content in the water
is being brought to one fortieth of the minimum allowable
standard set by the International Commission on
Radiological Protection (ICRP) and the
government of Japan, and one
seventh of the level allowed
by the World Health
Organization for
drinking water.
Despite this, Tokyo’s plans have drawn sharp criticism from a
number of countries, mainly Russia and China. Japan plans
to discharge the water in stages over a 30-year period.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) intends
to monitor the process on a continuous basis. In the
past few years, IAEA specialists have carried out
several inspections at the nuclear facility.
_____________________________________________
Environmentalists celebrate
Referendum victory
in Ecuador
August 21st, 3:39pm
(Prensa Latina)
Different environmental and social sectors in Ecuador
are celebrating today the "yes" vote in this Sunday's
referendum and they consider this result ------ as an
historic milestone in the South American nation.
For Ivone Ramos, member of the Accion Ecologica movement,
with the consultations that seek to leave the Yasuni National
Park oil underground and stop mining activity in the Andean
Choco, direct democracy has been achieved -she said- it is
an historic event, a great hope, she stressed.
For his part, Inti Arcos, member of the Commonwealth
of the Andean Choco, recalled that all mining in the
Andean Chocó --- is illegal.
Even large mining projects are illegal because
they violate the rights of people and nature.
The popular consultation clearly states that
we do not want any type of mining, he said.
During a press conference held on Monday, Freddy
Larreategui, lawyer for the Quito without Mining
Collective, said they will remain vigilant and
will wait for the official results... to put
pressure, so that they are respected.
All concessions granted or to be granted must
be eliminated --- immediately, he demanded.
The jurist denounced that there are currently 12
concessions granted - and eight in process - in the Andean Choco; but none of them will be able to be exploited or developed.
We will present all judicial and
constitutional actions.
We will go wherever we have to go to ensure
that the results and Quito people’s will are
respected, he warned.
_________________________________________
VenezuelaControls
Illegal Mining in
Orinoco
August 16th (teleSUR)
On Wednesday, commander of the Bolivarian National Armed
Forces (FANB) Gen. Domingo Hernandez announced that
over 500 soldiers are traveling to the Alto Orinoco
region to continue the operation against
illegal mining.
The FANB soldiers... will go to the western edge of
the Yapacana National Park "to fight for territorial
integrity and national sovereignty, and against
criminal groups that rape the environment,"
he said, adding that "environmental
protection is everyone's task, it is
a duty and a constitutional right".
The Bolivarian soldiers... continue to evacuate illegal
miners from the Yapacana National Park, dismantle
illegal facilities, and destroy environmentally
damaging equipment.
Eight months ago, the FANB began Operation Autana,
which allowed the eviction of thousands of illegal
miners from a protected natural area located on
the border with Colombia and Brazil. Those
who left there voluntarily were relocated
to other states.
So far, the FANB has detected 40 mining camps and
evacuated over 8,000 people who voluntarily
withdrew from the area --- as reported by
TeleSur correspondent Madelein Garcia.
Illegal mining has caused irreversible damage to Amazon
ecosystems due to the use of mercury to extract gold
and other minerals. Another form of illegal mining
consists of using artisan rafts that inject
mercury ------ to suck minerals from
the riverbed.
In an operation to fly over the Atabapo River, on the border
between Colombia and Venezuela, FANB troops detected
11 of these boats in less than a nautical mile. After being
detected, these vessels ----- fled to Colombian territory,
where irregular armed groups offer them protection.
___________________________________
Environmental commitments
from the Amazon Summit
stand out in Brazil
August 12th, 11:15am
(Prensa Latina)
The various environmental commitments that emanated
from the IV Amazon Summit, which held sessions for
two days in Belém, capital of the northern state of
Pará, stood out in Brazil in the week ending today.
The countries participating in the meeting, released a joint
communiqué with final considerations in which they also
request advantages for sustainable forest products in
the markets of developed nations.
“We reinforce our understanding - that preferential access
for forest products in the markets of developed countries
will be an important lever for the economic development
of developing countries,” the text indicates.
It reiterates commitments aimed at preserving forests,
reducing the causes of deforestation and forest
degradation, as well as conserving and
valuing biodiversity.
The signatories also expressed their concern about the
non-compliance of developed countries with respect to
the 100 billion dollars a year --- pledged for climate
finance in developing countries.
In this regard, the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula
da Silva, host of the forum, defended the feasibility of
international financing for sustainable projects in
the biome.
“We cannot accept a green neocolonialism that, under
the pretext of protecting the environment, imposes
trade barriers and discriminatory measures and
does not consider our regulatory frameworks
and domestic policies,” Lula said at the end
of the meeting.
For the head of state, “what we need is to make a leap
in quality and long-term financing without conditions,
for green infrastructure & industrialization projects.”
He announced that in the Brazilian presidency of the G20
(a group made up of the finance ministers and heads of
central banks of the 19 largest economies in the world
plus the EU), to begin on December 1, “we will place
sustainable development and the reduction of
inequalities ----- at the centre of the
international agenda”.
He warned they only have seven years to achieve the Goals
of the 2030 Agenda and it is “time for our countries to come
together. It is time to wake up to the urgency of the problem
of climate change.”
He remarked that the adopted joint declaration will be “the
first step towards a common position already at COP28
this year (in the UAE), with a view to COP30.”
The summit in Belém involved, in addition to the countries of
the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (Brazil, Bolivia,
Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela),
others that have large tracts of preserved tropical forests,
such as the cases of Indonesia, the Congo and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo.
___________________________________
We Cannot Accept --- a
Green Neocolonialism:
Brazilian President
August 9th (teleSUR)
During the Amazon Summit on Wednesday, Brazilian
President, Lula da Silva, stated --- that developing
nations cannot accept "green neocolonialism."
"It's not Brazil, Colombia, or Venezuela that need the money.
It's nature itself. It requires rich nations to pay their share
to rectify the damage caused over 200 years of industrial
development," Lula remarked as he concluded the
meeting in the city of Belem.
He emphasized that Amazonian countries, along with the
Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo,
and Indonesia --- will convey a clear message to
wealthier nations during the United Nations
Climate Change Conference (COP28)
scheduled for November in Dubai.
"We will tell them that if they wish to preserve what they
demand from our forests -- it's necessary to contribute
funds not only for safeguarding the treetops but also
for supporting the people beneath those trees who
want to work and study," he expressed.
Lula urged developing nations -- not to "accept a green
neocolonialism that, under the guise of environmental
protection, imposes trade barriers and discriminatory
measures, disregarding domestic policies and laws."
These statements... indirectly refer to the environmental
demands that Europeans attempt to impose in the Free
Trade Agreement (FTA) - between the European Union
(EU) and MERCOSUR, an integration bloc comprising
Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
As a result of the EU protectionist measures, negotiations
for this free trade agreement have - once again - come to
a standstill.
Lula recalled that the colonial era bequeathed to countries
with tropical rainforests "a predatory economic model"
built upon the irrational exploitation of natural
resources and the systematic exclusion of
Indigenous peoples.
A tweet reads "75 percent of the uranium exported from Niger
to France was used in French nuclear power plants. In its
northern region alone, Brazil potentially has around
300,000 tons of uranium. The Bolivian president
warned --- that the U.S. and the EU seek to
control the Amazon."
"The effects of colonialism continue to be felt in our nations
to this day," Lula emphasized during the meeting of the
Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), an
organization that includes Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia,
Guyana, Ecuador, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
"One cannot discuss tropical forests and climate change
without addressing the historical responsibility of
developed countries --- which have been the
biggest squanderers of natural resources,
and the largest contributors to planetary
pollution over the centuries," Lula said.
"The top 10 percent of the world's population holds over
75 percent of the wealth --- and emits nearly half of all
carbon released into the atmosphere," the Brazilian
president recalled.
teleSUR English
@telesurenglish
#Brazil |
Rodrigues Alves Forest - Zoobotanical Garden of the Amazon,
the meeting place of the Peoples of the Earth that will march
today towards the Amazon Summit. At the end of the march,
they will deliver their demands to the political leaders of the
Pan-Amazon nations.
_________________________________________
Strengthening Sovereignty
to Protect the Amazon:
VP Rodriguez
August 8th (teleSUR)
On Tuesday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called
upon the nations that comprise the Amazon Cooperation
Treaty Organization (ACTO) to establish a collaborative
action plan --- to safeguard the Amazon forests and their natural resources.
"Through hard work, effort, and a concrete action plan
ready for implementation, let's unite in reforestation,
sanitation, and restoration of the Amazon.... for the
well-being of our Indigenous peoples," he tweeted,
displaying optimism ---- and asserting that the
Amazon countries are "heading towards
a new humanity."
Due to an ear infection, the Bolivarian leader could not
personally attend the 4th ACTO Presidential Summit
in the city of Belem, in the state of Para. However,
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez
attended this high-level meeting.
She presented a specific action plan for the preservation
of life and the rights of nature, with the main points
as follows:
Establish an ACTO task force as a
coordinating body among the
region's countries.
Develop a comprehensive reforestation plan
to map critical areas in the Amazon basin
and promote sustainable practices as
sovereign and ecological economic
alternatives.
Establish a seed bank and research
centre to preserve regional
biodiversity.
Eliminate illegal mining activities.
Launch an Amazonian satellite
into orbit for region monitoring.
Define an ecological and sovereign sustainable
development plan that respects the rights
of nature.
Strengthen the ACTO institutional capacity.
Rodriguez also emphasized that the Amazon
countries... are obliged to reinforce their
sovereignty --- if they wish to preserve
"the environmental soul of the planet."
"There is no other path. We must be frank... There are
grave threats we cannot evade: the voracity of
transnational pharmaceutical and food
empires, the outsourcing of state
functions, and the aspirations
of NATO --- that target the
commercialization of
the Amazon basin,"
she stated.
"What is at stake here is a profound debate between
an international economic order and a sustainable
development model that ensures a true balance
among land, oceans, and the atmosphere,"
Rodriguez added, recalling that the
Venezuelan message is
"unity, unity, unity."
"The organization must serve the political, economic,
and territorial sovereignty of the countries that form the OTCA," she advocated.
__________________________________
Water temperature in world's
oceans has reached new
record values
August 5th, 12:15am
(Izvestia.ru)
Another temperature record was set in the world's oceans.
This was reported on Friday, August 4th, by the AFP news
agency... citing data from the European Union's (EU) Earth observation program, Copernicus.
On this day, the surface of the oceans warmed up to
+20.96 degrees, exceeding the indicators of March
2016 (+20.95 degrees).
Earlier, on July 19, Copernicus experts presented a forecast
according to which July 2023 on the planet may become
the hottest in history. It was noted that, since spring,
the oceans have been overheating, and the speed
of this phenomenon... is very surprising to
scientists around the world.
On July 31, Igor Shkradyuk, coordinator of the industrial
greening program at the Centre for Wildlife Protection,
told Izvestia ...about the warm current across the
Pacific Ocean — El Nino. It is associated with a
strong climate cycle, which repeats with a
period of about 10 years, warming the
ocean waters.
Earlier, on July 4, the World Meteorological Organization
announced that for the first time in seven years, El Nino
conditions were established in the tropical Pacific
Ocean, which creates prerequisites, for a likely
sharp increase in global temperatures ---- and
destructive weather and climate conditions.
It was noted that the probability of
continuing El Nino in the second
half of 2023 --- is 90%.
In addition, in June, a study was published in
which scientists concluded that over the
decade 2013-2022.... warming caused
by human activity accelerated at a
dangerous pace - and the planet
became hotter by 0.2 degrees.
______________________________________
Until the end of the year, humanity will
--- live on credit from the environment
August 3rd, 2023
(source --- France 24
translated by InoTV)
By August 2, 2023, humanity had used the resources
that the planet creates throughout the year, reports
France 24. For the remaining 151 days, the world's
population will live in a state of ecological deficit
--- experts estimate. They blame our profligate lifestyles, especially in the rich countries.
Since yesterday morning, humanity has been living on credit. We have already used up all the resources that the Earth can
produce in a year. In other words, for the remaining 151
days of 2023 ------ humanity will live in a state of
ecological deficit.
Matthis Wakkernagel, co-founder
of the Global Habitat Network:
''We can calculate how much will be restored in a particular country, then add up these figures for the whole world. We can also calculate consumption -- in each country. There
are also statistics that show the amount of consumption
of potatoes, milk and meat. So... we can take stock and identify the capacities needed to produce the products.''
''In 1970, all the world's resources were used up by the end of
December. Throughout the 1980s-in November. In the 1990s-
in October. This year, the line was crossed on August 2nd.
The reason is our way of life, especially in rich countries.
Greenhouse gas emissions, from the use of oil and coal
- strongly affect the equilibrium. Oceans that are being destroyed by overfishing; forests --- unable to absorb
everything. Especially.... since the Amazon forests
were cut down under the rule of Jair Bolsonaro.''
''The situation has stabilized for five years, but it is not
changing. But... to meet the goal set by the Inter-
governmental Panel on Climate Change --- to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions, by 43%
by 2030 - it would be worth delaying the
moment of Land depletion, by 19 days
each year, over the next seven years.''
_______________________________________
Beijing Reports Heaviest
Rainfall in 140 Years
August 2nd, 3:16pm
(teleSUR)
On Wednesday, the Chinese authorities confirmed
that Beijing has recorded its heaviest rainfall over
the past few days since records began
140 years ago.
The city logged 744.8 millimetres of rain, the maximum
amount of precipitation recorded during the rainstorm,
between 8 p.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. Wednesday at
the Wangjiayuan reservoir in Changping District,
the Beijing Meteorological Service said.
The Chinese capital has experienced spells of torrential
rain brought by Typhoon Doksuri since the start of the
weekend, which had caused 11 fatalities, as of
Tuesday morning.
The authorities lifted the red alert for floods on
Wednesday morning... as the water flow in
major rivers fell below the warning mark.
Previously, some parts of the Fangshan District suffered from
flood and geological disasters caused by recent rainstorms
in the capital city. A rescue team comprised of firefighters,
medical workers and volunteers set out to evacuate
people afflicted by floods in Pinggezhuang Village
of Liulihe Town, on Wednesday.
The Chinese Finance Ministry has earmarked about
US$14 million to support post-disaster
reconstruction in Beijing and in the
neighbouring Hebei Province.
It was also confirmed that central budget funds
will be used to support the reconstruction of
infrastructure and public services.
____________________________
FishermenStage New Protest
AgainstJapanese Nuclear
Wastewater
July 27th, 7:24pm
(teleSUR)
On Wednesday afternoon, South Korean fishermen staged a
maritime rally in the southern coastal county of Boseong
to protest against Japan's planned release of nuclear-
contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima power plant, into the ocean.
Over 100 fishing boats set out from a port of the county,
plowing their way through glittering blue waves with
banners attached on the sides, that read "Oppose
Fukushima nuclear-contaminated wastewater
discharge into the ocean," and "The ocean
is not a dumping ground for nuclear-
contaminated wastewater."
The long line of boats circled around in southern waters,
and 12 of them sailed toward two vessels at the centre
of the circle. From the two vessels, 120 boxes with a
mark symbolizing nuclear pollutants were thrown
into the sea --- to represent Japan's radioactive
wastewater discharge, while fishermen from
the 12 boats pulled up the boxes from the
sea ----- and delivered them back to the
two vessels.
"It was a performance - showing that South Korean people
collect the nuclear-contaminated wastewater, released
by Japan, and return it back to Japan," said Kim
Young-chul, executive chief of the Federation
of Korean Fishermen's Associations.
"The fishing boats circled around to show that if Japan
discharges Fukushima nuclear-contaminated waste-
water into the sea, South Korean vessels will
surround the wastewater and make it no
longer flow into other countries,"
he added.
"The ocean is the home of our lives. I have lived all my life
with gratitude to the ocean, which is like family and a
friend, and also my workplace...If Japan discharges
Fukushima nuclear-contaminated wastewater, it
will become a sea of death. Fishermen will also be dead."
Right before the maritime demonstration, the fishermen
held a separate rally on land in protest of the nuclear-
contaminated wastewater dumping plan.
They chanted the slogan "The Japanese government should
immediately retract its plan to dump Fukushima nuclear-
contaminated wastewater into the ocean," wearing a
red band around their heads with the slogan
"Protect our right to life."
_____________________
The CanadaWildfire
Carbon Emissions...
Exceed 1 Bln Tonnes
July 27th, 3pm
(teleSUR)
Liu Zhihua, a researcher from the Institute of Applied
Ecology, said that the massive carbon dioxide
emissions from the raging wildfires in
Canada ---- have exceeded
one billion tonnes.
Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and
nitrous oxide emitted by the wildfires in Canada have a
noticeable impact on global warming and the wildfires
have evolved into a global environmental event,
said Liu.
According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre
(CIFFC), as of July 26, there were 4,774 fires across the
country, and the cumulative fire area has exceeded
121,000 square kilometres.
The researchers conducted a rapid assessment of
greenhouse gas emissions from the wildfires,
based on remote sensing observations.
It is estimated that as of July 26 local time, the wildfires
in Canada have directly emitted about one billion tonnes
of carbon dioxide.
The greenhouse effect of methane and nitrous oxide
emissions is about 110 million tonnes of carbon
dioxide equivalent -- and the total greenhouse
gas emissions are about 1.11 billion tonnes
of carbon dioxide equivalent.
This number has exceeded Japan's energy-related carbon
dioxide emissions of 1.067 billion tonnes in 2021,
according to data cited from the Global
Carbon Project.
In addition to affecting the climate, the wildfires in Canada
also released air pollutants such as PM2.5, PM10, organic
aerosols, and black carbon, which harm human health.
In June, the air quality in New York, Chicago, and other
places in the United States deteriorated significantly.
These air pollutants are also transported over long
distances worldwide under westerly circulation,
affecting areas in Europe, North Africa,
and Asia.
The wildfires have also wreaked havoc on forest ecosystems.
The rapidly burning wildfires led to extensive vegetation
destruction and biodiversity loss, depriving animals
of habitats and food sources.
_______________________________
Iran: Hamoun Lake
and Wetlands Face
Existential Risk
July 27th, 2:21pm
(teleSUR)
On Wednesday, an Iranian environmental official warned
that the Hamoun Lake and Wetlands near the common
border in southeastern Iran with Afghanistan could
dry up completely, leading to an "environmental
and humanitarian disaster."
Mojtaba Zoljoudi, deputy for the marine environment and
wetlands, of the Iranian Department of Environment,
called on environmental officials & the international community in Afghanistan to help revive the lake
and wetlands, regardless of political issues.
Zoljoudi said the lake's survival depends on the floodwaters
flowing into it from upstream rivers, including the Farah and Helmand, in Afghanistan.
However, he said the lake has dried up completely due to a
"diversion in the Helmand River's route, construction of
numerous dams on the Farah River and Afghanistan's
failure to uphold the historical and natural rights of
the ecosystem."
Zoljoudi added that the sandstorms in the southeastern
Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan, have sent
thousands of people to hospitals over the past weeks,
noting ------ that the storms even affected parts of Afghanistan.
During the past months, high-ranking Iranian officials have
called on the Taliban to allow an average of 820 million
cubic metres of water per year, to Iran, from the
Helmand River under a 1973 water-sharing
pact between Tehran and Kabul.
The Taliban government said it is
committed to the 1973
treaty and does not
cause trouble for
its neighbour.
The Helmand River originates in the Hindu Kush Mountains
near Afghanistan's capital Kabul and runs over 1,100 km
south before flowing into Hamoun Lake and Wetlands.
The lake and wetlands --- are a vital source of water
and food for the people of Sistan and Baluchestan.
__________________________________
July heat waves: due
to ''climate change''
by Elsy Fors Garzon
July 26th, 11:13am
(Prensa Latina)
The heat waves experienced to date in China, Europe
and North America, and which will increase, are
largely generated.. by the effects of climate
change, said a report by World Weather
Attribution (WWA ).
“North America, Europe & China have experienced heat
waves more frequently in recent years, as a result of
global warming, caused by human activities,” the
text underlines.
Extreme temperature events in these areas during the
month of July would have been extremely rare, were
it not for human-induced climate change, the
report says.
The heat waves - were 2.5 degrees Celsius warmer
in southern Europe, two degrees warmer, in North
America and about one degree in China in today’s
climate -- than they would have been without the
climate change exacerbated by the malpractice
of humans.
“Unless the world quickly stops burning fossil fuels, these
events will become even more common and the planet
will experience even hotter and longer-lasting heat
waves,” the text emphasizes.
This phenomenon would occur every two to five
years in a world that is two degrees warmer
than the pre-industrial climate, the
WWA warned.
_________________________________
Venezuela to Set Special Plan to Decontaminate Lake Maracaibo
July 25th, 2:38pm (teleSUR)
On Monday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced
a special plan to decontaminate Lake Maracaibo, which has
been affected by the cumulative effect of oil spills, the
confluence of solid waste and the proliferation of
a bacterium called verdigris.
"I have prepared a special care, decontamination and
recovery plan for Lake Maracaibo. Public Service
Minister Nestor Reverolwill be in charge of its
implementation," he said, at an event to
mark the bicentennial of the Naval
Battle of Lake Maracaibo.
This plan was prepared with the support of scientists,
technicians and the ministers of environment, oil,
fishing and aquaculture, and electric power.
Maduro asked Zulia Governor, Manuel Rosales, and the
Maracaibo Mayor, Rafael Ramirez, for "all the support"
for the development of this plan, for which Venezuela
will seek financing amid the U.S. Sanctions
and blockade.
The Bolivarian leader also announced the construction of a
33-hectare park, that will be able to provide services to 1.4 million people... in the eastern and western parts of Maracaibo, the capital city of the Zulia state.
This facility, which will be called Ana Maria Campos, in
honour of a heroine in the war of independence, will
have five lagoons, 14 sports fields, walkways, a
special space for pets and an area for children
with disabilities.
"We are going to reforest the areas to the west and east of Maracaibo, to have the protection of the trees... It will be a monumental park," Maduro said, and promised to hand over the first eight hectares of the park, in December.
_________________________________
On the Uruguayan Coast over 300 Penguins Appear - Dead
July 22nd, 2023
(teleSUR)
On Friday, the SOS Fauna Marina NGO confirmed that over 300
Magellanic penguins appeared dead on the Uruguayan coast
in the last week. This occurred during their annual migration
from Argentine Patagonia to Brazil, where the penguins seek
food and warmer waters for the winter.
“Food scarcity - as a consequence of the overfishing of the
South Atlantic and the effects of climate change on ocean
currents could be the causes of the catastrophe,” SOS
Fauna Marina environmentalist, Richard Tesore, said,
adding that most of the penguins were very skinny.
“They had no food in their stomachs, not a layer of fat.
To make such a long trip, it is essential to eat a lot of
calories and have a large layer of fat on the body,
which acts as a thermal insulator and protects
the animals from low temperatures. The
animals died of hypothermia caused
by lack of food,” he said.
For many years, the Uruguayan coasts have witnessed
the appearance of lifeless penguins. In the last three
years, however, this event has intensified.
Tesore commented that when he began his work as an
environmentalist, more than 30 years ago, penguins
used to die... from accidentally ingesting
plastic materials.
“On this occasion, the massive deaths show the scarcity
of food. The overexploitation of the fishing resource - is noticeable - and it affects the birds as well”, he explained.
Additionally, global warming began to alter marine currents
in the 1990s -- which has influenced some species of fish
to no longer reach the waters near the Uruguayan coast.
Among them is "manila," a species that penguins
feed on.
Throughout this week, the Uruguayan Environmental Ministry
performed necropsies on the Magellanic penguins. After
forensic investigations, the authorities determined
that their deaths are not related to bird flu.
In the last month, citizens found over 20 dead turtles on the
Uruguayan coast. Dead dolphins were also detected on
the coasts of Canelones, Maldonado and Rocha.
______________________________________
South Koreans-- Hold
Rally AgainstJapan's
Wastewater Discharge
July 21st, 1:22pm
(teleSUR)
On Friday, South Korean fishermen held a maritime protest
rally --- against Japan's planned discharge of wastewater
from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean.
A group of local fishermen gathered on the seashore of the
southwestern coastal county of Jangheung, carrying a
rally called "flower bier" about 200 meters along the
coast to protest against the contaminated water
release plan.
"The flower bier is used for a traditionalritual to carry coffins
when people die. We marched with the flower bier to say
that if the Fukushima nuclear wastewater is released
into the ocean, all humankind will die," said Kim
Young-chul, executive chief of the Federation
of Korean Fishermen's Associations.
The placard of "oppose discharging Fukushima nuclear
contaminated water" was attached to both sides of
the bier carried by the fishermen.
The same placards were also hung on the sides of about
30 fishing boats that staged a maritime demonstration
in waters off the county --- for some half an hour.
"I'd like to ask questions to the Japanese government. Why is
it seeking to release the contaminated water into the ocean
if the water is really safe as Japan claimed? Why is it
seeking to dump it --- through a one-kilometre-long
tunnel after dilution, if the water is safe enough
to drink?" Kim said, noting that if it is a really
safe and drinkable water, Japan can just
choose to use it inside its territory for
agricultural, industrial and
drinking purposes.
Japan has been pushing for dumping the contaminated
wastewater this summer from the Fukushima Daiichi
nuclear power plant, which was hit by a massive
earthquake and an ensuing tsunami, in
March 2011.
The move has aroused strong opposition --- and doubts
from domestic fishing groups, neighbouring countries
and the South Pacific island countries, as well as the
international community.
________________________________
''Mexico'' - to hold first
Youth Climate Summit
Tlaxcala 2023
by Alina Ramos Martin
July 21st, 10:04am
(Prensa Latina)
Young Mexicans aged 18 to 35 will be a fundamental part
of the First Youth Climate Summit ---- Tlaxcala 2023,
tomorrow Saturday, in the Gallery of the Palace
of Culture of that state.
Hilda Margarita Castro, young ambassador for the climate of
Mexico in the EU, said that this first event is a space created from youths and for youths, in view of the
need to ''position'' this social sector at a local level and propose inclusive and scientific climate policies.
Likewise, this position will be presented at the Latin
American Youth Climate Summit, as these meetings
aim to give continuity and follow-up to Mexico’s
climate commitments and obligations.
Mainly the contributions determined at a national level,
strengthen the capacities and knowledge of youth on
climate change, create a legitimate representation of youth based on data and dialogue, and influence public policies and climate projects.
________________________________
Climate Change --- Affects the
Resilience of Boreal Forests
July 19th, 12:44pm
(teleSUR)
Earlier this week, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire
Centre confirmed that there were 888 active wildfires
nationwide and the number of out-of-control wildfires
was 586. So far this year, the number of wildfires
reached 4,152, devouring about 100,000
square km of land.
Paul Beckwith, a climate system scientist, warned that
the boreal forests in Canada's wildfire region will likely
not regrow... if the climate there has changed.
"We can't assume that when a forest burns down it will be
replaced over time by another forest," he said, explaining
that if the annual temperatures have changed and the
precipitation in that region, has also changed and
reduced, the region where the forests used to be
will become savanna, mostly grasslands with
the odd, isolated trees, or just
pure grasslands.
Formerly an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa,
Beckwith studies abrupt climate system changes related
to oceans, biosphere, air temperatures, the lithosphere
and cryosphere.
"We haven't seen fires like this before in Canada for an awful
long time. Maybe ever," Beckwith said, adding that wildfires
in Canada are exceptional by any measure and this
wouldn't be happening, without the heat waves
and the lack of moisture.
A boreal forest is a wet and cold adapted forest which gets
lots of rain and sunlight. But now Canada has warmed at
over double the rate than the rest of the planet.
Typically the return time of large fires in a boreal forest is
about 50 to 100 years and forest fires are a part of the
lifecycle of the boreal forests.
If a fire ignites in July or August, it's generally out in the fall,
because as the weather gets colder, there's more rainfall.
So the fire is there left alone to burn if it's not interfering
with infrastructure, towns, roads, and rail, etc. It just
burns itself out. But when there are too many at
any one time, it really overstretches
firefighting resources.
"The problem is that when you get these fires igniting in the
remote areas in the spring, do you really want to let them
burn all summer? We've got to do firefighting differently
in this country, for sure," Beckwith said.
The problem with the forest burning, is that the forests are
a huge sink of carbon. And when they burn that carbon is
released rapidly to the atmosphere-ocean system. And
you also lose the carbon sink and the forests no
longer exist to absorb all of that carbon.
_____________________________________
G20 meeting on energy transitions ---- takes place in Goa, India
by Luis Linares Petrov
July 19th, 10:05am
(Prensa Latina)
At least 100 delegates are participating in the fourth G20
meeting on energy transitions that began in Goa, a state
in southern India, and will last the next two days.
Priority areas are discussed with a view to global
cooperation towards the development of clean
and sustainable energy, according to a
government source.
Topics such as addressing technological gaps, low-cost
financing, energy security, and diversified supply
chains will be discussed by representatives
of the bloc’s nations, international
organizations, and experts.
The meeting will also promote analysis of energy
efficiency, low-carbon industrial transitions and
responsible consumption, fuels for the future
and universal access to clean energy
through fair, affordable and
inclusive channels.
The event will build on deliberations from previous
meetings in Bangalore, Gandhinagar, and Mumbai
in order to identify and promote best practices,
policies and innovative approaches.
As a result of the analysis, the draft statement will
be drawn up to be delivered to the ministers of
the sector for its consolidation and
subsequent approval.
__________________________________
Demand forCoolingto Increase
Due to Global Temperature Rise
July 24th (teleSUR)
Countries like New Zealand, Canada, and Britain, will likely
see the greatest relative increase in the number of days
that cooling will be needed each year, as global
temperatures rise.
Researchers from the University of Oxford simulated likely
temperatures around the world under 1.5 and 2 degrees
of global warming to estimate the demand for cooling
in different countries.
The study, led by Jesus Miranda, and published in Nature
Sustainability, shows that New Zealand is in the top 10
countries tying third, with a nearly 24 percent relative
increase in cooling demand days as the world moves
from 1.5 to 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels.
The 2015 Paris Agreement recognized --- that 1.5 degrees
above pre-industrial levels is a critical threshold beyond
which the world enters "dangerous climate change,"
which will be experienced through more intense
and frequent extreme events, like storm-
induced flooding and also manifests
on hotter days... that cause
heat stress.
This study, measures the absolute and relative increase in
cooling demands due to hotter weather, using a measure
called "Cooling Demand Days." It shows that even a
small increase in average global temperature...
affects heat exposure and cooling demand.
"New Zealand is not prepared for this impact. Climate and
energy policies need to build resilience to a hotter local
climate and the inevitability of heat stress," said Bruce
Glavovic, professor of the School of People,
Environment and Planning in
Massey University.
The cross-party agreement is necessary to enact robust
legislation, with enabling policies and resourcing, to
reduce climate-compounded impacts and risk, he
said, adding increasing heat stress and cooling
demand, adds to the litany of climate-
compounded challenges in New
Zealand as it navigates the
aftermath of multiple
flood disasters.
Nick Cradock-Henry, principal scientist of GNS Science, said
as a mid-latitude nation, many of New Zealand's systems of
production & distribution, and urban and rural populations
are traditionally unprepared for high temperatures, and
large-scale adaptation to heat resilience presents
a novel, complex challenge.
This will affect the country's largest urban populations not
only through higher temperatures but placing additional
demand on electricity supplies, potentially straining
the already fragile infrastructure.
These findings also pose additional adaptation challenges
for the primary industries, which rely on cool storage.
Some 60 percent of New Zealand's food production,
or by-products are exported in a refrigerated state,
he said, adding that this presents an acute risk for cold chains.... which are likely to face higher energy demands and costs.
________________________________________
Experts Criticize IAEA Report
on Fukushima Nuclear
Wastewater
July 11th, 3:14pm
(teleSUR)
On Tuesday, a Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) expert panelist has
criticized the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
for ignoring its own principle of justification in its report
on Japan's planned dump of nuclear wastewater into
the Pacific Ocean.
The IAEA final report released last week claimed that the
plan "is in conformity with the agreed international
standards." However, the report was criticized
by Arjun Makhijani, president of the Institute
for Energy and Environmental Research,
the Fiji Times reported.
The IAEA report noted, that justification is a
fundamental principle for the international
standards of radiation protection.
"The IAEA has abandoned its responsibility to review the
justification of actions, even though it is part of the
fundamental safety principles," Makhijani said,
adding that he has raised his concerns with
the IAEA as part of the PIF expert panel.
The IAEA said in the report that the controlled, gradual
release as planned by the Tokyo Electric Power
Company (TEPCO) would have a "negligible
radiological impact on people and
the environment."
"The IAEA is refusing to acknowledge its responsibility, and
basically abandoning the countries of the Pacific region to
whatever mercies the government of Japan might offer them," he said.
The TEPCO has yet to confirm a start date for dumping
the wastewater as Japan aims to start to do so around
this summer. The IAEA is set to meet with Pacific
leaders next week.
The PIF independent scientific experts and the IAEA
held the second technical dialogue on Fukushima
wastewater last month.
During the meeting, the PIF experts said that the lack
of TEPCO research into Fukushima nuclear waste-
water discharge on marine species, which are
more common to the Pacific Forum nations,
left them unable to provide an informed
decision to PIF members on a priority
gap around the ecosystem and
food security impacts.
______________________________
''Climate Change'' to Reduce
Grain Harvest in Germany
July 5th, 1pm
(teleSUR)
June was the second sunniest month since records
began, in this European country, the National
Meteorological Service said.
On Tuesday, the German Farmers' Association (DBV)
said that this year's grain harvest in Germany is
expected to be well below the average for
2018 to 2022 and well below the
previous year's result.
"In many parts of the country, the long drought in May and
June caused significant damage to stocks. Agriculture is
already clearly feeling the effects of climate change.
The increase in extreme weather events is causing
yields to decline and fluctuate," DBV President
Joachim Rukwied said.
This past June was the second sunniest month since records
began. The persistent summer heat reached oppressively
hot levels, Germany's National Meteorological Service
(DWD) said.
German farmers are hoping for "summer-like and hopefully
often dry weather conditions" for the upcoming harvest.
However, in order for corn, potatoes and sugar beets
to make up for the delay in growth from the early
summer, sufficient precipitation will also be
needed in the coming weeks.
Weather forecasts are indicating heavy showers
and thunderstorms at slightly lower
temperatures for next week.
"The distribution and amount of precipitation are still very
uncertain, so it is also unclear whether the drought will
be dampened in the particularly affected regions,"
a DWD spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Farmers in Europe's largest economy are also troubled by
new legislation. Besides the challenges of climate
change for agriculture, the "across-the-board
reduction targets for crop protection
proposed by Brussels would lead
to further yield declines,"
Rukwied warned.
The European Commission aims to reduce the use
and risk of chemical and hazardous pesticides
in the European Union by 50 percent by 2030.
To achieve this -- among other things -- new rules have
been adopted to simplify the approval or authorization
of biological plant protection products containing
microorganisms.
"The use and risk of crop protection products must
be significantly reduced in order to protect the
environment and biodiversity - and thus also
safeguard our livelihoods for the future,"
German Minister of Agriculture Cem
Oezdemir said at the beginning of
the year.
_________________________________
IAEA Greenlights -------- Japan's
Nuclear Wastewater Discharge
July 4th, 2023 (teleSUR)
On Tuesday, Rafael Grossi, the director of the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), met with Japanese Prime
Minister Fumio Kishida, to deliver the IAEA final
assessment report on the Advanced Liquid
Processing System (ALPS) proposed in
the Japanese discharge plan.
He defended the "reliability" of the Japanese plan to process
and discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima
nuclear power plant into the sea.
The IAEA holds that the process devised by Japan "meets
international safety standards" ..and will have "negligible
radiological impact" on human health or the environment.
Nevertheless, the Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wu Jiangha
stated that the IAEA report, does not necessarily greenlight
the Japanese plan to discharge nuclear-tainted water from
the Fukushima nuclear plant ----- into the Pacific Ocean.
Following the ocean discharge decision announced in April
2021 and the official plan released in July 2022, the
Japanese government repeatedly declared that it
would not delay the discharge long before the
IAEA task force completed the assessment
and issued the final report, leaving the
international community with a
serious question mark over
Japan's sincerity... the
embassy told a press
conference held
in Tokyo.
The Chinese diplomat pointed out that the IAEA, in terms of
functional authorization, is mandated to promote the safe,
secure and peaceful uses of nuclear technology, but is
not the appropriate body to assess the long-term
effects of nuclear-contaminated water - on the
marine environment and marine life's health.
Adding, that Japan limited the mandate of the IAEA task
force and does not accept evaluation on other disposal
options, it stated --- the IAEA report cannot prove the
legitimacy and legality of Japan's ocean discharge
plan, nor can it absolve Japan of its moral
responsibility and obligations under
international law.
Wu called on the Japanese government to revoke its wrong
decision -- of dumping wastewater into the ocean, urging
it to face up to the legitimate and reasonable concerns
both at home and abroad - and fulfill its obligations
under international law.
Japan should seek disposal of nuclear-contaminated water
in a scientific, safe, and transparent manner and accept
strict international supervision, he added.
The Chinese embassy also elaborated on the huge risks that
the discharge might bring to the global marine environment
and human health and Japan's deliberate confusion about
the tritium content in contaminated water from the
crippled power plant and the amount of tritium
contained in the normal cooling water
discharged from other nuclear
power plants.
______________________________
One quarter of world's population
predicted in struggle for survival
July 4th, 3:20pm
(Lenta.ru)
Global warming can cause significant damage to the
inhabitants of the Asian region. Due to the large-
scale melting of glaciers, in the Ginkudush
Himalayan region, about 2 billion people
may be on the edge of survival,
Bloomberg predicted.
Due to the increase in average temperatures in the region,
up to 80% of the glacial mass of the mountain system in
Central Asia may melt. If this happens, a quarter of the
world's population will face a serious deterioration in
living conditions.
In terms of its consequences, the melting of mountain
glaciers may be larger than the floods in Pakistan
that occurred in June 2022. Then, the damage
from natural disasters to the local economy
was estimated at more than $ 30 billion,
and a total of eight million people
lost their homes.
Previously Head of the Office of the High Commissioner
(OHCHR) the UN's Volker Turk has predicted the threat
of starvation for another 80 million people around the
world... amid global warming. Because of natural
disasters, agricultural land and livestock can
be affected, which can cause food
shortages in the world.
__________________________________________
G-77 plus China meeting on
environment opens in Cuba
by Ileana Ferrer Fonte
July 4th, 1:12pm
(Prensa Latina)
Deputy Prime Minister Inés María Chapman welcomed the
meeting of top authorities and ministers of environment,
science, technology, and innovation from the Group
of 77 (G-77) plus China on Tuesday.
The meeting, which is taking place at the Hotel Nacional de
Cuba, is part of the 14th Convention on Environment and
Development, whose debates will focus on the impact
of climate change on biodiversity, the economy,
society, food security, and health, with severe
consequences --- that require the attention and cooperation of this integration bloc.
Venezuelan Science and Technology Minister Gabriela
Jiménez noted the side effects of global warming on
the most vulnerable sectors --- such as indigenous
communities, women, and young people in Latin
America, a region severely affected by this
process; and called on them to become
protagonists of actions ----- to
preserve nature.
The G-77 plus China should seek alternatives to promote
infrastructures and programs that will allow the member
countries to face the challenges posed by the
consequences of climate change by using
science, technology, and innovation, and
the support of financial institutions and
the private sector, Jiménez added.
Cuba is hosting this meeting as the pro tempore president of
the G-77 plus China. The aim is to adopt a final declaration
to fight climate change, land degradation, and pollution,
and protect biodiversity.
The Convention on Environment and Development also
..includes the 18th Conference of Directors of Ibero-
America Meteorological Services, in the presence
of renowned prominent figures of this scientific
discipline in the region and representatives
of international agencies.
It would also promote unity, solidarity, and international
cooperation and materialize projects from the South to
support a recovery of ecosystems after the Covid-19
pandemic, taking into account ----- their needs
and specifications.
_______________________________________
10 Illegal Mining Camps Are Dismantledin the Brazilian Amazon
Published July 3rd (teleSUR)
Justice Minister Dino said that there has been a "continuous operation" against illegal mining since January, resulting in the destruction of 323 camps.
On Monday, the Brazilian Federal Police announced that it had destroyed ten illegal mining camps during a four-day operation in the Amazon basin.
The operation focused on - an "environmental devastation scenario" equivalent to 118 football fields, located in the Campos Amazonicos National Park and the Tenharim Marmelos Indigenous Land, in the northern state of Rondonia.
The Police stated that two hydraulic excavators, 11drainage motors, 4 power generators, and 8 vehicles were destroyed, with a total value of US$1.6million,but no arrests were reported.
Twenty federal officers, eight officials from the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Preservation, and two aircraft from this organization, participated in the operation.
During the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro's government (2019-2023), illegal mining experienced significant expansion throughout the entire Amazon region, contaminating rivers with mercury and threatening the livelihoods of Indigenous peoples.
Two weeks ago, Justice Minister Flavio Dino declared that there has been a "continuous operation" against illegal mining since January, resulting in the destruction of 323 camps and the blocking of approximately US$400 million from accounts linked to this activity.
The Yanomami ethnic reserve has been one of the main fronts in this fight, with 200 camps dismantled and nearly 20,000 miners expelled, in the first three months of the year.
______________________________________
Japan Ratifies Decision to Dump
Fukushima Nuclear Wastewater
July 3rd, 4:14pm (teleSUR)
On Monday, Japan's government spokesman Matsuno
Hirokazu, said that his country will not change the
plan to start releasing water from the crippled
Fukushima nuclear power plant into the
Pacific Ocean, during this summer.
Previously, the leader of the Komeito party, which governs
in coalition with the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP),
asked the Japanese government to delay the
discharge of water.
"It may be better to avoid the bathing season. We should
not cause unnecessary concern to the population, so
it is something to be considered," Komeito leader
Natsuo Yamaguchi said.
Nevertheless, the release of contaminated water - will
severely impact various parts of the Pacific, including
countries of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) which depend on fisheries,
both for domestic consumption and export,
said Neow Choo Seong, the deputy chair-
man of the Diplomacy Bureau.... at the
Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA).
The contamination of the fisheries sector would be
especially harmful ------- not only in terms of harm done to human health as a result of exposure,
especially via seafood, contaminated
with heavy metals, but also, would
harm the region economically, as
tourists would stay away, over
negative perceptions and real
risks.... while exports of seafood would grind to a stop, he warned.
"There is no limit to the movement of ocean currents plus
the marine life that constantly migrates, this radioactive
wastewater may spread to the neighboring countries
and wider sea waters across the region, including
those global major seafood exporting countries
like China, Vietnam, and Thailand. Hence, it
will certainly contaminate the marine life,
and food chain, and pose a long-term
threat to our public health,"
Neow said.
He suggested that Malaysia should use its voice and
leverage within ASEAN as well as other multilateral
platforms such as the United Nations to raise the
issue and make it clear to Japan that many
nations are against its unilateral move
and the lack of transparency
surrounding it.
"The lack of transparency over this unilateral decision has
raised concerns among the international community and
strong reactions from the neighboring countries,
international organizations, civil societies, as
well as the fishermen communities in the
region," he said.
"As one of ASEAN founding members, Malaysia can play a
leading role through this regional platform, as well as
other multilateral platforms, such as the United
Nations to voice our concern and urge Japan
not to go ahead, until it is proven to be safe
environmentally and scientifically,"
he added.
Japan ---- plans to dump some 1.3 million tons of waste water from its Fukushima power plant which suffered
catastrophic damage during an earthquake in 2011. It has built an underwater tunnel stretching from its coast, into the Pacific, for the purpose.
Neow also urged Japan to drop its hypocritical approach
to the issue, urging Japan to "lead by example" and
use the wastewater for its own domestic
consumption -- if it is indeed as safe
as claimed.
_______________________________
New Zealand:Plastic Produce
BagsBanned From July 1
June 30th, 11:20am
(teleSUR)
Official statements show that New Zealand's major
supermarkets have been preparing for the second
phase of the national plastics ban, starting from
Saturday (July 1), which will see the phase-out
of more single-use plastics.
According to the Ministry for Environment, this round
of the national ban targets single-use and hard-to-
recycle items, is expected to stop 150 million
produce bags from ending up in landfills
each year.
Official data shows that those plastics will be taken off
the shelves from Saturday, and those businesses not
complying with the new regulation could be fined up to 100,000 NZ dollars (60,853 U.S. dollars).
Last October, single-use plastic cotton buds, drink
stirrers and most plastic meat trays were banned
from sale or manufacture in the first phase-out.
According to the Ministry for Environment's website,
the second round --- will ban plastic produce bags
and stickers, plates, bowls, cutlery, and straws.
According to the nation’s three-year phase-out plan,
other PVC and polystyrene food and beverage
packaging will be banned, from mid-2025.
Official data shows that, on average, every year
each New Zealander sends about 750 kg of
waste to landfill.
"Stopping the sale of these plastic products will reduce waste to landfill, improve our recycling systems and encourage reusable or environmentally responsible
alternatives," Environment Minister, David Parker,
said last September.
____________________________________
Ethiopian President launches
Green Legacy Initiative
by Yasiel Betancourt Clavijo
June 24th, 12:08pm
(Prensa Latina)
Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde arrived today in the city of Hawassa, Sidama region (south), to launch the second phase of the Green Legacy Initiative, a reforestation program against climate change.
Zewde was accompanied by Agriculture Minister Girma
Amente, Water and Energy Minister Habtamu Itefa,
among other senior officials... and they were
received by the region’s chief administrator,
Desta Ledamo, state TV station Fana
Broadcasting Corporate reported.
The second stage of the initiative also known as Green
Legacy was launched by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed
on June 8 and began with six billion trees planted
across the country. It is expected to reach 25
billion, a figure similar to that recorded in
its first phase.
Ahmed revealed that it is themed “Plant our future today”
and recalled that this initiative is the local approach to
tackling climate change and environmental
degradation, as well as creating
job opportunities.
Similarly, Green Legacy is a means to enable food
security by planting edible seedlings, he wrote
on his Twitter account.
That reforestation program to combat climate change
in the African country, whose first edition was in
2019, aims to address environmental
challenges by promoting a
green culture.
According to official reports, more than four billion,
five billion and six billion seedlings were planted
across the country in 2019, 2020 and 2021,
respectively, including 353 million in one
day in the first year, considered a
world record.
________________________________
Paris Climate Summit Ends
with Disappointing Results
June 23rd, 5:14pm (teleSUR)
On Friday --- President Emmanuel Macron's "Summit for a
New Global Financing Pact" concluded by disappointing
the expectations of developing countries.
The high-level meeting failed to reach even a deal for a
tax on the greenhouse gas emissions produced from
international shipping.
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
promised "more inclusive changes" but did not specify
mechanisms to convert poor countries’ debts - into
financing for projects aimed at mitigating the
consequences of global climate change.
At the closing of the high-level meeting, Macron strove to
present the existence of "a new consensus" to guide
the reform of international financial institutions and
the work of the 2023 United Nations Climate
Change Conference (COP28). The concrete
results of the Paris Summit, however,
would seem to indicate otherwise.
Although he said that he supported the tax on
thegreenhouse gas emissions produced from
international shipping, the French president
implicitly acknowledged, that he had not
gained the go-ahead from some of the
big players in that business.
Macron transferred the treatment of this matter to the
International Maritime Organization (IMO), whose
next meeting is scheduled for July.
Nor did the Paris Summit..... achieve the support of China, the
United States, Germany and Japan for the implementation of
the tax, which has only been supported by some 22
countries and the European Commission, so far.
Regarding debt relief for the poorest countries, WB President
Ajay Banga said that his institution will work on designing a
mechanism to suspend repayment of debts in the event
that a country suffers a natural catastrophe.
Meanwhile, the IMF Director Kristalina Georgieva committed
to "a more inclusive change". The only concrete result in
this matter, however, was a debt restructuring
agreement for Zambia.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed
skepticism about the new commitments --- as
developed countries have so far failed to
deliver on their pledges to allocate
US$100 billion a year to finance
climate-related actions in
developing countries.
He also noted that the aspirations of the countries of
the South "will not materialize" as long as global
governance regimes and institutions... remain the same.
________________________________
Japan ----- Gets Ready to Dump
Nuclear Water Into the Ocean
June 23rd (teleSUR)
Despite ongoing opposition.. from both home and abroad,
Japan has been rushing to carry out its plan of dumping
radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean,
raising growing anger in the global community.
Tokyo Electric Power Company(TEPCO), the plant's operator,
began trialing the equipment for discharging the nuclear-
contaminated water into the Pacific on June 12. The
test run of the discharge facility is expected to
finish on June 26. The nuclear wastewater
release led by the Japanese government
seems to have entered the countdown.
WORLDWIDE FURY
"Nuclear-contaminated water must not be discharged into the
sea. It is a crime, a crime against all living things on earth!"
shouted Tatsuko Okawara... outside the Fukushima
refectural Government Office, where a mass rally
was held last week to voice strong opposition
to the Japanese government's wastewater
dumping move.
"The mountains and rivers will never return to the past, and
the radiation will not disappear easily. But this country puts
making money first --- compared to life and love," the
Fukushima resident, from Tamura city, reciting a
line from a puppet show she created, unveiling
the hidden truth behind the government's
relentless push.
Among the nearly 100 protesters who gathered for parades,
rallies and petitions on Tuesday was Chiyo Oda, one of the
rally's organizers, and co-representative of Koreumi, a
Japanese citizens' conference to condemn further
ocean pollution.
"The government says every day that the trial operation will
end soon, making everyone feel that the ocean discharge
is a fact, and wants us... to give up. But it is wrong to
discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the
sea, and there are still places for the water
storage tanks, so it has not reached the
point where it must be discharged,"
she said.
Masuko Eiichi, from the prefecture's Koriyama city, also
criticized the discharge plan at the gathering, saying,
"These storage tanks for nuclear-contaminated water can be
stored for a long time as long as the government and TEPCO
want to. But they have chosen the cheapest way to deal
with them, by discharging the wastewater into the sea."
Regarding the government referring to the diluted nuclear-
contaminated water as "treated water," Sakurai from
Niigata Prefecture, said it is a fraud, to confuse the
public. According to Eiichi, nuclear-contaminated
water can be diluted, but the total amount of
nuclear pollutants discharged.....
remains unchanged.
"Moreover, there are not only the radioactive element tritium
in the water but also 57 kinds of radioactive substances
such as cesium and strontium that cannot be removed,"
he added.
In the petition submitted to the Fukushima prefectural
government, the participants said, "In the absence of
a quantitative determination of all radioactive
substances in the contaminated water ---
discharging the water into the sea will
cause many radioactive substances
to spread to the entire Pacific
Ocean through the coastal
waters of Fukushima, and
then -- pollute the global
marine environment."
Countries in the region have also expressed their vehement
opposition to the discharge plan. In South Korea, thousands
of fishermen took to the streets to protest against Japan's
disposal plan on June 12, when the test run of the
discharge facility started. They rallied, near the
parliamentary building in Seoul -- holding signs
that read "Desperately oppose the Fukushima
radioactive contaminated water discharge
into the sea" and "SOS!! Pacific Ocean!"
During the 53rd regular United Nations Human Rights Council
session on Thursday, a Chinese representative urged Japan
to earnestly address the international community's
legitimate concerns.
The representative emphasized that Japan's unilateral
decision violates its obligations under the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Japan has yet to provide convincing
evidence regarding the
discharge's safety.
Earlier this month, Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson,
Maria Zakharova criticized Japan for failing to demonstrate
the desired level of openness on the wastewater disposal.
Given Japan's history in nuclear safety, she said that
Russia could not allow the situation to develop
without proper scrutiny.
WIDESPREAD PANIC
According to a Research View survey of 1,000 South Korean
adults conducted last month, 85.4% of the respondents opposed Japan's contaminated water discharge, and
72% said they would reduce the consumption of
marine products, if the wastewater is released into the ocean.
On rising worry about Japanese fishery products ahead of
the planned discharge this summer, local media reported
South Korea's import of Japanese seafood --- plummeted
for the second consecutive month.
The import of Japanese seafood, including live, refrigerated
and frozen fish as well as shellfish, dropped 30.6 % over
the year to 2,129 tons in May, after sinking 26.0% in
April, Yonhap news agency said Monday, citing
data from the Korea Customs Service.
On fears that Japan would push ahead with its discharge
plan, salt demand in South Korea has soared over the
past months.
Online transactions of salt products increased by 817% between June 7-13 ---- compared to the same period a
week earlier, according to online price comparison
service provider, Danawa.
Offline sales of salt also surged. As reported by the Korea
Herald... data from South Korea's largest supermarket
chain E-mart revealed that its salt sales from June 1
to 14 increased by 55.6% compared to last year,
while sea salt sales jumped 118.5 percent.
A statement issued by the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) on
Tuesday --- confirmed the second technical dialogue on
Fukushima wastewater was held on June 9 between
the PIF independent scientific experts and the
International Atomic Energy Agency.
Experts expressed concerns... about TEPCO's need for more
research on the impact of water discharge from Fukushima
on marine species in the Pacific region. This prevented
them from providing informed decisions to PIF
members regarding the impact on the
surrounding ecosystem and
food security.
HARM TO LIVELIHOODS
Amid Japan's reckless discharge push, local fishery industry
and seafood businesses, whose livelihoods are at stake,
reiterated their opposition and grave concern.
Masanobu Sakamoto, president of the national federation of
fisheries cooperatives - known as JF Zengyoren - handed
over a request: opposing the release plan to Japanese
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
Yasutoshi Nishimura.
Sakamoto said the federation's opposition to the discharge
would not change, and the government should take full
responsibility. However, despite the fishery workers'
concerns, Nishimura reportedly maintained
that the release is ''unavoidable''.
Earlier Tuesday, local seafood business owners in Fukushima
questioned government officials during a study session at
Iwaki city's central wholesale fish market, demanding a
sufficient explanation about the discharge.
An attendant in the sector said the government and TEPCO
should think closely about why people are skeptical about
the safety of marine products caught in waters near the
plant. Another participant said fish stores would face
questions from consumers about the safety of
seafood, according to the NHK.
Koji Suzuki, head of a fishery company who organized the
session, said he opposes the plan. Stakeholders in the
industry, who continue to wait for an explanation of
the release plan, need additional information that
can be shared... with the customers who doubt
the safety of seafood.
In a recent interview in Suva, Fiji --- Kalinga Seneviratne, a
visiting lecturer at the University of the South Pacific, said
Japan should respect the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone
Treaty, inked by PIF members in 1985, which explicitly
prohibits activities such as testing, manufacturing,
and stationing nuclear explosive devices and
dumping nuclear waste within the zone.
"The contamination will also affect the South Pacific Nuclear
Free Zone Treaty areas when it eventually flows there. Also,
since fish stocks are migratory, contaminated fish could be
caught within the treaty area," he said.
"If Japan wants to protect a rules-based order, they need to
subscribe to the principles of these rules and respect the
wishes of the people in the Pacific who argue the treaty
is there ------- to stop something like this happening,"
Seneviratne said. "Japan, should refrain from
contaminating the sea with nuclear waste."
_________________________________
Gustavo Petro Calls for
Marshall Plan Against
Climate Change
June 22nd (teleSUR)
On Thursday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro demanded
the implementation of a "Marshall Plan" to finance the fight
against the consequences of global climate change.
"The climate crisis cannot be solved by the market, because
the market has created it," he said during the Summit for a
New Global Financial Pact, currently taking place in Paris.
Directly addressing the European Commission President
Ursula von der Leyen -------- Petro assured that Brussels'
environmental measures, including the establishment
of pollution tariffs, rely too much on the
private sector.
"The investment to fight the climate crisis amounts to
hundreds of billions... and 'the capital' is guided by
profitability," Petro emphasized, casting doubt on
the ability of market mechanisms ---- to solve a
global public problem such as climate change.
While the Colombian leader acknowledged that "there is no
time to wage war on capital," he emphasized that decision
-makers must acknowledge ------ that businesses have
limitations.. in providing the necessary resources
to address the consequences of climate change.
That's why Petro asked world leaders to establish something
similar to a new "Marshall Plan." which would enable
financing actions against global warming through
resources generated by a tax on financial
transactions and special debt issues
for climate investments.
"It would be about exchanging debt for climate action,"
Petro said, pointing out that these new financing
options presuppose a profound change in multi-
lateral institutions, such as the World Bank
(WB) and the International Monetary
Fund (IMF).
"States must reclaim their authority not to decree the end
of markets, but to recognize the limitations of markets in
the fight against climate change," the Colombian
President said, insisting on a need for genuine
dialogue ---- between developed and
developing countries.
________________________________________
Global Financing Summit to Address Climate- Related Issues
June 22nd (teleSUR)
Paris Summit participants are expected to lay the
groundwork for funding action against growing
inequality, poverty, and climate change.
On Thursday, world leaders arrive in Paris to participate
in the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, whose
stated goal is to build a new contract between the
countries of the North and the South to address
global climate change.
The discussions are expected to jointly lay the foundation for
a new global financing system capable of responding to
new challenges, particularly those related to fighting
The summit is expected to help outline the steps needed to
reform the financial system and combat the high levels of
debt that hold governments down when implementing
ambitious climate action.
It comes before a flurry of international meetings, including
the G20 summit in New Delhi in September, the annual
meetings of the IMF and the World Bank in Marrakech,
Morocco in October and the COP28 scheduled for the
end of the year in Dubai.
France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine
Colonna, said earlier, that the summit would aim to
facilitate the access of vulnerable countries to
the financing they need to address the
consequences of ongoing and
future crises.
"We will take a major step, as we will start by establishing
a new consensus," Macron was quoted as saying on the
official site of the summit. "The fight against poverty,
the decarbonization of our economy in order to
achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, and the
protection of biodiversity, are
closely intertwined."
"We, therefore, need to agree together on the best means
to address these challenges in the poor and emerging
countries of the developing world, when it comes to
the amount of investment --- to comprehensive
reform of infrastructure like the World Bank,
the IMF, and public and private funds, and
how to set a new process in motion,"
Macron said.
__________________________________________
The EU and NATO considered it impossible to cooperate with the Russian Federation
on climate change
June 21st, 5pm
(Izvestia.ru)
The European Union (EU) and NATO believe that it is
impossible to cooperate with Russia on climate
change.. due to the conflict in Ukraine. This
was announced on Wednesday, June 21,
by the head of EU diplomacy, Josep
Borrel & NATO Secretary General
Jens Stoltenberg.
"One of the consequences of the [conflict] is that it is difficult
to sit at the table with Russia and discuss climate change,"
Stoltenberg said --- at a ''forum'' organized by the German Marshall Fund --- a US ''think tank''.
At the same time, according to the NATO Secretary
General, Russia has not been focused on solving
climate problems..... before.
Borrel, in turn, added that, at the moment, there is
no cooperation in the field of climate with Russia.
Earlier, on June 8, researchers concluded that over the
decade 2013-2022 warming caused by human activity
accelerated at a dangerous pace --- and the planet
became hotter by 0.2 degrees. This increase is
explained... by greenhouse gas emissions,
which also hit historical highs in the
designated period.
Earlier, on May 22, climatologist Alexey Kokorin said that
global temperatures could reach record highs in 2025 or
2026. He clarified that if a powerful volcanic eruption
occurs on the planet, record hot temperatures may
not happen. Ash entering the stratosphere, will
lead to an anti-greenhouse effect and global
cooling, the expert added.
____________________________
Wildlife Agencies -- Call for
Protecting Marine Species
in Kenya
June 20th, 1:08pm (teleSUR)
On Monday -- three wildlife agencies called for increased
security to reduce harmful human activities threatening
already vulnerable marine species along the
Kenyan coast.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), Kenya
Wildlife Service, and Wildlife Research and Training
Institute, which released the findings from a first-in
-30-year survey --- conducted on marine species
along the 600-km Kenyan coastline in March,
cited harmful human activities ---- as the
biggest threats to seagrass beds on
which dugong and turtles feed.
IFAW Africa Director, James Isiche, said the results from
the survey are critical in gauging the health and status
of marine life and the interventions needed to keep
them alive and thriving.
"The existence of marine species and their habitat, though
often overlooked, is critical to the survival of the human
population," Isiche said.
Kenya's marine waters host more than 35 species of
marine mammals, five species of marine turtles -- all
listed as endangered or critically endangered -- and
105 species of bony fishes, including sharks
and rays.
The aerial survey aimed to establish the level of conservation
efforts needed for marine species found in Kenyan territorial
waters. It also sought to identify the threats facing these
species and their distribution across the coast to help
inform appropriate conservation and
management measures.
Significant species of concern, were dugongs, humpback
dolphins, whale sharks, and other whale species ---
threatened by degradation and habitat loss from
harmful human activity. This includes... the
construction of seaports and increased
fisheries activities. Climate change
also has a significant effect on
the survival of these species.
The survey also revealed that dolphins, listed as critically
endangered in East Africa, are Kenya's most dominant
yet most vulnerable and threatened marine
megafauna species.
These activities include the clearing of coastal forests for
salt pans and construction of shrimp farms, sand mining
resulting in massive soil erosion, and inshore silt loads,
and the extraction of mangroves for building materials
and firewood.
Accidental capture and their targeted exploitation for food
and medicine also threaten the critically endangered
dugong. Only two were sighted during the survey
compared to groups of up to 500 individuals
seen in the 1960s.
Sharks and rays are also declining because of overfishing
and the rising global demand for shark products such
as fins, meat, skin, cartilage, gill plates and liver.
The agencies called for stringent law enforcement measures
to eradicate dangerous fishing gear, such as gill nets that
kill dugongs. They also recommended engaging with
small-scale fishing communities to implement
marine conservation's best practices and
sustainable fishing techniques.
______________________________________________
Researchers urge swift actions:on rapid Arctic, Antarctic change
by Pavel López Lazo
June 17th, 8:52am
(Prensa Latina)
Polar scientists are presently calling for an urgent
intensification of national and international
research and observational capabilities,
in view of the rapid Arctic and
Antarctic changes.
Sea ice is reducing globally at an unprecedented rate,
with serious implications for not only Earth’s polar
environments and inhabitants but also global
weather and climate.
In particular, Antarctic sea ice has declined since 2016
at a rate not observed since the beginning of satellite
records in the 1970s --- a phenomenon that is
concerning the scientific community... and
one that is currently not well understood.
Such a phenomenon raises deep concern about the
changed state of the Antarctic sea ice floe within
the broader Earth system. As the winter season
draws near, its extent remains at historic lows.
Meanwhile, the Arctic could thaw completely before 2050,
regardless of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission scenarios,
with a strong anthropogenic influence as a major cause
of melting in the region.
After analyzing the influence of three factors: natural, GHG
and anthropogenic aerosols (small particles thrown into
the atmosphere by human activities), experts stressed
--- that it is not the natural particles from volcanic
emissions, for example, nor the artificial ones
---- that are responsible for the inexorable
melting of the Arctic.
_______________________________________
Ethiopia’s green economy at
International Grains Council
by Ileana Ferrer Fonte
June 14th, 2:35pm
(Prensa Latina)
Ethiopia's Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE)
strategy, reportedly, was the spotlight at the
International Grains Council Conference
held in London, capital of the UK,
on Wednesday.
Beyene Gebremeskel, Deputy Head of Mission of the
Ethiopian Embassy in London --- highlighted Addis
Ababa’s policy and action responses to climate
change, the integration of climate change
mitigation in the 10-year development
plan, and smallholder farmers-
focused initiatives.
Gebremeskel, quoted by Fana Broadcasting Corporate,
noted the Green Legacy Initiative launched by Prime
Minister Abiy Ahmed that resulted in the planting of
25 billion seedlings in the first four years and the
beginning of the second round with 25 billion
seedlings in the coming four years.
He stressed the importance of support from the
international community in terms of finance
and investment, technology, and crisis
mitigation emergency contributions,
to complement the national efforts.
Under the theme “Achieving food security for importers
in volatile world markets,” representatives of exporters
plus importers’ partner institutions, and government
officials, attended the Conference.
____________________________
Sana’a: Saudis Seeking
to Turn Yemeninto
Toxic Waste Dump
June 10th, 4pm (FNA)
The Yemeni National Salvation Government has condemned
Saudi attempts to dump untreated hazardous waste on the
ground or off the shores of the conflict-stricken Arab
nation, warning that Riyadh is trying to turn Yemen
into a toxic waste dump.
The Yemeni Ministry of Fisheries in a statement on Friday
pointed to the environmental pollution, injuries, and
adverse health risks that could arise as a result of
any agreement between the Saudi Nuclear and
Radiological Regulatory Commission and the
so-called Yemeni Presidential Leadership
Council, led by Rashad Al-Alimi,
concerning nuclear radiation
resulting from toxic waste,
presstv reported.
It highlighted that the matter “portends a great environmental
disaster due to the impact of Saudi waste that has been and
will be buried in desert regions and other areas” in Yemen.
The ministry also pointed to “the continued dumping of toxic
and chemical waste by foreign ships off the coast of Yemen”,
noting that the “radiation recently detected in the Red Sea
and the Arabian Sea waters has caused the death of a high
number of fish and culminated in the destruction of coral
reefs and the marine environment in the provinces of
Aden, Abyan, Al-Mahra, and Hadhramaut.”
“The Saudi regime has turned Yemen, since the beginning of
its aggression [in March 2015] --- into a testing ground for all
internationally prohibited weapons, including cluster bombs, incendiary munitions, & nuclear ammunition. Saudi Arabia and its allies have employed such munitions in Yemen with support from the United States, Israel and certain Western governments,” it added.
The statement emphasized that attempts to turn Yemen
into a dumping ground for toxic waste amount to a
“crime against humanity”, calling on the
international community --- to take
immediate action to stop them.
It called for urgent measures to be taken to protect the
Yemeni environment and population from such waste.
Saudi Arabia launched a brutal war of aggression against
Yemen in March 2015, enlisting the assistance of some
of its allies, including the United Arab Emirates.
The war, which has enjoyed generous arms, logistical, and
political support from the United States and several other
Western governments, has sought to restore power in
Yemen to the former Riyadh- and Washington-
friendly government.
The former Yemeni government’s President Abd Rabbuh
Mansur Hadi resigned from the presidency in late 2014
and later fled to Riyadh amid a political conflict with
Ansarullah. The movement has been running
Yemen’s affairs in the absence of a
functioning administration.
The war has, meanwhile, killed tens of thousands of Yemenis
and turned all Yemen, into the scene of the world’s worst
humanitarian crisis.
______________________________________________
UN chiefcalls for restoring
balance of the oceans
by Pavel López Lazo
June 8th, 4:10pm
(Prensa Latina)
The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, on Thursday,
called on the international community -- to work to restore
the balance & vitality of the oceans & marine ecosystems.
The message comes on the occasion of World Oceans Day,
which aims to reflect on the significance of the oceans and
the efforts needed to restore life and sustainability to their
natural wealth.
“The ocean is the foundation of life. It supplies the air we
breathe and food we eat. It regulates our climate and
weather. The ocean is our planet´s greatest
reservoir of biodiversity,” said Guterres.
However, he warned that marine biodiversity is also under
attack from overfishing, over-exploitation and ocean
acidification, fish stocks are being depleted, and
coastal waters have been polluted ---- with
chemicals, plastics and human waste.
“Over a third of fish stocks are being exploited at
unsustainable levels. We are polluting our
coastal waters with chemicals, plastics
and human waste,” Guterres stated.
An estimated 90% of large fish stocks
are depleted, and 50% of coral reefs
are destroyed.
______________________________________
Half of DPR forests
destroyed or mined
— official
May 29th, 12:34pm (DAN)
About 50% of woodland in the Donetsk People’s Republic has
been destroyed or mined during hostilities, said chairman of
the DPR State Forestry Committee Alexey Shebalkov. “The
Republic’s forest coverage in relation to land area... is 7%
(195,000 hectares of forest overall),” Shebalkov told the
Donetsk News Agency.
“According to our earlier estimates, at least 20,000 hectares
of woodland were completely destroyed in fighting, and another 70,000 hectares are accessible in principle -
but we don’t know what happened: some forests might have been destroyed, and some, mined. Mine clearance operations will be needed anyway.”
The ongoing fighting - endangers the forests
in the Slavyansk and Krasny Liman districts.
They are largely coniferous forests; the fire
danger period is about to begin --- so wild
fires are possible, amid the hostilities,
he said.
Earlier reports, said the Donetsk People’s Republic
authorities, planned reforestation of 300 hectares
in 2023-2025.
_______________________________________
Brazil To Host the COP30
Climate Summit in 2025
May 26th, 6:07pm
(teleSUR)
President Lula wants everyone to know, how
the Amazonian rivers, jungles, and fauna are.
On Friday, Brazilian President Lula da Silva announced
that the United Nations confirmed Brazil as the host
of the COP30 Climate Summit, to be held in 2025.
He also mentioned that COP30 will take place in Belem do
Para, a city near the mouth of the Amazon River into the
Atlantic Ocean, and considered the confirmation
received from the United Nations as
"extraordinary news" for
the country.
“I already participated in a COP in Egypt and in another
in Copenhagen. In all of them, the attendees talked
about the Amazon, but without ever having been
there," Lula said.
"I always thought: why not hold a COP in the Amazon so
that everyone gets to know the Amazon and see what
the Amazonian rivers, jungles and fauna are like,"
he added.
Brazil had been chosen by the UN as the host of the COP25 in 2019, but the far-right President Jair
Bolsonaro (2019-2023), who assumed the
presidency that same year, declined to
take charge of organizing the event,
which was ultimately held in Spain.
During his administration, the former Capitan promoted
aggressive development policies in the Amazon and
dismantled all environmental oversight agencies,
which Lula has begun to strengthen again, since taking office in January.
Furthermore, Lula has resumed programs to protect the
Amazon and combat the climate crisis that existed
before Bolsonaro came to power. Lula reinforced
the Environment Ministry and created a new
ministry specifically focused on
indigenous peoples.
__________________________________
Venezuela Releases 20,000 Turtles
for Species Conservation
May 26th (teleSUR)
On Friday, Venezuela's Environment Ministry announced
that 20,000 Arrau turtle hatchlings were released in the
state of Amazonas, as part of a plan for conserving
endangered species.
The turtles were taken to their habitat in an area called
"Cuba Island," which serves as a wildlife refuge and
protective zone for this species, also known as
the "Orinoco turtle."
The release event was led by the Amazonas Governor
Miguel Rodriguez, the Environment Regional Director
Doralbis Lara, and other members of the ministry.
"The conservation of the species, has led to the
reproduction of Arrau turtles in shelters.. until
they reach a size that ensures their survival
against potential natural predators and can be returned to their habitats," the Environment Ministry said.
The existence of the Arrau turtle is highly threatened, with
humans being its greatest predator, as they are trafficked
without authorization for their meat consumption and the
trade of their shells for artisanal crafts.
Last Sunday, Environment Minister Josue Lorca also
announced that over 300 Orinoco caimans will be
released in the state of Apure.
He also mentioned that in the Laguna de la Restinga National
Park, located in the state of Nueva Esparta, another 350
seahorses would be returned to their habitat.
_________________________________
Rwanda Marks Biodiversity Day
With a Call to Protect Nature
May 22nd (teleSUR)
On Monday, Rwanda celebrates the International Day
for Biological Diversity, with a call on the public to
reconnect with nature and prioritize biodiversity.
The event, organized by the Environment Ministry in Kigali,
featured discussions about the implementation of the
Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
adopted last December --- as part of efforts to halt and reverse nature loss.
Speaking at the event, Rwandan Environment Minister Jeanne
d'Arc Mujawamariya said the country's development agenda
recognizes the central role that biodiversity plays in terms
of supporting national economic growth.
"We cannot develop our nation unless we put the environment
at the heart of everything we do," Mujawamariya said - and
warned against cutting down trees.
"We need to reverse this trend, and educate future
generations to understand the importance of
biodiversity in everything we do..... for a
brighter future."
The Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA)
highlighted that Rwanda's biodiversity plays a critical
role in ecosystem services - such as ensuring water
provision, air for breathing, controlling soil erosion
and flooding, as well as climate change mitigation.
"Biodiversity is part of our lives. Growing up, I was
surrounded by nature and this helped build my
passion --- for protecting the environment and understanding the importance of
biodiversity. I encourage us all ---
to reconnect with nature -- and
prioritize biodiversity," REMA
Director Juliet Kabera, said.
The International Day for Biological Diversity is celebrated
this year under the theme "From agreement to action:
Build Back Biodiversity" to remind nations that
biodiversity is essential to ecosystem
functioning and services delivery.
____________________________________
Brazil: Amazon Rainforest
Deforestation Fell 67.9%
In April
May 12th, 3:55am
(teleSUR)
The Brazilian Institute for Space Studies (INPE) reported
on Friday, that deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon
rainforest fell 67.9 percent in April ---- compared to the same month in 2022.
April last year, 1,026 square kilometres of rainforest were
lost in the Amazon region, however, this year the figure
is 329 square kilometres, the institute indicated.
In the first four months of the year, there was a 41 percent drop in the year-on-year comparison of
deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.
The area deforested in the Brazilian part of the world's
largest rainforest in the first four months of the year
was 1,173 square kilometres, INPE data indicate.
April's result is the first month with a reduction in Amazon
deforestation in Brazil, since President Luiz Inácio Lula
da Silva took office.
President Lula da Silva.. has stepped up the crackdown
on environmental crime, including the use of the police
force against illegal mining on indigenous lands.
The main states most affected by the devastation of the
rainforest are Amazonas (north), Pará (north), and Mato
Grosso (west).
Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon soared by almost 60%
in the 4 years of Jair Bolsonaro's government (2019-2022)
compared to the previous four-year term.
_________________________________________
Developed Nations Should
Deliver Climate Justice:
Guterres
May 4th (teleSUR)
Developed countries, which are major contributors to the
emission of planet-warming gases like methane and
carbon dioxide, should honour their financial
commitment to helping Africa adapt to the
unfolding climate crisis, United Nations
Secretary Antonio Guterres said
on Wednesday.
Guterres, who is on an official visit to Kenya, said at a media
briefing in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi that the industrial
north has a moral obligation to help African countries
become climate resilient.
"Developed countries must deliver on the US$100 billion a
year promised to developing countries and the loss and
damage fund agreed in Sharm el-Sheikh," Guterres
said --- adding that delivering climate justice in
Africa is crucial for global peace, growth,
and stability.
While reiterating that the transition to a green and resilient
future, is urgent in Africa, Guterres called on developed
nations and industry: to support the continent's quest
for decarbonizing key economic sectors like energy.
The UN chief hailed Kenyan President William Ruto's
commitment to a 100 percent transition to clean
energy by 2030, adding that the African Union's
ambitious Green Stimulus Program will
reinvigorate climate response in
the continent.
Guterres noted that South Africa's Just Energy Transition
Partnership, and Egypt and Nigeria's energy transition
plans were bold moves toward low carbon transition
in Africa.
The UN chief disclosed that he has proposed a Climate
Solidarity Pact --- in which developed countries lend
financial and technical support to help emerging
economies in Africa and beyond, hasten their
transition to green energy.
Guterres observed that despite its minimal contribution to
greenhouse gas emissions, Africa continues to bear the
brunt of climate disasters... like floods and droughts.
The climate-induced drought crisis engulfing the Horn of
Africa region is a wake-up call for governments, donors,
and the private sector to back community-based
resilient programs.
Guterres said 50 percent of climate financing in Africa
should be channeled toward adaptation projects to
enable communities to withstand climate-related
shocks like hunger and water scarcity.
++++++++++++++++
teleSUR English
@telesurenglish
The Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Antonio
Guterres warned the Security Council (UNSC) that the rise
in sea level generated by climate change threatens entire
communities on the planet and is especially serious to
almost 900 million people living in low-lying areas
______________________________
Media: EU attempts to replace
Russian gas with wind power
failed
April 25th, 12:51pm
https://en.news-front.info/
Against the backdrop of a gradual refusal to purchase Russian
gas, European countries decided to try to replace fuel supplies
with wind energy. This is facilitated by the fact that EU
member states are simultaneously trying to reduce carbon emissions in the atmosphere in order to fight global warming. However, the attempt failed. This was stated by Bloomberg analyst Mathis.
The European Union fails to overcome dependence on Russian
gas with the help of offshore wind farms. Bloomberg analyst
Will Mathis writes about this.
The EU countries have decided to stop buying Russian gas.
In addition, they are trying to reduce carbon emissions in
the atmosphere - in order to fight global warming.
About a year ago, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands
and Denmark issued a declaration accelerating the
construction of offshore wind farms to increase
capacity to 65 gigawatts by 2030 – about five
times more than today. Britain also decided
to build wind turbines to increase
generation by 50 gigawatts.
However, European leaders
realized that the plan failed.
“European efforts to rapidly build offshore wind farms, which
should help reduce dependence on Russian natural gas and
reduce global warming emissions, are failing, as developers
struggle to implement the projects,” the publication says.
Scientists from the Tyumen State University have proposed the
use of biochar obtained from organic waste to improve soil
properties and fertility, RIA Novosti reported.
“Since the introduction of biochar-based improvers in the soil
has a positive effect on its fertility, it is possible to reduce
the amount of accumulated organic waste and at the
same time increase crop yields” --- said the head of
the technologies laboratory from the university,
Ivan Shanenkov.
According to the researchers, the results will ensure
environmental cleanup for agricultural enterprises
as a partial replacement for mineral fertilizers.
“We obtained the biochar from organic waste ---- which was
used as an additive in increasing the yield of cereal crops,”
Shanenkov added. He said that --- as a result of thermal
processing in an oxygen-free environment --- organic
waste.. such as sawdust, straw and pine nut shells,
are converted into a highly porous carbon material.
“In our country, biochar is mainly woody and is used mainly as
a fuel resource. We propose to consider it as an independent
fertilizer for agricultural land, or as part of compositions with
other types of soil improvers”, Konstantin Ponomarev, a
scientist at the laboratory, explained.
According to Russia’s environmental safety strategy, by 2025
the volume of waste production and consumption is
expected to exceed 30 billion tons.
The Tyumen State University participates in the Priority-2030
state strategic academic leadership program and the report
is produced within the framework of the Ecosystems of the
Future project.
__________________________________________
Brazil Proposes - Summit of Amazon
Countries To Debate Climate Action
April 10th (teleSUR)
The Brazilian government has scheduled a meeting in Belem
for early August to revive the Amazon Cooperation Treaty
Organization (ACTO), which brings together countries
that make up the Amazon, as reported by
Brasil 247, a partner of TV BRICS.
The meeting will contribute to define a single position for the
region, on development and fighting the climate crisis in
international forums.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wants to use the position
to be agreed at the ACTO meeting to define the line of his
speech at the opening of the United Nations General
Assembly in September.
The resumption of ACTO -- is one of Lula's goals in his third
government. This body can be used to unify the discourse
of the Amazon countries --- and attract investment to the
region... within the policies of combating deforestation,
protecting indigenous peoples and development, with
the aim of strengthening the position in front of
international organizations and developed
countries, which are the ones most
pressing for action in the region.
_________________________________
Biden -broke his promise
not to touch oil in Alaska
April 7th, 12:12pm
https://en.news-front.info/
The US is starting to produce oil in Alaska. They have already
brought equipment and people there. This is a prime example
of an American president not keeping his campaign promises.
American environmentalists are simply shocked at the betrayal
of their elected representative. Why did Biden, an ardent
supporter of the green agenda, defect to oil? And what
role do Russia and the European Union play in it?
It’s only been a few weeks since Joe Biden’s administration
approved the $8 billion Willow development and oil drilling
in Alaska’s National Oil Refuge. This happened for the
first time in twenty years.
But oil giant ConocoPhillips has already begun assembling
equipment here and transporting workers and provisions
to this largest stretch of unspoilt wilderness in the
country, 250 miles beyond the Arctic Circle, writes
the New York Times. More than two dozen yellow
dump trucks are already waiting in the snow-
covered tundra at the northernmost tip of
the United States on a glistening patch
of ice.
The project has the potential to produce around 600 million
barrels of oil over 30 years. To do so, ConocoPhillips will
drill wells in three sections of the field, the minimum
volume that the company estimates... makes it
economically viable. It is a highly controversial
project that has been fiercely fought by
environmental activists.
The US is already the second largest emitter after China (it
emits around 5.6 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide
into the atmosphere every year). And burning that
much oil in a new field could emit 9.2 million
metric tons of carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere annually, the equivalent
of nearly two million new cars on
the roads.
The approval of mining in Alaska immediately sparked a wave
of outrage inside the US – among environmentalists and other
Biden supporters alike. After all, the American president has
radically changed his original position. In the 2020 election,
one of his key pledges was that no new oil fields would
come on stream in the country.
Biden got all environmentalists on his side with such a tough
“green agenda”. However, on 13 March, in a surprise move,
the US approved a bill allowing drilling in Alaska as part of
the Willow Field.
“The start of drilling at sites in Alaska is a massive blow to
Biden’s image. He was betting the campaign on a ‘green
agenda’ and now that promise is being broken,” says
Artem Deyev, head of analysis at AMarkets.
Why did Biden go against himself, not even frightened by the
criticism of his own supporters? What was he afraid of?
There are two main theories. The first, is that the U.S. economy
cannot absorb oil shortages and high oil prices - and the states
need more oil for themselves. The second is that the US wants
to increase its oil exports even more, to become a stronger
exporter in the world in order to keep the same Europe in
check, and at the same time to make even more money
from the raw material.
“Sanctions against Russia have hit the US oil and gas industry.
Their refineries consumed either Venezuelan oil or Russian
Urals. But both countries are under sanctions, so there is
not enough crude, and the attempt to restore relations
with Caracas has failed: Venezuela would love to
supply oil to the US again, but it is technically
impossible as the industry is virtually ruined.
Buying oil from Russia to bypass its sanctions means losing its
reputation. And then there are the OPEC+ cuts in production.
Quotations are rising, which will have a direct impact on the
rising cost of fuel in the US. And the country’s strategic oil
reserves have long been unloaded and need to be
replenished,” explained Deyev.
Meanwhile, world oil prices are rising, but OPEC+ does not listen
to the US and cuts production at will in order to keep black gold
expensive – around $90 a barrel. And there is nothing
Washington can do – and it is really pissed off.
Adding to the problem of rising gasoline prices inside the US,
for which Americans may not re-elect Biden, is the problem
of inflation, the rate of which promises to accelerate again
from such a situation. In other words, the USA is trying to
win back oil.
Finally, against the backdrop of these difficulties also in the USA
green energy has been relegated to the back burner (the EU
has long since given up and switched even to coal).
The West admits without a word that the transition to green
energy will take a long time. “During this transition time, oil
products will remain in demand on the world market.. and
are likely to be quite expensive, judging by the measures
the OPEC+ countries are taking.. to achieve this,” says
Vladimir Chernov, analyst at Freedom Finance Global.
It is worth realising that development of the Alaska field is just
starting from scratch and it is projected to take 6 years before
the first oil from this project reaches the market. This clearly
speaks to the US expectation that in six years oil will be in
extremely high demand in the US market, and secondly,
it will be expensive, because producing oil from
scratch in a challenging environment like
Alaska, is very expensive.
The statistics scream inexorably that the US needs more
oil, and they are short of it. First, US drilling activity has
been stagnant for more than six months and shale oil
production has gone down because of rising
production costs, Chernov notes.
Secondly, US oil inventories are decreasing. In March this year
they fell by 4.35 million barrels and strategic reserves to their
lowest level since 1983. “Last year the US actively released
strategic oil reserves, which helped reduce domestic fuel
prices slightly, but only slightly, by about one or two
dollars per gallon,” Chernov says.
Finally, America is increasing exports to the EU --- to replace
Russian energy supplies. And, to all appearances, the US
plans to increase these exports and earn even more from
them. While the US used to be both an oil importer and
exporter, at the beginning of 2023, the US became a
net oil exporter for the first time. They supply up to
2 million barrels per day to other countries.
“Most likely, the US tactics now will not just be about energy
neutrality, but about increasing oil exports, primarily to EU
countries, so they need to increase production as well,”
Chernov believes.
Although Deyev believes that the US itself needs this oil first and
foremost – to solve its problems with fuel prices and reserves.
“What cannot be done to keep the economy from collapsing:
oil is the foundation of the modern economic system,
without it - one can forget about development,”
the expert believes.
“The Biden administration’s decision -- confirms only one thing:
the world is facing a lack of resources amid sanctions against
Russia. Because of that, unpopular projects, which were
previously banned, have to be initiated. It was easier
and better for the environment to buy oil from other
countries than to produce it at home. It is also not
for nothing that the UK has recently approved a
project to frack and extract oil in its territory
in this way. It is extremely unpopular in
England, but they have to restart it, as
the island also needs oil,” concludes
the interlocutor.
Olga Samofalova, VZGLYAD
___________________________________
Mexican Environmental Activist Is
Found Dead In Michoacan State
April 5th, 1:38pm
(teleSUR)
On Tuesday, Mexican authorities confirmed that Eustacio Alcala,
an Indigenous activist who opposed mining activities, was
found dead in a hilly area in the San Juan Huizontla
community in the Michoacan state.
"Alcala's body had several gunshot wounds," the Attorney
General’s Office (FGE) lamented and promised to
investigate this murder thoroughly.
On Saturday, Alcala was transporting three nuns in his truck
when armed men ordered him to stop the vehicle and
detained him and the women. Hours later, the nuns
were released. Alcala, however, remained
missing for three days.
This activist had successfully prevented the opening of an iron
mine that would contaminate the water resources of the San
Juan Huitzontla community, where drug cartels usually
extort mining companies and kill activists.
Mexico is the most dangerous country in the world for
environmental activists. The Global Witness non-
governmental organization registered that - at
least 54 activists were killed in this country
in 2021.
Environmental activists Antonio Diaz and Ricardo Lagunes
have been missing since January. The van in which they
used to travel --- was found riddled with bullets near where Alcala’s body appeared.
In February, activist Alfredo Cisneros, who opposed cartels-
related violence and illegal logging of pine and fir forests
in the Michoacan state, was also shot dead in the
Sicuicho Indigenous town.
_____________________________
Nature Day in Iran
April 2nd, 2:08pm (FNA)
Iran Nature Day known as Sizdah-bedar is marked on the 13th
day of the current month of Farvardin corresponding to April
the 2nd, when Iranians have the tradition of spending the
day outdoors, each year.
'Sizdah' means thirteen, and '-bedar' outdoors. It is a tradition
amongst the Iranian people to enjoy the fresh spring air of
this day before ending the annual fortnightly holidays of
the New Year, and to begin the work and
education schedule.
The tradition of leaving the house on the thirteenth day of
Farvardin is widespread throughout Iran. It is a day that is
spent outside with joy, laughter and friendly get togethers.
This is the last phase of the celebrations of the New Year. It
is the custom of many Iranians to pass as many hours as
possible outdoors. People leave their homes to go to
the parks or mountains, for a picnic.
All kinds of food and delicacies are prepared with tea, sherbet,
fruits, bread, cheese, fresh herbs, noodle soup called 'ash-e
reshteh' and herbed rice with lamb called baqali polou and
barreh, are favourites.
The occasion is a communal one and all close relatives and
friends will participate. Iranian families all eat alfresco,
preferably near water springs and lush greener spots,
on this day.
Sizdah-bedar is the last day of the New Year holidays. On the
following day, routine life resumes; schools and offices open
after almost a fortnight and life heads back to normalcy. The
occasion has no religious significance and is celebrated
by all.
In addition to Iran, Sizdah Bedar is also among the festivals
celebrated in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, India,
and many other parts of the world.
Games using horses are often chosen, since this animal
also represents rain. Adults and older people may play
the traditional game of backgammon.
During the picnic day of Sizdah Bedar, some people also follow
the oldest prank-tradition in the world and play jokes on each
other. This has possibly led many men and women to
consider that the origin of the April Fools' Day
goes back to the Iranian tradition
of Sizdah-bedar.
____________________________________
Russian environmentalistscondemn
UK decision to send depleted
uranium shells to Kiev
March 27th, 2:59pm (TASS)
Great Britain’s plans to supply depleted uranium (DU) weapons
to Ukraine will lead to mass health problems among the
civilian population, as DU shells are chemical weapons,
an environmental commission under Russia’s Civic
Chamber said in a statement on Monday.
"The Commission on Ecology and Environmental Protection of
the Russian Civic Chamber categorically condemns the
decision by the British government to supply depleted
uranium shells to Ukraine. Their use causes major
uranium oxide contamination to the environment,"
the commission said, referring to research
showing that such contamination may
lead to mass incidences of disease
in both military personnel
and civilians.
Among other things, the commission cited the WHO World Health
Report 2001, mentioning the radiological and chemical toxicity o
f depleted uranium. In-depth research into workplace exposure
to DU showed that the critical organs most prone to toxicity
from DU munitions are the kidneys and the lungs, while
young children could receive greater DU exposure
from contaminated soil when playing within a
conflict zone, according to the document.
In December 2008, 141 countries voted for a UN General
Assembly resolution urging additional research into the
effects of munitions containing DU by 2010, but this
never took place for various reasons, primarily of
a political nature, the commission said.
The environmentalists likened this to the use of Agent Orange, a
chemical herbicide and defoliant, by the US Army in Vietnam.
"The use of that chemical affected over 3 million people,
with more than 1 million people under 18... left
incapacitated, and suffering from hereditary
diseases," the commission emphasized.
A British Defense Ministry official, Baroness Annabel Goldie, said
in a written response to a question by a member of the House of
Lords last week that the United Kingdom would supply Ukraine
with shells containing DU, which she said are more effective
in destroying armoured vehicles.
____________________________________
NorwayReaffirms Commitment
to Brazilian Amazon Rainforest
March 23rd, 5:50pm (teleSUR)
President Lula da Silva reactivated the "Amazon Fund"
that oversees some US$1 billion contributed by
Norway and Germany.
On Wednesday, the Norwegian government reaffirmed its
environmental commitment to the Brazilian Amazon
region and announced that it will help in seeking
additional resources from other donors --- to
maintain the world's largest rainforest
and jungle.
The announcement was made during a meeting between
Brazilian Environment Minister Marina Silva and her
Norwegian counterpart Espen Barth Eide at which
they analyzed details of the Amazon Fund, a
mechanism in which Norway has been the main collaborator.
After the meeting, Silva announced that a package of 14
sustainable development projects, which had been
frozen during the Presidency of Jair Bolsonaro,
now will have priority.
"We are continuing support and we are also trying to mobilize
other donors to come in because we think this has been a
very successful model," the Norwegian minister said,
adding that his county is "very happy" to work with
President Lula da Silva.
The projects include efforts to halt deforestation in the
Amazon, to push forward with bioeconomic activities
and to provide food security and protection to
Indigenous peoples.
Silva said that the issues linked to climate change.. are
also a priority for the Lula administration, adding that
Brazil must look to clean energy sources.
The Amazon Fund was created in 2008 and operated until
2019 ----, when the Bolsonaro administration decided to
deactivate it ..amid a campaign to implement policies
to push for increased mining and other economic
activities in the region.
On his first day as Brazilian president, Lula overturned those
policies and ordered the reactivation of the Amazon Fund,
to which he now wants to attract the United States,
China and France, among other big
economic powers.
Currently, the Amazon Fund oversees some US$1 billion
contributed by Norway and Germany and expectations
are that the U.S. will join the effort with an initial
donation of US$50 million.
______________________________
Russia plans to ban the import of plastic goods
March 21st, 1:21am
(RT.ru)
The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade
proposes to introduce a ban on the import
of disposable plastic tableware to Russia.
This is reported by the newspaper
"Izvestia" with reference to sources.
It is noted that there are only 28 products
in the list. They are offered to replace
them, with products made of a
biodegradable analogue, eg,
glass, paper and wood.
_____________________________
CARICOM praises work on
ocean biodiversity treaty
by Pavel López Lazo
March 10th, 5:53pm
(Prensa Latina)
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) on Friday heaped
praise on the work done by the organization's experts
in the just-agreed international treaty on Marine
Biodiversity, beyond national jurisdictions,
crucial to address climate change.
Our experts not only participated in discussions, but
also facilitated the debate on the most important
areas, CARICOM stressed.
It included representatives of the region’s Permanent
Missions to the United Nations --- and experts who
were supported by scientists and legal experts
from the region’s institutions.
Among others, CARICOM mentioned the Ambassador of
Belize Janine Coye Felson who is responsible for the
bloc’s area-based management tools and was also
called upon by the conference chair to facilitate
the group on marine genetic resources.
Our joint efforts to successfully negotiate this Treaty
are examples of what we can do, when we are
united, Felson stressed.
Known as the High Seas Treaty, this legal instrument will
place 30% of the world’s oceans in protected areas,
allocate more money for preservation and cover access to and the use of, marine genetic resources.
UN Secretary-General (UNSG), António Guterres, said in a statement that this is a breakthrough after nearly 20 years of negotiations.
____________________________________
Deforestationin Brazilian Amazon
reached record high in February
by Ana Luisa Brown
March 3rd, 2:31pm
(Prensa Latina)
The accumulated deforestation alerts in the Brazilian Legal
Amazon was 291 square kilometres (km²) in February, the
highest mark for the month in the entire historical series,
started in 2015, it was announced today.
The data released by the Institute for Space Research (INPE)
are supported by the Real-Time Deforestation Detection
System (Detener), which produces daily signals of
alteration in forest cover for areas larger than
three hectares (0.03 km²).
Such indications occur for totally deforested areas as well
as for those in the process of wild degradation (logging,
mining, burning and others).
The Deter is not the official deforestation data,
but an alert on where the problem is occurring.
The Legal Amazon corresponds to 59 percent of the national
territory and includes the total area of eight states (Acre,
Amapá, Amazonas, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia,
Roraima and Tocantins) and part of Maranhão.
The G1 portal assures that since December, January,
February and March are rainy months in most of the
states that are part of the biome, deforestation
rates are typically lower during these months.
However, last month experts pointed out that INPE’s numbers
for this year should be interpreted with caution, as January
registered high cloud cover and a consequent drop in the
period’s figures, now reflected in a rise in February.
‘The escalation in the area deforested in the first
days of February should be viewed with caution.
Marco Astrini, Executive Sec. of the Climate Observatory
believes that the current administration of President Luiz
Inácio Lula da Silva adopted correct measures against
deforestation, but the ‘work of rebuilding, putting the
house in order is slower, more difficult than the
destruction of the previous government’ of
the defeated president Jair Bolsonaro.
________________________________________
Endangered dolphin population
increases in China
by Alina Ramos Martin
March 1st 1:26pm
(Prensa Latina)
The population of the finless porpoise, a dolphin endemic
to the Yangtze River, increased to 1,249 and the new
animals are larger, a study by China's Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Affairs confirmed.
According to the research, the recovery of this species
followed the fishing ban adopted in 2021 and there
are now specimens in different provinces.
Along with the ban, many invasive plants disappeared and
docks along the Yangtze river were dismantled, which
contributed to clean water and ensured the
dolphin’s food source.
However, experts are calling for increased measures to
protect the animal and address the difficulties they
face in their habitat due to human activities
and shipping.
The finless porpoise is believed to be the last surviving
mammal in the Yangtze, after the baiji was declared
extinct in 2007.
_____________________________________
Youth leaders -- will debate in
Panama on ocean protection
by Alina Ramos Martin
March 1st, 9:59am
(Prensa Latina)
In the Preamble of the VIII Conference Our Ocean 2023,
youth leaders from several nations will discuss, in
Panama, the protection of marine resources.
According to the Vice Minister of Multilateral Affairs and
International Cooperation... of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Yill Otero, at the Our Ocean Youth Summit,
some 70 solutions will be presented --- and the
creation of alliances for sustainable action
will be advocated.
The forum will begin tomorrow with the participation of more
than 600 experts who will discuss six lines of action: marine
protected areas, marine security, blue economy, sustainable
fisheries, climate change and marine pollution.
During the two-day event, representatives of governments,
private companies and civil society will share actions and
policies for the protection of large bodies of water & the
responsible management of marine resources for the
future, as well as sustainable economic growth.
The meeting takes place at a time when climate change,
marine pollution and the devastation of marine life have
reached increasingly alarming levels --- due to the
harmful actions of mankind.
In statements to La Prensa newspaper, Juan Monterrey,
director of Geoversity’s Biocultural Leadership School,
pointed out that this world conference cannot be
another ‘diplomatic show’.
Panama will be the first Central American country to hold
the Our Oceans conference, and in the opinion of Diana
Laguna, vice-minister of the Environment, the world
meeting is a key space for countries to
their actions in favour of the oceans
and expose them to the world.
_____________________________________________
China Adds Sites to Wetlands of
International Importance List
February 2nd (teleSUR)
Wetlands can purify water and provide food and shelter
to migratory birds. They are among the Earth's top
stores of carbon.
On Thursday, the Chinese National Forestry and Grassland
Administration (NFGA) announced that 18 wetlands in
China were designated in 2022 as Wetlands of
International Importance under the Ramsar
Convention on Wetlands.
The 18 new sites include Beijing Wild Duck Lake Wetland, the
nine turns and 18 bends on the Greater Khingan Range, and
Baima Lake Wetland in Huai'an, Jiangsu Province. Following
the expansion, the number of Wetlands of International
Importance hit 82 in China, covering a surface area of
7.647 million hectares, the fourth largest in the world.
February 2nd marks the World Wetlands Day, which is the date
of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands in 1971 in the
Iranian city of Ramsar. The Ramsar Convention is an
agreement dedicated to the conservation and
rational use of wetland ecosystems.
This year's theme of World Wetlands Day is "It's Time for
Wetlands Restoration," highlighting the urgent need to
prioritize wetland restoration. On Thursday, the
NFGA released the results of the monitoring
of the ecological status of wetlands in
China in 2022.
The results show that the ecological status of the Wetlands of
International Importance in China is generally stable, the total
wetland area has increased compared with the previous year,
there is a good trend in water quality, and the water supply
status remains stable. China's wetland biodiversity has
been enriched, with 2,391 plant species recorded.
During the 2016-2020 period, China allocated about US$1.47
billion --- to carry out 53 wetland protection and restoration
projects, and over 2,000 wetland ecological compensation
projects, projects to return farmland to wetlands, as well
as wetland protection and restoration subsidy projects.
The restoration of 467,400 hectares of degraded
wetlands has been achieved, and 202,600
hectares of new wetlands were added.
Over the past decade, China has added or restored more than
800,000 hectares of wetlands. China's first specialized law
on wetland protection took effect in June 2022. China
became a party to the Ramsar Convention in 1992.
So far, more than 2,400 wetlands around the world have been
designated as Wetlands of International Importance, also
known as Ramsar Sites. Wetlands include natural and
artificial water bodies on land..... like rivers, lakes,
swamps, rice paddies, and some coastal areas.
Known as the "kidneys of the Earth" and a reservoir of
biodiversity, they can purify water and provide food
and shelter to migratory birds. They are among the
Earth's top stores of carbon, whose existence
contributes to global efforts to reduce
carbon emissions.
_____________________________________________
Colombiato Protect Santa Marta's
Cienaga Grande Wetland
Colombia,2023.
February 2nd (teleSUR)
This coastal ecosystem was declared a Ramsar wetland of
international importance in 1998 and a UNESCO Biosphere
Reserve in 2000.
On Wednesday, Environment Minister Susana Muhamad presented the management plan for the Santa Marta's
Cienaga Grande, the Colombian largest complex of
coastal wetlands.
This plan contemplates an investment of US$8 million for the
recovery of an ecosystem whose environmental goods and
services directly benefit over 25,000 people in the
surrounding region.
To preserve this wetland complex, the National Environmental
System will work together with local communities on projects
related to issues such as economic reconversion, ecological
restoration, and the reestablishment of connections
through channels.
To achieve these goals, the Inter-American Development Bank
(IDB) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF)... will provide
financing. These announcements were made.. in connection
with World Wetlands Day, which is celebrated every year, on February the 2nd.
During the last decades, the Santa Marta's Cienaga Grande
has been seriously affected in its ability to sustain fishing
production, from which, thousands of low-income
families benefit.
A tweet reads, "We present to you the majestic Cienaga
Grande de Santa Marta, the first site in the country
included in the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
of International Importance."
"It's not just a matter of saving the ecosystem," said
Muhamad, who explained that the administration of
President Gustavo Petro... also seeks to provide
economic opportunities for local families so
that they can dignify their way of life
and culture.
Currently, there are 28 monitoring stations in the Santa
Marta's Cienaga Grande --- which was declared a
Ramsar wetland of international importance
in 1998 and a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve
in 2000.
Through these stations, environmental scientists and
technicians permanently evaluate the quality of
water, a resource that nourishes an important
fauna of fish, crustaceans, mollusks,
mammals, reptiles, amphibians,
and birds.
_________________________________________
Planet Earth could lose
10% of biodiversity
by 2050
by Pavel López Lazo
January 1st, 9:56am
(Prensa Latina)
A new study indicates that the Earth is in danger
of losing 10% of its biodiversity by 2050, due to
climate change and poor land use.
Recently published by the scientific journal Science
Advances, the research referred to the cascading
extinctions of animals and plants on the planet,
which could lead to the loss of up to 27% of
biodiversity by 2100.
This means that, if a certain species becomes extinct,
a predator species of the extinct one could disappear as it runs out of food.
The same thing... will happen to plants, because, if
pollinating insects become extinct... due to harsh
heat, they will also disappear because there will
be no insect to pollinate them. This study
proves, once again, that all species
depend, in some way, on others.
The benefits of a rich biodiversity, lead to a balanced
equilibrium of ecosystems and their respective food
chains, noted Science Advances, so their resources
are maximized where energy waste is minimal and
if biological diversity is limited, there will not be a
healthy ecosystem ------- with very detrimental
repercussions for the planet.
Having a rich variety of flora and fauna means great
productivity - and improves the possibility of taking
advantage of all the resources it provides.
__________________________________
Germany is starting
to use coal -- again
December 22nd, 3:44pm https://en.news-front.info/
Germany is restoring the performance of some coal-
fired power plants. It is reported by Bloomberg.
The German government has decided to return to fossil
fuels, despite the promise to achieve its climate goals.
Due to the economic situation in the country, the
government is trying to prevent a rapid rise
in energy prices.
The agency reports that the volume of electricity
consumed in the third quarter was 13.3 percent
more than in the same period a year ago.
Despite the current situation, the country is not
backing down, on its pledge to phase out coal
by 2030. But now the priority of the country’s
authorities is aimed at supplying electricity
to its citizens.
“We don’t stop sticking to our climate goals, but when
we were faced with the challenge of keeping the
lights on or cutting back on carbon emissions,
we chose light,” says the International
Energy Agency.
_________________________________________
Kazakhstan and Russia have
potential --to work together
on decarbonization projects
December 22nd, 11:52am (TASS)
Kazakhstan proposes a joint project with Russia,
to decarbonize the economy and hopes to solve
various environmental problems together,
Ambassador to Moscow, Ermek
Kosherbaev, told TASS in
an interview.
The environmental issue requires balanced, joint
solutions, because the countries have similar
problems: high levels of air, water and soil
pollution and the buildup of radiation
and industrial waste, the
diplomat said.
"We could jointly work on projects to decarbonize
the economy. Kazakhstan, like Russia, is an
energy-consuming country -- where up to
60% of electricity is generated through
burning coal," Kosherbaev noted.
Scarce forests are another problem where Russia can
help Kazakhstan, the Ambassador said. Kazakhstan
is implementing a state program to plant up to two billion trees, by 2025, he noted. "We need help
growing and preserving these forests," the
diplomat stressed.
There is also a problem of a lack of fresh water.
Kazakhstan’s water security - largely depends
on the hydrological and ecological condition
of cross-border rivers flowing in Russia. In
particular, the catastrophic shallowing &
pollution of the Ural river threatens the
health of residents in the border
regions of both countries, the
diplomat noted.
"I hope that together we will be able to find ways of
solving these problems - and preserve a clean and
comfortable environment for future generations,"
the Ambassador added.
_______________________________________________
Brazilian indigenous leader
denounces effects of
climate change
by Martin Hacthoun
November 13th, 10:10am
(Prensa Latina)
Climate change deeply affects the lives of indigenous
peoples due to fires, floods and other similar
phenomena, warned here, today, Ze
Bajaga Apurin --- the leader of a
Brazilian indigenous community.
''In the past, the rainy season was very regular, but
today it is different --- a situation that also occurs
with floods,'' Bajaga Apurina who is also general
coordinator of the Indigenous Organization
and Community Federation of Pura said.
Now we can’t work all day in the fields, because of
the high temperatures, he said, in an interview
with the Egyptian daily Al Ahram.
Wearing his traditional feathered attire, Bajaga Apurina
said it was for these reasons that he decided to
attend the 27th Conference of the Parties to
the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change, which is being held
in this city, located in the north-
western Sinai Peninsula.
''We are here to bring a message to all governments
and businessmen: what they are doing is not only
endangering indigenous peoples, but the entire
planet and all living beings,'' he stressed.
___________________________________
Rwanda Reduced 126,000 Tons
of Carbon Emissions: in 9 Years
November 10th, 2022
(teleSUR)
At least 47,000 hectares of forests and agro-forestry
were planted while 31,000 hectares of watershed
and water bodies have been protected.
Rwanda has cut 126,000 tonnes of carbon emissions
over the last nine years owing to strategic climate
resilience investments made across the country,
official data released during Finance Day at the
27th session of the Conference of the Parties
(COP27) in Egypt showed.
The data on green investments released by the
Rwanda Green Fund showed that since 2013,
funding worth US$247 million... has been
mobilized for strategic climate resilient
investments. The funding was invested
in 46 green projects across the country
that helped to cut carbon emissions.
At least 47,000 hectares of forests and agro-forestry
were planted while 31,000 hectares of watershed
and water bodies have been protected.
Over 88,000 households were given access to off-grid
clean energy while 120,000 people were supported to cope with the effects of climate change, according to the data.
Rwanda needs an estimated US$11 billion to mitigate, and adapt to climate change effects up to 2030, Rwanda's Economic Planning Minister Claudine Uwera said.
"COP27 is an opportunity to engage development
partners, to meet the remaining financing of
US$6.5 billion to accelerate momentum to
deliver on Rwanda's climate agenda,"
she added.
Jeanne D'arc Mujawamariya, Rwandan Environment
Minister called on rich nations to deliver on the US
$100 billion per annum pledge.Since 2009, the
pledge of US$100 billion ------- by developed
countries every year, by 2020, to support developing countries ----- to cope with climate change,is yet to be met.
During the Finance Day heads of governments and
activists called for immediate and innovative
solutions to drive the global climate finance
landscape to complement public finance.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame has said
- questioning whether Africa is ready to
make use of climate finance, should
not be used as an excuse to
justify inaction.
____________________________________________
Seychelles to Protect 100% of Mangroves & Seagrass in 2023
Says President At COP27
November 8th,
Seychelles News Agency (Victoria)
Seychelles will move to 100 percent protection of all
its mangroves and seagrass meadows, in 2023,
adding to the already 32 percent protection
of its ocean and 50 percent of its forest,
President Wavel Ramkalawan said
on Monday.
Ramkalawan made the announcement in his
statement.. at the high-level segment for
heads of state and government in the
27th Conference of the Parties
(COP27) --- taking place in
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
"Like other islands - we contribute less to the
destruction of the planet, yet we suffer the
most. For example, the carbon emissions
of Seychelles are very low and we clean
up through our mangroves & seagrass
meadows, thus making us a zero
contributor.. to the destruction
of the planet, yet our islands
are disappearing and our
coasts are being
destroyed,"
he said.
Seychelles has one of the most biologically diverse
marine ecosystems on the planet while the carbon
ecosystems cover over two million hectares, with
seagrass beds accounting for 99 percent of the
blue carbon extent.
The other carbon ecosystem in the island nation
is mangrove forests with more than 80 percent
located within the Aldabra atoll.
Ramkalawan took the opportunity to express
Seychelles' support and solidarity -- with all
nations that have experienced the terrible
effects of climate change, lately.
The head of state of Seychelles, an archipelago
in the western Indian Ocean, asked if the
Conference of the Parties is a counting
game or a real countdown to saving
the planet.
"I pray that we leave Egypt with good decisions and
pledges, that will be followed by concrete actions
--- instead of another set of empty promises,"
he said.
Ramkalawan reiterated the need for the Multi
Vulnerability Index (MVI) to be the new order
as "SIDS [Small Island Developing States]
are vulnerable and we need access to
concessionary funding, in order to
defend ourselves against climate
change, while fulfilling the SDGs
[Sustainable Development Goals]
to give our people a better life."
"Industrialised nations must pay greater attention
to the Damage and Loss agenda. We, the oceanic
states that receive the harsh effects of your
activities, have to be assisted in repairing
the damage you cause to us," he added.
Ramkalawan said that Seychelles is playing
a leadership role... and building strong
partnerships... however small the
island nation is.
He spoke about the Ocean Race Summit the
island nation hosted to discuss the urgency
of saving the ocean.
"Later... we offered the venue for the first European
Blue Invest Forum outside Europe to put emphasis
on financing the Blue Economy and late last
month we welcomed Prince Albert of
Monaco and the Monaco research
expedition in the search for
resilient corals, plus we
are active in promoting
the Great Blue Wall
project," he said.
"Let us be good partners, let us give our youth
a better planet and may we leave Egypt with
enhanced hope and commitment: to save
our one and only blue planet,"
Ramkalawan concluded.
______________________________
China launches promotion
of bambooas a substitute
for plastic
by Alina Ramos Martin
November 7th, 11am
(Prensa Latina)
China and the International Bamboo and Rattan
Organization (Inbar) launched an initiative that
seeks to promote the use of the first resource
as a substitute for plastic, including durable
types such as PVC.
The project aims to formulate policies at national,
regional and global levels, identifying industries
and coordinating standards for trade in bamboo products.
It calls for scientific research, expanding technological innovation and defining
standards in the development of this
area, promoting the expansion of the marketing, advertising and
consumption of this plant as a durable material -------- in
construction, decoration,
furniture, paper making,
and disposable items.
The initiative is expected to serve as a roadmap
to progress in mitigating plastic pollution and
the effects of climate change.
China and Inbar prepared it as part of measures
aimed at strengthening global partnerships and
achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development.
The parties presented the program during the opening
of the 2nd Bamboo and Rattan World Congress (BARC
2022), which is ongoing in Beijing until tomorrow with the attendance of representatives from governments, research institutes, international organizations, non-
governmental organizations and private sectors.
This meeting is seeking to create new platforms to
support producers and achieve carbon neutrality,
including high-level dialogues between
policymakers, parallel sessions and
a small exhibition of goods.
______________________________
New UN Weather Report
'A Chronicle of Chaos'
- UN Chief
Monday, November 7th, 2022
Pan-African News Wire
The world's only international
daily Pan-African News source
UN News Service
The latest report from the UN World Meteorological
Organization (WMO), released on Sunday, shows
that the last 8 years have been the warmest
on record ------ fueled by ever-rising
greenhouse gas concentrations.
The provisional 2022 State of the Global Climate study
outlines the increasingly dramatic signs of the
climate emergency, which include a doubling
of the rate of sea level rise since 1993, to a
new record high this year; and indications
of unprecedented glacier melting on the
European Alps.
The full 2022 report is due to be released in the Spring
of 2023, but the provisional study was brought out
ahead of COP27, the UN climate conference,
raising awareness of the huge scale of the
problems that world leaders must tackle,
if they are to have any hope of getting
the climate crisis under control.
"The greater the warming, the worse the impacts",
said WMO chief Petter Taalas, who launched the
report.... at an event held in Sharm El-Sheikh,
Egypt, the venue for this year's conference.
"We have such high levels of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere now that the lower 1.5 degree of the
Paris Agreement is barely within reach. It's
already too late for many glaciers and the
melting will continue for hundreds, if
not thousands of years, with major
implications for water security".
Critical conditions in all parts of the world
The report is a dizzying catalogue of worrying climate
events, taking place against a backdrop of record
levels of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous
oxide - the three main greenhouse gases that
contribute to global warming - which is
currently estimated to be around
1.15 degrees Celsius above
pre-industrial levels.
Throughout the alps --- an average thickness loss of
between three and over four metres was recorded,
whilst in Switzerland, all snow melted during the
summer season, the first time this has
happened in recorded history; since
the beginning of the century, the
volume of glacier ice in the
country, has dropped by
more than a third.
The increasing ice melt worldwide has led to sea
levels rising... over the last 30 years, at rapidly
increasing rates. The rate of ocean warming
has been exceptionally high over the past
two decades; marine heatwaves... are
becoming more frequent, and these
warming rates are expected to
continue in the future.
The study, details the effects of both droughts and
excessive rains. Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia are
facing crop failure and food insecurity, because of
another season of below-average rains, whilst
more than a third of Pakistan was flooded in
July and August, as a result of record-
breaking rain, displacing almost
eight million people.
The southern Africa region, was battered by a series
of cyclones over two months at the start of the year,
hitting Madagascar hardest with torrential rain and
devastating floods, and in September, Hurricane
Ian caused extensive damage and loss of life
in Cuba and southwest Florida.
Large parts of Europe sweltered in repeated episodes
of extreme heat: the UK saw a new national record
on July 19th, when the temperature topped more
than 40°C for the first time. This was
accompanied by a persistent and
damaging drought and wildfires.
Early warnings for all
In a statement released on Sunday, the UN
Secretary-General, António Guterres,
described the WMO report as a
"chronicle of climate chaos,"
detailing the catastrophic
speed of climate change,
which is devastating
lives and livelihoods
on every continent.
Faced with the inevitability of continued climate
shocks and extreme weather across the world,
Mr. Guterres is to launch an action plan at
COP27 to achieve Early Warnings for All
in the next five years.
The UN chief explained that these early warning systems
are necessary, to protect people and communities
everywhere."We must answer the planet's
distress signal with action, ambitious,
credible climate action,"he argued.
"COP27 must be the place - and
now must be the time."
______________________________________
Scientific Plan for Nature-
Based Climate Solutions
October 13th, 2:23pm (FNA)
Agricultural engineering professor, Ben Runkle, has
co-authored a leading ecosystem scientists and
policy experts report --- calling for a scientific
approach to nature-based climate solutions
in the United States.
The report is the result of dozens of scientists and
policy experts --- gathering in Washington, DC, in
June, to confront the consequences of climate
change and ensure a scientific footing for
nature-based climate solutions.
The report reviews the current knowledge in the field
and offers a multidisciplinary plan for the science,
tools and technologies needed to support a
policy that will mitigate the effects of
climate change.
The researchers are calling for a roughly $1 billion
investment in science and infrastructure
development to ensure nature-based
climate solutions are robust and
credible, that ground-based
experiments & monitoring,
inform rigorously bench-
marked maps, model
predictions and also
protocol evaluations.
"Although... the investment necessary to generate this
information is not small, it is a fraction of the amount
already allocated, to implement nature-based
solutions,"Runkle said. "Investing in sound
science to predict, monitor and verify the
benefits of these strategies is
fundamental to ensuring
their success."
Nature-based climate solutions include reforestation,
as well as climate-smart agriculture, and wetland
restoration. They harness natural processes to
reduce greenhouse gas concentrations in the
atmosphere and slow climate change.
These approaches have substantial and growing
support from bipartisan lawmakers, the private
sector and conservation-minded organizations,
but the scientific evidence to support their
effectiveness is not fully developed.
The authors identify critical gaps in the science needed..
to support large-scale implementations of nature-based
climate solutions and chart a research agenda to
address these gaps. They also provide a set of
principles to guide future assessments of the
effectiveness and viability of nature-
based climate solutions.
Among the numerous strategies for achieving the
overall goal, Runkle's research group focuses on
ecosystem-scale measurement. They use
micrometeorological flux towers to
measure basic atmospheric
conditions.
The measurements will enable the team to enhance
and expand ground-based monitoring networks
and distributed experiments.
This effort includes: • Creating robust datasets against
which models, mapping tools and monitoring protocols
can be evaluated and compared. • Creating networks
of distributed field trials and experiments to evaluate
emerging or understudied strategies for nature-based
Runkle has already started. He recently received $1
million from the USDA Climate Smart Agriculture
Initiative, a project led by USA Rice and Ducks
Unlimited. The award is part of $80 million in funding from US Department of Agriculture
to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions
associated with rice production.
The grant was one of 70 announced in September,
totaling a $2.8 billion investment.. in the creation of Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities by the USDA.
US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack visited Isbell
Farms in central Arkansas on Sept. 16 to highlight
the project. Runkle has collaborated with the
Isbells for several years, focused on making
rice production more sustainable and
climate friendly.
________________________________________
$10.1 billion to be allocated to
environmental programs for
2023-2025: Russian minister
October 7th, 3:46pm (TASS)
Funding for environmental protection, natural
resources reproduction and use and forestry
development programs... will amount to
628 bln rubles ($10.1 bln) ..over the
next three years, Russian Minister
of Natural Resources Alexander
Kozlov said on Friday.
"The Environment Protection state programs - 320 bln
[rubles] ($5.1 bln) --- for the three-year period. We have such positions here as hydrometeorology,
environmental supervision, Arctic research
and hunting, and such federal projects as
Clean Country, Clean Air, Integrated
System of Solid Communal Waste
Management, and Preservation
of Lake Baikal, Biodiversity
and Eco-tourism," the
Minister said.
Funding for the state program... of natural resources
reproduction and use, will amount to 156 bln rubles
($2.5 bln) in the three years to come, and 152 bln
rubles ($2.45 bln) will be provided for the state
program of forestry development,
Kozlov added.
__________________________________
Microplastics are
now discovered in plant leaves
September 12th, 10:37pm
(Lenta.ru)
The University of Presov in Slovakia said that in the
studied samples of plant leaves, scientists, for the first time, found traces of microplastics.
The findings are published in the journal BioRisk.
Plants from the genus of villi (Dipsacus) have
characteristic leaves growing in pairs on
several tiers --- which forms a kind of
receptacle that collects water and
attracts insects into it.
In the samples taken, experts found fragments and
fibres of multi-coloured microplastics -- some of
which were up to 2.4 millimetres long. No third
-party sources of pollution around the territory
were recorded, so the plastic got into the
flowers from the polluted atmosphere,
the researchers say.
Another suggestion is that it could have been
introduced by snails from the soil or from
other plants.
In the future, experts plan to thoroughly study the
impact of microplastics on ecosystems of flora
and insects. In addition, they suggest using
villi as bioindicators of environmental
pollution.
In June 2022, the University of Canterbury
announced the first detection of micro-
plastics in fresh snow.. in Antarctica.
________________________________________
Cuba will host the International
Agroforestry Convention in October
by Elsy Fors Garzon
August 27th, 3:43am
(Prensa Latina)
Cuba will host the 2022 International Agroforestry
Convention next October, a macro-event aimed
at researchers, academics, businessmen and
communicators, it was reported at a
press conference.
The director of the Agroforestry Research Institute
(INAF), Pedro Pablo Henry, highlighted that the VIII
Forestry Congress of Cuba, the IV International
Congress of Coffee and Cocoa, the VIII
International Meeting of Young
Researchers and the VII Cuban
Congress of Beekeeping, will
meet, as part of the event.
Henry pointed out that for 4 days the event’s agenda
will occupy the link between forests and society,
biodiversity and ecosystem services, climate
change, production, as well as the
interactions of forests and water
and sustainable agricultural
production technologies.
Similarly, the director of the INAF, highlighted, that
the integrated management of soils and nutrients,
agroforestry activity ....facing the challenges to achieve the UNs Sustainable Development Goals, the quality, benefit and by-products of coffee, and cocoa, will be discussed & the improvement and breeding of bees.
Henry stressed that the convention will be an opportune
moment - to exchange endorsed scientific experiences
that directly affect the increase in productive activity.
The director of the INAF reported that the presence of
about 400 participants is estimated, and that to date
specialists from Italy, Peru, Panama, Mexico,
Colombia and Ecuador, have confirmed.
______________________________________________
Many Ways Nature
Nurtures Human
Well-Being
August 7th, 10:31am (FNA)
A systematic review of 301 academic articles,
on "cultural ecosystem services" has enabled researchers to identify how the nonmaterial
contributions from nature, are linked to and
significantly affect, human well-being.
They identified 227 unique pathways through which
human interaction with nature - positively or
negatively - affects well-being. These were
then used to isolate 16 distinct underlying
mechanisms, or types of connection,
through which people experience
these effects.
The comprehensive review brings together observations
from a fragmented field of research, which could be
of great use to policymakers --- looking to benefit
society through the careful use and protection
of the intangible benefits of nature.
Do you ever feel the need for a bit of fresh air... to
energize yourself, or to spend time in the garden
to relax? Aside from clean water, food & useful
raw materials, nature provides many other
benefits, that we might overlook, or find
hard to grasp and quantify.
Research into cultural ecosystem services (CESs) the
nonmaterial benefits we receive from nature, aims to
better understand these contributions, whether they
emerge through recreation and social experiences,
or nature's spiritual value and our sense of place.
Hundreds of CESs studies have explored the
connections between nature and human
well-being. However -- they have often
used different methods and measure
-ments -- or focused on different
demographics and places.
This fragmentation makes it difficult to identify
overarching patterns or commonalities, on
how these intangible contributions really
affect human well-being. Better under-
standing them could aid real-world
decision-making --- about the
environment, which could
benefit individuals and
the wider society.
To try to get a "big-picture" view, graduate student
Lam Huynh, from the Graduate Program in
Sustainability Science at the University
of Tokyo, and team... conducted a
systematic literature review of
301 academic articles.
After a critical reading, they were able to identify
hundreds of links. "We identified 227 unique
linkages between a single CES (such as
recreation or aesthetic value), and a
single constituent of human well-
being (such as connectedness,
spirituality, or health).
''We knew that there are many linkages, but we were
surprised ---- to find quite so many of them," said Huynh. "Then, through further critical reading, we could identify major commonalities."
In particular, they identified 16 distinct underlying
"mechanisms," or types of connection, which
refer to the different ways that people's
interaction with nature... affects their well-being.
For example, there can be positive interactions through
"cohesive," "creative" and "formative" mechanisms,
but also, negative interactions, through "irritative"
and "destructive" mechanisms. Previous studies
had identified some of these mechanisms, but
10 were newly defined --- including the more
negative effects, clearly showing that our
well-being is linked to the intangible
aspects of nature, in many more
ways than previously thought.
According to the paper, the negative contributions
to human well-being came mainly through the
degradation or loss of CESs, and through
ecosystem "disservices" ------ such as
annoyance at wildlife noise, which
can affect some people's mental
health, in particular.
However, on the other hand, the highest positive
contributions of CESs, were to both mental and
physical health, which were generated mainly
through: recreation, tourism and
aesthetic value.
"It is particularly interesting to note that the identified
pathways and mechanisms, rather than affecting
human well-being independently, often interact
strongly," explained co-author, Alexandros
Gasparatos, associate professor at the
Institute for Future Initiatives (IFI) at the University of Tokyo.
"This can create negative trade-offs in some contexts,
but also important positive synergies that can be
leveraged, to provide multiple benefits to
human well-being."
Despite the comprehensiveness of the review, the
researchers acknowledge that there may still be
more links, that have not yet been identified,
especially as the review revealed gaps in
the current research landscape.
"We hypothesize... that missing pathways and
mechanisms could be present in ecosystem
-dependent communities, and, especially,
traditional and Indigenous communities,
considering their very unique relations
with nature," said Gasparatos.
"Another of the knowledge gaps we identified --- is
that the existing literature on these nonmaterial
dimensions of human-nature relationships
--- mainly focuses... on the well-being of
individuals, rather than on collective
(community) well-being,"
explained Huynh.
"This significant gap hinders our capacity to identify
possible synergies and trade-offs in ecosystem
management research and practice."
The team has now received a grant, to explore the
effects of CESs provision to human well-being in
the urban spaces of Tokyo. "This project is a
logical follow-up, to test whether and how
some of the identified pathways and
mechanisms unfold in reality and
...intersect with human well-
being," said Gasparatos.
The researchers hope that this study and similar efforts,
will make it possible to apply the key findings from this
complex and diverse body of knowledge, to enable a
real-world impact.
Professor Kensuke Fukushi from IFI, and study co-
author, summarized their hope that: "an improved
understanding of nature's many connections to
human well-being & the underlying processes
mediating them, can help policymakers to
design appropriate interventions. Such
coordinated actions - could leverage
the positive contributions of these
connections - & become another
avenue to protect and manage
ecosystems sustainably."
________________________________
EU Climate Plan Doomed
Unless Anti-Russia
Sanctions Lifted:
Lawmaker
July 10th, 10:29am
(al Manar)
The controversial EU green transition plan, also known
as Fit for 55, which was designed to reduce the bloc’s
greenhouse gas emissions by 55%... by 2030, is
unfeasible --- unless sanctions against Russia
are lifted, EU lawmaker, Roman Haider,
told Sputnik.
“They don’t know how to save their unrealistic
and dangerous, Fit for 55 strategy --- without
canceling the sanctions against Russia,” Haider considered.
On Wednesday, the European Parliament backed EU
regulations designating nuclear and gas energy: as
environmentally sustainable economic activities,
saying that private investment in gas and
nuclear projects... may play a role in the green transition process.
Massively harmful to the environment
Haider indicated that the European Parliament
decision signaled that EU governments are
facing a stark reality, recognizing that
more time and more realistic goals
are required to transform the
energy infrastructure
in Europe.
“This package is a massive threat to businesses in
Europe. It makes Europe even more dependent on imports and drives the price spiral further
upwards. It destroys jobs, promotes the
impoverishment of Europeans --- and is
massively harmful to the environment.
In short, Fit for 55 - is a serious threat
to Europe,” the EU lawmaker warned.
He also stressed that to achieve carbon neutrality
by 2040.. and meet the goals of the Paris climate
agreement, Austria would have to cut emissions,
by 95% over the next 18 years, as a recent study
shows that the country’s CO2 emissions in 2021
reached 1990 levels.
Source: Agencies (edited by
Al-Manar English Website)
______________________________
Colombians RejectJudicial
Authorizationfor Fracking
July 8th, 2022
(teleSUR)
The decision disregards the risk of serious and
irreversible damage that this experimental
technique represents --- for the human
environment, health, and integrity.
On Thursday, Colombian environmental defenders
rejected a decision whereby the Council of State
facilitates oil exploitation through hydraulic
fracturing (fracking).
"The decision disregards the environmental
precautionary principle -- and the risk of
serious and irreversible damage that
this experimental technique
represents: for the human
environment, health, and
integrity" ...the Fracking
Free Colombia Alliance
(ACLF) stressed.
“Fracking is dangerous, in the context of the
climate crisis and openly inconsistent with
the international commitments acquired
by Colombia,” it recalled.
The ACLF also recalled, that the implementation
of this technique will increase risks to the lives
of environmental defenders and Indigenous
peoples in Magdalena Medio, "a territory
that has suffered oil exploitation and
armed violence, for more than
a century."
The Colombian debate about fracking's environmental
and social consequences intensified during the
administration of President Juan Manuel
Santos (2010-2018), who signed a
decree that opened the doors to
the use of fracking in so-called
"unconventional deposits''.
Later, despite the social rejection of the pollution and
violence associated with the operations of fracking
companies, the far-right President Ivan Duque implemented this exploitation practice,
arguing that it would contribute to
the country's energy security.
During the last electoral campaign, the Historical
Pact candidate Gustavo Petro openly took a
position against hydraulic fracturing.
On Thursday, ratifying his political promises,
the President-elect Petro said "there will be
no fracking in Colombia."
______________________________________________
The Brazilian Amazon Lost
3,987 SQ KM of Vegetation
July 8th, 12:53pm (teleSUR)
Since Jair Bolsonaro came to power, in
January 2019, the rates of devastation
in the jungle have increased by 73%.
On Friday, Brazil's National Institute for Space
Research (INPE) revealed that deforestation
in the Brazilian Amazon broke a record in
the first half of the year, with 3,987
square kilometres of devastated
vegetation, 10.6 percent more
than the same period in 2021.
The area of lost vegetation is equivalent to 483
football fields. In June alone, 1,120 square
kilometres of native vegetation were
destroyed in that region of the
country, 5.5 percent more
than in the same month
of 2021.
These are the highest rates - for the month and for
the semester - registered since 2016, when the
measurement began. The data corresponds to the Legal Amazon Deforestation Detection System in Real Time (DETER) which uses satellite images to offer early warnings
about the areas that are being deforested in the Amazon.
This system captures monthly deforestation alarms in
Brazil and differs from the PRODES system, which
only issues annual information between August
and July of the following year, which is
considered the reference period for
measuring environmental
devastation.
However, the figures are beginning to worry, as the
trend shows that the deforestation of the jungle
will grow for the 4th consecutive year,
something that environmentalists
attribute to the lack of controls
and supervision of President
Bolsonaro's administration,
to stop the activities that
destroy the forest, such
as illegal mining or the
illicit trade in wood.
In fact, the far-right politician defends the
exploitation of natural resources in the
Amazon and in indigenous territories,
where the law prohibits
extractive activities.
Since Bolsonaro came to power in January 2019,
the rates of devastation in the jungle have
increased by 73 percent to reach 13,038
square kilometres in 2021. In 2018, a
year before the former Capitan took
office, only 7,536 sq. kilometres
of jungle were devastated.
The largest tropical forest on the planet
concentrates 72%of Brazil's mining
extraction and 99% of the wood
sold by the country is illegally
extracted from the Amazon.
________________________________
Did you know...?
Russia is the only country in the world
where bio-resources... are increasing
every year: forests, fish and wildlife.
Environmental protection
--- a priority in Cuba’s
legislative framework
by Ileana Ferrer Fonte
June 5th, 11:07am (Prensa Latina)
The protection of the environment in Cuba has
solid foundations in a regulatory framework
adapted to the peculiarities of the
Caribbean island, which faces
the severe impacts of
climate change.
The Government’s will to promote sustainable
development is expressed in the design and
implementation of specific policies --- such
as the Natural Resources & Environment
Macro Program... that, in turn, responds to the priorities established in Cuba’s
National Economic and Social
Development Plan.
Odalys Goicochea, general director for the
Environment at the Ministry of Science,
Technology and Environment (CITMA),
explained how regulations respond
to the existing social demands
and problems.
“Tarea Vida” (Task Life), a Cuban State Plan to
Face Climate Change, for example, underwent
adjustments, in order to provide more specific
attention to social aspects, and the need to
involve scientists and the population
--- to solve community problems,
Goicochea said.
Several strategies... including the
National Environmental Strategy
- approved for the 2021-2025
period - will allow measuring
progress made in this area,
thanks to indicators:- such
as the ecological footprint
index, the environmental
quality index - & climate
resilience - are proof of
the efforts made in the
regulatory field.
The highest expression of Cuba’s political
willingness to protect the environment,
is the recent approval by the National
People’s Power Assembly, of the
Law on Natural Resources and
Environment System.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel
marks World Environment Day
by Ileana Ferrer Fonte
June 5th, 10:17am (Prensa Latina)
President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Sunday marked
World Environment Day, which is celebrated
in Cuba with firm steps to preserve nature.
On Twitter, the president recalled that Cuba has a
new law on Natural Resources and Environment,
includes the natural sphere in the Heritage
Protection Law, & ''types'' environmental
crimes in the Penal Code.
On #WorldEnvironmentDay, recalling that speech
made by #Fidel in #RiodeJaneiro in 1992 is
essential. It seems that it has been said
for today, Diaz-Canel tweeted, in
another of his messages.
The president referred to the speech given by the
historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel
Castro, at the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development in Brazil,
where he warned 30 years ago about
the negative impact of humankind
on nature.
“Enough of selfishness. Enough of schemes
of domination. Enough of insensitivity,
irresponsibility and deceit. Tomorrow
will be too late to do what we should
have done a long time ago,” said
Fidel Castro on that occasion,
when he advocated for a just
international economic order.
World Environment Day has been celebrated since
1973 --- to raise awareness among the world’s
population -- about the importance of caring
for ecosystems and promoting respect
for nature.
___________________________
Plastic waste has more
than doubled since 2000
by Pavel López Lazo
February 24th, 6:35pm (Prensa Latina)
A report entitled Global Plastics Outlook on
Thursday, revealed that the amount of
plastic waste has more than doubled
globally since 2000 --- and nearly a
quarter, is dumped in uncontrolled
sites, burned in open pits or leaks
into the environment.
Plastic waste has more than doubled worldwide, since 2000, with a whopping 353 million tons produced in 2019.
After taking into account losses during recycling, only 9% of plastic waste
was ultimately recycled, while
19% was incinerated and
nearly 50% went to
sanitary landfills.
“The remaining 22% was disposed of in
uncontrolled dumpsites, burned in
open pits, or leaked into
the environment.”
On the other hand, a scientific study shows
the oceans already accumulate 24.4 billion
pieces of microplastic.
Experts estimated that amounts range from
82,000 to 578,000 tons, or the equivalent
of roughly $30 billion 500-ml plastic
water bottles.
According to the journal Microplastics and
Nanoplastics, the study aimed to assess
the true impact these particles have, on
aquatic organisms and the environment.
Microplastics – up to 5-mm size – can travel
thousands of kilometres in the open sea
and, depending on their degradation,
remain at certain distances from
the ocean surface.
Although more research is needed to know the
effects of microplastics, several studies have
confirmed a real impact on people’s lives, as
they can suffer from alveolar lung disease,
and altered hormones, leading to other
disorders, including infertility
or hypothyroidism.
According to a report published by the World
Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), people are at
risk of ingesting around 5 grams of micro-plastic, per week.
_____________________________________
WHY WE ARE ALL EATING SH*T
"A recent publication by a European commission on soil health found up to 70% of soils in the EU, are losing the capacity to provide crucial ecological functions."
"When soil is healthy, it stores and drains water. It also grows 95% of the food humans eat.''
''When soil is degraded, its basic life-giving processes don't function properly. "
They behaved on a par with industrial cities in China
such as coal-dependent Chongqing, they described,
adding that the findings suggest a sponge-like
behaviour of the rainforest trees.
The leaves, which are coated with contaminated dust,
also absorb gaseous mercury as they take in air,
they noted in the article.
The metal, eventually, finds its way to the ground
as leaves fall or rain washes away dust and after
capturing the dripping water, they discovered
more than twice as much rain washout,
compared to any other site.
The results indicated that forests can buffer some
of the harmful effects of mercury, by hiding it in
leaves and soil, the study participants noted.
People and wildlife are generally not at risk from
this locked-up mercury, explained Luis
Fernandez, a tropical ecologist and
executive director of Wake Forest
University’s Amazon Science
Innovation Centre.
You could walk, swim in the water, bury yourself in
the leaves... and you’re not going to get toxicity
doing that -- a reason to keep tropical forests
standing, the expert emphasized.
Still, the airborne form of mercury can become very
dangerous when it seeps into water and sediment
and is converted to something else,
methylmercury, by bacteria in
the liquid, he warned.
The team involved found sobering signs, that
methylmercury is reaching forest creatures,
and by testing three species of songbirds
they had levels two to 12 times higher
than similar species caught in a
forest far from a mine.
This shows that it is entering the food web, said
Emily Bernhardt, a subject supervisor for
biogeochemistry and analysis at Duke
University in North Carolina.
Research data shows that gold mining recently
overtook coal burning, as the world’s largest
source of airborne mercury pollution,
annually releasing up to 1,000 tons
of the potent brain poison into
the atmosphere.
__________________________________
Media report environmental
impact of sea trafficin Europe
by Aleynes Palacios Hurtado
January 11th, 00:15am (Prensa Latina)
Sea traffic in Europe accounts for 13.5 percent
of the emission of greenhouse gases and
carbon microparticles into the airways
of crews working on ships,
media reported.
The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) made
public its 2021 report on the environmental impact
of those operations, which revealed that container
ships, bulk carriers and oil tankers account for 60
percent of the emission of those particles (soot).
It noted that cruise ships, despite making up a low
percentage of the total fleet, emit 10 tons per ship
a year, a figure lower than the 1.7 recorded for
an oil tanker.
The report warned about wastewater discharge: large
ships discharge huge quantities of dirty, oily, bilge
and ballast water and solid waste (plastics,
packages, food waste) into the sea,
causing damage to the
sea's ecosystems.
According to EMSA, the main dirty waters discharged
into the sea are used to clean exhaust gases of
chimneys through filters installed to retain
polluting particles.
On the other hand, the report warned about the
accidental loss of huge amounts of containers
with all their content, which ends up at the
bottom of the sea.
Another negative impact is the so-called underwater
noise, caused by ships, which disturbs the life of
cetaceans and other species that use
frequencies to communicate with
each other.
_____________________________
China's 'man-made sun'
sets new world record
December 31st, 2:22pm (PressTV)
Chinese scientists have set a new world record
by achieving a 1,056 second-long operation of
a "man-made sun".
The breakthrough was made on Thursday during
the latest round of experiments at the
experimental advanced super-
conducting tokamak (EAST),
or China's "man-made sun".
The scientists achieved a temperature of 70 million
degrees Celsius of long-pulse and high-parameter
plasma, lasting for 1,056 seconds, according to
Gong Xianzu, a researcher at the Institute of
Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of
Sciences. The scientist is in charge of the
experiment conducted in Hefei, capital
of east China's Anhui province.
They had earlier set a world record of achieving
a plasma temperature of 120 million degrees
Celsius for 101 seconds on May 28 this year.
The latest round of experiments started in early
December this year, and will last until at least
June 2022.
The ultimate goal of EAST, located in Hefei, is
to create nuclear fusion like the Sun, using
deuterium abounding in the sea, to
provide a steady stream of
clean energy.
_______________________________
World faces largest species extinction
since dinosaur era, WWF warns
December 31st, 1:09pm (RT)
Around a million species might disappear
within the next few decades..... the
conservation organization reports
The Earth is facing the biggest extinction event..
since the end of the dinosaur era, with a million
species at risk of becoming extinct, within the
next few decades, the World Wildlife Fund
(WWF) has said in a report.
Titled ‘Winners and Losers of 2021’, the article,
published on Wednesday, lists the endangered
animals whose populations have shrunk or
grown the most this year.
“African forest elephants, polar bears, tree frogs,
cranes and species of fish such as sturgeon and
huchen --- these are just some of the losers in 2021. They represent thousands of endangered animal species,” the WWF said.
Among the ‘winners’, the organization lists the Iberian
lynx – one of the rarest cats in the world – along with
Nepalese rhinos and great bustard birds. Noting that the success of these species is a tribute to
the efforts of conservationists, the WWF
emphasizes that the situation
remains serious.
“Around a million species could become extinct within
the next few decades, which would mark the largest
species extinction since the end of the dinosaur
era,” the organization claimed.
According to a WWF board member Eberhard
Brandes, species protection, now involves
the question of “whether humanity will
someday end up on the red list in a
hazard category and become the
loser of its own way of life.”
There are more than 40,000 animal and plant species
currently on the International Red List, qualified as
threatened with extinction by the International
Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
In total the Red List includes almost
142,600 endangered species.
____________________________
Fully biodegradable food
packaging developed
in Russia
December 21st, 2:55am (TASS)
The first food packaging made of laminated
cardboard, which decomposes in soil in
six months, was developed in Russia,
OSQ press service told TASS.
"Laminated craft packaging, when it gets into the
ground, 100% decomposes within six months
& has no analogs in Russia. For comparison,
plastic food packaging begins to decompose
in the ground only after 400 years. The
products of the company’s previous
brand underwent 70%
decomposition in the
environment," the
statement said.
The company specified that the production of
cardboard containers, cups, and other types
of packaging has been established at the
company's plant in Vidnoye, Moscow
Region. In the future, additional
capacities will be added to the
plant in Kaliningrad - with the
investments in construction
of 1.1 bln rubles ($14.85 mln).
___________________________
‘Doomsday Glacier’
--- melting at an
alarming rate
December, 15th, 11:54am (RT)
A massive glacier in Antarctica, seen as crucial to the global sea level rise, could lose its ice shelf in
“as little as five years,” a team of scientists
has warned.
The Thwaites Glacier in western Antarctica is
sometimes called the Doomsday Glacier
because of its great potential to raise
sea levels once melted. The glacier
is about 74,000 square miles...
which is roughly the size of
Florida, according to
CBS News.
A team of US scientists reported at a US Geophysical
Union meeting, this week, that new cracks were
forming on the eastern ice shelf --- which
supports one third of the glacier.
The shelf, which “acts as a dam to slow
the flow of ice off the continent into
the ocean,” appears to be “losing
its grip” ...due to warm water
seeping under the glacier,
researchers said, citing
satellite images.
“If this floating ice shelf breaks apart, the Thwaites
Glacier will accelerate, and its contribution to sea
level rise, will increase by as much as 25%,” the
scientists wrote, adding that the shelf could be broken up in “as little as five years.”
According to the study, one of the fastest-melting
glaciers in Antarctica is contributing as much as
4% of global annual sea level rises, today, while
the cracks are expanding into the central part
of the ice shelf, at rates as high as 2km
(1.2 miles) per year.
“There is going to be dramatic change in the front
of the glacier, probably in less than a decade.
Both published and unpublished studies
point in that direction,” geology
professor Ted Scambos, US
lead coordinator for the
International Thwaites
Glacier Collaboration..
told the BBC, Tuesday.
____________________________
New FAO report on land,
water resources, paints
an alarming picture
by Pavel López Lazo
December 9th, 5:13pm (Prensa Latina)
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO) on Thursday launched a landmark
report highlighting the worsening state of the
earth’s soil, land and water resources and
the challenges it poses... for feeding a
global population expected to near
ten billion by 2050.
“The pressures on soil, land and water ecosystems...
are now intense, and many are stressed to a critical
point,” FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, wrote in
the foreword to the synthesis report, entitled the
State of the World´s Land and Water Resources
for Food and Agriculture – Systems at breaking
points (SOLAW 2021).... “Against this back-
ground, it is clear our future food security
will depend on safeguarding our land,
soil and water resources.”
The report says if we keep to the current trajectory,
producing the additional 50% more food needed
could mean water withdrawals for agriculture
increasing by up to 35%. That could create
environmental disasters, increase
competition for resources, and
fuel new social challenges
and conflicts.
Among other aspects, it stands out that human-induced soil degradation affects 34% (1,660 billion hectares) of agricultural lands. Over 95% of our food is produced on land, but there is little room for expanding areas of productive land. Urban areas occupy less than 0.5% of the Earth’s land surface but the rapid growth of cities... has significantly impacted land & water resources,
polluting & encroaching on prime agricultural land that’s crucial... for productivity & food security.
With limited arable land and freshwater resources - a
rapid scaling-up of technology and innovation is vital.
We must strengthen the digital architecture needed to provide basic data, information & science-based
solutions for agriculture... that make full use of
digital technologies and are climate-proofing.
Land and water governance must be more inclusive
and adaptive, to benefit millions of smallholder
farmers, women, youth, and indigenous
peoples. They are the most vulnerable
to climatic and other socio-economic
risks, and face the greatest food
insecurity.
Sustainable soils, land and water are the foundations
for resilient agrifood systems. So the sustainable
use of these resources... is key to achieving
climate mitigation and adaptation targets.
___________________________
Earth is Getting Its Own
Black Box
That Will Tell What Caused
Humanity's Demise
December 6th, 1:08pm (Sputnik)
The device will be placed on an empty plain in
Tasmania, Australia. The researchers behind
the project, say the area was chosen for its
geological as well as geopolitical stability.
Other locations proposed, were located
in Malta, Norway, and Qatar.
Researchers from the University of Tasmania...
have partnered with the Australian marketing
communications company, Clemenger
BBDO, to create a black box for our
planet, which they say.... will tell
future generations (and maybe
extraterrestrial guests, who
knows)....... what caused
humanity's demise.
Black boxes installed on airplanes and automobiles
play an invaluable role in establishing the causes
of accidents - so why shouldn't Earth have one,
researchers apparently wondered. Jim Curtis,
the executive creative director at Clemenger
BBDO, told ABC --- that the project is
completely non-commercial.
The box will be made from 7.5 centimetre-thick steel
...and will be filled with a mass of storage drives,
which, according to researchers, will record
"every step we take... towards" a potential
catastrophe, meaning they are gathering
information: on pollution, the extinction
of species, ocean acidification, as well
as climate change-related events such
as average temperatures, and levels
of carbon dioxide. The latter traps
heat radiated from the Sun and
consequently leads to
climate change.
The black box will have an internet connection and
will also collect contextual data ...such as news
about key international events like the United
Nations Climate Change Conference,
meetings between world leaders, etc.
Although the construction of the structure to house the
box will begin in the middle of 2022, the hard drives
have already begun recording information.
The black box, which will be the size of a bus, will also
have solar panels to provide backup power storage.
Jonathan Kneebone, a co-founder of the artistic
collective, Glue Society, which is also involved
in the project, said the device is "built to
outlive us all".
Researchers say that while the main objective is to
help future civilisations, or whoever accesses the
black box, to understand what should be done to
prevent catastrophes, they also hope that it will
make politicians... put their money where their
mouths are, when it comes to preserving the
environment and protecting life on Earth.
"It's also there to hold leaders to account – to make
sure their action - or inaction - is recorded. When
people know they're being recorded... it does
have an influence on what they do and say",
said Jonathan Kneebone.
________________________________________________
FAOcalls for urgent actionon
sustainable soil management
by Luis Linares Petrov
December 4th, 00:15am (Prensa Latina)
FAO Director General Qu Dongyu called to take
urgent action - to improve information and
capacities in favoor of sustainable soil.
The head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO)took part in a video conference
of the eighth edition of World Soil Day, which has
been celebrated every December 5th, by
decision of the General Assembly,
since 2014.
Stopping salinization is the central topic this year,
which according to Qu is one of the main threats
to having healthy soils around the world.
The director general recalled that some 833 million
hectares are affected by salinization in all corners
of the planet, as shown in the World Soil Map
presented in October.
He pointed out that it is a problem present in all
regions, particularly in the Near East, South
America, North Africa, as well as in the
Pacific and Central Asia.
The effects of salt on soils pose a significant risk
to world food security, he noted, and called to
seek innovative ways to make agri-food
systems more efficient, inclusive,
resilient and sustainable.
________________________________
The US – the world’s biggest polluter –
calls out countries that need to
'step up' on climate change
December 2nd, 11:26am (PressTV)
US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John
Kerry, has called out a number of countries
that need to “step up” on climate change,
despite the fact that the United States
has contributed more than any other
country - to the atmospheric carbon
dioxide that is scorching the planet.
According to studies, the US military is the
largest consumer of hydrocarbons on
the planet and one of the largest
polluters in history.
However, Kerry, in an interview at the Reuters
Next conference, on Wednesday, accused
other countries of falling short on their
commitments to stave off the worst
effects of global warming.
“And that means you have China, India, Russia,
Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, South Africa, a
group of countries that are going to
have to step up,” Kerry said.
“And we... have to help them. This, is not just
unloading responsibility on them,” he added.
Kerry has said the current climate situation
cannot be rectified... without the “full
engagement and commitment”
from China.
Democrats in the US House of Representatives
and Senate --- have already called on US
President Joe Biden to use targeted
sanctions to punish individuals
and companies that are
worsening the global
climate crisis.
In a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken
and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen last month,
Democratic lawmakers particularly targeted
China and its companies.
The lawmakers urged the US administration to use
sanction authorities under the Global Magnitsky
Human Rights Accountability Act --- to target
individuals and companies that are found
to be involved in climate-related
corruption and human rights
abuses abroad.
Both the Trump and Biden administrations used
the Magnitsky Act, to target individuals and companies they said were engaged in
corruption or human rights abuses
around the world.
Largely, individuals and companies from Russia,
China, Belarus, Bulgaria, Ethiopia, Eritrea,
and Cuba, have been targeted.
Last month, scores of countries convened in
Glasgow, Scotland, for the COP26 climate
summit, where they reached a deal that
calls for cutting global carbon dioxide
emissions by 45% by 2030, when
compared to 2010 levels.
Kerry on Wednesday said private investments for
clean-energy technologies are also essential for
fighting climate change, according to Reuters.
“No government on the planet has enough money
to effect this transition... But, the private sector
does have that money. I believe the private
sector has the ability to win this battle
for us,” he said.
US is world's biggest plastic polluter: Report
According to a new report submitted to the US
federal government on Wednesday, the US is,
by far, the biggest contributor to global
plastic waste in the world.
Entitled "Reckoning with the U.S. Role in Global
Ocean Plastic Waste," the report calls for... a
national strategy to tackle the growing crisis.
The US contributed around 42 million metric tons
(MMT) in plastic waste in 2016: more than twice
as much as China has --- and more than all the
countries of the European Union combined, according to the analysis.
Every US citizen generates 130 kilograms of plastic
waste in a year, with Britain next on the list --- at
99 kilos per person, per year, followed by
South Korea, at 88 kilos per year,
AFP reported.
"The success of the 20th-century miracle invention (sic)
of plastics, has also produced a global scale deluge
of plastic waste, seemingly, everywhere we look,"
wrote Margaret Spring, chief science officer of
Monterey Bay Aquarium, who chaired the
committee of experts that compiled
this report.
Another Government report says climate change
will shrink the US economy and kill thousands
of US people.
_______________________________________
Vietnam readies 2nd largest
garbage recycling plant ...in the WORLD
by Lino Céspedes Rodríguez
December 2nd, 10:03am (Prensa Latina)
Vietnam polishes the finishing touches to a plant
that will recycle garbage into energy, and be
the second largest in the world, of its kind,
officials from investment company Thien
Y Environment, reported today.
Located on the outskirts of Hanoi, the plant will
have the capacity of processing 4,000 tons of
waste per day (60% of what is produced by
the capital) and producing 75 megawatts
of electricity per hour.
Built at a cost of nearly $ 310 million dollars... the
plant covers a surface of 173,900 square metres,
making it the second largest in the world, after
Chinese Shenzhen, which processes 5,000
tons of garbage per day.
Left over matter, after being used to produce energy,
will be incinerated and used in the manufacture of
bricks and other construction materials.
To fully ensure safety, it will count on a gas
filtration system: preventing the emission
of dioxins, mercury, nitrogen and other
polluting substances into
the environment.
Vietnam thus takes a new step towards the
full elimination and use of... solid waste.
Currently the 3 main ways of waste treatment
in the country, are: burial, the production of
microbiological fertilizers, and burning.
Only 30% of Vietnam’s existing dumping areas
meet ecological standards, while most of its
nearly 300 incinerators, are small-scale.
__________________________________
Climate change......
promises unfulfilled,
pledges forgotten
November 25th, 7:41pm (PressTV)
Climate change, has long been debated under
different settings, researched and debunked
and ‘rebunked’ over the years, so much so
that you would think, strides should have
been made by now, unfortunately, how-
ever, that hasn't been the case. Major
corporations and rich countries have
all fallen short on their so called
promises.
Hypocrisy and inaction
COP 26 still lacks large coal using countries. Studies
show CO2 levels are back at pre COVID-19 levels in
the COP countries but did not include Australia,
China or the United States in the assessment.
Such a state of affairs led to climate protests decrying
one of the highlights of the COP 26 Summit, the
coal pledge.
Children Youth Act climate activists protested
their concerns regarding the slow pace of
emissions reductions and lack of action
on the climate emergency.
Children Youth Act climate activists were rightly
worried about the slow pace of emissions
reductions and action on the
climate emergency.
Nothing will be saved without it is important to
begin with the fact you're born to be creators
of the ground.
Yrsa Daley-Ward, Writer
The 26th session of the Conference of the Parties
to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change.
Carolina Schmidt, President, COP 25
The opening of the COP 26 summit in Glasgow
was quite inspiring but it all came down to the
final draft communiqué.
Well, you know we got a very lengthy
draft decisions from the presidency…
Carolina Schmidt, President, COP25
We need much more concrete action to be
sure to actually really meet this 1.5 target.
Maarten Van Aalst, Director, Intl.
Red Crescent Climate Centre
But the details of the draft were inconsistent
with the declared intention of phasing out
coal as a fuel source.
As a reference of a phasing out of coal and we
are strong believers that that phase out of
coal [is imperative].
Luca Lacoboni, Greenpeace, Italy
Climate Reality, which is funded by the former US
Vice President Al Gore, claimed in an article that
more than 250,000 Americans are exposed to
levels of cancer risk above the highest
limits set by the EPA.
This is an environmental justice nightmare and the
main culprit is toxic pollution from fossil fuels and
petrochemical facilities.
This is what US Senator Ted Cruz said about
the climate change summit that took place
in Glasgow.
I’m not saying they do not believe what they're saying,
but their hypocrisy is rampant. Headed to this climate conference, these officials flew in giant jets.
John Kerry has a private jet that has flown dozens
of times, this past year, all around the country.
I don't know about you, but I don't have a private jet.
I don't believe any of the people on this stage have
their own private jet.
John Kerry when asked about his private jet said
"really, for someone like me it's the only way
that makes sense to travel".
What dripping, condescending, arrogance!
Ted Cruz, US Senator
Robert Evans is a former member of the European
Parliament MEP, and a British Labour Cooperative
politician..... who served as a member of the
European Parliament from 1994 until 2009.
He was first elected to the European
Parliament for London Northwest
and then in 1999 and 2004 for
the London constituency.
Taking a look at what the US Senator Ted Cruz has
said about US policy, slamming his fellow Senator
John Kerry and other world leaders as a whole
for travelling on jets to this cop 26 Glasgow
Summit, does he have a point?
Yeah, I think it's sending entirely the wrong message.
I realize the challenges that some global leaders have
getting from A to B or getting from their own country
to Glasgow, but I think it's sending entirely the
wrong message when they are arriving in
private jets to go around.
Most of the airlines have flights that come to
London where they could have got a train
or a number of people could have
managed it.
Using private airplanes, which are very, very
carbon expensive, is entirely, not so much
unnecessary, but it's sending completely
the wrong message to everybody else.
We have the situation where our Prime Minister
Boris Johnson came back to London by
private jet. Well, I looked it up; there
were six possible scheduled
airlines flights he could
have taken, or a train
from Glasgow
to London.
We cannot have one rule for them
and one rule for everybody else.
So global leaders need to reflect on that;
whatever the challenges, there are
plenty of airlines that could have
accommodated them.
Robert Evens, Former MEP, British Labour Cooperative
That makes sense and sounds fair, but ‘therein lies
the rub’ and the barely veiled hypocrisy of what US
Senator Ted Cruz has said. He himself has, in fact,
received more money from oil and gas companies
in 2018 than any other senator.
Ted Cruz received nearly $800,000 from the oil and
gas industry in the year 2018. And as for other US
senators, one in four US Senators still hold fossil
fuel investments.
The households of those 28 senators own a
combined minimum of $3.7 million, and as
much as $12.6 billion in fossil fuel assets.
"The vicious spiral of global debt these countries at
the frontline of the climate crisis, unable to respond
to his Fallout, and the failure of the world's richest
countries to lift the burden, exposes their climate
hypocrisy", according to The Tribune.
Debt hypocrisy
COP 26.. actually exposed the debt hypocrisy of the
rich nations, and that is where the problem is. Last
year, we had $72 billion flowing out of low income
countries in debt repayments. These are vital
resources that could have been directed to
tackling the climate emergency and easing
the effects of the Pandemic.
Instead, lower income countries are now spending
five times more on debt-repayments that they're
spending on fighting the climate crisis.
Luca Lacoboni is a campaign manager for
energy and climate at Greenpeace, Italy.
When you take a look at the developing countries
there was a lack of representation. Why was
that at this conference? It's a summit?
[The] most affected countries, the countries that
actually see climate change impacting their daily
life almost every day around the world are those
countries that are less represented in COP, in Glasgow and this is absolutely unacceptable
since the richest countries... are those who
are feeling the impacts of climate change less, --- and should hear the voices of the most affected countries and of the most effective people.
This is another important sign of the fact that at
the moment, also that COP26 in Glasgow is
doing a lot of words, but really, not
enough action.
Luca Lacaboni, Greenpeace
One wonders how much money was actually spent
fighting the COVID 19 pandemic, and how much
was spent saving businesses and countries
from actually crashing.
For the prime minister of Barbados, the COP26
summit sheds light on how the desired 1.5
degrees Celsius goal could already have
been reached.
The central banks of the wealthiest countries engaged
in $25 trillion of quantitative easing in the last 13
years, 25 trillion, of that, 9 trillion was in the
last 18 months, to fight the pandemic.
If we had used that 25 trillion to purchase bonds, the
energy transition or the transition of how we eat or
how we move ourselves in transport, we would
now be reaching that 1.5 degrees limit that is
so vital to us.
Mia Motley, PM Barbados
While social media giant Facebook changed its name
to Meta, a group of protestors placed a large melting
iceberg sculpture in front of the Capitol Building in
Washington. This group said Facebook had played
a major role --- by not stopping the spread of
climate disinformation.
Actually, climate disinformation is rampant on
Facebook. There's 1.3 million views of climate
disinformation daily.
Facebook says that they send 100,000 people
to their climate information centre every day.
But if we look at their numbers versus the numbers
that we're getting from the researchers, there's a
massive discrepancy of how much climate
misinformation there really is, on
their platform.
Rewan Al-Haddad, Sumofus Campaign Advisor
When it comes to climate change there needs to be
strong will, on all fronts, from political incentives to
budgetary allocations. With so much ground to
cover on the issue, where would be the
good place to start?
The companies that are responsible for most of
the worlds greenhouse gas emissions would
be a good place to start.
The 20 major fossil fuel companies are collectively
responsible for 35% of global greenhouse gas
emissions. Surely if we know who these 20
companies are, then we should stop them
from doing what they're doing. If only it
were that simple.
What is needed is strong political will, and action
by the gas and oil companies responsible.
Considering the top corporations, for example,
Saudi Aramco, Gazprom, Exxon, Mobil, BP,
and Royal Dutch Shell, and examining how
much CO2 they actually emitted into the
atmosphere, we are looking at 480
billion tons of carbon dioxide.
That's a lot of CO2, regardless of all environmental
disasters that have happened over the past few
decades, however, that is not where the
controversy lies.
The whole notion of the use of coal, oil and gas and its
detrimental effects on the planet and environments..
has been known from as long ago as the year 1965.
In 1965 the US president’s scientific advisory
committee announced that pollutants had
altered the carbon dioxide content of the
air and the lead concentrations in ocean
waters and human populations... on a
global scale.
In simpler language, fossil fuels were causing the
release of carbon dioxide, which was altering the
air on a global scale, posing a huge risk
for mankind.
More examples
The American Petroleum Institute issued a warning
that there's still time to save the planet from the
catastrophic consequences of pollution but
that time was running out.
So there has been warning after warning, and, as if
that were not bad enough... an internal memo from
Exxon Mobil, in 1981, reveals a shocking warning.
One of the managers issued an internal memo
saying that the company's long term business
plans produce effects which will indeed be
catastrophic, at least for a substantial
fraction of the Earth's population.
The big oil companies, however, were not going
to ignore or forgo their profits, thus in 1989 a
company --- by the name of Global Climate
Coalition was established. It was, in fact,
not an environmental group, as the name
may suggest but was intended to really
to sow doubts about climate change.
It actually induced lawmakers to block clean
energy legislation and climate treaties
throughout the 1990s.
Which is, more or less, when the general public
began to doubt the effects of climate change.
The COP 26 goal was to reduce carbon
emissions in the hope of eliminating
it altogether.
The commitments made by various countries, for
instance India, which has pledged net zero
emissions by the year 2070, or Saudi
Arabia, which made a commitment
for net zero emissions by the
year 2060 are both very far
into the future.
We were under the impression that time is
running out and it now appears that
those commitments shall not
be enough.
Saudi Arabia is a very rich country and it's
done very well out of oil over many years.
Of course, I understand why it's worried
about changing it.
But if you're going to have a net zero by 2060,
nearly 40 years away, it's totally unacceptable
as a target. Now, it may be that they don't
reach it till then but I do believe that
countries have got to set ambitious
targets and really make much
greater moves.
You know, the reason that we are still driving around
in petrol driven cars, to a large extent, when 50 years
ago, they had the technology to build battery vehicles,
they just haven't developed it, is because of the power
of the oil industry over the years, the oil industry in
the Middle East, and the plentiful supply of cheap oil.
The amount of investment (that could have) gone into
alternative forms that went into, for instance, mobile
phones, which are now very sophisticated pieces
of technology.
If the same amount of effort and energy had gone
into more environmentally friendly, mass
produced vehicles, we would not all be
driving around in petrol driven
vehicles at the moment.
Robert Evens, Former MEP,
British Labour Cooperative
Subsidized Oil and Gas
The statement lays out important steps: CO2
emissions, as well as including the need to
accelerate using best efforts, by all of us,
to phase down unabated coal in this
decade, as fast as is achievable.
John F Kerry, US Climate Envoy
The US climate representative neglects to point out
the fact that the US government has actually subsidized coal, oil and gas for decades,
to the tune of a billion dollars a year.
So, in the draft today, we saw that coal was referenced
in the draft... as well as subsidies. That's not good
enough! 86% of the emissions trapped in our
atmosphere come from oil, gas and coal,
....and while we talk about targets and
emissions here - these governments,
many of them, especially the wealthy
nations, are proposing new projects
that would take us past 1.5 degrees.
Tzeporah Berman, Chair, Fossil
Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty
It comes as no surprise... that there are
protests against this blatant hypocrisy.
At the moment it isn't sufficient. And we need, you
know, world leaders from the richest and most
polluting countries to raise their efficiency
and to provide a clear mandate for
countries to come back to the
table next year... with much
more ambitious emission
reductions by 2030.
Armelle Le Comte, Climate
Advocacy Manager, Oxfam
One of the things that stood out at the COP26 summit
was the presence and the actions of the activists,
urging world leaders to act on climate change,
keen on pointing out the hypocrisy of
feeding lies to the general public.
Take the group of activists led by members of the
Extinction Rebellion direct action group who
highlighted how the mode of transportation
chosen makes a difference, like opting to
travel by rail rather than air.
It is our job to make it very clear; travelling by train
for this distance (instead of by air) is justified by
the carbon emission when we compare that
to airlines.
Jacques Damas, CEO, Eurostar
Another mode of transportation that needs reforming
is global shipping. There is actually a trillion dollar
push to decarbonize cargo ships, which are huge
carbon emitters.
Therefore, if countries and companies hope to meet
the Paris Agreement targets, they must change the
way freight shipping is managed. The use of
electric batteries or alternative fuels, is one
way to go about this.
At present.. shipping products across the ocean using
freight ships creates more greenhouse gas emissions
than the estimated 2 billion US cars and trucks on US
roads combined, at around 1 billion metric tons.
Activists with the group Ocean Rebellion held
a theatrical demonstration in an attempt to
demonstrate the need by COP 26
attendees to step up efforts to
protect their national borders,
calling for greater investment
in ocean based renewable
energy, decarbonization
of industries and further
pertinent research.
So today, we have one of our Ocean Rebellion
classic theatrical performances, creating
conscious pricking imagery to try and
help tell the story, which today, is on
the eve of COP Ocean day, to draw
attention to the delegates that our
oceans need to be way up on
their agenda.
It covers 70% of our [planet] and provides 50 to
80% of the oxygen that we breathe, so it's
vitally important and our oceans are at
crisis point.
Laura Baldwin, Ocean Rebellion, Member
$100 Million pledge made and lost in Copenhagen
12 years ago, at the United Nations climate summit in
Copenhagen, rich nations made a significant pledge;
they promised to channel 100 billion US dollars a
year to less wealthy nations, by 2020, to help
them tackle climate change and mitigate
further rises in global temperatures.
Another clear case of climate hypocrisy was
evidenced when one climate activist asked
the British Finance minister about UK tax
breaks and funding for fossil
fuel companies.
The UK Prime Minister had earlier made a grand
pledge..... to some bemused young pupils at an
infant school to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
And then there was the United States Special
Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry,
talking about emissions.
The IPCC report is the synthesis report of the NDC's,
indicates that we have to achieve somewhere in the
vicinity of a 45% reduction over the next 10 years.
John F Kerry, US Climate Envoy
But the best these two so called world leaders could
do was to squeeze a 2060 pledge out of Saudi Arabia.
I announce today that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
aims to reach net zero in the year 2060, through
the carbon circular economy approach, in line
with its development plans and enabling its
economic diversification and in accordance
with the “Dynamic Baseline”, while
preserving and reinforcing the
Kingdom’s leading role.. in the
security and stability of global
energy markets.
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia,
Mohammad Bin Salman
The COP 26 Climate Summit has ended, more than 190
nations reached a deal, but... without an enforcement
mechanism, critics are saying the agreement, which
calls on governments to strengthen greenhouse gas
emission cuts, is going to fall short --- if not flat on
its nether regions.
We are, globally speaking, a consumer driven society
with billions of products - which are produced using
material & substances produced by these oil firms.
Unless we change the way we live, our lifestyles, and
how we spend our money, that's not going to change,
and the petroleum companies are well aware of that,
which is why they will most probably not live up to
their clean energy commitments; thought
provoking - yet hardly surprising.
_________________________________
Malaysian and Costa Rican institutions win UNESCO prize
by Ileana Ferrer Fonte
November 17th, 11:18am (Prensa Latina)
The Forestry Research Institute in Malaysia and
the University for International Cooperation in
Costa Rica won the 2021 UNESCO-Sultan
Qaboos Prize for Environmental
Conservation, the multilateral
organization announced
on Wednesday.
In a communique, the specialized UN agency in
education, science and culture issues, stated
that the awarding ceremony will be held this
Wednesday, in the context of celebrating
the 50th anniversary of the Man and the
Biosphere Program... during the 41st
General Conference of UNESCO, a forum taking place from
November 9th to 24th.
The Malaysian institution was awarded for its initiatives
to monitor & preserve endangered species of national interest, producing publications such as the Plant
Red List, and for documenting the traditional
knowledge of indigenous peoples and
local communities.
The Costa Rican university won the UNESCO-Sultan
Qaboos Prize, for its support to creating new
biosphere reserves in Latin America, such
as Sumaco (Ecuador), Cabo de Hornos
(Chile) and Agua y Paz, in Costa Rica.
According to the jury, both institutions also stood out
for their outreach and public awareness, such as
outdoor activities for students, and the
development of community farms
and eco-tourism.
Allocated every two years -- since 1991 -- the UNESCO-
Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Conservation
was established, thanks to a donation by Sultan
Qaboos Bin Said Al-Said, of Oman.
__________________________________
FAOsupportsCuba in green-
house effect readings
by Erich Tellez Corrales
November 17th, 11:16am (Prensa Latina)
Cuba has reportedly widened its capacity
to read greenhouse gas emissions - with
technical assistance, from the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO).
A workshop recently held by the CBIT- AFOLU project,
implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture of Cuba,
with technical assistance from the FAO and funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), has contributed to this purpose.
A press release from the Office of that UN agency in Cuba, referred to the assistance it provides in strengthening technical capacities to assess and report on, emissions and removals of Greenhouse Gases (GHG)... in the agriculture, forestry and other land uses (AFOLU).
The meeting (from the 8th to the 12th of this month),
allowed the exchange of knowledge & experiences
among Cuban experts, to advance towards an
improvement of the National Inventory of
Greenhouse Gases (GHG), the text
also indicates.
It also points out that the above will contribute to increase
accuracy & comparability, in relation to the requirements
established by the Enhanced Transparency Framework
of the Paris Agreement.
In this regard, the workshop addressed the methodologies
used for the calculation of estimates of emissions and
removals of Greenhouse Gases --- according to the
2006 guidelines of the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC) in the AFOLU sector.
The participants in this process included professors
from the Atmospheric Pollution and Chemistry
Centre of the Institute of Meteorology, those
responsible for preparing the inventory...
and specialists from the Livestock
Business Group’s Training
Centre, the Soil Institute,
and the Agroforestry
Research Institute.
The national coordinator of the CBIT-AFOLU project,
Janet Blanco, referred to the problem of information
gaps, in the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory.
She emphasized the need for scientific institutions
to work on the identification of data and factors
that influence the emission of these gases in Cuban agriculture.
___________________________________
Report Finds Air Pollution in Europe
Still Killing Over 300,000 A Year
November 15th, 12:06pm (FNA)
Premature deaths caused by fine particle air pollution
have fallen 10 percent annually across Europe, but
the invisible killer still accounts for 307,000
premature deaths a year, the European
Environment Agency said Monday.
If the latest air quality guidelines from the World Health
Organisation were followed by EU members, the latest
number of fatalities recorded in 2019 could be cut in
half, according to an EEA report, AFP reported.
Deaths linked to fine particulate matter -- with a diameter
below 2.5 micrometres or PM2.5 -- were estimated at
346,000 for 2018.
The clear reduction in deaths for the following year were
put down partly to favourable weather but above all to a progressive improvement in air quality across the
continent, the European Union's air pollution data
centre said.
In the early 1990s, fine particles, which penetrate deeply
into the lungs, led to nearly a million premature deaths
in the 27 EU member nations, according to the report.
That figure had been more than
halved to 450,000 by 2005.
In 2019, fine particulate matter caused 53,800 premature
deaths in Germany, 49,900 in Italy, 29,800 in France
and 23,300 in Spain.
Poland saw 39,300 deaths, the highest
figure per head of population.
The EEA also registers premature deaths linked to two
other leading pollutants, but says it does not count
them in its overall toll, to avoid doubling up.
Deaths caused by nitrogen dioxide -- mainly from cars,
trucks and thermal power stations -- fell by a quarter
to 40,000 between 2018 and 2019.
Fatalities linked to ground-level ozone in 2019
also dropped 13 percent to 16,800 dead.
Air pollution remains the biggest environmental threat
to human health in Europe, the agency said.
Heart disease and strokes cause most premature deaths
blamed on air pollution, followed by lung ailments
including cancer.
In children, atmospheric pollution can harm lung
development, cause respiratory infections and
aggravate asthma.
Even if the situation is improving, the EEA warned
in September that most EU countries were still
above the recommended pollution limits, be
they European guidelines or the more
ambitious WHO targets.
According to the UN health body, air pollution causes
seven million premature deaths, annually, across the
globe - on the same levels as smoking and poor diet.
In September, the alarming statistics led the WHO
to tighten its recommended limits on major air
pollutants for the first time since 2005.
"Investing in cleaner heating, mobility, agriculture
and industry improves health, productivity and
the quality of life for all Europeans, and
particularly for the most vulnerable,"
said EEA director Hans Bruyninck.
The EU wants to slash premature deaths, due to
fine air pollution by at least 55 percent in 2030
compared to 2005.
If air pollution continues to fall at the current rate,
the agency estimates the target will be reached
by 2032.
However an ageing and increasingly urbanised
population could make that more difficult.
"An older population is more sensitive to air pollution...
and a higher rate of urbanisation typically means that
more people are exposed to PM 2.5 concentrations,
which tend to be higher in cities," said the report.
______________________________
Bill Dores:Wall Street and the
Pentagon,not China,pose
the largest climate threat
November 11th, 2:44pm (PressTV)
US political analyst and activist Bill Dores says
Washington’s “attempt to frame China for the
world climate crisis, is one of the most
hypocritical acts in history,” as the
US is the source of the deadliest
corporate and military assault
on the planet in history,
not China.
Dores, a writer for Struggle/La Lucha, and a longtime
antiwar activist, made the remarks in an interview
with Press TV on Thursday, after Democrats in
the US House of Representatives and Senate
called on US President Joe Biden --- to use
targeted sanctions to punish individuals
and companies that are worsening the
global climate crisis.
In a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen last week, Democrat
lawmakers, particularly targeted China, and its
companies despite the fact that studies show
that the US military is the largest consumer
of hydrocarbons on the planet and one
of the largest polluters in history.
According to the New York Times, the US has contributed
more than any other country to the atmospheric carbon
dioxide that is scorching the planet.
Senators Ed Markey (D-Mass), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.),
Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-
Texas), who signed on the letter, called on the Biden
administration to target individuals and companies
“that are perpetrating the worst climate damage.”
Following is the complete text of
Dores’s comment to Press TV:
US hypocrisy on looming climate disaster
Washington’s attempt to frame China for the
world climate crisis is one of the most
hypocritical acts in history. It is also
one of the most dangerous. It is a
deliberate effort to sabotage the
international cooperation needed
to stop looming climate disaster.
And it is a step toward war --- the
ultimate environmental destroyer.
Fracking industry agent Donald Trump claimed that
climate change: is a “hoax created by and for the
Chinese.” Joe Biden admits the climate crisis is
real, but seeks to blame it on China. Some US senators even say - China should be sanctioned for its alleged
environmental misdeeds.
What mendacity! China leads the world in renewable
energy production, reforestation, electric vehicles,
high-speed rail and solar panel manufacture.
In recent years, China has surpassed the US in overall
carbon emissions. But China is the largest country in
the world. It has nearly five times the population of
the United States. Its per capita emissions are less than half those of the US. And it has a concrete strategy to seriously reduce them.
Meanwhile, the watered-down infrastructure bill passed
by Congress gifts tens of billions of dollars... to the US
fossil fuel industry. That’s not surprising considering
28 US senators are directly invested in fossil fuel
companies. And that 11 lawyers for ExxonMobil
helped to write the bill.
The Trump regime imposed tariffs on all Chinese-made
solar panels, at the behest of his oil company bosses.
Biden.... has outright banned the import of Chinese-
made solar panels.
The White House claims Chinese solar panels are made
with forced labour. Yet the racist US prison-industrial
complex --- is the biggest exploiter of forced labour in the world. Imagine how many jobs installing those panels could create for workers here.
If Washington were really concerned about human rights,
it could stop sending cops and marshals to attack the
Water Protectors, Native activists and their allies,
defending their land against fracking and
pipelines.
They have been gassed, clubbed, shot and jailed by
federal and state agents, in the US and Canada.
Under HR1374, a law now before Congress, state agents
would be authorized to murder anti-pipeline protesters.
Biden seeks to weaponize the climate crisis
Trump denied the climate crisis. Biden, seeks to weaponize
it. Though their tactics be different, they share one object:
To try and restore the stranglehold the US corporate
ruling class once had on the world economy.
For decades, Washington and Wall Street, used their power
to strangle economic development in Africa, Asia and Latin
America. They kept themselves at the centre of the world
economy --- by keeping most of the world impoverished. Meanwhile, US companies poisoned the air with abandon.
Greenhouse gases don’t go away. At least 25 percent of
those that now fill the atmosphere are made in the US.
That doesn’t count the output of the offshore
operations of US-owned corporations.
For decades after World War II, US corporations owned
most of the world’s known oil reserves. That was key
to US global power. They - purposely - kept oil-rich
countries “underdeveloped” and dependent on
selling oil. Today Washington tries to achieve
that, with war and sanctions.
In the 1970s and ’80s, oil-producing countries began
to take back ownership of their own resources. The
Libyan Revolution of 1969, Iraq's nationalizations
of 1972, and especially the Iranian Revolution of
1979, were catalysts in this process.
1 in 4 US senators heavily invested
in fossil fuel industry: Report
The senators present a major hurdle in the way of
President Joe Biden’s ambitious climate agenda.
In 1991, as soon as the Cold War ended, the US went to war against oil-producing countries. Under different names and pretexts, that imperialist war has raged for 30 years.
It has destroyed millions of lives and cost trillions of dollars. The climate is also a victim.
US war machine is the most polluting institution on earth
From 2001 to 2017, the US military poured 1.6 billion
metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere. At least
400 million tons of that, came from US military
operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan
and Syria.
The US war machine, with its massive global
operations, is the most polluting institution
on earth. In 2017... it unleashed 60 billion
metric tons of carbon dioxide into the air.
That was more than the individual output
of 140 countries. Every year - it dumps
750,000 tons of toxic waste-depleted
uranium - oil, jet fuels, pesticides,
defoliants, lead and other
chemicals, into our air,
water and soil.
The US Army’s M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank uses nearly
4 gallons of fuel per mile. An Air Force B2 bomber burns
at least 4.2 gallons of jet fuel per mile, and has to be
refueled every six hours. In the so-called “war on
terror,” B2 bombers flew 44 hours from Missouri
and Nebraska to rain bombs on people in Iraq
and Afghanistan. But the biggest waste of
energy, is the constant transport of
troops, weapons and supplies
around the world.
When the Clinton administration signed the Kyoto
climate agreement in 1997, it insisted the US
military be exempt from the treaty’s
restrictions.
Washington’s 30-year oil war had another devastating
impact on our planet’s climate. It unleashed the
“shale oil revolution” that has made the US
the world’s No. 1 fossil fuel producer.
US fracking industry poisons the earth
After the US invaded Iraq, Corporate America pumped
hundreds of billions of dollars into fracking - the
hydraulic fracturing of oil and gas from shale
rock. War & sanctions against oil-producing
countries created a triple-digit energy price
bubble that made these huge investments
seem profitable. It stimulated the plunder
of Canada’s tar sands, the DAPL and the
Enbridge 3 pipelines and mountain-top removal projects, in Appalachia.
Fracking not only poisons the earth and water --- it
unleashes much more methane, than conventional
drilling. The collapse of the fracking boom has left
many of these wells abandoned. There are over 3
million abandoned oil and gas wells... across the
United States. At least 2 million are unplugged:
gushing out methane and other chemicals.
Plugging those wells and reclaiming the land around
them would create a lot more jobs than fracking and
pipelines do. So would investing in renewable
energy, reforestation, mass transit and
high-speed rail... instead of war.
Attacking China over climate change is a red herring. If
Washington is serious about preventing environmental
disaster -- it should end the US corporate and military
assault on the planet. To make that happen will take
a people’s struggle against corporate power.
End the wars and sanctions. Bring home all the troops,
war fleets and warplanes. Invest that money in renew -able energy, expanding mass transit systems,
affordable high-speed rail and reforestation.
And help poorer countries do the same. Those things...
could create millions of high-paying jobs. Ban fracking
and shut down the DAPL and Enbridge pipelines. The
sky is the limit --- when the needs of humanity are put before corporate profit.
_____________________________________________
UNESCOhighlightsrole of forests
in the face of climate change
October 28th, 2:13pm (Prensa Latina)
UNESCO highlighted the contribution of the forests
inscribed on its World Heritage list, in confronting
climate change, with an estimated annual
absorption of carbon dioxide, at
190 million tons.
UNESCO issued a statement sharing the results of an
unpublished study on the role of forest ecosystems
spread over 257 sites on the planet.
Researchers from UNESCO, the World Resources Institute
- and the International Union for Conservation of Nature -
participated in the research, which made it possible to
measure the impact of forests against the existential
threat posed by climate change, and determine the
causes of certain emissions of pollutants into
the atmosphere.
According to the study, the 190 million tonnes of carbon
dioxide present in the atmosphere absorbed, represent
around half of the CO2 generated by fossil fuels that
the United Kingdom emits annually.
The forests registered by UNESCO cover a total area of
69 million hectares, and constitute ecosystems rich in
biodiversity capable of storing large amounts of
carbon, which, if released, would adversely
impact the climate.
The research, however, left worrying results, in 10 of the
forests, where human action has led them to emit more
carbon than captured, in the last two decades.
Among the causes, UNESCO pointed to the fragmentation
of land, due to forest exploitation, and clearing for the
benefit of agriculture, and reiterated its call --- to
protect forests and prioritize their sustainable
management - in order that they continue to
play a key role on the lives of current and
future generations of human beings.
________________________________
UN ChiefWarns World on ‘One-Way Ticket to
Disaster’over Climate
October 22nd, 3:28pm (FNA)
United Nations Chief Antonio Guterres said the world’s
current climate situation is “a one-way ticket for
disaster”, reiterating the urgency of agreement
at the COP26 climate conference at the end
of the month.
The 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, struck
at the COP21 summit, called for global warming to
be capped at well below two degrees Celsius
(3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above the pre-
industrial level, and ideally closer to
1.5C (2.7F), AFP reported.
But current UN estimates indicate a “catastrophic”
warming of 2.7C (4.8F) is on the cards.
Guterres said on Thursday that such an increase
was “obviously a one-way ticket for disaster.”
“The carbon pollution of a handful of countries has
brought humanity to its knees and they bear the
greatest responsibility,” he told an online press
conference with members of the Covering
Climate Now international project.
“I hope we are still on time to avoid a failure in Glasgow,
but time is running short, and things are getting more
difficult and that is why I’m very very worried. I’m
afraid things might go wrong,” he said.
The Glasgow summit begins on October 31st and is
seen as crucial for agreeing on worldwide
emission targets that will slow
global heating.
The Group of 20, which includes the world’s biggest
economies, is due to meet in Italy on October 30th,
but leaders are said to be divided over phasing
out coal and committing to the 1.5C target.
Earlier this month, COP26 President Alok Sharma,
said the G20 meeting would be “make or break”
for success in Glasgow.
“The G20 leaders will meet in Rome and they know
their economies are responsible for four-fifths of
the planet's carbon pollution,” Guterres said.
“If they do not stand up … we are headed
for terrible human suffering,” he added.
He said, “China and the United States must do
more than what they have announced so far.”
______________________________________
Among Europe’s dirtiest:‘Green’
biomass power plant in Yorkshire
burning ‘renewable’ woodemits
MORE CO2 than UK’s coal
– report
October 9th, 5:45pm (RT)
A supposedly “carbon neutral” Drax biomass power
plant is the UK’s leading source of CO2 emissions
--- and belches out more harmful carbon and
particulate matter, than some of Europe’s
dirtiest coal plants, according to a
new report.
Renewable energy firm Drax describes its plant in North
Yorkshire as a “purely renewable” facility, boasting that
it has slashed its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, by
90% since 2012. The plant burns biomass – pellets
of compressed wood – and received £832 million
($1.13 billion) in direct government subsidies
last year, on top of an estimated £258 million ($351 million) in carbon tax breaks.
Yet the energy generated at Drax... is far from green, a
new report by environmental think tank Ember claims.
While the UK and EU consider biomass power “carbon
neutral,” this assessment is based on the assumption
that biomass emissions are offset by the planting of
new trees.
This forest regrowth takes time, and the European
Academies’ Sciences Advisory Council (EASAC)
reported earlier this year that switching plants
from coal to biomass – as was the case at
Drax’ Yorkshire facility – would not cause
any drop in emissions for at least three
to five decades.
“Such technology is not effective in mitigating climate
change and may even increase the risk of dangerous
climate change,” the EASAC stated.
In the UK, wood burning plants like Drax’ currently spew
out more CO2 than coal plants, including coal used in
steel production. Drax is the country’s top emitter
.......releasing 13.3 million tons of CO2 into the
atmosphere per year ---- compared to the
entire coal sector’s yearly emissions
of 10 million tons.
Data shows that Drax is Europe’s third-worst emitter
of CO2, behind Germany's Neurath and Poland’s
BeÅ‚chatów coal plants. It is also Europe’s 4th
-worst emitter of PM10 particulate matter,
coming in behind three coal plants in
Poland and Romania. It is the only
biomass facility... to rank in
Europe’s top ten CO2 and
PM10 emissions lists.
A Drax spokesman responded to Ember’s report by
describing the think tank’s figures as “inaccurate
and completely at odds with what the world’s
leading climate scientists at the UN IPCC
say, about sustainable biomass being crucial to delivering global
climate targets.”
The company says that its carbon emissions are
“biologically sequestered,” meaning they are
technically counted as zero under the
previously-mentioned EU and UK
assumptions of forest regrowth.
However, critics suggest that the scientific consensus on “sustainable” biomass... may soon change.
“Recent science demonstrates that burning forest
biomass for power is unlikely to be carbon
neutral – and there’s a real risk that it’s
responsible for significant emissions,”
Ember Chief Operating Officer Phil MacDonald stated.
“Before the government spends more taxpayer
money on biomass.. we should make sure we
know we’re getting the emissions reductions
that we’re paying for.”
_________________________________
Gazprom and Aeroflot behind
Russia'sfirst green aviation fuel
September 24th, 12:30pm (Prensa Latina)
The Russian companies Gazprom Oil and Aeroflot
reported the signing of a deal to create the first
production of aviation fuel with a minimal
carbon footprint... from agro-forestry
systems.
The oil company explained that the use of such a
green resource can reduce up greenhouse gas
emissions in the sector up to 80 percent,
TASS news agency reported.
The deal between the Russian firms... provides for
the development of various efficient formulations
of aviation fuel. In this case, the fuel is to be
adjusted to various types of aircraft and
it will be certified in accordance with
Russian and international aviation
safety standards.
'In our country and around the world there is a potentially
high demand from the aviation industry for green fuel,
taking into account the task of reducing the carbon
intensity of air traffic,' Gazprom Oil head
Alexander Diukov noted.
He explained that the main research platform for the new
product, will be the Gazprom Neft Industrial Innovation
Technology Centre in Saint Petersburg.
According to Diukov, the partnership with Russia's largest
airline will make the process of developing this aviation
fuel more efficient.
According to Aeroflot CEO Mikhail Poluboyarinov, ecology
is becoming one of the most important issues in aviation,
and its relevance increased under the influence of the
Covid-19 pandemic.
___________________________________________
FAO launches tools to encourage
soil organic carbon sequestration
September 9th, 12:45pm (Prensa Latina)
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations, on Wednesday, launched
two practical instruments designed to
encourage soil organic carbon
(SOC) maintenance and
sequestration.
The two products unveiled today, part of the RECSOIL
initiative, are a global map illustrating how much and where, CO2 can be sequestered by soils... the GSOCseq, and a technical manual of good practices, to sequester and maintain SOC stocks in soils.
'We must look for innovative ways... to transform our agri-
food systems.. to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and
sustainable. Healthy soils are critical to achieving this,'
FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, told the opening
session of the ninth Global Soil Partnership (GSP)
Plenary Assembly.
While soils and soil health are well-rooted in the global
agenda, tangible impacts remain an important
challenge 'for better production, better
nutrition, a better environment and
a better life for all, leaving no one behind,' Qu said.
___________________________________________
UN chief calls for bold action
to curbbiodiversity crisis
August 31st, 12:51pm (Prensa Latina)
UN Secretary-General (UNSG) António Guterres,
on Monday, warned about the threatening loss
of biodiversity and called for greater actions
to prevent further damage.
In remarks to a high-level virtual meeting to develop
a new global framework to address biodiversity
loss... Guterres underlined the need for
commitment, ambition and credibility.
'As people and livestock encroach further into wild
habitats, we run the risk of unleashing terrifying
new pandemics,' he warned.
He also urged Governments to shift the 'perverse
subsidies' that destroy healthy soils, pollute our
water and empty the oceans of fish.
We must incentivize actions to sustain nature and also
establish larger and better managed conservation
areas to safeguard species, functioning
ecosystems and carbon stocks - for
current and future generations.
Likewise, he laid stress on the need to empower the
leadership of indigenous peoples and local
communities whose lands encompass
much of the world's remaining
biodiversity.
One million species are at risk of extinction:
this is wiping out options for society, from
medicines to food, passing over crucial
solutions for mitigating and adapting
to climate changes, Guterres said.
Humanity is now waging an absurd and self-destructive
war on nature, and peace must be declared as soon as
possible, only courageous action on the ground, can
curb the biodiversity crisis, he added.
__________________________________
UN chiefwarns - about
global temperature rise
September 7th, 12:31pm (Prensa Latina)
The planet is dangerously close to reaching the
internationally agreed threshold of 1.5 degrees
Celsius of temperature increase, the UN
Secretary-General (UNSG) António
Guterres, warned on Monday.
We must act decisively now --- in order to avoid a
climate catastrophe.There is no longer time for
delays, and no room for excuses, Guterres
posted on Twitter.
He shared a link to the interactive atlas containing
information from the most recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The digital tool enables flexible
spatial and temporal analysis... of a
large part of information checked
and projected on this issue, in upcoming years.
According to IPCC, human-induced climate change
is widespread and rapidly intensifying, while
several trends are irreversible, at least
during present period, and directly
affect the happening of many
extreme weather events.
Scientists also observed changes throughout the
Earth's climate system, in the atmosphere,
oceans, ice floes, and the ground.
Many of these transformations are unprecedented,
and others, such as the continuing sea level rise, are already 'irreversible' for centuries or millenniain the future, according to the IPCC report.
On Monday, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina
Mohammed called for courageous measures for a global economy with zero emissions of harmful gases by 2050, and to limit
increased temperature levels.
The world is going through a season of wildfires
and floods, which mainly affects fragile and
vulnerable populations in rich and poor
countries, she stressed.
____________________________
Era of leaded petrol worldwide, is over
August 31st, 12:52pm (Prensa Latina)
As the service stations in Algeria stopped providing leaded
petrol in July, the use of this highly polluting fuel ended
globally, international organizations reported. Since
1922, the use of tetraethyllead as a petrol additive
to improve engine performance, has been a
catastrophe for the environment and for
public health. 2021 has marked the
end of leaded petrol worldwide,
after it's contaminated the air,
dust, soil drinking water and
food crops, for the better
part of a century... as
reported by the UN´s
official website.
Plus... leaded petrol caused heart disease, stroke and
cancer. It also affects the development of the human
brain, especially harming children, with studies
suggesting it reduced 5-10 IQ points... so the
UN Environment Program (UNEP) began its
campaign to eliminate lead in petrol
in 2002.
Banning the use of leaded petrol has been estimated to prevent over 1.2 million premature deaths per year, increase IQ points among children, save
US$2.45 trillion for the global economy, and decrease crime rates.
'The successful enforcement of the ban on leaded petrol,
is a huge milestone for global health & our environment,'
said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.
'Overcoming a century of deaths and illnesses....
that affected hundreds of millions and degraded
the environment worldwide, we are invigorated
to change humanity's trajectory for the better,
through an accelerated transition to clean
vehicles and electric mobility.'
Experts said, while the world has eliminated the largest
source of lead pollution, bold actions are still needed
to curb it from other sources, such as paints,
batteries, and household items.
____________________________________
Environmentalists block
central London on
2nd day of protests
August 24th, 9:33pm (Prensa Latina)
Hundreds of people today blocked the streets around
Parliament.. and several government buildings in the
centre of this capital on the second day of protests
to demand urgent action against climate change.
Several protesters called by the environmental movement
Extinction Rebellion (XR), lay on the pavement behind a
large green cloth, accusing the 'government of getting
into bed with climate criminals,' while others danced
and sang to the beat of drums. .
We are here because the government does not tell the truth
about climate change and what it will mean for our children
and grandchildren, one of the activists, who said her name
was Mary, told Prensa Latina.
According to the member of XR, an organization that defines
itself as peaceful, the authorities of the United Kingdom and
other developed countries try to hide from people that the
lack of food and water, is a consequence of
this phenomenon.
Mary considers, in turn... that the promises made by British
Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, to reduce carbon emissions
to zero by 2050 and his plan to replace gasoline and diesel
vehicles with electric ones are 'too few and they are too late'.
We need to act now, because there are people in the Global
South who are already suffering terribly, and there are
even wars for resources affected by climate change,
she said.
Juliana, a Brazilian living in London who, like other protesters,
attended the protest accompanied by her children, explained
that she brought them with her because the future of the new
generations is in danger.
The British environmental group, which also requires the
government to declare a climate emergency and allow
citizen assemblies to decide policies to address
climate change, announced that its so-called
'Impossible Rebellion' will last for 2 weeks,
after a pause of several months, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In addition to its usual demands in central London, XR plans
to also focus on the City's financial district, where the
offices of banks that finance fossil fuel companies
are located.
Although the protests were developing peacefully, the
Metropolitan Police reported that at least 50 people were arrested between Monday and Tuesday.
__________________________
Activistspeacefullytake over
Ministry of Petroleumin Norway
August 23rd 5:20pm (Prensa Latina)
A group of activists took over the Norwegian Ministry
of Oil and Energy today, as part of environmental
actions in various parts of the country...
for 10 days.
These are members of the Extinction Rebellion group,
which blocked the main entrance to the ministerial
headquarters and called for the cessation of
hydrocarbon exploitation.
Norway is the main producer in Western Europe
and pumps about four million barrels daily.
In addition to a hundred protesters on the outskirts of
the building with banners and messages in the palms
of their hands, 17 people took to lobbying the
Ministry to demand from its head, Tina Bru,
the cessation of all activity in the sector.
The police, meanwhile, informed the NRK television station
they would not suppress the protests for the moment,
although they invited them to withdraw, in the next 20 minutes.
'For decades we have written letters, we have spoken, we
have demonstrated. They let us talk, but they are not
listening,' young Hanna Kristina Jakobsen said,
over a megaphone, to the crowd.
That is why we now do peaceful civil disobedience.
We are desperate, added the 22-year-old woman.
The issue is a point of debate for the September 13th
elections, in which a centre-left opposition is
expected to defeat the conservative-
led coalition.
Minister Bru said that, while she shares concerns about climate change, protesters use what she called undemocratic methods, that will not
deliver results.
We will never be successful in fighting climate change
if we scrap democracy along the way, she said, in
a statement.
______________________________________
Activists from the international
environmental movement
Extinction Rebellion plan to begin weeks- long protests in London.
SEE MORE... INCLUDING
LIVE UP-TO-DATE NEWS
at https://sputniknews.com/uk/
_________________________
July was the hottest month
on record in 142 years
August 16th, 9:47am (Prensa Latina)
Since weather records began in 1880, the month of
July 2021, was the hottest on a global scale, it
was known today.
According to the data published by the U.S. Office of
the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration,
worldwide, the combined temperature of the land
and ocean surface, was 0.93 degrees Celsius
above the 20th century average of
15.8 degrees.
This means one tenth of a degree higher than the
previous record set in July 2016, which was then
tied in 2019 and 2020, making July 2021 the
hottest recorded in 142 years, the report
from that entity pointed out.
It also indicated that in the northern hemisphere, the
temperature on the earth's surface was the highest
ever, with 1.54 degrees Celsius above the average,
surpassing the previous record set in 2012.
Added to this is that the sea ice cover in the Arctic for
July 2021 was the 4th smallest in the 43-year record
according to an analysis by the external link of the
National Snow and Ice Data Centre of the US. Only
July 2012, 2019 and 2020, had a lesser extension.
Those data could place 2021 among the 10 hottest years
on record in the world, according to the Global Annual
Temperature Rankings Outlook.
Recently, a study published in Science Advances journal,
pointed out that the Earth could become more volatile as
temperatures continue to rise, due to global warming, a
paleoclimatic research on extreme phenomena warns.
Scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
in the US, examined the last 66 million years during the
Cenozoic era, which began shortly after the extinction
of dinosaurs, and discovered a warming turn in
climate fluctuations.
The finding confirmed the occurrence of more warming
episodes lasting thousands of years than cooling ones,
due to the release of carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere by volcanoes, among other
factors, the article said.
It also revealed that this process ended about five million
years ago, and ice layers began to form in the northern
hemisphere and, with the current melting of the Arctic
..it suggests a greater amplification of human-induced
global warming.
_____________________________
Ocean Current System That Affects
‘Large Part of World’s Climate’ on
Brink of Collapse, Study Says
by Andrei Dergalin
August 12th, 6:54pm (Sputnik)
The study postulates that the current system in question
has suffered "an almost complete loss of stability, over
the last century."
The ocean current system known as the Atlantic
Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC),
which includes the Gulf Stream, may be on
the brink of collapse, Live Science reports
-- citing a new study.
The AMOC, is “responsible for moderating large parts of
the world's climate” as its currents transport water from
the tropics to the north, while bringing cold water from
the north, back south.
Now, the new study warns that AMOC has suffered "an
almost complete loss of stability over the last century."
According to the media outlet, the collapse of this system
would have a "disastrous impact on global weather
systems," with possible consequences, including:
rising sea levels in the Atlantic, "greater cooling
and more powerful storms across the Northern
Hemisphere," and “severe disruption to the
rain that billions of people rely upon to
grow crops in Africa, South America
and India."
Time to Hit the Brakes: Urgent Action Needed
to Prevent ‘Runaway Climate Change’,
Says UN Report
"The findings support the assessment that the AMOC decline
is not just a fluctuation or a linear response to increasing
temperatures but likely means the approaching of a
critical threshold beyond which the circulation
system could collapse," said Niklas Boers,
researcher at the Potsdam Institute for
Climate Impact Research, and author of the study.
The study reportedly seeks to resolve a debate among scientists
working on the subject about whether the weakening of the
AMOC means its circulation will slow down – "but in a way that humans can reduce through lowering carbon
emissions," or if the system is "about to flip to a
permanently weaker form, that could not be
reversed for hundreds of years."
"The difference is crucial," Boers said, arguing that the latter
would mean "the AMOC has approached its critical
threshold, beyond which a substantial and, in
practice, likely irreversible, transition to the weak mode, could occur."
___________________________________
'Code Red for Humanity':
Bombshell UN Climate
Change Report Shows
Global Warming
Accelerating
August 9th, 1:11pm (FNA)
We ignored the warnings, and now it's too late: global
heating has arrived with a vengeance and will see
Earth's average temperature, reach 1.5 degrees
Celsius above preindustrial levels around 2030,
a decade earlier than projected only three
years ago, according to a landmark UN
assessment published on Monday.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
bombshell – landing 90 days before a key climate
summit desperate to keep 1.5C in play – says the
threshold will be breached around 2050, no
matter how aggressively humanity draws
down carbon pollution, France
24 reported.
Years in the making, the sobering report approved by
195 nations shines a harsh spotlight on governments
dithering in the face of mounting evidence --- that
climate change is an existential threat.
Nature itself has underscored their negligence.
With only 1.1C of warming so far, an unbroken cascade
of deadly, unprecedented weather disasters bulked up
by climate change has swept the world this summer,
from asphalt-melting heatwaves in Canada, to
rainstorms turning China's city streets into
rivers, to untameable wildfires sweeping
Greece and California.
"This report is a reality check," said Valerie Masson-
Delmotte, who co-led hundreds of scientists in
reviewing a mountain of published
climate science.
"It has been clear for decades that the Earth's climate is
changing, and the role of human influence on the
climate system is undisputed," Delmotte added.
Indeed, all but a tiny fraction of warming so far is
"unequivocally caused by human activities", the
IPCC concluded for the first time in its three-
decade history.
The world must brace itself for worse – potentially
much worse – to come, the report made clear.
Even if the 1.5C target humanity is now poised to
overshoot, is miraculously achieved, it would
still generate heatwaves, rainfall, drought
and other extreme weather
"unprecedented.... in the
observational record",
it concluded.
At slightly higher levels of global heating, what is today
once-a-century coastal flooding will happen every
year by 2100, fuelled by storms gorged with
extra moisture and rising seas.
"This report should send a shiver down the spine of
everyone who reads it," said Dave Reay, director of the Edinburgh Climate Change Institute at the University of Edinburgh, who was not
among the authors.
"In the unblinking delivery style of the IPCC, it sets out
where we are now and where we are headed (on)
climate change: in a hole, and still digging,"
Reay added.
Another looming danger is "tipping points", invisible
thresholds – triggered by rising temperatures – for
irreversible changes in Earth's climate system.
Disintegrating ice sheets holding enough water to raise
seas a dozen metres; the melting of permafrost laden
with double the carbon in the atmosphere; the
transition of the Amazon from tropical forest
to savannah – these potential catastrophes
"cannot be ruled out", the report cautions.
Our natural allies in the fight against climate change,
meanwhile, are suffering battle fatigue.
Since about 1960, forests, soil and oceans have
steadily absorbed 56 percent of all the CO2
humanity has chucked into the atmosphere
– even as those emissions have increased
by half.
But these carbon sinks are becoming saturated,
according to the IPCC, and the percentage of human-induced carbon they soak up is
likely to decline as the century unfolds.
The IPCC "report, is a code red for humanity",
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
"The alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence
is irrefutable: greenhouse gas emissions from
fossil fuel burning and deforestation are
choking our planet and putting billions
of people at immediate risk," he said.
The report does offer a sliver of hope
for keeping the 1.5C goal alive.
The IPPC projected the increase in global surface
temperature for five emissions scenarios –
ranging from wildly optimistic to outright
reckless – and identifies best estimates
for 20-year periods with mid-points of
2030, 2050 and 2090.
By mid-century, the 1.5C threshold will be breached
across the board – by a 10th of a degree along the
most ambitious pathway, and by nearly a full
degree at the opposite extreme.
But under the most optimistic storyline, Earth's surface
will have cooled a notch, to 1.4C, by the century's end.
The other long-term trajectories, however,
do not look promising.
Temperature increases, by 2090, range from a
hugely challenging 1.8C to a catastrophic 4.4C.
The report's authors were at pains to emphasise
that the 1.5C goal is not all-or-nothing.
"It is important politically, but it is not a cliff edge
where everything will suddenly become very
catastrophic," said lead author Amanda
Maycock, director of the Institute for
Climate and Atmospheric Sciences
at the University of Leeds.
Ed Hawkins, a professor of climate science at the
University of Reading and a lead author, said
that "every bit of warming matters".
"The consequences get worse and worse as we
get warmer and warmer. Every tonne of CO2
matters," Hawkins added.
Part 2 of the IPCC assessment – on impacts –
shows how climate change will fundamentally
reshape life on Earth in the coming decades,
according to a draft seen by AFP.
It is slated for publication in February. Part 3,
to be released in March, focuses on ways
to reduce carbon in the atmosphere.
The focus now will shift to the political arena,
where a non-stop series of ministerial and
summit meetings, including a critical G20
in October, will lead up to the COP26 UN
climate conference in Glasgow, hosted
by Britain.
Countries do not see eye-to-eye on many
basic issues, beginning with the 1.5C goal.
China, India, Brazil, South Africa and Russia are
lukewarm on it, US special presidential Envoy
for Climate John Kerry told the New Yorker
last week.
Rich countries, meanwhile, have badly missed a
deadline to provide funding for developing
nations to green their economies and
adapt to climate change already in
the pipeline.
"The new IPCC report is not a drill but the final
warning that the bubble of empty promises is
about to burst," said Saleemul Huq, director
of the International Centre for Climate
Change and Development, in Dhaka.
"It's suicidal, and economically irrational,
to keep procrastinating," Huq added.
_____________________________________
UK's COP26 Head Warns of
Global 'Catastrophe', From
Climate Breakdown:Unless
Measures are Taken NOW
August 8th, 11:30am (Sputnik)
The UK president of the COP26 Climate Change
Conference, Alok Sharma, has warned that the
world is... on the brink of a "catastrophe"
from climate breakdown, calling for
urgent actions.
The remark, made in an interview with The Observer,
came ahead of a report by the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world's
leading authority on climate science, set to
be released on Monday. The paper... on
how close the world is to a potentially
irreversible disaster due to extreme
weather, will be "the starkest
warning yet, that human
behaviour is alarmingly
accelerating global
warming", the
official said.
"I don't think we’re out of time but I think we're getting
dangerously close to when we might be out of time.
We will see [from the IPCC] a very, very clear
warning: that unless we act now, we will,
unfortunately, be out of time", Sharma
said late on Saturday, noting the
consequences of failure, will
be "catastrophic".
The UK minister in charge of the flagman UN climate talks
noted that the impact of global warming was already
evident across the world, citing deadly flooding in
Europe and China, as well as wildfires and
record high temperatures registered in
parts of the world.
Because of climate change, more sea ice is being lost
each summer than is being replenished in winters.
Less sea ice coverage also means that less sun-
light will be reflected off the surface of the ocean in a process known as the albedo effect. The oceans... will absorb more heat, further fueling global warming.
"I don't think there's any other word for it. You're seeing
on a daily basis, what is happening across the world.
Last year was the hottest on record, the last decade
was the hottest decade on record", Sharma added.
Commenting on the upcoming reports, the official said
that the paper would urge the international community
— governments, businesses and individuals — to
push for stronger action on greenhouse gas
emissions at the COP26.
"This [IPCC report] is going to be a wake-up call, for anyone
who hasn't yet understood why this next decade has to be
absolutely decisive in terms of climate action. We will also get a pretty clear understanding that human activity is driving climate change at alarming rates", he said.
The COP26 is set to take place in the Scottish city of Glasgow
from 31 October to 12 November, gathering representatives
from some 200 countries. The event, which was cancelled
last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will seek to
speed up the implementation of the ground-breaking
2016 Paris Agreement that aims at cutting carbon
emissions and promote green transition.
___________________________________
Leaked report reveals US
oil companies’ conspiracy
July 3rd, 6:27pm (PressTV)
A leaked report has revealed how some "shadow groups"
are undermining government efforts to reduce green-
house gas emissions causing global warming.
The report, which was prepared by some of the world’s top
climate scientists, blames disinformation and lobbying
campaigns funded by big energy companies -- such
as Exxon Mobil -- as a major setback in the fight
against global warming, according to Politico
on Friday.
In the report, which began emerging last week, the Inter-
governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) whose
job is to examine the state and validity of climate
research and studies across the globe, blamed
think tanks, foundations, trade associations
and other third-party groups -- funded by
major energy companies, for spreading
“contrarian” information -- that misled
the public, and undermined efforts to
implement climate policies... needed
to stop global warming phenomena.
“Rhetoric on climate change & the undermining of science
have contributed to misperceptions of the scientific
consensus, uncertainty, unduly discounted risk
and urgency, dissent, and - most importantly -
polarized public support, delaying any mitigation and adaptative action, particularly in the US,” the leaked IPCC report
pointed out.
In a related development, a British television broadcaster
aired a video showing a top Exxon Mobil lobbyist
admitting that the wealthy global energy giant
gives financial support to "shadow groups"
that engage in disinformation campaigns
around climate science, a tactic that
allowed the oil company to avoid
direct scrutiny.
The revelations have prompted some Democratic lawmakers
in the United States to step up efforts to force all major oil
companies to disclose their money payment to research
and study groups that follow an anti-environmental
agenda, seeking to undermine climate action by
distorting the facts and realities proved in
climate science studies and research
...about the damaging effect and
detrimental impact... of burning
fossil fuels. on climate change
and global warming.
____________________________________
Extinction Rebellion Activists
March Through Falmouth,
Cornwall on 2nd Day
of G7 Summit
June 12th, 11:07am GMT (Sputnik)
The environmental movement earlier promised to
organise several major events in Cornwall over
the weekend to demand that governments,
corporations, and the media pay more
attention to climate issues across
the globe.
Sputnik is live from Falmouth, Cornwall, where
environmental activists from the Extinction
Rebellion are organising a rally to march
through the town on the second day of
the 47th G7 summit, urging global
leaders to act against
climate change.
Previously, XR members held a rally in the city of
St Ives, blocking roads and accusing politicians
of failing "to respect the global climate
commitments they made in Paris
in 2015".
Follow Sputnik's Live Feed to Find Out More!
https://sputniknews.com/uk/202106121083
132718-extinction-rebellion-activists-march
-through-falmouth-cornwall-on-2nd-day-
of-g7-summit/
_______________________________
UNGA President urges to create sustainable economy
to preserve oceans
June 2nd 12:55pm (Prensa Latina)
The President of the UN General Assembly (UNGA)
Volkan Bozkir on Tuesday called to create a
sustainable economy capable of
preserving the oceans.
Speaking on this Tuesday´s high-level debate on
Sustainable Development Goal number 14 (SDG14) of the 2030 Agenda for the preservation and sustainable
use of the oceans... Bozkir urged drawing up stronger
policies... in favour of marine ecosystems.
He recognized some countries and cities´ stances
prioritizing coastal & marine areas over tourism,
as well as their efforts to address illegal fishing
and the regulation of maritime transport and
resource extraction.
Peter Thomson, UNGA´s Special Envoy for the oceans,
underlined the significance of complying with SDG14
and for this reason he called for setting up a
'sustainable blue economy'.
Similarly, Thomson referred to consequences of marine
pollution by plastic waste in a world dependent on such a material, for which, he advocated out- laying on more infrastructure, for recycling systems.
Oceans provide food, livelihoods and protection to more
than one billion people, worldwide; while the value of
economic activities related to the oceans, exceeds US$1.5 trillion a year.
___________________________________________
‘Incredibly poisonous’pesticide
banned by EU --- may receive
approval for use in Scottish salmon farms
May 27th, 3pm (RT)
A pesticide that has been partially banned by the
European Union and blamed for decimating bee
populations is expected to receive approval for
use in Scottish salmon farms, according
to reports.
The Scottish fish farming industry plans to deploy
imidacloprid, an insecticide, in order to kill sea
lice that can fester among caged salmon. The
chemical is used in a “water filtration”
system developed by fish farm
biotech company Benchmark,
which is reportedly seeking
to trial its CleanTreat
product in Scotland.
The system is designed to remove chemicals
from fish farm treatment water, but its use of
imidacloprid, raises serious red flags.
According to US government scientists, imidacloprid
is “very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects.”
And earlier this month, the European Union’s top
court upheld the bloc’s partial ban on three
insecticides, which are developed by Bayer
CropScience. Restrictions were placed on
the use of the chemical in 2013 after it was
determined that imidacloprid was harming
bee colonies.
Despite the issues associated with the chemical, the
Scottish government is reportedly paving the way
for its use in salmon farms. In emails first revealed
by investigative news outlet The Ferret, officials
express willingness to help CleanTreat clear
environmental regulations so that it can be
cleared for approval.
In one message, Annabel Turpie, director of Marine
Scotland, the Scottish government agency that
manages fisheries, made reference to offering
“support” to help Benchmark “navigate Clean
Treat through the system.” She added that
there was an expectation that CleanTreat
would begin tests at a fish farm assuming
that it received the regulatory greenlight.
The initiative already has experts worried. A professor
of biology at the University of Sussex, Dave Goulson,
told the Guardian that imidacloprid was “incredibly
toxic to insects and other invertebrates.” He said
that it only takes “a billionth of a gram to harm
aquatic life,” meaning that even tiny traces of
the chemical have a serious impact on
marine life.
The CleanTreat system claims to filter imidacloprid from
water, but the professor said that samples need to be
tested at an independent laboratory.
A spokesperson for the Scottish government insisted
that all aquaculture farms are regulated and must
meet “strict guidelines to ensure environmental
effects are assessed and managed safely,”
adding that the government is committed
to promoting economic innovation
across all sectors, including
fish farming.
Benchmark said - in a statement - that CleanTreat is “an
award-winning and validated water-purification system”
and claimed that its sea-lice solution, which contains
imidacloprid, is currently used in Norway... but that
there are no trials for it in Scotland.
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_________________________________
Germans,Japaneseand
Marylanderspoisoned by the US military
April 26th, 10:25am (PressTV)
by Pat Elder
PFAS in fire-fighting foams used on US bases worldwide
are contaminating the environment and endangering
public health. The Pentagon denies wrongdoing.
Günther Schneider, a farmer from Binsfeld, Germany has
photos that show what the stream flowing through the
village of Binsfeld looks like as aqueous film-forming
foam, is released from a fire suppression system, in
hangars on the Spangdahlem Airbase - like a fluffy
white ribbon. All around in the meadows, shreds of foam remain like huge snowballs... The toxic
substances used in fire-fighting foams on base
have contaminated the sewer water, ground
water, surface water, and the air, both on
and off the base. The foam contains the
highly toxic per-and poly fluoroalkyl
substances, (PFAS).
Throughout the world, the US military has taught soldiers to
practice putting out super-hot petroleum-based fires using
these deadly foams on military installations. They dug one-
meter-deep craters that were 30 to 60 metres in diameter,
and they filled them with jet fuel. They ignited the fuel
before extinguishing the flames with the PFAS-laden
foams. The toxic “forever chemicals” were allowed
to leach into the groundwater and pour into sewer
systems to contaminate the environment.
The groundwater monitoring program of the state of Rhineland-
Palatinate in the vicinity of the Spangdahlem Air Base found
PFAS at concentrations of 1,935 parts per trillion, (ppt). The
drainage system in Spangdahlem is still spreading the
chemicals. Some US states, like New Jersey, limit two
varieties of the PFAS found in the poisoned German
ground at 14 parts per trillion for Perfluorooctanoic
acid (PFOA) and 13 parts per trillion forPerfluoro-
octanesulfonic acid (PFOS). There are about
8,000 types of PFAS --- and they’re all believed to be dangerous.
The chemicals - in the tiniest amounts - are known to contribute
to testicular, liver, breast, and kidney cancers, as well as
abnormalities in the developing fetus - and a host of
childhood diseases - ranging from Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder to childhood asthma. Most
of the PFAS in our bodies comes from the food
we eat, especially fish.
Alexander S. Neu, a member of Die Linke (The Left) in the
German Bundestag, along with other Die Linke members
of the parliament, have questioned the responsibility for
the assumption of environmental damage caused by US
troops in Germany. When Wittlich-Land town - close to the sprawling NATO Spangdahlem base - tried to sue
the US military for poisoning the town’s sewer system
and croplands, with PFAS... where the contaminated
sludge was spread, it discovered it was not allowed
to sue the Americans in court. The poisonous sludge
grows poisonous crops. Today, the town incinerates
the substances at great environmental and financial
cost. The PFAS in the sludge, doesn’t burn.
Incineration sprinkles tiny toxic particles of
PFAS onto the homes and fields downwind.
A German Brown Trout caught in Spanger Bach Creek,
near Spangdahlem was found to contain 82,000 parts
per trillion of PFAS. Public health scientists around
the world have been warning people not to
consume more than 1 ppt of the
poisons daily.
Last year, 9,000 kilometres away, a fire suppression system
at an aircraft hangar discharged143,830 litres of the deadly
firefighting foam from Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in
Okinawa. Carcinogenic clouds of foam soared 30 metres
into the sky, settling on children at a nearby playground.
Toshio Takahashia, an Okinawan environmental activist,
reported immediately after the incident that frothy foam
could be seen pouring from several sewer pipes coming
from the Marine Corps base, into a a small stream. The
deadly bubbles flow to the Hira River through Ginowan
City into the East China Sea, poisoning water and fish
along the way.
Tomohiro Yara, a representative of the National Diet from
Okinawa, reflected the attitude of the Okinawan public
when he said, “The US government should take full
responsibility for cleaning up soil and water at any
military base abroad. We must protect the
environment for everyone on the planet.”
Swordtail, pearl danio, guppy, and tilapia caught near
the base all contained more than 100,000 ppt of PFAS.
David Steele, Commanding Officer, Marine Corps Air Station,
Futenma Okinawa, told the Okinawan people, “When it rains
it will subside.” Sadly, these are “forever chemicals” and
will poison people and the environment for many
generations to come. The Americans accept no
responsibility for their criminality, because
they don’t have to.
Imperial subjects worldwide need only watch this video of a
suppression system at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard
Base, in Knoxville, Tennessee to witness the criminal
assault on future generations in that state. One tea-
spoon of this foam is enough to poison the drinking
water reservoir of a large, modern city.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK8IIRZ4Q80
The US military has known these chemicals are poisonous
since the 1970’s. They have contaminated huge swaths of
the earth while using them, and they will continue to use
them, until they are forced to stop. Much of the world
has moved beyond the toxic fire-fighting foams and
has begun using extraordinarily capable flourine
free foams, while the US military sticks to its
killer chemicals.
The American military is not only at war against many of the
world’s peoples, but it is also at war against its own people.
It is a war of poisons. Rather than being fought with bombs
and bullets --- it is fought with an arsenal of toxins. The
American military is on a mission (we’re still trying to
figure out exactly what it is) --- and everything is
subservient to it. Fetal abnormalities, altered
DNA, a host of cancers and childhood
diseases, are no less a threat to
humanity, than the American
missiles hurled from afar
to burn human flesh.
Truths conveyed here are largely unmarketable and
unpalatable in the United States of America. The
American people must learn to seek truth in
media that may not include outlets like the
New York Times or CNN.
Like Günther, Alexander, Toshio, and Tomohiro, I’m also
a subject of the American empire. I have no rights or
protections from the abuses of the American
overlords, beyond those of my German
and Japanese brethren.
The Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland (Pax
River) reported last week that groundwater at Pax
River’s Webster Outlying Field, contains 84,757
ppt of PFOS. The toxins were detected at
Building 8076, also known as Fire
Station 3. The level of toxicity is
1,200 times the 70 ppt federal
non-mandatory advisory.
The groundwater and the surface water from the small
naval installation drain into St. Inigoes Creek, a short
distance to the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay.
I live on the beach 1,800 feet across a deep saltwater
creek from the area where PFAS was routinely
released into the environment, over
many years.
Webster Field is located 12 miles southwest of Pax
River, in St. Mary’s County, MD, about 75 miles
south of Washington.
Webster Field occupies the peninsula between St. Inigoes
Creek and the St. Mary’s River, a tributary of the Potomac
River. The Webster Outlying Field annex, is home to the
Naval Air Warfare Centre Aircraft Division, along with
Coast Guard Station St. Inigoes, and a component
of the Maryland Army National Guard.
Building 8076 is adjacent to the aqueous film-forming foam
(AFFF) Crash Truck Maintenance Area where trucks using
foams containing PFAS were regularly tested. The site is
less than 200 feet from St. Inigoes Creek --- right across
from my family. The practice - according to the Navy -
was discontinued in the 1990’s, although the damage
continues. The high PFAS levels recently reported
are a testament to the staying power of the
so-called “forever chemicals.”
==========
Firehouse 3 Webster Field
Highest Readings
PFOS 84,756.77
PFOA 2,816.04
PFBS 4,804.83
==========
In February, 2020 I tested the water on my beach on St. Inigoes
Creek in St. Mary’s City for PFAS. The results I published --
shocked the community. The water was shown to contain
a total of 1,894.3 ppt of PFAS with 1,544.4 ppt of PFOS.
275 people packed into the Lexington Park Library,
in early March, 2020, immediately before the
pandemic, to hear the navy dismiss their
concerns and defend its use of PFAS.
Many were more concerned with the quality of the waters in the
creeks and the rivers and the Chesapeake Bay than the drinking
water. They had many unanswered questions for the navy. They
were worried about contaminated seafood.
The results I received, were generated by the University of
Michigan’s Biological Laboratory, using EPA method 537.1.
The Navy has only addressed PFOS, PFOA, and PFBS. It
fails to address the levels of 11 other types of harmful
PFAS found in St. Inigoes Creek: PFHxA, PFHpA,
PFHxS, PFNA, PFDA, PFUnA, PFDoA, PFTrDA,
PFTA, N-MeFOSAA, NEtFOSAA.
Instead, Patrick Gordon, NAS Patuxent River Public Affairs
Officer, questioned the “veracity & accuracy” of my results.
This is pretty much a full-court press, and I don’t stand
much of a chance, while trying to warn the public. The
Navy wants to be left alone. The Maryland Department
of the Environment doesn’t give a damn, and neither do St. Mary’s County & Maryland health departments. The five conservative Republican County Commissioners aren’t leading a charge. Senators Cardin and Van Hollen and Rep. Hoyer, have been largely silent.
The watermen see a threat to their livelihood. My neighbors
say if it’s this bad, the authorities would have taken care of
it by now.
It’s a lonely, frightening business, telling the truth in the land of the free and the brave.
In response to the findings of high levels of the fire-fighting
toxins at my beach last year, Ira May, who oversees federal
site cleanups for Maryland Department of the Environment,
told the Bay Journal that contamination in the creek, “if it
exists...” could have another source. The chemicals are
often found in landfills, he noted, as well as in biosolids
and at sites where civilian fire departments sprayed
foam. “So, there are multiple potential sources,”
May said. “We’re just at the beginning of
looking at all of those.”
It appears the state’s top environmental official was covering
for the military. The nearest firehouse is five miles away,
while the closest landfill is 11 miles away. My beach is
1,800 feet from the deadly foam releases.
Fate and Transport of PFAS
It’s important to come to an understanding of the fate and
transport of PFAS. The science isn’t settled. I found
1,544 ppt of PFOS, while the Webster Field
groundwater on the facility had
84,000 ppt of PFOS.
Our beach sits on a cove north-northeast of the base while
the prevailing winds blow from the south-southwest -- that
is, from the base to our beach. The foams gather with the
tide on many days. Sometimes the foam is a foot high
and becomes airborne. If the waves are too high, the foam dissipates.
Oysters, crabs, rockfish, anyone?
Within about 1-2 hours of high tide, the foams dissolve into
water, like dish detergent bubbles left alone in the sink.
Sometimes we can see the line of foam begin to form..
as it hits the shelf of the creek. For approximately 125
metres the water in front of our house is about 1 - 1.5
metres deep at low tide. Then, suddenly, it drops to
6-8 metres. That’s where the foams begin to build
and move toward the beach. This is 20-30 years
after the Navy says they stopped releasing the
materials into the ground.
There are other factors to consider regarding the fate and
transport of various PFAS in water. For starters, PFOS is
the great PFAS swimmer and can travel for miles in
groundwater and in surface water. The Germans
and the Japanese know a lot about PFOS levels
in their rivers near NATO and US bases. They
know how poisoned their fish have become.
PFOA, on the other hand, seems to be more stationary and
tends to contaminate the land, agricultural produce, beef,
and poultry. PFOS moves in the water, as is evidenced
in the University of Michigan results of the water in
St. Inigoes Creek.
After my water results were discredited by the state I tested
the seafood from the creek for PFAS. Oysters were found
to have 2,070 ppt; crabs had 6,650 ppt; and a rockfish
was contaminated with 23,100 ppt of the substances.
There’s been no official response and no mea culpa
from the military.
This stuff is poison. The Environmental Working Group says
we ought to keep the consumption of these chemicals under
1 ppt daily in our drinking water. More importantly, the
European Food Safety Authority says 86% of the
PFAS in humans is from the food we consume,
especially the seafood.
The state of Michigan tested 2,841 fish, for various PFAS
chemicals and found the average fish contained 93,000
ppt of PFOS alone. Meanwhile, the state limits drinking
water to 16 ppt of PFOS - while people are free to
consume fish with thousands of times more of
the toxins.
The 23,100 ppt found in our St. Mary’s City, Maryland rockfish
may seem low compared to the Michigan average, but Webster
Field is not a major airbase and cannot service the Navy’s
large fighters, like the F-35. Larger installations typically
have higher PFAS levels. A single F-35 may cost more
than $100 million and the Pentagon wants to make
sure they’re not destroyed in a hangar fire or a
training exercise, so they make a judgement
that the value of the jet fighter is greater
than the value of a baby in the womb.
======================
“It is a curious situation.. that the sea, from which life first arose should now be threatened by the activities of one form of that life. But the sea, though changed in a sinister way, will continue to exist; the threat is, rather, to life itself.”
Rachel Carson, The Sea Around Us
_______________________________
Extinction Rebellion Blocks
Roads Across UK in May
Day Climate Protests
May 2nd, 11:35am (FNA)
Extinction Rebellion protesters blocked traffic
across the UK to urge the government to take
tougher action on climate change.
More than 200 activists, including nurses, teachers
and students, sat alone in front of traffic in towns
and cities ranging from Bangor in Northern
Ireland to Canterbury in Kent, The
Independent reported.
The group described the “Rebellion of One” demonstrations
held at 11am on Saturday, to mark 2 years since parliament's
declaration of a climate emergency, as "multiple courageous
acts of nonviolent civil disobedience".
Several protesters were arrested, including GP Sarah Benn,
who said she obstructed a local road in Birmingham to
protest "the woeful inertia of our elected leaders in
taking the action needed to protect us and future
generations from its effects".
Ten of the 40 protesters in London were arrested, according
to Extinction Rebellion (XR). One man glued himself to
Westminster Bridge, while Morgan Trowland, a 68-
year-old civil engineer from Hackney, East
London, glued himself to Tower Bridge.
Trowland said, "I'm terrified that billions will die because of the
climate crisis, humans and non-humans, adding, "I'm freaking
out that many people are accepting this, or feel powerless to
change the course. I want to show onlookers that we each
have phenomenal power."
Each of the protesters wore signs bearing messages such as,
“I am terrified for my grandson’s future because of the
climate crisis.”
Andrea Muntiu, a 36-year-old nurse, who blocked traffic in her
home town of Ipswich, said, "People may wonder what a nurse
is doing, sitting in the road with a placard. They may wonder...
what impact this will have on my career, or whether I'll get in
trouble with the police."
"I am aware of the risks but I feel I have a moral duty to warn
people about the catastrophic consequences of the climate
crisis. Floods, hunger, drought, pandemics, species
extinction and social collapse will all be a reality if
we don’t act, and the children of this country and
of this world will be the first and most affected,"
Muntiu said.
“We cannot let this happen. We can still change things, we can
demand the government acts now and safeguards what we
have," Muntiu added.
And Fiona Prior, a 58 year-old retired primary school teacher
who blocked traffic in Carlisle, said, “I am terrified for the
future of my 6-year old grandson. What should I tell him?
That I stood back and did nothing or that nana Fi did
everything she possibly could to make the changes
happen?”
XR claimed that the government was more concerned about
creating positive headlines by announcing tougher targets
instead of taking real action.
"We are seeing today that people are scared and frustrated
at the refusal of this government to accept the severity of
the crisis," said XR Spokesperson Gully Bujak.
"The government needs to commission a national citizens’
assembly on climate and ecological justice, because even
if politicians are scared to face the truth, ordinary people
are ready for action," Bujak added.
May Day also saw several “Kill The Bill” demonstrations
against proposed legislation which would give police
more powers to restrict protests and make it an
offence to “intentionally or recklessly cause
public nuisance”.
The government says... the Police, Crime, Sentencing and
Courts Bill is necessary to prevent widespread disruption
caused by the XR protests of 2019 and last summer’s
Black Lives Matter demonstrations.
____________________________
China launches spacecraft
capable of clearing up
space debris
April 27th,, 12:14 (RT)
China has launched a 30kg (66lb) prototype robot
capable of catching dangerous space debris and
destroying it as well as looking deep into space
and observing celestial bodies for potential
space mining.
On Tuesday, a Chinese space-mining start-up saw
its unmanned spacecraft launched into low orbit
on China National Space Administration’s Long
March 6 rocket, the state-run Xinhua news
agency reported.
The NEO-01 robot... which was developed by Shenzhen
-based Origin Space, can scoop up debris left by other
satellites in a net before burning it with its electric
propulsion system. With thousands of satellites
having been launched and older ones
becoming redundant, the decay and
breakup of spacecraft can present
a real danger to operations in
space.
Origin Space, if successful, will become the first
Chinese commercial company to demonstrate
the ability to clean up space junk.
Origin Space’s craft can also look deep into space...
to analyze small celestial bodies, potentially paving
the way for more technological development in the
field of space mining. The company hopes to launch more satellites capable of observing
asteroids & other bodies with the intention of commencing its mining by 2045, its co- founder, Su Meng, noted, in an interview with Chinese media, earlier this month.
China intends to become a major space power by 2030, and hopes to catch up with the leaders, Russia and the US.
over one million tons of “treated” nuclear waste-water into the ocean.
“Japan’s claims that the safety of nuclear wastewater
relies only on unilaterally obtained data, which is
completely unconvincing… The Tokyo Electric
Power Company, which is responsible for
operating the Fukushima nuclear power
plant, has tampered with data and
concealed the news,” the spokes -man claimed, insisting that
international agencies be
called upon.
Zhao said Japanese politicians are at the centre
of the coverup, and demanded they prove the
water’s safety.
The spokesman added that, as pointed out by a
German marine science institute, the Fukushima
coast has one of the strongest ocean currents in the world. “Within 57 days from the date of discharge, radioactive substances will
spread to most of the Pacific Ocean,
and spread to the global waters in
10 years,” Zhao stated.
On Monday, Tokyo announced it would be releasing
the wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant,
which went into meltdown in 2011 into the ocean
“in around two years” as capacity to store the
liquid runs out. The plan, which had been
widely rumored to be Tokyo’s preferred
option, was met with condemnation by Japan’s neighbours.
In 2020, Greenpeace claimed that the supposedly
treated water, still contains: “dangerous levels of
carbon-14,” a radioactive substance that has the
“potential to damage human DNA.” More than a
million tons of wastewater, containing radio-
active tritium, has accumulated since
the meltdown.
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__________________________
European leadersask US to
reducepolluting emissions
April 13th (Prensa Latina)
European parliamentarians, managers and
union leaders urged the United States to
cut greenhouse gas emissions by half
compared to 2005.
Continental authorities and industrial representatives
sent an open letter to President Joe Biden asking him
for a transatlantic alliance to combat climate change
and achieve a 'just and sustainable transition'
towards an economy with low carbon
dioxide emissions.
This request, comes a week before a summit between
environmental leaders and the president of the United
States, & is headed by the head of the environmental
committee of the European Parliament, Pascal Canfin.
According to the letter, the countries of the bloc and
the United States together account for a quarter of
the world's carbon dioxide emissions.
The European Union agreed, last year, to cut pollutant
flows by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
Executives from companies, such as the French auto-
maker Renault and the German energy company E.ON
backed the letter, that expresses European concerns
about the cost of jobs, if the reduction of emissions
is achieved.
Statistics from global organizations rank the US in
second place, by country, in terms of polluting
emissions into the atmosphere.
Germany tops the list in Europe, due to its great
dependence on coal, and generates emissions
equivalent to a quarter of the continental total.
__________________________________
Amazon Lost 17 Percent to
Deforestation in 2020 - Report
April 7th, (teleSUR)
Brazil accounts for 65 percent of the loss,
followed by Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia.
The primary forest loss in Bolivia,
Ecuador, and Peru reached
unprecedented levels
last year.
The environmental organization Amazon
Conservation reported on Wednesday --
that the South American rainforest lost
17 percent of its area to deforestation
in 2020, representing 2.3 million
hectares devastated across
nine countries.
The study found that "a common phenomenon
observed in the satellite imagery through
August -- was that rainforest areas were
first deforested and then later burned
-- causing major fires due to the
abundant recently-cut
biomass."
This data explains why agricultural practices are
a significant cause of deforestation in the region.
According to Amazon satellite monitoring project
(MAAP) Matt Finer, "the primary cause of
deforestation across the Amazon
appears to be agriculture and
cattle-related, ranging from:
''larger-scale'' operations in
Brazil to the accumulation
of smaller-scale clearings
throughout the western
Amazon."
__________________________
'Guilt is Strangling': Young 'PlogMan' in
India Has Been Waking Up Pre-Dawn for 7 Years,Here's Why
by Radhika Parashar
15.03.2021 (Sputnik)
Last week, in the city of Faridabad in India’s Haryana state, a
pregnant cow died on a busy road. Upon evaluation, it was
revealed that the cow had grazed on 71 kilograms of
garbage – with the plastic, iron nails, and glass
pieces it had consumed injuring it internally.
The sad case highlighted how unsorted
waste is choking India.
Meet Vivek Gurav who lives in Pune city in Maharashtra and is
famous by the name of “PlogMan” on social media. At 25 years
of age, Gurav is a software engineer by profession, but before
and after his nine-to-five job, the young techie jogs or walks
around Pune, cleaning its streets and disposing off garbage
littering the roads.
Talking to Sputnik, the public speaker revealed that he, along
with a bunch of his friends, has “adopted” a small river named
Indrayani to keep its water and banks from getting strangled
with garbage. The Indrayani River flows just 4.2 kilometres
before joining into a larger water body, and not too long ago,
like Delhi’s Yamuna River, Indrayani also began to froth with
toxins on its banks.
“The river Indrayani near my college was a place where I went for
a daily walk with my friends in the evening. We observed people
who carelessly dumped a lot of trash and plastic in the river
body as well as surrounding areas. Me and my friends
initially blamed the local body and government for all
these actions. But I personally felt it was the moral
duty of citizens including me to follow cleanliness
norms and keep the city clean. That was the
moment I felt a very close belonging to
nature”, Gurav said while recollecting
how dead fish were seen floating in the water as stray animals
consumed them, as well
as the polluted water.
Gurav believes that it takes a sudden epiphany for youngsters
to decide for a lifetime of giving back to nature and
the environment.
“I appealed to my friends to join me in cleaning Indrayani. Initially
some were quite resistant, some people even ridiculed the idea,
completely dismissing it, but I took up this challenge and started
the cleanup journey solo four years ago. In some time, a few of
my friends started supporting me and we adopted the River
Indrayani for a mega cleanup mission”, the engineer and
environmental enthusiast added.
The efforts of Gurav and his friends have been going on for seven
years now and on a routine basis they clean the river region and
areas around it in Pune. The river is healthier and safer for
animals now, the techie adds.
“After my college days we took up the charge to not only clean
rivers but all the public spaces in the city. For the last seven
years, I have been waking up at five in the morning, and
randomly taking on a jogging route, on which I pick-up
trash as well for around 45 minutes. The realisation of
knowing that you’ve done your little bit to benefit the
air around you and survival resources for the stray
animals – sleep comes sooner and deeper”, Gurav
said, with a shy smile.
Recently, a rather touching video from the Himalayan valley
of Jammu and Kashmir in India created a buzz around
environmental conservation on social media. The
video showed some foreigners collecting roadside
trash in the market area of Lalchowk in Srinagar city.
Locals who shared the footage on their social media handles
acknowledged that the video testified to how their own
negligence towards maintaining cleanliness in public
spaces has ruined the beauty of their city.
In recent years, the roadside garbage situation in cities in India
has been overshadowed by ignorance despite numerous
incidents like the death of stray animals crying for
immediate attention.
In 2017, a survey, co-researched by Chintan, the Delhi Environment
Department and German NGO GIZ, claimed that India's capital Delhi,
inhabited by over 30 million residents, generates over 9,100 metric
tonnes of garbage on average each year. The report also said that
nearly 76 percent Delhiites wrongly believe that glass and metal
are biodegradable, dump it on the roadside, and need more
education on the subject.
While several individuals like Gurav, NGOs, and government
programmes like the Swachh Bharat (clean India) mission
are working on cleaning India, the new trend of “plogging”
is seemingly picking up pace in the country. The term
“plogging” was coined in Sweden in 2016 and defines
the activity of “picking trash while jogging”.
“Youngsters are getting more sensitive about environment
conservation in India, for sure. I am the founder of a
community called Pune Ploggers, which is a group
of individuals like me who all pick-up trash while
jogging or walking.
“We have more than 4,000 ploggers across India and we are now
setting up city-wise communities. Collection of more than 250
tonnes of waste in the last one year is a remarkable
achievement due to the efforts of this community.
With over 280 plogging drives across 22 cities in
India, our community of environment enthusiasts
has grown exponentially”, Gurav said.
The PlogMan from Pune has appealed to all potential climate
activists in India to work every day towards passing on a
greener and cleaner planet to the generations to come.
“Go zero-waste, avoid littering, manage household waste, use
green alternatives for all the daily essentials, and buy only
what we really need could be some simple changes we
can add to all our lifestyles”, Gurav added.
The climate enthusiast noted that while India is emerging as a
leader in sustainable practices like solar and electric ways of
producing energy, Indians are far from fixing the real problem
- accepting the crisis.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), ambient air
pollution causes 4.2 million deaths every year. 91% of the
world's population lives in places where air quality
exceeds the WHO guidelines' limits.
Bangladesh, Pakistan, Mongolia, Afghanistan, and India
make for the world’s five most polluted countries,
according to a report by the World
Population Review.
______________________________
Post-Brexit 'Loophole'
Lets UK Keep Sending
PlasticWasteto Poorer
Countries,Report Says
12.01.2021 (Sputnik)
The United Kingdom is facing a backlash from environmentalists over a post-Brexit "loophole" that allows it to ship plastic waste to developing countries --- in disregard of its previous pledges, The Guardian reported Tuesday.
From January 1, the European Union banned exports
of non-recyclable plastic waste to countries outside
the Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development.
The UK, which left the EU’s single market and customs
union on December 31, will continue the practice,
despite Tory commitments that post-Brexit
regulations would not undermine
environmental standards, the
British newspaper said.
The country, which is the 2nd-biggest producer of plastic
waste after the United States, will now reportedly export
plastic waste, under a procedure of prior informed
consent, in accordance with which the importer
can agree or disagree to take in
such shipments.
Greenpeace political campaigner Sam Chetan-Welsh,
quoted by the newspaper, slammed the UK
government for creating a "loophole to allowthe dumpingofourplastic trash
on environmentsandcommunities"
in poorer countries, arguing that
"this is not leadership, it’s failing
todothebare minimum."
_____________________________
Biden’s climate advisorhas ties
to oil and gas industry: Report
November 21st, 2020 (Press TV)
US President-elect Joe Biden’s senior advisor on climate change
has faced strong criticism from environmental advocates over
his ties with the oil and gas industry, according to a report.
Cedric Richmond, a Louisiana congressman who has played a
key role in Biden’s presidential campaign, was named as a
senior adviser to the president-elect and will become
director of the White House Office of Public
Engagement, The Guardian reported.
Richmond will advise Biden on climate change --- and help
advance the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic.
At a press conference this week, Richmond – who has
represented a south Louisiana district for 10 years –
announced that he would resign from Congress
to assume his new position.
“I look forward to changing not only Louisiana but the
entire south and empowering its citizens,” he said.
The Democrat has been under criticism from both local
constituents and climate activists for receiving
generous donations from the oil, gas and
chemical industries.
He has also exhibited a degree of indifference to local air
pollution, with his congressional district being home
to seven of the 10 most air-polluted census tracts
in the US.
Richmond pledged greater public engagement
to address the issue.
Some advocates said while they were worried about
Richmond’s track record on the climate, they were
cautiously optimistic about his new appointment.
“I think he’s in a position now to be able to better serve the
constituents of his district,” said Robert Taylor, president
of the Concerned Citizens of St John Parish, a community
group in one of the most polluted parts of the region.
“I’m happy to see him get the appointment, I just hope he
uses it to help us,” he told the paper. Taylor added: “I
would like to see him hold these chemical plants
accountable because they are getting away
with murder.”
Biden has signaled his intent to put climate change on top
of his administration's policy agenda. However, concerns
persist about the degree to which the Democrat is willing
to challenge the power of the fossil fuel industry.
Apart from Richmond, environmental activists are worried
about Ernest Moniz, another individual with ties to the oil
and gas industry who is widely speculated to have been
picked to lead the Department of Energy.
Moniz was Secretary of Energy in the administration of
former President Barack Obama from 2013 through to
2017 and played a critical role in mustering support
for the controversial use of fracking to produce
natural gas.
Moniz is currently a director of Southern Company, the
second-highest carbon-polluting energy company
in America.
During the 2020 campaign, Biden unequivocally rejected
calls to ban fracking, which experts say is harmful to the
environment and people’s health.
___________________________________________
Obsession with consumerism will destroy the world of our children by Ken Livingstone December 24th, 2018.
Ken Livingstone is an English politician, he served as the Mayor of London between 2000 and 2008. He is also a former MP and a former member of the Labour Party.
Amid growing climate change concerns, what politicians fear most, is not standing up to the coal and oil industries, but having to tell the people that they need to buy and consume less.
As two hundred nations gathered in Poland to discuss climate change, the opening comments of David Attenborough, went global across the world’s media.
“Right now, we are facing a man-made disaster of global scale, our greatest threat, in thousands of years… climate change… If we don’t take action, the collapse of our civilisations, and the extinction of much of the natural world, is on the horizon… Leaders of the world, you must lead. The continuation of civilisations and the natural world, upon which, we depend, is in your hands,” said Attenborough.
He went on to recommend that ordinary people make a change every day by using public transport and other measures to reduce carbon emissions.
Yet, for all Attenborough’s warnings, we have seen the election of a climate change denier to the White House, in the form of Donald Trump, and the recent election of a Brazilian president who also denies climate change.
So, what is the truth?
The simple fact is that the twenty warmest years in our history have been in the last twenty-two years and the four warmest years have been the last four years on our planet.
Scientists are now warning that we need to increase our actions to tackle climate change by at least five times, merely to stop the increase in temperature going above 1.5 centigrade.
It’s not just temperatures that threaten our existence.
Since 1970, we have wiped out 60 percent of birds, mammals, reptiles and fish across our planet. This information comes from a World Wildlife Fund report, which drew on the evidence of 59 scientists around the world.
The report warns that the rapid increase in the waste of food and other resources is wiping out the web of life ,on which our society depends, for clean air and water. The director of science and conservation at the WWF, Mike Barrett, warned that we “are sleepwalking towards the edge of a cliff.”
He pointed out that a similar 60 percent wiping out of the human population, would be the equivalent of killing every human in Europe, China, Africa and the Americas. He went on to warn, that nature is not just nice to have, but it is our life support system.
The simple fact is, we are running out of time and, unlesswe find ways to restore our eco systems and tackle climate change, we face the prospect of humanity’s extinction, by the end of the century.
. Since the dawn of civilisation, we have destroyed eighty-three percent of all mammals and half of all plants, and it could take millions of years for the world to recover.
The WWF report pointed out that the main cause of wildlife loss is the destruction of natural habitats, mainly to create new farmland. Three quarters of all the land on our planet has now been affected by our activities. Here in Britain, we have seen the loss of most of our wildlife, and we have less biodiversity, than 189 other nations.
Although politicians at their conferences keep agreeing to limit the rise in the earth’s temperature to 2 degrees centigrade and, if possible, just 1.5 degrees by the end of this century. This would still mean the destruction of all our coral reefs, which play a vital part in sustaining the population of fish. There will also be rising sea levels and increasing, violent weather events.
This year’s storms have devastated South Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines and Tonga. Hurricanes also caused wide- spread damage in the USA and wildfires erupted in California, Canada and Greece, claiming many lives. In Kerala, India nearly one and a half million people were forced out of their homes by violent floods, which also occurred in East Africa and Japan.
In the last one hundred years the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere has gone up by a third. The increase in greenhouse gas emissions has doubled since 1971, mainly caused by industrial activity.
The UK’s Met Office [national weather service] has warned that rising sea levels and climate change threaten over one and a half million homes --- with the prospect of farmland being turned into marshes and beaches washed away, by the end of the century.
The UK Climate Projections recent report predicted the sea around our shores will have risen by between three and four feet by the end of the century, putting 1.7 million homes at risk.
Many coastal towns will have to be abandoned, with large parts of the counties of Kent, Somerset and Essex, being submerged under the sea. The worst example is that the sea could now extend so far into Britain, that it could overwhelm the city of Cambridge.
The rise in sea level would leave 100,000 coastal homes and other buildings at risk, with another 100,000 vulnerable to collapse from landslides.
The report warns that, unless we reduce our emissions, the temperature will have risen by 4 degrees centigrade by the end of the century, with melting glaciers and ice caps overwhelming the Thames Barrier and flooding London.
But it’s not just here in London that we are at risk. Houston, Shanghai and Jakarta, are increasingly vulnerable to storms and flooding. The charity Christian Aid warned in its recent report that city planners are failing to prepare for what is coming.
Most of our biggest cities are built close to the coast or by large rivers and all are now at risk.
In 2015, 195 countries meeting in France agreed to keep global warming below two degrees. But the US has now announced it intends to withdraw from this agreement, and here in Britain, one of the first actions of the newly elected Tory government, back in 2010, was to reduce funding for green energy and it has now unleashed a new strategy: for a vast increase in fracking across the country.
Even the Tory MP Zac Goldsmith has warned his government, of the risk of a political backlash. The fracking - near Blackpool - caused several minor earthquakes which forced the company, Cuadrilla, to halt operations, after a 0.8 magnitude tremor.
In 2017, we saw fifteen deadly weather disasters: heatwaves, floods and droughts. If I think back to the 1960s, there would be one or two violent weather events in the year: now, it’s become a regular part of our news coverage.
In September, Indonesia was struck by a tsunami and an earthquake that killed thousands and left many missing. Given the thousands of lives lost this year, with just a one degree increase, I dread to think how many more are going to die, even if we cap the increase at 1.5 centigrade.
Even to meet that target, carbon emissions have to be cut by forty-five percent, by 2030, but they’re still going up and most of the difficult decisions - that should have been taken at the Poland conference - have been deferred to the next meeting.
Although the US has a climate change denying president, latest opinion polls show that 80% of Americans believe climate change is happening, including a majority of Republicans.
Nicholas Stern, who cooperated with me when I was mayor of London and is author of a landmark report on climate change economics, said: “It is clear that the progress we are making is inadequate, given the scale and urgency of the risks we face… a much more attractive clean and efficient path for economic development and poverty reduction, is in our hands.”
It was 26 years ago - in 1992 - that the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change was signed, binding governments to a commitment to reduce the level of carbon emissions. Yet now, a quarter of a century on, even if we achieve the target set by those governments, the world’s temperature will increase by more than three degrees centigrade.
It’s not just that politicians lack the courage to stand up to the coal and oil industries, but what they fear most, is having to tell all of us, that we need to buy and consume less. A third of all the food used in Europe and North America ends up wasted and thrown away. More and more of the things we buy, are just left in our cup- boards and drawers, until they are, eventually, thrown out.
I grew up in that post-war world where nothing was wasted and our pleasure came from the time we spent with our friends and family, but, over these last fifty years, the Western world has switched to an obsession with shopping and consumption and we spend less time with our friends and our family. We can either go back to that world without waste, or we are going to destroy the world of our children.
(Source - RT)
_____________________________________________
Japan finds itself buried in plastic waste after China stops importing world’s trash 21st of October, 2018, at 4:11am
Nations across the globe are beginning to suffer from waste build-up, after China stopped importing recyclable garbage this year. Japan has become the latest country reporting severe recycling industry overload.
China’s ban on imports of 24 types of solid waste materials, such as soda bottles, mixed paper, recycled steel and newsprint, has impacted the recycling chain across the globe. Japan, which, last year, exported about half its 1.5 million tons of annual plastic waste, is now piled, higher and deeper, in its own garbage, with many local governments struggling to cope with the problem.
About a quarter of 102 local governments surveyed reported seeing accumulated plastic waste, which in some cases overreached sanitary norms, the Environment Ministry data showed, this week.
At least 34 municipalities noted that they are failing to find new destinations to outsource their plastic, after the domestic costs of processing waste, shot up.
China’s refusal to accept more garbage is overstretching the Japanese recycling industry, with 34.9 percent of companies limiting or considering restricting the quantities of plastics they can accept. To deal with the problem, the Japanese ministry said it will expand domestic capacity to process plastic waste. The government also wants to introduce measures to prevent illegal dumping and to expand the use of bioplastics, which are biodegradable.
A similar problem was reported this weekend in the UK, which last year exported roughly two-thirds of its recyclables. The Local Government Association (LGA) blamed the Chinese ban for the change in councils’ recycling methods, which are forcing the local authorities to add an extra £500,000 a year, in costs.
“It’s clear that the ban by China on imported waste, which could, soon, be implemented by other countries, could have a marked impact on councils’ ability to recycle,” said Martin Tett, the LGA's environment spokesman.
China, which over the last 25 years was taking in 45 percent of cumulative plastic imports, without a doubt made a huge impact on the global recycling system. While many Chinese companies relocated their operations to Malaysia, the Asian country does not have the capacity to replace China, and, this week, imposed a three-month ban on imports. We "will do our very best to ensure that Malaysia not be the plastic rubbish bin of developed countries," Science, Technology and Environment and Climate Change minister Yeo Bee Yin said.
Vietnam, which once welcomed foreign shipments, is also finding it hard to cope with recyclables, imposing a new temporary ban on imports, between June & October.
Thailand, the other world destination of plastic goods, reportedly, will ban imports, by 2021.
The closure of Asian countries to plastic, will also affect the US, which, in the first six months of this year, exported its recycling to Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.
Clock is ticking: Planet has only TWELVE years to avert global climate chaos, UN warns October 8th, at 11:59am
The world’s nations should unite in an “unprecedented” effort --- to curb the global rise of temperatures by a larger-than-agreed margin, a UN climate-change panel said. This would limit the damage caused by industrialization.
The consequences of global climate change will be less severe for our planet, if countries across the world managed to curb the rising of temperatures to 1.5 º C above pre-industrial levels, instead of the 2º C benchmark targeted today, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said on Monday.
Reaching this objective is possible, the study noted, but will require revolutionary changes to power generation methods and the phasing out of fossil fuels, coal in particular. A major transformation will also be required to the transportation network, as well as to human lifestyles, especially when it comes to growing food.
The half-degree difference could stop the almost complete eradication of corals and would ease pressure on the Arctic, which is seeing a steady meltdown. Sea level rises would be 10 cm lower, with a 1.5º C rise compared to 2º C by 2100. “Every extra bit of warming matters, especially since a warming of 1.5ºC or higher, increases the risk associated with long-lasting or irreversible changes, such as the loss of some ecosystems,” said Hans-Otto Pörtner, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group II.
“Limiting global warming to 1.5°C compared with 2°C would reduce challenging impacts on ecosystems, human health and well-being, making it easier to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,” Priyardarshi Shukla, Co-Chair of IPCC WG III #ipcc #sr15
''Our top-level politicians should make tackling climate change their utmost priority, before it's too late'' (Op-Ed by Ken Livingstone) https://on.rt.com/9fll
The report, based on more than 6,000 scientific works, noted that consequences such as water scarcity, extreme weather, the spread of diseases and food shortages will be less severe at 1.5 º C rather than 2 ºC. If humanity passes the 1.5º C threshold, humans will need to rely on technologies to remove carbon from the atmosphere.
However, “the effectiveness of such techniques is unproven at large scale and some may carry significant risks for sustainable development,” the report notes.
Monday’s report is a follow-up to the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement, under which 195 nations pledged to hold global temperatures “well below” 2º C above pre-industrial levels. Whether or not the goal is still attainable, remains questionable, after President Donald Trump pulled out of the agreement, claiming it was unfair to his country.
So far, the planet has witnessed a 1º C rise in temperature compared to pre-industrial levels. National commitments to cut emissions will not limit global warming to 1.5 º C, the report warns, stressing that 1.5 º C warming will be witnessed, sometime between 2030 and 2052, if the current trends continue.
the Planning Inspectorate has rejected plans for an opencast coal mine at Nant Llesg near Merthyr Tydfil. This historic victory comes after years of tireless campaigning by the local community campaign United Valleys Action Group, alongside our local group in Merthyr and the team at Friends of the Earth Cymru. If given the go-ahead, the mine would have seen 6 million tonnes of coal extracted over the next 14 years – causing huge harm to local residents, wrecking our beautiful countryside, and contributing to runaway climate change. But yesterday’s decision is a true testament to what we can achieve together when we put our minds to it. Alyson Austin, from the local group, summed it up perfectly:
"Words can't express how pleased and relieved we are, that communities in Rhymney, Pontlottyn and Fochriw, have been spared this horrendous experience – they deserve this outcome."
Ukrainian chemical factory triggers ecological disaster in Crimea September 6th, at 11:41am
The work of the Crimean Titanium factory was suspended for two weeks, because of emissions of sulfur dioxide. A state of ecological disaster was declared, in the town of Armyansk.
More than 4,000 children are being evacuated, schools in the town of Armyansk, were closed for two weeks, as a result of the accident. Emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere occurred, due to the negligence of both the owner of the factory and the local authorities.
Crimean Titanium belongs to Ukrainian oligarch, Dmitry Firtash. Accidents have occurred at the factory before too, although they were on a smaller scale.
"The emission of chemicals into the atmosphere, led to an increase in atmospheric air temperatures. They also resulted in the sustainable absence of precipitation, and a lower water level in the acid storage facility," Deputy Prime Minister of Crimea, Igor Mikhailichenko, said.
This term 'acid storage facility' designates a diked part of Sivash Lake, also known as the "Rotten Lake." The owner of the factory continued with the dangerous production, knowing that there was not enough water to neutralize acid, and did not report the emergency to the authorities.
As for the local authorities, supervisory bodies seem to have ignored the fact that there was no water running on the blocked North-Crimean channel to the factory. The authorities were supposed to close the factory, but they turned a blind eye on the problem and preferred to let the chips fall, where they may.
Residents of Armyansk started complaining on August 23, but the authorities set up a commission only on Aug. 28. At first, most of the patients were diagnosed with ARVI (acute respiratory viral infection), but they later developed allergic conjunctivitis, allergic pharyngitis and Quincke's edema.
Meanwhile, the head of the Crimea, Sergei Aksenov, continues to say that people's lives are out of danger and there is no threat to their health, although it was Aksenov, who ordered children to be evacuated from the affected region of the peninsula.
Crimean Titanium is the largest producer of titanium dioxide in Eastern Europe. The company also produces red iron oxide pigment, mineral fertilizers, sulfuric acid, aluminum sulfate, liquid sodium glass, and iron vitriol.
China builds an ‘Ecological Civilization’ while the world burns August 31st, 2018 by Denis Etler
Like the Soviet Union in the 1930s with its accelerated push to industrialize, China in the 1990s and 2000s threw caution to the winds, and industrialized at break neck speed. The Soviets realized, that if they didn’t rapidly industrialize, the Western capitalists, both of the liberal and fascist variety, would direct all their fire at the first worker’s state and try to destroy it. That Soviet drive to industrialize had many negative consequences, but if they hadn’t done so, the Nazi onslaught in 1941, may well have succeeded.
Such a result would have been an unprecedented disaster for the entire world. Instead, the Soviet Union was able to repel and defeat German imperialism, a victory of unparalleled importance. The industrial foundation laid down by the Soviet Union prior to and during, WW2, allowed for a swift recovery from the devastation visited upon her. After the war, the Soviet Union become a bastion of peace and socialism, serving as a bulwark --- against the spread of US imperialism and a steadfast ally of newly emerging nations fighting for liberation from European colonialism.
With the demise of the USSR and the collapse of the Soviet bloc - in the late 1980s and 90s - China found itself in the cross-hairs of US imperialism. While disputes with the USSR had protected the PRC from attempts by the US to destabilize and sabotage her, once the Soviet Union was no more, China became the next target. The Chinese leadership realized it had to quickly industrialize, under the new conditions of US global hegemony.
Like the Soviets before them, China threw caution to the winds --- and put all her efforts into a vast program of industrialization, come hell or high water. As a result, China experienced severe environmental damage.
The Chinese people saw their country surge ahead to become an industrial power, the factory to the world, and they put up with environmental degradation and pollution.
But, many soon realized that the path taken, while expedient, was unsustainable. With the advent of XJP, corrective measures were taken, which are turning things around, and setting China on a course of sustainable development, towards an ecological civilization. John Bachtell, national chair of the Communist Party USA, has written an incisive essay, that recounts the history of China’s industrialization, its trials and travails, and its new march - towards sustainability.
In remarks to the CPC leadership in 2013, President Xi Jinping said, “We will never again seek economic growth, at the cost of the environment.”
More recently, Xi stressed “To protect the ecological environment is to protect [the] productive forces. To improve the ecological environment is to develop the productive forces. A good ecological environment is the most just public product, one that most fully promotes the well-being of all the people.”
China has committed to a sustainable path and building an “ecological civilization” as a national strategy, since the 17th CPC Congress, in 2007. The goal is, to form “an energy and resource efficient, environmentally friendly structure of industries, pattern of growth, and mode of consumption.”
The concept of “ecological civilization construction” was added to the CPC constitution, during the 18th CPC Congress, in 2012. It was placed on a par with “economic, political, cultural and social progress.”
The adoption of several reforms, in 2015, to accelerate the process, addresses many of the country’s major environmental issues. “The proposals cover the protection of natural resource rights; the establishment of a national parks system; better, stricter systems for the protection of arable land, and water resources management; the establishment of a green financing system; and the improvement of environmental compensation mechanisms.”
Only an eco-socialist oriented society can move with such unity, purpose and speed, toward sustainability. It helps, that government and CPC leaders are deeply committed to building the ecological civilization and driving the process, including President Xi and Premier Li Keqiang.
Consequently, the CPC initiated a “war on pollution” just like its “war on poverty”, which will be eliminated entirely, in the next 3-5 years. With an overall economic slowdown, the priority has moved from quantity to quality: in production, environmental protection, and becoming a global leader in the fight against the climate crisis.
A law passed in 2014 to reduce CO2 emissions from coal power plants, has resulted in a 14 percent reduction, as of June 2018.
New measures adopted in May 2018 will result in the “comprehensive recycling” of hard waste materials.
China is one of a few countries to pass laws and develop a strategy to create a circular economy (reuse, recycling and remanufacturing).
The ministry of Ecology & the Environment has identified 9 million sources of pollution, 7.4 million of them, being from industrial sources.
China is doubling the previous target for solar power production, by 2020, and is the largest producer of solar panels, in the world.
Campaigners accuse government of silencing opposition to fracking Friday, August 16th, 2018. by Will Stone
Environmental campaigners accused the government today of silencing public opposition to fracking by removing questions about the unpopular practice from its quarterly opinion poll.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has announced that it will be reducing the frequency with which it surveys public opinion on fracking, to once a year.
Its decision to omit fracking questions from the quarterly poll was revealed in the department's latest public attitude tracker on energy.
However, Green Party MEP Keith Taylor accused the department of trying to silence criticism.
He said: “Ministers have been asking the public whether they support fracking on a quarterly basis, for over four years.
“But, despite a huge PR push, opposition has always outstripped support, which has never exceeded 30% and long languished below 20%.
“How have the Conservatives responded to such a consistent rejection of the climate-destructive industry?
“By stopping asking what we think so often, and giving fracking the green light, in the meantime.”
The government said that, following analysis of data, it found “there is little change over the years” in public opinion on certain questions, including fracking, from one season to another.
Other topics removed from its quarterly poll include trust in energy suppliers, knowledge of radioactive waste and support or opposition to nuclear energy.
Friends of the Earth campaigner Tony Bosworth said:
“The government’s very own survey, consistently showed climbing support for renewable energy, while support for fracking was really low.
“Perhaps, having recently tried to change planning rules so that fracking companies could drill more easily, they were just scared of a record bad survey result for them this time, so have stopped even asking, any more.”
Greenpeace UK energy campaigner Nina Schrank added:
“The government needs to catch up with the electorate, who can already see that our future is renewable.”
Fracking company Ineos, was granted permission by the government's planning inspectorate, yesterday, to launch the first shale gas exploration scheme in Derbyshire.
Global Tree Cover Has Increased 7 Percent Since 1982,Says Study August 10th, 2018
Prensa Latina - A team of US researchers has found that new global tree growth over the past 35 years, has more than offset global tree cover losses.
In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes using satellite data to track forest growth and losses over the past 35 years and what they found by doing so.
There has been a growing consensus in recent years that because humans cut down so many trees (most particularly in the rainforests) that global tree cover is shrinking. In this new effort, the researchers have found that not to be the case. They contend that global tree cover, is actually increasing.
The researchers report that most of the new tree cover occurred in places that had previously been barren, such as in deserts, tundra areas, on mountains, in cities and in other non-vegetated land.
They further report that much of the new growth came about due to efforts by humans (such as reforestation efforts in China, and parts of Africa) and because of global warming, warmer temperatures have raised timberlines in some mountainous regions, and allowed forests to creep into tundra areas.
Other areas of new tree growth resulted from large farm abandonments in places like Russia and the U.S. The researchers report that their calculations showed that human activities have directly caused approximately 60 percent of new global tree growth.
They suggest their technique for monitoring tree cover could be used to predict tree cover changes in the future, due to global warming.
The bloody slaughter goes on and on by Peter Frost Friday, August 3rd, 2018
A sad PETER FROST discovers that despite a little good news, the slaughter of whales still continues.
It seems incredible, and very sad, that every year we have to return to the subject of the bloody slaughter of whales and other sea mammals.
Japan, Iceland, and Norway still think it is OK to ignore worldwide public opinion, and even the increasing anti-whaling views of their own populations.
One bit of recent news cheered me up a little. Holiday giant Thomas Cook has announced it will stop selling trips to aquariums and animal parks that keep killer whales, orcas, in captivity.
The tourism giant said it had made the decision because more than 90 per cent of its customers were concerned about animal welfare, hence they will no longer sell tickets to SeaWorld in Florida and Loro Parque in Tenerife.
“When so many of our customers are so clear in their view, I could not allow our business to ignore them,” Peter Fankhauser CEO of Thomas Cook said.
Less good news has just arrived with the return of the Icelandic whaling fleet after killing a very rare, threatened - and supposedly legally protected - blue whale.
The Icelanders rushed to find DNA evidence that it was only a blue whale hybrid.
After viewing the photographic evidence of the dead whale being winched aboard the ship, most experts agreed --- the corpse had all the features of the largest animal that has ever existed on Earth. Mottled blue skin, black baleen, tiny hooked dorsal fin — a blue whale.
The Icelandic fleet had resumed its whale hunt in June, after a three-year break -- caused by the Tokyo government being unhappy with the standard of the meat Iceland was seeking to sell to Japan.
Others suggested that the real reason was that the demand for whale meat in Japan, was falling dramatically.
This year Iceland set itself a target of 191 fin whales and early reports suggest it has met this target. Most meat will be heading for the sushi bars of Japan, the Icelanders hope, but the international freight shipping market - and many ports - refuse to have anything to do with this bloody trade.
A recent poll by Iceland itself, shows that, even in Iceland, support for whaling continues to drop. Only 34 per cent of Icelanders now support continued commercial whaling, while another 34 per cent of Icelanders say they are opposed to whaling - 31 per cent say they are neutral.
As recently as five years ago a solid majority of Icelanders supported whaling. A 2013 poll found that 60 per cent of Icelanders supported it, while only 18% opposed it.
Another whaling nation, Norway, hasn’t just continued whaling, but has angered environmentalists, by provocatively announcing a 28 per cent increase of its annual whaling quota to 1,278 whales.
This, despite the fact that, in recent years, Norway’s whalers have failed to catch the quotas set by Oslo - and the number of whaling ships has plummeted.
The Norwegian government hopes that, by raising the quota, more whalers will join the fleet — there were just 11 Norwegian whaling ships in 2017 and that was just half of the previous year’s number.
Norway, says it only hunts the minke whale, which it kills, using explosive harpoons.
In both Norway and Iceland few people actually eat whale any longer. In Iceland most is consumed by tourists curious to sample the exotic, if contentious, novelty.
Most of the Icelandic whale meat is sold to Japan but over the last few years the Icelandic whalers have had great difficulty finding ships or transit ports prepared to handle the bloody cargo.
Which brings us to Japan itself. When three Japanese whaling vessels returned to port from a controversial trip to Antarctica earlier this year they had caught 333 minke whales. Tokyo claims the slaughter is for scientific purposes.
Japan is a signatory to the International Whaling Commission moratorium on whale hunting, but makes use of a loophole, that allows the mammals to be killed for scientific research.
Commercial hunting of whales was banned in 1986, but Japan would like to see it permitted once more. Tokyo makes no secret of the fact that slaughtered whales often end up being eaten.
After tiny samples go to the laboratory, the rest ends up on Japan’s dining tables, or feeding Japan’s many lap dogs.
Tokyo’s insistence on continuing with whale hunts, draws regular protests worldwide and Japanese ships have clashed at sea, in the past, with animal rights campaigners. This season there appear to have been no such protests at sea.
The most recent hunt killed 120 pregnant female whales among the 333 total. The International Whaling Commission said that, apart from the pregnant whales, another 114 were immature.
The Japanese proudly displayed pictures of the slaughtered pregnant whales, each slit open to reveal a fully developed foetus.
In 2014, the International Court of Justice ruled that the annual whale slaughter programme was for commercial purposes, which is illegal.
The Japanese government scrapped the illegal whaling programme and began a new one in 2015, described as having a scientific purpose, but, again, it is clearly just a cover, to continue whaling for profit.
Even in Japan, eating whale becomes less and less popular. Much of the whale harvest ends up in expensive treats for pet dogs. Still, Japan’s legendary pride won’t let it fall in to line with the rest of the world and ban the slaughter of whales forever.
Only a continued political campaign, against Iceland, Norway and, most of all, Japan, will end this murder forever. Are you playing your part, in saving the whale?
Pope Francis tells top oil executives world ‘must convert to clean fuel’ May 9th, at 9:56am
Pope Francis, addressing top oil company executives, has said that the world must convert to clean fuel, Reuters reports.
“Civilization requires energy but energy use must not destroy civilization,” he told the group at the end of a two-day conference in the Vatican on Saturday.
He also noted that climate change was a challenge of “epochal proportions,” saying that the world needs to come up with an energy mix that combats pollution, eliminates poverty, and promotes social justice.
The pope wrote a major document on protecting the environment from global warming, in 2015.
Beekeepers stage funeral for France's dying bee population Thursday June 7th, at 3:03pm
Bees in France are fast dying, say beekeepers who staged a mock funeral in central Paris on Thursday.
French beekeepers say an average of 30 percent of bee colonies died, following the last winter, due to pesticides used across the country.
They said the ravaged bee population has severely affected the honey harvest, hence threatening their livelihood.
The colonies have deteriorated so badly that some beekeepers may not be able to carry on, demonstrators said.
A small delegation marched toward the presidential palace, but was stopped by police.
Pesticides destroy insects and other organisms harmful to cultivated plants and crops, with knock-on effects through the food chain.
An EU court last month upheld a partial ban on three insecticides known as neonicotinoids, saying the European Commission had been right, in 2013, to restrict their use, to protect bees.
(Source: Reuters)
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EU court upholds partial ban on pesticides threatening bees May 17th, at 8:23am
An EU court upheld a partial ban on three insecticides known as neonicotinoids, on Thursday.
The General Court of the European Union, said that the European Commission had been right to restrict their use in order to protect bees. The ruling covers three active substances - imidacloprid developed by Bayer CropScience, clothianidin developed by Takeda Chemical Industries and Bayer Crop- Science, as well as Syngenta’s thiamethoxam, Reuters said.
However, the court did annul restrictions on the use of another pesticide BASF’s fipronil, because the Commission had not carried out “an adequate assessment” of the impact of its measures.
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Huge dead zone in Gulf of Oman is far worse than feared - but what is it? May 1st, 2018, at 1:48pm
A large ‘dead zone’ in the Gulf of Oman is increasing in size, according to scientists who warn the oxygen-scarce area is worse than previously thought and poses a threat to the environment. But what does that mean?
The dead zone in the Arabian Sea is now the world’s biggest Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ). About the size of Scotland or Florida, the dead zone almost covers the entire Gulf of Oman, which borders Iran, Oman, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.
What is a dead zone?
A dead zone is an area of the sea or a large body of water that’s almost entirely devoid of oxygen. The low-oxygen areas are called dead zones as they can’t sustain marine life. Fish, animals and plant life in the zones suffocate as a result of low oxygen levels, while some marine life manages to swim away from the area, leaving it empty.
Scientists began noticing increasing areas of dead zones in the 1970s. In 2008, 405 dead zones around the world were noted by Sweden's Göteborg University.
One Third of 'Dead Zones' in World’s Oceans Around United States - Kerry
Roughly a third of all 'dead zones' in the world’s oceans, are in or around the US, Secretary of State, John Kerry, revealed.
Conditions in Gulf of Oman
The existence of the Gulf of Oman dead zone has been known for about 50 years, but the extent of the area has only recently been confirmed thanks to the use of underwater robots, called Seagliders.
“The Arabian Sea is the largest and thickest dead zone in the world. But until now, no-one really knew how bad the situation was because piracy and conflicts in the area have made it too dangerous to collect data,” Dr Bastien Queste from UEA’s School of Environmental Sciences said.
''We barely have any data collected for almost half a century, because of how difficult it is to send ships there.''
The remote-controlled submarines are the size of a small person and can spend months underwater at 1km. They were deployed by researchers from the University of East Anglia to the Gulf of Oman for eight months.
The team’s findings have now been published in Geophysical Research Letters. They found a strong decrease of oxygen in the afflicted zone compared to pre-1990 levels, and also charted how the oxygen is spread around the area across different seasons.
“Our research shows that the situation is actually worse than feared – and that the area of dead zone is vast and growing. The ocean is suffocating,” Queste said.
What causes dead zones?
Dead zones can occur naturally, but also grow as a result of excessive nutrient pollution from human activities, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration explains. Many chemical, physical and biological factors combine to create dead zones, but nutrient pollutions are the primary culprit. Nitrogen and phosphorus in fertilizers run into the water, and then act as nutrients which fertilize algae.
The algae eventually dies and decomposes in the water. This feeds bacteria which consume the oxygen around them, depleting the supply. Climate change has exacerbated the issue, as warmer waters contain less oxygen.
The Gulf of Mexico is home one of the largest dead zones, which occurs each spring when farmers fertilize their land and the rain washes the fertilizer into rivers - and into the sea. An area in the Baltic Sea, is another large dead zone.
Why are dead zones bad?
Dead zones are “a real environmental problem, with dire consequences for humans too who rely on the oceans for food and employment.” Guete said.
More worryingly, dead zones produce nitrous oxide, which is more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide.
Scientists warn that computer simulations of ocean oxygen reveal levels will decrease over the next 100 years, with oxygen minimum zones growing. The next step for researchers is further study - to determine all of the contributing causes of the increasing dead zone(s).
Six Fold Increase in Renewable Energy Required to Stay Below 2ºC April 19th, 2018
Prensa Latina -A six-fold increase in renewable energy adoption is required in order to prevent the world over- heating beyond 2ºC, and this would also benefit the global economy and human welfare, finds the latest edition of the International Renewable Energy Agency''s (IRENA) long-term renewable energy outlook.
The latest edition of the International Renewable Energy Agency's (IRENA) long-term renewable energy outlook has concluded that increasing the speed of global renewable energy adoption by at least a factor of six, critical to meeting energy-related emission reduction needs of the Paris Climate Agreement, can limit global temperature rise to two degrees.
The report also finds that by 2050, the global economy would grow by one percent and global welfare, including benefits not captured by GDP, such as health benefits from reduced air pollution and reduced climate impacts, among others, would improve by 15 per cent, compared to the current trajectory.
Global Energy Transformation: A Roadmap to 2050, was launched today at the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue.
The report also finds that increasing cumulative energy system investment by 30 per cent to 2050 in favour of renewable energy and energy efficiency, can create over 11 million additional energy-sector jobs, completely offsetting job losses in the fossil fuel industry.
Immediate action will also reduce the scale and value of stranded energy-related assets in the future. The road- map currently anticipates up to $11 trillion of stranded energy assets by 2050 - a value that could double if action is further delayed.
'Renewable energy and energy efficiency together form the cornerstone of the world's solution to energy-related CO2 emissions, and can provide over 90 per cent of the energy-related CO2 emission reductions required to keep global temperature rise to two degrees Celsius' said IRENA Director General Adnan Z. Amin.
'If we are to decarbonise global energy fast enough to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change, renewables must account for at least two-thirds of total energy by 2050.
'Transformation will not only support climate objectives, it will support positive social and economic outcomes all over the world, lifting millions out of energy poverty, increasing energy independence and stimulating sustainable job growth. An opportunity exists to ramp up investment in low-carbon technologies, and shift the global development paradigm from one of scarcity, inequality and competition to one of shared prosperity - in our lifetimes.
'That is an opportunity we must rally behind by adopting strong policies, mobilising capital and driving innovation across the energy system.'
Current government plans fall short of emission reduction needs. At today's trajectory, the world would exhaust its energy-related ‘carbon budget' (CO2) for 2°C in under 20 years, despite continued strong growth in renewable capacity additions.
By the end of 2017, global renewable generation capacity increased by 167 GW and reached 2,179 GW worldwide, yearly growth of 8.3 per cent. However, without an increase in deployment, fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas & coal would continue to dominate the global energy mix by 2050. The roadmap analysis outlines an energy system in which renewables account for up two-thirds of total final energy consumption, and 85 per cent of power generation by 2050 - up from 18% and 25%, respectively, today.
To achieve this, at least a six-fold acceleration of renewable energy is needed, both through increased electrification of transport and heat, and more direct use of renewables.
Electrification, and renewable power are key drivers outlined in the report, with solar and wind capacity leading the energy transformation.
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US demands Chinareconsider ‘catastrophic’ ban on importing foreign garbage & recyclables March 25th, at 12:45pm
Amid fears of a potentially devastating trade war between the US and China, Washington has urged Beijing not to implement the ban on US garbage and recyclable materials that Asia’s giant threatened to impose last July.
In an effort to battle the "illegal foreign garbage" influx into China, last July, China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) that it plans to ban imports of 24 types of solid waste materials, such as soda bottles, mixed paper, recycled steel and newsprint. Despite the threat to implement the ban by the end of the year, the document stated that the“proposed date of adoption”is“to be determined.”
Concerned over the massive impact the ban could have on the US economy, the US trade representative, on Friday, urged China to re-examine its decision.
“We request that China immediately halt implementation and revise these measures in a manner consistent with existing international standards for trade in scrap materials, which provide a global framework for transparent and environmentally sound trade in recycled commodities,” the US spokes- person noted at the WTO Council for Trade in Goods session in Geneva.
“China’s import restrictions on recycled commodities have caused a fundamental disruption in global supply chains for scrap materials, directing them away from productive reuse and toward disposal,” the trade representative pointed out, reported Reuters.
Washington’s demand came a day after President Donald Trump ordered the US Trade Representative (USTR) to levy tariffs on at least $50 billion of Chinese imports.
Although the USTR was given 15 days by Trump to propose a list of Chinese products that will be targeted, China’s commerce ministry has already threatened to take legal action against the US through the WTO. The country is also mulling targeting 128 US products, through the imposition of harsh import tariffs.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry also made clear that it has all the necessary means to engage in a trade war with the US but urged Washington to reconsider its aggressive economic policy. Beijing warned that “the American consumers and enterprises will bear the brunt” of a trade war with China.
China is by far the biggest importer of US recyclables. Banning US junk imports will have a catastrophic impact on the US labour market and will drive up waste management costs. According to the US Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), in 2016 alone, American scrap exports to China totalled $5.6 billion and provided the industry with 155,000 jobs. While the Chinese representative at the meeting in Geneva on Friday (23) agreed to relate the US-voiced concerns to Beijing, the envoy still noted that, ultimately, individual countries are responsible for their own waste.
If the Asian giant closes off its waste management market, recycling centres across the US, will be faced with a hard choice. They can either hire a much more expensive workforce, which would raise prices for their services, require households to sort their own waste, or be forced to use more landfills across all fifty US states.
The most viable option would be to redirect the flows of US garbage into third countries, which, however, may not have facilities for safe recycling. This would raise concerns over potential environmental damage, the EU’s representative noted at the WTO meeting.
“In any given year, approximately one-third of the scrap recycled in the United States is prepared for shipment to the export market, and China is the recycling industry's largest customer,” ISRI President Robin Wiener told China Daily earlier.
“This includes more than $1.9 billion in scrap paper and $495 million in scrap plastics. A ban on imports of scrap commodities into China would be catastrophic to the recycling industry.”
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What’s killing the world’s bees? New study claims a surprising culprit December 30th, 2017
Scientists have found what they believe to be the strongest factor leading to the worryingly steep decline of bumblebees… fungicides.
The discovery has now been added to the growing list of threats that could potentially lead to the extinction of the essential pollinators. The revelation that common fungicides are having the strongest impact on the insects came as a surprise, as they typically affect mold and mildew, but appear to be killing bees, by making them more susceptible to the nosema parasite, or by exacerbating the toxicity of other pesticides.
The discovery was made during a landscape-scale study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, which used machine learning technology to analyze 24 different factors and how they impacted four bumblebee species.
The study collected ‘subjects’ from 284 sites across 40 US states and tested them against various factors like latitude, elevation, habitat type and damage, human population and pesticide use.
For context, about 75 percent of the world’s crops are fertilized by pollinators. The widespread decline of bees has been attributed to a number of factors including pesticides, destruction of habitats, disease and climate change, but until now it was unclear which was the most decisive factor.
The unexpected culprit behind bee decline means “people have not been looking in all the places they probably should,” according to lead author of the study, Cornell University’s Scott McArt.
“We threw everything but the kitchen sink at this analysis and the ‘winner’ was fungicides,” McArt said to UMass. “It turns out that fungicide use is the best predictor of bumblebees getting sick and being lost from sites across the U.S.”
“I was definitely surprised,” said McArt, to The Guardian, as “fungicides have been largely overlooked,” until now.
Going forward, McArt says researchers will have to carry out “much more work on fungicides and their role in bee declines”, if humanity is to make any progress in regenerating the dying species.
Common systemic pesticide sprays are used worldwide to manage landscapes, and are often found in nectar and pollen. Another recent study, published in the same journal, found chemicals are causing severe nutritional stress on honey bees, affecting their survival rates by a whopping fifty percent.
The Canadian government recently failed to protect bees after rejecting a plea by environmentalists to completely ban the use of insecticides, instead opting to continue their use of neonicotinoids, promising to consider limiting the use of pesticides by March 2018.
(Sources - Stephane Mahe / Reuters / RT)
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Menominee Tribe in US Fights to Defend Sacred Site From Mining by Canada Company October 20th at 6:31pm
Sputnik - The plans of Canada’s exploration company to mine gold, zinc, copper and other minerals in the US Midwest region threatens sacred sites of the Menominee Indian Tribe and the Great Lakes’ ecosystem, tribe Chair Gary Besaw told Sputnik.
Besaw came to the Annual Convention of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) in Wisconsin to attract the public’s attention to the issue of the US federal government breaking its obligations and promises to the tribe.
"The Canadian company [Aquila Resources Inc.’s] is looking at developing a mine on the interstate boundary river between the states of Wisconsin and upper Michigan. They are looking at doing it on the upper Michigan side of the river," Besaw said. "The footprint of that mine is on ancestral Menominee burial sites, mounds, raised garden beds. There is a whole village seen there, and this proposed mine would destroy them. This area is up near our tribal nation's creation story."
Besaw explained that at one time that area was the Menominee Indian Tribe’s ancestral territory, and the Menominee people had moved away when they had ceded that territory, through treaty, to the US government. So, while the natives are not there now, their ancestral remains and the mounds are there and have been there.
"We are trying to protect not only those cultural sites but also protect the Menominee River ecosystem and the whole Great lakes system," he said. "After they take all of the material out, all of the gold, silver, copper everything they want out of there of value, what remains is almost like talcum powder, pulverized residual that they put in big slurry ponds. When this sulfide mixes & is exposed to air and water it creates sulfuric acid."
"The sulfuric acid over time gets into the groundwater and that sulfuric acid dissolves other toxins and they find their way, being only 50 yards from Menominee River, into the Menominee River that then drains into the Great Lakes," the tribal leader added. "We have a responsibility through our creation story for protecting that area, as well as these waters, as Menominee people."
Besaw noted that the proposed Back Forty Mine project is an open pit metallic sulfide mine.
"It's on a 580-acre parcel with the actual hole being probably 750 feet, what we consider when we try to get a visual 2.5 Statue of Liberties deep," he added. "We do a lot of football here, and a football field is about 100 yards, so we say it's about five by seven football fields across. It's that big and it's only 150 feet or 50 yards from the Menominee River."
In order for the company to go ahead with the project, it requires four permits, and it has already received three, including the Mining permit, the Air Use Permit, and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. It only needs to get the final wetlands permit.
"The wetlands permit, they've put in all of their materials and the Michigan Department of Environmental quality is now reviewing to see if it's administratively complete meaning that it has all the components necessary for it to be called a complete application," Besaw said. "After that, it will be going for review and public comment but that part has not started yet, until we know that it's administratively complete."
Besaw went on to explain that the tribe is concerned that the federal government made an agreement with the state of Michigan to allow them authority over what's called the Clean Water Act dredge and fill permits.
The chair stressed that they believe that some of their treaty and Trust obligations "somehow have been diminished or somehow put in limbo."
"The state is saying we do not have to follow those protections because we never signed a treaty with you, Michigan never signed a treaty with you, the federal government did. And when we talk about the federal government they say since we delegated the dredge and fill authority to the state, now it's a state action," he explained.
"I can assure you, Menominee will fight to defend what we believe is our rights and what really should happen," he stressed.
Besaw also noted that this is not the only instance when the treaty obligations get diminished.
"As the healthcare plan changes and they look at delegating more power to the states, the same issue applies, there are treaty obligations," he said. "The federal government has made and promised for this land we’re standing on to the tribes and our concern is they will diminish much of those treaty obligations again, when the states now have the authority to make determinations on funding for health- care needs, so that might be a version of the same issue of that I am speaking of, regarding the back forty mine."
The chair also pointed out that while Menominee is land rich and resource-rich, it has high poverty rates and high unemployment.
The US federal government recognizes 567 Indian nations in 33 states, including 229 in Alaska. Native American tribes are further recognized by their respective state governments, according to the NCAI.
Established in 1944, the National Congress of American Indians is the oldest and largest non-profit organization representing US native tribes and the interests of tribal governments and communities.
READ MORE: Native American Tribes Set to Continue Fight Against Keystone XL Pipeline
Neonicotinoid pesticides found in 75% of honey worldwide: study October 7th, 2017 Xinhua - About three-quarters of the world's honey is contaminated with neonicotinoids, currently the most widely used class of insecticides worldwide, a new study has found.
However, researchers of the study, published in Friday's issue of the U.S. journal Science, were quick to point out that the concentrations detected are below the amount authorized for human consumption.
Widespread application of neonicotinoids has been identified as a key factor responsible for a global decline in pollinators, particularly bees.
Edward Mitchell of the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland and colleagues tested 198 honey samples from all continents except Antarctica, as well as numerous isolated islands.
They measured the concentrations of five commonly used neonicotinoids: acetamiprid, clothianidin, imidacloprid, thiacloprid, and thiamethoxam.
"Overall, 75% of all honey samples contained quantifiable amounts of at least one neonicotinoid," the study wrote.
Of these contaminated samples, 30% contained a single neonicotinoid, 45% contained two or more, and 10% contained four or five, it found.
In addition, multiple contaminations were most frequent in North America, Asia, and Europe ---and least frequent in South America and Oceania.
"Our results confirm the exposure of bees to neonicotinoids in their food throughout the world," it said.
Chris Connolly, reader in neurobiology at the University of Dundee, who wrote a perspectives article published alongside the research in Science, described the findings as "alarming."
Connolly noted the levels of these chemicals detected in honey "are unlikely to be a hazard to human health" and "also not likely to be lethal to bees."
"However, the levels detected are sufficient to affect bee brain function and may hinder their ability to forage on, and pollinate, our crops and our native plants," he said.
"Clearly, the use of neonicotinoids needs to be controlled."
Global Competition to Fight Marine Plastic August 4th
Some 8 million tonnes of plastic end up each year in the oceans, increasing pollution and economic damage, this is the starting point of the global competition opened today urging university students to submit solutions.
According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), young people with their innovative ideas could help mitigate the damage.
UNEP, Think Beyond Plastic & Marine Plastics Innovation Challenge are promoting the competition, the winners of which will attend the Sixth International Marine Debris Conference in San Diego, California, in 2018, and gain free mentorship to help them develop their ideas.
The deadline for entries is 6 October 2017 and to participate, students need to be enrolled in a graduate or postgraduate program as of June 2017.
They must also be supported by a faculty member, & submit an entry in one or more of the categories: engineering and design, communication, the economy, prediction and recovery.
In the field of engineering and design they must submit innovations in materials, manufacturing processes, packaging design and related fields that result in a measurable reduction in marine plastic.
In the communication field they must submit multimedia products, mobile apps, and innovative storytelling that raise awareness and inspire public action against marine plastics.
In economics they must include innovative methodologies to assess the economic impact of plastic pollution and/or develop new financial and business models to address market failures.
In the prediction and recovery fields they have to include the development of analytic tools (algorithms, models, hotspot identification) to better capture and monitor data about plastic pollution and propose solutions.
One winner in each category will be announced at the Sixth International Marine Debris Conference in San Diego, California, which will run from March 12th to March 16th, 2018.
(Source - Prensa Latina)
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Humans Have Produced 8,3 Billion Metric Tonnes of Plastic Since 1950 July 20th 2017
Humans have produced 8,3 billion metric tonnes of plastic by 2015, most of which now resides in landfills or the sea, according to research published in Science Advances magazine.
The research analyzed the historical production of this synthetic material worldwide, its use and destination since 1950 (when it began to be conducted on a large scale) up until two years ago.
The researchers estimated that the weight of all global plastic is about 822,000 times as heavy as Eiffel Towers (Paris, France), 35,000 Empire State buildings (New York, United States), 1 billion elephants, or 80 million blue whales.
Out of the eight billion tons of plastic, about half has been made in the past 13 years & six billion finished up as waste.
Out of the waste, only nine percent was recycled, 12 percent incinerated and the remaining 79 % accumulated in landfills or in ecosystems around the world.
For specialists, if these current trends continue, roughly 12 billion metric tonnes of plastic waste will be in landfills - or what the study describes as the ''natural environment''. by 2050.
Global production of plastics, mostly used for disposable articles, increased from two million metric tonnes in 1950 to more than 400 million metric tonnes in 2015, the research, published today, informs us.
DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT !!!
(Source - Prensa Latina)
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$340mn gold seam discovered on ‘sacred’ NZ mountain, activists form human chain to stop mining July 19th
A newly-discovered seam of gold on New Zealand’s North Island has sparked a bitter stand-off between a mining company and environmental activists. Locals are concerned about the impact the mining will have on their “sacred” mountain.
New Talisman Gold Mines announced that it had discovered the 8,500kg (18,739 lbs) seam at its Dubbo site in the Karangahake Gorge between the Coromandel and Kaimai mountain ranges earlier this month – and after examining samples from the site, chief executive Matthew Hill is expecting a major windfall.
"The grades that have come out show 21 grams a tonne which is in today's terms one of the top 5 or certainly one of the top ten in the world," he said, according to Radio NZ. The seam is roughly valued at $340mn at time of writing.
However, fearing the scenic gorge will be ruined by the firm’s activities, the conservation group Protect Karangahake is now taking steps to fight back against New Talisman’s bid to mine to the area.
The miner’s trucks and walkers are forced to share one narrow access road to the popular tourist spot, a fact that has angered some locals.
Ruby Jane Powell, a member of Protect Karangahake told the Guardian: “It is a really popular recreation area. In general, our culture and economy is inter- linked with the eco-tourism and outdoor aspect of life in the Coromandel, and mining threatens that.”
Protect Karangahake shut down operations for an hour and a half by forming a human chain on the road to the mine on Monday. The group is now preparing a further series of measures, to disrupt the mining operation going forward.
“It was a very peaceful process, we watched dawn on the mountain, we sang songs," Duncan Shearer, chairman of Protect Karangahake, told Stuff.
"We are there as witnesses to what is going on,” Shearer added. “We're not some sort of silent presence, we're in their faces as much as possible."
Green Party MP Catherine Delahunty told The Guardian that the New Zealand government was “hell bent” on allowing mining companies access to such areas, regardless of how locals feel.
“This is public land which has been set aside to protect its ecological values and for recreation. It is a sacred mountain to the indigenous people of the area and local residents are actively & peacefully opposing the initial development of the mining activity on the mountain,” she said.
Hill, however, believes the environmental impacts of the mining, will be small.
"The footprint above surface where disturbances occur is very small – less than 0.4 hectares [2.5 acres]. It has been closed off since 1995, and was only opened for 12 months,” Hill said, as cited by Radio NZ.
"Most, if not 95 percent of our disturbances occur deep underground & will not be noticed at the surface level.”
(Source - RT)
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Convention on Environment in Cuba, Ratifies Actions July 8th
The 11th International Convention on Environment and Development has reaffirmed Cuba''s actions in favor of the environment to deal with climate change and other pressing problems, Granma newspaper reported.
According to the daily, the president of the Environmental Agency, Maritza Garcia, said after conclusion of the event that the five-day meeting reaffirmed the achievement of a better and rational use of our natural resources and the importance of using integrated scientific results.
The meeting also emphasized the need to strengthen the environmental policy and law, and citizens' awareness, said Garcia, who is also president of the organizing committee for the Convention.
According to Garcia, it is urgent to undertake transcendental changes today, more than ever, and the only alternative is to build fairer societies, putting the progress of science and technology at the service of the defense of the planet and human dignity.
The meeting, which ended yesterday at Havana's Conference Centre, under the motto: United & integrated for prosperous and sustainable development, brought together 1,289 participants from 31 countries, the newspaper said.
The program included six congresses, three symposiums and two colloquiums, as well as a tribute to the renowned Cuban researcher, Gilberto Silva Taboada, on the occasion of his 90th birthday, in November. (Source - Prensa Latina)
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New World Record: Indian State Plants Nearly 66 Million Trees in One Day July 4th
The Indian State of Madhya Pradesh set a new Guinness world record for reforestation, by planting 67 million trees, in 12 hours.
More than 1.5 million government officials, students, homemakers and others planted a total of 66,750,000 tree saplings in the central Indian state in a plantation area encompassing 24 districts of Narmada river basin.
The previous record was set in July 2016 by another Indian state, Uttar Pradesh, when 800,000 volunteers planted nearly fifty million trees, in just 24 hours...
Different nurseries from around Madhya Pradesh, supplied 24 varieties of plants for the new record.
"I am greatly indebted to all who are planting trees today," State Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who took part in the planting, said. "We will be contributing significantly in saving nature. By participating in a plantation, people are contributing their bit to climate change initiatives and saving the environment," India.com reported.
"I am overwhelmed to witness the enthusiasm of volunteers planting trees at Amarkantak," he later wrote on Twitter.
Chouhad also posted to the social media platform saying, "By planting trees we are not only serving Madhya Pradesh, but the world at large," Indian Express reports.
The massive planting effort is part of a $6.2-billion government initiative aimed at making India more green, as New Delhi made a pledge at the Paris Climate Change Conference to increase forest coverage by 235 million acres, by 2030.
Similar reforestation efforts are underway in other Indian states --- to help drive public awareness. Maharashtra’s campaign seeks to plant forty million trees this year, while Kerala planted more than 10 million trees, in June alone.
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Monsanto hit: California to add glyphosate to its cancer- causing chemicals list June 27th, 2017
The state of California has moved ahead in its ongoing legal battle with agribusiness giant Monsanto, announcing it is putting glyphosate, a key ingredient of the firm’s popular weed killer Roundup, on a list of cancer- causing chemicals . The notice on the herbicide’s inclusion onto the list of chemicals "known to the state to cause cancer for purposes of Proposition 65 [Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986]" was published by California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) after a failure by Monsanto to block the listing in a trial court.
The inclusion into the list, to be enforced starting from July 7, will mean Monsanto and other companies selling products in which the herbicide is one of the components, will have one year before they are obliged to put a warning label on the packages.
The company argues that the chemical, which has been on the market since 1974, does not provoke cancer and its labelling as a carcinogen would be a blow to its already tainted image.
Commenting on California's regulator decision, Monsanto's vice president of global strategy, Scott Partridge has vowed to “continue to aggressively challenge” what he called an “improper decision” by the OEHHA.
"This is not the final step in the process, and it has no bearing on the merits of the case,” Partridge commented to Reuters.
Meanwhile, Monsanto’s opponents welcomed the decision, saying it makes the state"the national leader in protecting people from cancer-causing pesticides,"Reuters reported, citing a senior scientist at the Centre for Biological Diversity, Nathan Donley.
In adding glyphosate to the carcinogen list, California acts in line with the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The respective IARC report on the issue of glyphosate’s properties, in which it was dubbed “a probable carcinogen” came out in 2015, having sparked fierce debates on whether and to what extent, to restrict the use of Monsanto's product.
Although some European countries opposed the renewal of the license for the weed-killer at the time, it was extended for another 18 months, last July.
Meanwhile, California health authorities are still looking into the effects of glyphosate on human health, studying some 1,300 public comments submitted to OEHHA on the issue.
"We're reviewing those comments," OEHHA spokesman, Sam Delson said, as cited by AP, adding that whether the chemical poses a substantial danger to a person’s health, remains to be seen.
"We can't say for sure," he said.
In recent years, Monsanto and some of its products have become a target of widespread criticism, with thousands of environmental activists around the globe marching against the corporation, every year.
Earlier this month, more than 1 million people signed an online petition demanding the EU ban glyphosate. The EU is currently mulling whether to renew the license for the controversial herbicide produced by Monsanto, and is set to formally decide on the matter, in December.
(Source - RT)
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China Exclusive: Qinghai runs 7 days straight - on renewable energy alone June 19th 2017
Xinhua - Northwest China's Qinghai Province has started a seven-day program to run solely on renewable energy.
From June 17 to 23, Qinghai will use renewable energy alone, supplied by wind, solar & hydro power stations, according to Han Ti, vice manager of the provincial grid company. The province is home to 5.8 million people.
Han said the grid would not completely shut down coal-fired power plants in the province, because it would be too costly to do so. Rather, coal-fired electricity would be transmitted to neighbouring provinces.
During the seven-day period, electricity consumption in the plateau province, bordering the Tibet Autonomous Region, will be fully covered by clean energy, he said.
Located at the source of China's major rivers, Qinghai has strong hydro-power and solar supplies.
By May this year, the Qinghai power grid had a total installed capacity of 23.45 million kilowatts, about 82.8% supplied by hydro, solar and wind power.
"This is the first time in China that a province runs solely on renewable energy for a long period of time. We believe it will raise awareness on cutting emissions, and promote the development of clean energy nationwide," Han said.
According to the provincial 13th Five-Year Plan, Qinghai plans to expand its solar and wind capacity to 35 million kilowatts by 2020.
By then, Qinghai will be able to supply 110 billion kilowatt hours of clean electricity every year to central & eastern parts of China.
China's enthusiasm for clean energy is pushing the global transition toward a low-carbon future.
China plans to invest 2.5 trillion yuan (368 billion U.S. dollars) in renewable energy projects during the 2016-2020 period, creating over 13 million jobs in the sector, according to the National Energy Administration.
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UN Calls for Combating Desertification and Drought on World Day June 17th at 11:43am
On World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, the UN urges the international community to prioritize attention to phenomena that have a serious impact on humanity.
In December 1994, the General Assembly chose this date to raise awareness of land damage and to promote the implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, a body that has 195 member countries.
This year's date tackles the link of land degradation to immigration flows, and is held in Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso.
According to the UN, desertification is land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, caused mainly by human activity and climate change.
The UN said that the phenomenon is caused by the vulnerability of ecosystems in dry lands, which cover one-third of the world's surface, and also by overharvesting or the wrong use of lands, while poverty, political instability, deforestation, overgrazing and poor irrigation systems, damage the soil's productivity.
Some 250 million people are directly damaged by desertification, while nearly one billion people, which represents 15 percent of the world's population, live in risk areas, in over 100 countries.
(Source - Prensa Latina)
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Pope Francis: Environment is a Collective Good June 5th at 11:45am
Pope Francisco called today in a message through his Twitter account, to never forget that the environment is a collective good, the patrimony of all humanity and the responsibility of everyone.
The Sovereign Pontiff referred to World Environment Day, which is celebrated today throughout the world, as a way of sensitizing people to the need to live in harmony with nature, to ensure sustainable development and the future of humanity.
'Connecting people to nature'is the motto chosen by the United Nations for this year's day, with a view to a more friendly and constructive relationship between humans and the environment.
The purpose is to encourage us to 'go outside and go into nature to appreciate its beauty and reflect on how we are an integral part and how much we depend on it,' the world body highlights.
Francis is a passionate defender of the environment, one of the most important themes of the preaching of his pontificate to which he dedicated the encyclical 'Laudato si' ('Praise be to you'), a phrase of the 'Canticle of the Creatures' of St. Francis of Assisi, considered as the first ecologist to manifest in history.
(Source - Prensa Latina)
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Indonesian Borneo is finished: Pollution now at epic proportions by Andre Vltchek May 28th, 2017
How destructive can man get, how ruthless, in his quest to secure maximum profit, even as he endangers the very survival of our planet?
The tropical forests of Kalimantan (known as Borneo in Malaysia), the third largest island in the world, have almost totally disappeared. Coalmines are savagely scarring the hills; the rivers are polluted, and countless species are endangered or extinct.
It is all a terrible sight, whether you see it from the air or when driving (or walking) through the devastation that is taking place on the ground. The soil is black; it is often saturated with chemicals. Dead stubs of trees are accusatively pointing towards the sky. Many wonderful creatures, big and small, who used to proudly inhabit this tropical paradise, are now hiding in the depth of what remains of one of the largest tropical jungles on earth.
Engines are constantly roaring everywhere; massive equipment is continually cutting through something pure, or digging and finally transporting what has already been extracted, killed, or taken down mercilessly.
Ms. Mira Lubis, Senior Lecturer at Tanjungpura University, Pontianak in Western Kalimantan, summarizes the situation honestly but brutally:
“I think we, the people of Borneo, have lost our sovereignty over our own space & resources, under the pressure of global capitalism... Apparently, we just became poor --- despite all the wealth that we have.”
One morning I looked from my hotel window in the city of Samarinda (East Kalimantan), spotting an enormous coal barge. It was sitting right in front of me, stubbornly, under the bridge (one of only two bridges connecting two shores of this steamy city of 850,000). The barge was too big to move, as the current appeared to be too strong. One push boat and one tugboat were trying to move it against the torrent, in vain.
I went downstairs and encountered a frustrated Mr. Jailani, a shipping manager employed by a coal company.
“They were supposed to use a pilot boat, but there is none in sight,”he lamented.“This happens so often. Coal barges have already hit this bridge on at least three occasions.”
Coalmines were exactly what I was looking for, but he dismissed my questions with a polite but firm answer:
“You can never make it to the mines. They are off-limits. Guards are everywhere, and you’d have to have special permit to enter the area. And there is not much to see, anyway. Our company was recently awarded a prize for environmental consciousness.”
I went to Sambutan, a mining town a 40-minute drive from Samarinda. At some point, continuous and depressing urban sprawl gave way to a fully devastated landscape. Some images were striking: a man, alone, with a metal bar, singlehandedly crumbling the entire side of a mountain, supposedly in order to sell stone for a local construction site.
Nearby, in a makeshift stall, a couple and a child were selling fruit. I asked them about the mountain and the man: they replied with a certain amount of admiration:
“We are selling coconuts here for almost two years. For as long as we are here, he has been here as well. He is a real daredevil. What he is doing is so dangerous, but he never stumbles, never falls.”
Before Makroman town, we turn left, soon leaving the main road behind. Wherever one looks, the entire landscape is ruined: mountains mutilated beyond recognition, forests gone, and huge tracts of land “cleared.”
Despite what I already witnessed in all corners of Indonesia for years, I’m still not prepared for what soon opens in front of my eyes:- the endless and horrifying sprawl of natural calamity: dozens of sq kilometers of dust, noise and mud.
I try to avoid 100-ton trucks which almost run my car off the path. They're transporting coal. I see filthy processing plants. I see old, rusty equipment scattered all around the area.
Suddenly I realize that I’m “there,” in the middle of the notorious ‘PT CEM’ (Cahaya Energi Mandiri), a giant Indonesian-South Korean coalmining joint venture.
I’m not supposed to be here, and to see all this with my own eyes. But I’m entering the mining area with a car equipped with local license plates. It is right before 1pm – the end of lunch hour. Checkpoints are unattended. I step on the gas, and dash in. Guards will soon return, but it will be too late to stop me. My rented car is already cutting through dirt and dust, progressing towards its goal.
PT CEM has operated in this area since 2008, and it counts on mining concessions covering approximately 1,600 hectares, in the area of Sungai Siring, Samarinda.
In Indonesia, the images of natural disasters like this one are hardly ever publicized. Mining in Papua, Kalimantan, Sumatra, and elsewhere brings in billions of dollars annually, into both government coffers and into the deep pockets of corrupt individuals. This country, with the fourth-largest population on earth, is producing very little, but is extracting in an unbridled manner all that is still available above and below the ground.
National mass media is fully subservient to both local and foreign business interests.
The native population is stuck with low-paying jobs & almost no benefits. The environment is “changing,” pollution is reaching epic proportions, but there is very little awareness, even among the poorest of the poor, of the dreadfulness of the situation.
On the way out from the mining site, three men (sub- contractors of PT CEM) are trying to fix their broken truck. “The pay here is very low. Our basic salary consists of US$115 per month, which is below the official minimum wage. We have no health insurance, and no housing allowances.”
In nearby Makroman, Ms. Suwarti, a housewife married to a farmer, explains:
“We have two lots, each with 200 square metres, producing bananas and other crops --- but the mining company wanted to use it. They offered compensation of only US$110. If we’d refused, the company would still grab and use the land, but would give us no compensation. After all the coal was extracted from our plot, they filled the pit --- but now nothing can grow there, anymore. The land is ruined. We were very angry, but what could small people like us do?”
It is like this all over the area, all over Kalimantan, all over the entire Indonesian archipelago.
Mr. Yhenda Permana, director of LNG-producing company PT Badak NGL, based in Kalimantan, says:
“I’m very sad to see the destruction of Kalimantan. If we look from above, the island is already ‘bald,’ dotted with black toxic lakes. They burn the forest, even with orangutans still living there. Local people do it, but who is behind them? Protected forests are also logged out and burned. Afterwards, in most cases, palm oil is planted.”
One of the national forests I visited, symbolically named ‘ Bukit Soeharto’ (Suharto’s Hill) is almost gone. I ask an old local lady, Ms. Halbi, who is selling basic goods at the side of the road, whether there is any respect for native protected forests on this island:
“We are allowed to grow some plants here. Even I do. Pepper & dragon fruit. It is not our land, but nobody does anything to stop us.”
Stubs & stubs, everywhere, ‘replacing’ magnificent trees, in what used to be often described as “the lungs of planet Earth.”
Ms. Windrati Kaliman, former lecturer at INSTIPER (Plantation Technology Institute) Yogyakarta, has her own theory on this:
“Massive deforestation accelerated after ‘de-centralization.’ Now local governments are free to give permits for logging. Rainforest is being converted into palm oil plantations & mines. In theory, protected forests and parks cannot be used for logging, but in reality they are:- In Kalimantan, but also in Aceh, Riau & many other parts of the country.”
It is not only trees that are disappearing, and not only people who are living in increasing misery.
The legendary Borneo orangutan is almost extinct. And so are bears, countless species of birds, and insects.
In Samboja Orangutan Sanctuary & Rehabilitation Centre, Mr. Andreas (a caretaker), can barely hide his outrage:
“You can't imagine what is being done to these intelligent and fascinating apes. This one – we rescued him from a timber plant. Just for fun, they had him chained under a generator, for years. As a result, he lost his hearing and suffers from brain damage. It is very common in Kalimantan to hunt for female orangutans, shave them and sell them for sex to desperate forestry workers. It is like rape, like a horrible slavery. Remember, these apes have 97% the same DNA as humans, and, like humans, they have 4 types of blood.”
I travelled through several parts of Indonesian Kalimantan, around Samarinda and Balikpapan, as well as Pontianak. I testify that I saw those “black lakes and rivers,” as well as countless open pits, and palm oil plantations, almost everywhere. I flew over hundreds of kilometers of hellish wastelands. I listened to people suffering from cancer, from respiratory diseases, but above all, from hopelessness.
As Mr. Yhenda Permana concluded: “Can you imagine: this once stunningly beautiful island with deep native forests and thousands of living creatures, is now converted & ‘dedicated’ to only 1 crop: palm oil?”
The tragedy is not only devastating Kalimantan, but almost the whole of Indonesia. This is what has been happening to this country with a deep and ancient culture and enormous natural beauty, ever since the 1965 US-sponsored coup, and a re-introduction of this savage capitalism, feudalism, and unrestrained corruption.
(Originally article appeared in RT) ___________________________
Greenpeace: Gulf of Mexico Coasts are Contaminated (source - Prensa Latina)
The coasts off the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea and the Yucatan Peninsula, are contaminated by plaguicides, because of the agricultural model in Mexico, the environmental organization, Greenpeace, declares in an alert.
Aleira Lara, an expert from the agriculture program of Greenpeace, urges the governors of Campeche, Yucatan and Quintana Roo, to let people know of any plans they have, to take care of the natural areas under their protection.
Lara states that the remains of plaguicides and fertilizers are located at 300 and 500 metres off the coasts of the 3 Mexican states, provoking damaging affects to the sea's biomass, cliff areas and fish.
In the Agreement for Sustainability of the Yucatan Peninsula, Greenpeace demands that ecological, sustainable agriculture, should be included.
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Scientists Turn Sewage into Crude Oil
Prensa Latina - US scientists have developed a technique that can turn sewage into biocrude oil.. in a matter of minutes, the Pacific North- west National Laboratory (PNNL) announces.
The technique is called hydrothermal liquefaction, and mimics the geological conditions required to create crude oil. What takes Nature millions of years to do, can now be achieved in a few minutes, PNNL says.
By using hydrothermal liquefaction, human waste can be turned into simpler chemical compounds. The material is pressurized to 1,200 Kg per sq. inch, and then goes into a reactor system, operating at about 350 degrees Celsius.
In a few minutes a material similar to petroleum is created, but with a small amount of water & oxygen mixed in. This biocrude can be refined using normal petroleum refining techniques.
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Cuba Only Country in the World to Achieve Sustainable Development
Cuba has been declared, this week, the only country in the world to achieve sustainable development, according to a report which the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) publishes every two years.
The WWF document, presented in Beijing, China, noted that, if things continue as they are now, humanity will need to use natural resources & energy, equivalent to two Earths --- by 2050.
This is a vicious circle, as poor countries produce much lower per capita damage, to nature, but as they develop (and China and India are following this trend) the rate rises to unsustainable levels for the planet.
And, within this panorama, Cuba stands out for its favorable indicators, and although the text clarifies that this does not mean that the tiny Caribbean nation is perfect; it's the only country that complies with those conditions.
The WWF has played a key role in fostering an international environmental movement, combining growth and development -- and Cuba's currently the most evident example.
On several occasions, the UN Development Program (UNDP) has recognized that Cuba is a benchmark for the continent regarding the integration of policies and actions for sustainable development.
UNDP's deputy resident representative in Cuba, Claudio Tomasi, told Prensa Latina that the country's development scheme combines its economic approach, with a social and environmental component through comprehensive programs, that save effort & funds; with higher results.
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Historic deal reached on a New Marine Sanctuary in Antarctica!
24 countries and the EU, agree to create the world’s largest marine reserve in the Antarctic Ocean by the frozen continent.
A deal to make Ross Sea, in Antarctica, the world’s first large-scale marine park in international waters, was reached on Friday, Oct. 28th, in Hobart, Australia.
The agreement comes after years of diplomatic wrangling and high-level talks between the US and Russia --- which have rejected the idea in the past.
The new marine reserve is located south of New Zealand, in a vast pristine area, which is cold & largely untouched by humans. The reserve will cover 1.55 million square kilometers.
Some 1.12 million square kilometers of the reserve will be a no-fishing zone. The Ross Sea one of the world's most ecologically important oceans.
Decisions on Antarctica need unanimous support among a 25-member commission, involving the US, Russia, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and the EU, a hurdle which had left past efforts unsuccessful.
This week, in a rare show of unity, the 24 countries and the European Union, agreed on the deal !
“To get them all to align - especially in the context of divergent economic interests - is quite a challenge,” said Evan Bloom, a director at the US State Department and leader of the US delegation at the event.
“This decision is very important not just for the Antarctic --- but for efforts to promote world marine conservation,” Bloom said.
In a statement, US Secretary of State John Kerry said it “will safeguard one of the last unspoiled ocean wilderness areas on the planet -- home to unparalleled marine biodiversity & thriving communities of penguins, seals, whales, seabirds, and fish.”
Scientists & activists have described the agreement, as a historic milestone in the global efforts to protect marine diversity. The sanctuary will cover more than 12% of the Southern Ocean.
The Southern Ocean around Antarctica is one of the most diverse, fragile, & poorly studied ocean ecosystems on Earth.
The Antarctic Ross Sea is home to over 10,000 species -- including most of earth’s penguins, whales, seabirds, giant squid, and Antarctic tooth fish -- and is one of the world’s most ecologically-important marine areas, and the healthiest remaining marine ecosystem on the planet.
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Globally averaged concentration of CO2 reaches alarming level in 2015: WMO
Globally averaged concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2)in the atmosphere reached the symbolic milestone of 400 parts per million for the first time in 2015 and surged again to new records in 2016 on the back of the powerful El Nino event, according to a report released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on October 24th.
WMO released its annual "Greenhouse Gas Bulletin" ahead of the United Nations climate change negotiations in Marrakech, Morocco, to be held from November 7 to 18, providing a scientific base for decision-making.
The report said CO2 levels had previously reached the 400 ppm barrier for certain months of the year & in certain locations but never before on a global average basis, for the entire year. Monitoring systems predict that CO2 concentrations will stay above 400 ppm for the whole of 2016 and not dip below that level for many generations.
The growth spurt in CO2 was fueled by the El Nino event, which started in 2015 & had a strong impact well into 2016. This triggered droughts in tropical regions and reduced the capacity of "sinks" like forests, vegetation & the oceans, to absorb CO2.
These sinks currently absorb about half of CO2 emissions but there is a risk that they may become saturated, which would increase the fraction of emitted carbon dioxide staying in the atmosphere, states the report.
"The year 2015 ushered in a new era of optimism and climate action with the Paris climate change agreement. But it also makes history as marking a new era of climate change reality, with record high greenhouse gas concentrations,"said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas."The El Nino event's disappeared. Climate change has not."
The report highlighted there was a 37% increase in radiative forcing; the warming effect on our climate - because of long-lived greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide (N2O) - from industrial, agricultural and domestic activities, between 1990 and 2015.
In 2015, globally averaged CO2 levels were 144% of pre-industrial levels.
In 2015, global annual average CO2 concentrations, reached 400.0 ppm.
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Experts push for strong measures to save Ozone Layer
They made the call during the opening technical session of the 28th Meeting of Parties to the Montreal Protocol (MOP28), in Rwanda's capital, Kigali.
The Montreal Protocol treaty is a global agreement that protects the ozone layer, by phasing out the production of substances responsible for ozone depletion and climate change.
It was first signed on September 16, 1987, and is widely considered to be one of the most-effective multilateral environment treaties ever negotiated. It's the only treaty in the United Nations system to which every country is a signatory.
The UN Environment Program, says that HFC emissions are growing at about 7% per year. If the current mix of HFCs is unchanged, increasing demand may result in HFC emissions of up to 8.8 gigatons of CO2 equivalent a year, by 2050.
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‘By 2050 half the forms of life we know, will be gone’ – conservation biologist
Humanity should start saving nature and switch to 80% renewables by 2030, otherwise the Earth will keep losing species, and within 33 years around 800,000 forms of life will be gone, conservation biologist Reese Halter, underlines.
Humans have changed the Earth so much that some scientists think we have entered a new geological age.
According to a report in the Science Magazine, the Earth is now in the anthropocene epoch. Millions of years from now our impact on Earth will be found in rocks - just like we see fossils of plants and animals which lived years ago- except this time, scientists of the future, will find radioactive elements from nuclear bombs, and fossilized plastic.
Reese Halter: "First of all, imagine you’re back on the football field. Each year in America - America alone - we throw away the equivalent of one foot- ball field, 100 miles deep. That is the first thing. The second thing is, we’ve entered the age of climate instability. That means, from burning subsidized climate-altering fossil fuels, our food security is in jeopardy.
"The third thing that is striking, is we’re losing species a thousand times faster than in the last 65 million years. At this rate within 33 years, by mid-century, that means 800,000 forms of life, or half of everything we know, will be gone. The only way we can reverse this, is to do things: save nature now, our life support system, and we do this, by switching to 80% renewables, by 2030.
"It is a WWIII mentality. In America we have the technology; we have the blueprint. We lack the political will just right now. But in the next short while we will, because it is a matter of survival."
"As I said, we’re taking 160% more than mother Earth can sustain, with 7.4 billion people. The way to do it --- is to pull it back to 90%. If we were a big bathtub, the ring would read: toxicity, toxicity, toxicity.
"We’ve got to peel that back -- because what we do to the Earth, we do to ourselves."
Taken from RT interview
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ENJOYING THE HEATWAVE?
Global Warning as Rapid Temperature Rise Steers Humanity Toward Catastrophe
Global warming, rising at an unprecedented pace, is threatening the Earth, and humanity’s place upon it with disaster, according to Gavin Schmidt, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
Beginning in October 2015, each month has set a new heat record --- and July has been the warmest month since global temperature observation began in 1880.
The speed of rising temperatures is much higher than in the last millennium, according to data obtained by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), demonstrating that warming rates over the past 100 years are about 10 times faster than the century that preceded it.
"In the last 30 years we've really moved into exceptional territory. It's unprecedented in 1,000 years. There's no period that has the trend seen in the 20th century, in terms of the inclination (of temperatures)," Schmidt told the Guardian.
For the next 100 years the prognosis isn't good... According to NASA, the pace of increasing temperatures will be at least 20 times faster than the historical average.
Last year, the international community agreed to a 1.5 degree Celsius limit at a landmark Paris climate accord. As Schmidt pointed out, keeping temperatures within this limit will require rapid & significant cuts in carbon dioxide emissions, a global economic shift that --- given current attitudes & habits, is arguably an impossible goal. But, according to climate scientists, exceeding the temperature limit set at the Paris talks will bring dire outcomes.
Sea level increases as a result of melting polar ice, drought, and other severe weather conditions, will lead to catastrophe for island nations & developing countries. Finding a way to shift the dependence of the developed world away from fossil fuels is of the utmost importance, according to climate experts.
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New Study Shows Controversial Pesticide Linked to Massive Bee Die-Off
A new study published this week shows that pesticides called neonicotinoids, or neonics, are probably linked to the decline of wild bee populations.
Published in the Nature Communications journal, the study examines the wild bee population relative to the use of the controversial neonicotinoids in the 18-year span of 1994-2011. Researchers discovered that extinction rates for bees, parallel the use of the pesticide on plants -- and this is found throughout the country.
One of the co-authors, Dr. Nick Isaac:
"The negative effects reported previously, do scale up to long-term, large-scale multi-species impacts that are harmful. Neonicotinoids are harmful -- we can be very confident about that -- and our mean correlation is three times more negative for foragers, than for non-foragers."
The 34 species analyzed in the study, saw a 10% population drop across the board, with 5 of the species seeing a decrease of 20% or more, and the most-impacted group seeing a 30% drop. Researchers say this indicates that half of the population decline could be attributed to the use of neonics.
"Historically, if you just have oilseed rape, many bees tend to benefit from that because it is this enormous foraging resource all over the country -side," said Dr. Ben Woodcock, lead author of the study. "But this correlation study suggests that once it’s treated with neonicotinoids up to 85%, then they are starting to be exposed and it's starting to have these detrimental impacts on them."
"Our results suggest that sub-lethal effects of neonicotinoids could scale up to cause losses of bee biodiversity. Restrictions on the use of neonicotinoids may cut population declines."
Friends of the Earth (FOE) environmental group have launched a petition calling on the Ace and True Value hardware companies to stop carrying the pesticides, as consumers grow ever more conscious of their devastating impact.
FOE said, "If these garden retailers don't act fast, they'll lose customers. A new poll shows that 66 percent of Americans prefer to shop at Lowe's and Home Depot, because they've committed to stop selling bee-killing pesticides."
In a separate study, the group found that toxic chemical use is declining in the US, with 23% of plants in the nation testing positive for the chemicals, a decline from 50% two years ago. FOE credits the drop in numbers, to hardware stores stopping selling products that contain harmful pesticides, including neonicotinoids.
"It's nice to see the use of long-term data to look at trends in pesticide impacts over a longer time scale."said Dara Stanley, plant ecology lecturer at the National University of Ireland Galway...
"That is something that has been missing in the debate on bees and pesticides so far, and there have been many calls to look at the effects over time."
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The BIG lie about Jeremy Corbyn is that there was NO economic plan - there was!
Below are just 8 0f the 10 pledges:
ENERGY PLEDGES
1) My over-arching commitment will be for Britain to take the lead in developing the clean Energy Economy of the future.
2) As leader I would establish an Energy Commission to draft a fundamental shift in UK energy thinking.
3) The Commission will be tasked to produce a route-map into tomorrow’s ‘smart energy’ systems that will:
• Deliver more, but consume less
• Use clean energy before dirty
• Put energy saving before more consumption
• Use smart technologies to run localised storage, balancing & distribution mechanisms, • Shift the costs of grid access and grid balancing from clean energy across to dirty
• Be open, democratic, sustainable and accountable (in ways that today’s market is not).
4) The Commission to be charged with bringing new partners into energy policy making. These will include:- local authorities, communities, energy co-operatives, & ‘smart’ technology companies, that are already working on tomorrow’s ‘virtual’ power systems and new energy thinking.
5) As leader I will conduct a root & branch review of energy market subsidies; moving away from the notion of everlasting hand-outs; instead, using public support as ‘transition funding’ that transforms Britain’s energy infrastructure.
6) I will expect the energy industry, not the public, to meet the costs of their own clean-up.
7) I will look to re-define the roles of Ofgem, the National Grid and the Competition and Markets Authority, to promote a genuinely open, competitive and sustainable energy market; one in which there are more players and clean energy choices than we have today.
8) I will examine ways to allow communities to be owners of local energy systems, with the right (as in other parts of Europe) to have first use of energy they generate themselves.
EU approves imports of genetically modified Monsanto soybeans
The European Commission has approved the import & processing of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans, after debates over glyphosate herbicide’s safety, delayed the introduction of the genetically modified soybean variety, for months.
“Today the Commission authorized three GMOs for food/feed uses (soybean MON 87708 x MON 89788, soybean MON 87705 x MON 89788 & soybean FG 72) --- all of which have gone through a comprehensive authorization procedure, including a favorable scientific assessment by EFSA,” the European Commission statement reads.
Following the Commission’s approval Monsanto’s GMO soybeans are now authorized for use in the feed of animals and in human food --- but not for planting in the EU. The authorization is now valid for 10 years but the EU warns that “any products produced from these GMOs will be subject to the EU’s strict labeling and traceability rules.”
Although Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans are tolerant to glyphosate and dicamba herbicides, the use of dicamba herbicide over the Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans remains in a late stage of the Environmental Protection Agency review and is not currently approved by the EPA.
Dicamba was first approved in 1967 & has been linked to high rates of cancer & birth defects in the families of food growers say the government and other scientific studies. Consumer, health, environmental, and farmer advocates, have all fiercely opposed the new Xtend system, over health and environmental concerns.
Europe is the second largest soybean customer as it relies on soybeans to meet demand for meat and dairy products. The entire bloc produces less than 1 million tons of soya a year, yet imports around 35 million tons, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature.
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France has banned plastic bags?
While some countries like France have opted for a ban, others like Ireland and the UK have introduced plastic bag charges in an effort to minimize their use.
It is estimated that 100 billion plastic grocery bags are used across Europe per year, with 8 billion ending up as litter.
Environmental Danger
Depending on the type of plastic, these bags have been estimated to take between 100 & 500 years to decompose in the environment, where they pose a great risk to wildlife.
According to a study published in the peer- reviewed journal, PLUS ONE, in December 2014, there are a minimum of 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic in the world's oceans.
Because plastic takes so long to decompose, much longer than an animal does, one piece can kill several living creatures.
In Sept 2015 Australian scientists estimated that as many as nine in ten seabirds have plastic in their gut, & that increasing rates of ingestion mean that this figure will reach 99 percent of all species by 2050 --- unless there is more effective waste management.
Health Risk: Scientists warn that people are ingesting plastic by eating ocean fish.
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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: India to Build Roads of Plastic
The government of Maharashtra state in India has decided to kill two birds with one stone. Plastic waste now will be used with asphalt to improve roads’ durability and reduce soil pollution at the same time.
Plastic bags & pouches, bin linings, household goods, bottles and bottle caps in Maharashtra, get a second chance to serve a good purpose as the state government plans to use plastic waste along with asphalt, to build roads.
Delhi's Central Road Research Institute studies revealed, that plastic waste added to asphalt makes road building cheaper & better quality.
Added in small doses, 5-10% of the weight of the asphalt (3-6 kg of plastic for every 100 kg of tar), it helps to improve stability, strength, fatigue life and other desirable properties of the road material.
"Such roads will have higher resistance to deformation and water induced damage, increase their durability & strength, and ultimately, dispose of plastic waste in a larger amount to save pollution,"say the recommendations of the institute to the Maharashtra government, adding:-"The use of waste plastic thus contributes to the construction of green roads."
As a survey conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board in 2015 says: the plastic waste generated in 60 of India's cities, is estimated at over 15,300 tons a day and over 6,100 tons remain uncollected, as litter.
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World's biodiversity drops below "safe" levels: study
Xinhua - Changes in land use have caused global biodiversity to fall below what's considered to be "safe" levels & threatens efforts toward long-term sustainable development, a new study reveals.
The study, published in the US journal Science, studied 2.38 million records of 39,100+ species at 18,600 sites ---- to estimate how biodiversity in every square kilometre of land has changed ---- since humans modified the habitat.
For 58.1% of the world's land surface, where 71.4% of the human population live, the level of biodiversity loss is substantial enough to question the ability of these ecosystems to support human societies, it found.
The loss due to changes in land use puts levels of biodiversity, beyond the recently proposed planetary boundaries: an international frame- work that defines a safe operating space for humanity.
"This is the first time we've quantified the effect of habitat loss on biodiversity, globally, in such detail and we've found that across most of the world, biodiversity loss is no longer within the safe limit suggested by ecologists," the lead researcher, Tim Newbold, from University College, London, says, in a statement.
"We know biodiversity loss affects ecosystem functioning, but how it does this, isn't entirely clear. What we do know, is that in many parts of the world, we are approaching a situation where human intervention might be needed to sustain ecosystem functioning," he says.
The study found that grasslands, savannas and shrublands were most affected by bio- diversity loss, followed closely by many of the world's forests and woodlands.
It suggests the ability of biodiversity in these areas to support key ecosystem functions, such as the growth of living organisms and nutrient cycling, has become increasingly uncertain.
The researchers also found that biodiversity hotspots - those that have seen habitat loss in the past, but have a lot of species only found in that area - are now threatened... & show high levels of biodiversity decline.
Some high biodiversity areas, eg Amazonia - that haven't seen land use change - have higher levels of biodiversity ---- and more scope for proactive conservation.
"The greatest changes have happened in the places where most people live, which might affect physical & psychological well-being.
To address this, we would have to preserve the remaining areas of natural vegetation & restore human-used land," adds Dr Newbold.
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Expansion of Transgenic Seeds Stopped in Guatemala
Prensa Latina - Indigenous communities, ancestral authorities and social organizations celebrate today in Guatemala, the suspension by the Constitutional Court (CC) of the agreement giving a green light to the expansion of genetically modified seeds.
This victory, which had much to do with the work of the Winaq deputy, Amilcar Pop, is seen by wide sectors, as an important step in defending the natural resources and autochthonous seeds of the indigenous peoples of this country.
The CC of Guatemala notified, on June 17th, the provisional suspension of Decree 6-2014 Protocol of Nagoya (Japan, 2010), dealing with Access to genetic resources and the equitable distribution of the benefits arising from its use.
This treaty is questioned by civil organizations and the ancestral authorities --- because of the procedure used in its approval, in Guatemala's Congress --- as a matter of national urgency.
Also, the treaty did not gain the two thirds of the vote required by the Political Constitution (1985) and the organic law of the legislative power:- despite which, it was implemented.
The Nagoya Protocol, legitimised after 6 years of negotiations within the context of the 10th Conference of the Parts of the agreement on Biologic Diversity, pretends to promote new biotechnology for food production & genetic modification, as a benefit for natives and creoles.
This ruling -- by Guatemala's CC -- forces the National Council of Protected Areas to now suspend all actions oriented to compliance, on Guatemalan territory.
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One Third of 'Dead Zones' in World’s Oceans Around United States - Kerry
Roughly a third of all 'dead zones' in the world’s oceans, are in or around the US, Secretary of State, John Kerry, reveals.
Sputnik -One third of the 400 "dead zones" in the world’s oceans depleted of oxygen, are in or around the US, Kerry informs a classroom discussion in Silver Spring, Maryland.
"We have 166 dead zones in the United States. The largest dead zone of all is about 5,000 square miles down in the Gulf of Mexico, where the Mississippi River comes out," Kerry said on Wed- nesday in remarks published by the US Department of State.
"There are now over 400 dead zones on a global basis and they’ve gone up every single decade, for the last decades. What does that tell you? It tells you that we’re not solving the problem; it’s getting worse, not better," Kerry explained.
Which sea is the most heavily polluted in Europe? The North sea ---- around the UK.
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Plant-based motor oil introduced in Iran
The fresh brand was reportedly synthesized with the use of environmentally friendly extracts from plants.
The new class of bio-based oil is said to improve engine performance and increase motor age, plus making it run cleaner.
It will, additionally, reduce sedimentation in the motor, which causes gradual engine power loss.
Officials, who attended the unveiling ceremony, hail the company’s latest effort as a step toward to a healthy environment, Iranian reports say.
Studies show bio-based oils cause a reduction of at least 80% in greenhouse gas emissions -- compared to similar petrol-based synthetic oils.
A US report in 2013 said 40%+ of the pollution in US waterways ---- came from used motor oil.
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BRICS bank approves first loans, $811mn investment in renew- able energy projects
The BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) has approved its first package of loans worth some $811 million. The four projects in Brazil, China, South Africa and India, are all in the renewal energy development sphere.
The decision to approve the first loans, which are to be handed out in tranches, was passed by the NDB, at the board of governors on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank spring meetings in Washington DC, RIA reports.
The NDB decided to provide $300 million to Brazil, $81 million to China, $250 million to India & $180 million to South Africa. The bank estimates that renewable energy field projects with a combined capacity of 2.37MW, can help reduce the amount of harmful emissions by 4 million tons annually.
“There are many more new projects in the pipeline including projects from Russia. They're at various stages of consideration or appraisal,” the NDB spokesperson says.
The ministers also discussed creating a credit rating agency of their own, to tackle western dominance in this sphere.
“Deliberations were held on the efficacy of establishing a New Development Bank Institute and BRICS rating agency,” the Indian media releases said:
“It was decided that a technical working group, will examine the issues in detail.”
The New Development Bank created by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, started its operations in July, 2015, with an initial authorized capital of $100 billion.
The goals of the bank --- with its headquarters in Shanghai, is to fund infrastructure projects in the emerging economies, for sustainable development.
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Whey To Go! UK Homes to Be Powered By Cheese
Protein from cheese residue, like the stuff used in energy supplements ---- will be used to power the UK's gas grid and a creamery factory in the north of England. The plant in Cumbria will be the first in Europe to turn cheese waste into bio-methane.
Clearfleau, the firm behind the project, is to use bio-methane gas to power 40% of all homes in the local area; the remaining gas will go back to power the creamery itself.
Lake District Biogas will run the First Milk Aspatria plant for 20 years and will be the first Anaerobic Digestion (AD) dairy plant in Europe to put bio-methane in the gas grid ----- generated by cheese.
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China proposes $50 trillion global renewable energy network
The company running China’s power grid is proposing a $50 trillion global electricity network --- to tackle pollution and climate change. If it goes ahead, the network would use advanced renewable solar & wind technology, and be operating by 2050.
Beijing’s network will be the world’s biggest infrastructure project, if given the green light. The State Grid has signed a memorandum of understanding, already, with Russia's energy grid Rosseti, Korea’s Electric Power and SoftBank Group of Japan.
According to State Grid’s Chair, Liu Zhenya, the planet is facing "three major challenges", which are:- energy scarcity, environmental pollution and climate change.
Liu adds that smart grids, ultra-high voltage (UHV) grids and clean energy are the only way to a green low carbon, economical, efficient and open energy system, with sustainable supplies.
Liu adds that the global network, could boost the share of clean energy to 80% of world consumption --- displacing fossil fuels as the main energy source.
"China is already the biggest country in the world for wind, solar power generation & also UHV grids. And it has scale, so we can learn many things from China's success. Also, by interconnecting, we can help each other on supply and demand,"SoftBank CEO, Masayoshi Son, tells the Global Times.
"It's a brilliant plan. It might encounter difficulties during construction --- but it is possible," Xue Jiancong, spokesperson for China Merchants New Energy Group, a leading renewable energy company, tells NBC News.
The major barriers for the project “are institutional, not technical,” the former US energy official David Sandalow, tells the Wall Street Journal.“It is an open question, whether national governments will be open to such a revolutionary idea,” he adds.
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TEPCO Starts to Freeze Soil at Fukushima Nuclear Plant
Prensa Latina -Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) started work on Thursday to freeze soil around the disaster-crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, in an operation to slow the pace of increase in radioactive water there.
The measure is expected to reduce the amount of groundwater flowing into the facilities every day to about 50 tons, from 100+ tons, currently.
TEPCO required a Nuclear Regulation Authority permit that took two years, since the directors feared environmental damage.
To freeze the soil, special coolant under 30 degrees centigrade, is circulated through pipes driven into the ground around the 4 reactors at the plant -- which was heavily damaged in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
TEPCO experts explain that the Nuclear Regulation Authority has approved the operational start of frozen soil shields -- on condition that the work is done in stages and results will start showing in 45 days.
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We’re #1! Carbon dioxide is at its highest rate -- in 66 million years
After February’s most abnormally warm month on record, a new study in National Geoscience shows humans are releasing carbon dioxide at a rate 10 times faster than at any time in the past 66 million years.
Carbon dioxide is necessary for the Earth, but the study by Richard Zeebe of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Andy Ridgwell of the University of Bristol, and James C. Zachos of the University of California Santa Cruz, explains that “The Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), is known, at present, to have had the highest carbon release rates of the past 66 million years.”
The PETM refers to a period 56 million years ago, when ''something'' caused the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide, to spike at levels higher than today’s.
This caused Earth to warm, its oceans to acidify, & a mass extinction of animal and plant species.
This is important, because the PETM took place over a long period of time.
Zeebe's team gathered their information on the PETM by examining a deep core of ocean sediment from the New Jersey coast... which was used to analyze ratios between isotopes of carbon & oxygen, and could consequently determine how atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have influenced temperatures.
Scott Wing, a paleobiologist and curator at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, told Mashable:
“If the rate of PETM carbon addition was a tenth of our rate, then the future will likely be much more extreme than the PETM, in many ways.”
Mashable reports that the PETM is believed to have lasted more than 4,000 years, with a maximum emission rate of 1.1 billion tons a year. Today, emission rates are estimated to be closer to 10 billion tons per year.
So what does this mean for planet Earth? Well, it’s hard to say, because the PETM occurred very slowly, and there is no analogue to be drawn between today’s high carbon dioxide emission rates, and those of the PETM.
“... Unfortunately, because we’re doing it so fast, our conclusion is that the rate of acidification will be much more severe in the future, and also that the effects on the calcifiers are likely to be more severe than what we see during PETM,” Zeebe told Mashable.
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Tory inaction on emissions ‘insults people dying from air pollution,’ say green lawyers
Green campaigners are suing the government for failing to meet EU air pollution limits in UK cities.
Environmental law group ClientEarth issued a fresh legal challenge on March 18th, after accusing the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), of delaying stricter pollution laws.
The government is legally required to meet EU targets on the toxic gas NO2, which is thought to kill about 25,000 people in the UK each year.
ClientEarth have asked the High Court to now urgently review Defra’s plans to tackle the gas - which is emitted from vehicles, and industry.
A lawyer for the group says the court could force the government to rewrite its policies to counter pollution.
“The plan they came up with [in Dec 2015], was just not good enough. It was a plan for a plan... These are classic delaying tactics. Meanwhile, thousands of people are dying,” ClientEarth lawyer Alan Andrews says.
“Government has been delaying for years. This challenge will force a full legal examination of Defra’s plans.”
ClientEarth’s case concerns 15 cities & regions across the UK, including London, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow.
Scottish and Welsh ministers, the Mayor of London, and the Department for Transport, will also be served with papers.
The group claimed victory last April, when the UK Supreme Court, ruled the government had failed to meet EU pollution limits.
Alan Andrews, a lawyer from ClientEarth, says the government plans, were an insult to those dying from air pollution.
“As the government can’t be trusted to deal with toxic air pollution, we are now asking the court to intervene, and make sure it is taking action,” he says.
“It is a disgrace that we have had to take further legal action, to force the government to protect our health.
“The government’s plans were an insult to those being made sick and dying from air pollution and failed to consider strong measures ----- to get the worst-polluting diesel vehicles out of our towns and city centres."
In January, London exceeded its EU air pollution limits for the entire year in just 8 days, according to London Air Quality Network.
High levels of toxic gas are emitted from diesel exhaust fumes. A new study says that exposure to the fumes, can significantly impact people with asthma.
Researchers at Imperial College, London, have found that both during and after a 2-hour walk along the city’s busy Oxford Street, volunteers experienced increased asthmatic symptoms including reduced lung capacity and inflammation in the lungs.
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‘Climate Emergency’: Scientists Stunned by February Temperature Records
Experts warn that we may be nearing a tipping point that could trigger a massive, apocalyptic temperature increase.
This weekend NASA released data showing that February 2016 was not only the hottest February in recorded history, but soared so far past all previous records, as to cause scientists to describe it as "an ominous milestone in our march towards an ever-warmer planet."
The average global surface temperature for February was 1.35°C warmer than the average for the month, as measured from 1951 to 1980.
The previous record, 1.14°C above the 1951-1980 baseline, was set one month earlier, in Jan. 2016.
According to meteorologists Bob Henson & Dr. Jeff Masters, founder of the popular Weather Underground meteorological website, NASA's report is a "bombshell."
The meteorologists worry that Earth may have passed a critical tipping point, with "February 2016 soaring past all rivals, as the warmest seasonally adjusted month in 100 + years, of global record-keeping."
Stefan Rahmstorf, of Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact Research, Germany, describes the development by using cataclysmic terminology.
"We are in a state of climate emergency now," says Rahmstorf, adding, "the new figures are quite stunning --- and what we are seeing, is completely unprecedented."
Generally, scientists caution against highlighting a one or two month temperature spike, particularly in an El Niño climate cycle, as Earth is experiencing this year. However, the climate data reported, is so extraordinary, many scientists believe it warrants serious alarm.
Temperatures reported in February 2016 exceed even the "super" El Niño of Feb. 1998 -- by 0.47°C.
Climatologists believe this string of monthly temperature records will continue, with record readings in the months and years to come, due to an increased concentration of carbon in the global atmosphere, that, in turn, will drive higher longer-term temperatures.
What many scientists fear, beyond a gradual rise in temperatures, is reaching a tipping point, a full- scale melting of the polar ice caps --- which would release methane, a powerful greenhouse gas with roughly 80 times the impact on world temperature as carbon dioxide.
If the ice caps melt, scientists speculate that it could trigger a rapid, potentially apocalyptic temperature hike.
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Pope Francis Calls to Address One of the Greatest Crises
Prensa Latina - "We can no longer remain silent before one of the greatest environmental crises in world history", pope Francis said on Monday, 15th of February, during a mass held in Chiapas, Mexico, before indigenous communities.
Francis criticized the irresponsible use and abuse of natural resources.
"We grew up thinking we were the world's owners and were authorized to plunder it, he emphasized.
The Pope presided over the mass in the main indigenous languages of Chiapas: Tzeltal, Tzotzil and Chol. The liturgy included readings, prayers and hymns in those languages.
Francis said indigenous communities have much to teach mankind, as they know how to relate harmoniously with nature.
He denounced how, in a systematic and organized way, indigenous peoples have been misunderstood and excluded from society, over the course of history.
"Some have considered your values, culture and traditions to be inferior", he emphasised. "Others, intoxicated by power, money and market trends, have stolen your lands, or have contaminated them."
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‘Cut antibiotics use in livestock to avert superbug catastrophe’ – UK health review
Urgent cuts must be made in the use of antibiotics in livestock farming, as misuse of the drugs, risks sparking a global public health crisis, a UK- government commissioned review says.
World governments need to reach internationally agreed targets, to reduce the use of antibiotics -- if medicine is to retain its effectiveness in killing bacteria.
The review, led by former Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O’Neill, suggests countries follow the lead set by Denmark and the Netherlands.
Denmark uses an average of less than 50mg of antibiotics a year per kilogram of livestock – a figure O’Neill says “may be a good starting point for such a target.”
“Denmark has shown that a very productive farming industry can be sustained alongside relatively low levels of antibiotic use,” the review says.
In many countries the majority of antibiotics are used in livestock, not in humans, the study finds.
In the United States for example, over 70% of medically important antibiotics are used on animals, while humans use 30%.
“This creates a big resistance risk for everyone,” O’Neill says. “It’s time for policy makers to act on this.”
Infectious disease expert and Wellcome Trust director, Jeremy Farrar, says urgent action is needed, to combat a future crisis.
“We can now be certain that the health of live- stock animals, and how we care for them, is inextricably linked to our own health and the effectiveness of medicines we rely on every day,” he says in a statement.
“We need international governments, policy makers and the agricultural industry to coor- dinate their actions, and set tangible targets for the reduction, & better use of, antibiotics in animals.”
The review’s recommendations come amid global alarm over the discovery in China of a gene dubbed MCR-1, that makes bacteria resistant to even the strongest antibiotic.
Professor Timothy Walsh of the University of Cardiff’s Institute of Infection & Immunity told the BBC last month, that the world is on the cusp of the “post-antibiotic era.”
“All the key players are now in place to make the post-antibiotic world a reality,” he said.
“If MCR-1 becomes global, which is a case of when not if, & the gene aligns itself with other antibiotic resistance genes, which is inevitable, then we will have very likely reached the start of the post-antibiotic era.
“At that point if a patient is seriously ill, say with E. coli, then there is virtually nothing you can do,” he adds.
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Putin wants Russia to become world's biggest exporter of Non-GMO food
Russia could become the world's largest supplier of ecologically clean & high-quality organic food, said President Vladimir Putin on thursday. He also called on the country to become completely self-sufficient in food production by 2020.
"We are not only able to feed ourselves, taking into account our lands, water resources. Russia is able to become the largest world supplier of healthy, ecologically clean and high-quality food --- which the Western producers have long lost: especially given the fact that demand for such products in the world market, is steadily growing,"said Putin, addressing the Russian Parliament.
According to the President, Russia is now an exporter, not an importer, of food.
"10 years ago, we imported almost half of our food from abroad and were dependent on imports. Now Russia is among the exporters. Last year, Russian exports of agricultural products totalled almost $20 billion - a quarter more than the revenue from the sale of arms, or one-third of the revenue from gas exports," he said.
Putin said all this makes Russia fully capable of supplying the domestic market with home- grown food by 2020.
In September, the Kremlin decided against producing food products with genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
Russia imposed an embargo on the supply of products from the EU & US, in response to Western sanctions. When Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 bomber, Russia's authorities banned fruit, vegetables, & poultry from Turkey, as from Jan. 1st.
Chernobyl memories fade? Kiev turns blind eye... to disaster-risk in nuclear deal with US
The coup-imposed government in Kiev has resurrected a contract with a US company to supply fuel to Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, despite the fact that using US fuel rods was banned in 2012, because of a dangerous incompatibility.
In April 2014, shortly after the armed coup, Kiev signed a new deal with the US’s leading nuclear fuel producer, Westinghouse Electric Company, instead of the Russian TVEL company that has been supplying fuel rods to Ukraine for years.
Ukraine’s 4 nuclear power plants constitute a huge part of the country's energy system. The country’s 15 nuclear reactors produce at least 50% (over 13 megawatts) of all electric power generation in Ukraine.
All nuclear fuel for Ukrainian reactors (worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year) has been produced in Russia, which also recycles Ukraine’s nuclear waste.
Moreover, Russia’s Rosatom state-owned nuclear monopoly is currently constructing a nuclear fuel fabrication plant in Ukraine, where nuclear fuel rods will be assembled using uranium enriched in Russia.
Ukraine has relied on Russia in all atomic matters – but since the coup the US has muscled in on the relationship.
The Westinghouse Electric Company has been trying to ‘ease’ the former Soviet-bloc country's energy reliance on Russia and enter the market in Eastern Europe for over a decade.
Back in 2012, the then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attempted to convince Czech leaders to pick Westinghouse as a first nuclear fuel supply partner instead of Russia, which would create thousands of new jobs in the US.
Westinghouse has tried supplying nuclear fuel to Energoatom nuclear power generating company, in Ukraine before...
In 2005, six experimental Westinghouse fuel assemblies, adopted for use in USSR- developed reactors, were tried at the South Ukraine plant in one reactor, together with Russian fuel rods.
Though nuclear engineers were skeptical of the pilot probe, the government of ex president Viktor Yushchenko signed a deal in 2008 with Westinghouse on fuel rod supply, despite the fact that American nuclear fuel is significantly more expensive and technologically different.
Russian nuclear fuel rods are hexagonal in section, while US fuel assemblies are square.
Despite experts' fears, 42 fuel assemblies were loaded into three reactors at the South Ukraine nuclear power plant for a standard three-year period of commercial operation.
When, in 2012, the time came to replace the fuel assemblies, Ukrainian nuclear engineers found that Westinghouse assemblies deformed during exploitation and got stuck in the core.
Energoatom accused Westinghouse of producing poorly engineered assemblies, and Westinghouse countered, by accusing the Ukrainian engineers of installing the rods badly.
After this, the use of US nuclear fuel was banned in Ukraine, while the fuel rods were returned to the producer ‘to get fixed’, and Russian experts were summoned to help with the repair of the equipment, produced in the USSR.
Energoatom Company lost approx. $175 million.
Similar problems with Westinghouse fuel assemblies occurred at a number of other USSR-constructed nuclear power plants: NPP Krško in Slovenia, NPP Loviisa in Finland and NPP Temelin in the Czech Republic.
All these countries opted to return to time-proved fuel assemblies produced by Russia’s TVEL Company.
Now Ukraine appears to be ready to fall into the same trap twice.
The coup-imposed Kiev regime has renewed the 2008 nuclear fuel deal till 2020, to replace 25% of the Russian-made fuel rods, with an option to “provide more if needed,” reported AP in April - all for the sole purpose of ‘diversifying’ supply.
What happened back in 2012 at Zaporozhskaya NPP could have ended with another Chernobyl, because having unextractable fuel assemblies loaded means a potential loss of control over the fission processes inside the reactor.
But the new Kiev authorities, supported by Washington, are making every effort to cut Ukraine’s ties with Russia, so moving from Russian nuclear fuel to US assemblies is attractive to A. Yatsenyuk’s coup regime, despite the 2012 incident.
Worse, Westinghouse won’t recycle its fuel rods when they ‘burn out’, so Ukraine will spend even more budget money to prepare special storage facilities for nuclear waste.
Westinghouse has its eyes on a bigger prize...
“This move by Westinghouse is really to secure not just a fuel contract, which will go on for many years, but to put its foot in the door to build a fuel fabrication plant in eastern Ukraine. And that’s what’s most important and that’s what they’re after,” John Large, an independent nuclear analyst from London, tells RT news.
Experts warn that nuclear power plants should not undergo such drastic transitions.
“A nuclear reactor demands a coherent structure of operations. The active reactor core is the most dangerous when it comes to the impact it may have on people and the environment. All reactors differ in smallest details, and toying around with them leads to no good,” Evgeny Akimov of the International Union of Nuclear Energy Veterans warns.
If something goes wrong, Kiev may find they face all the consequences alone.
“As far as I know, Westinghouse signs contracts in which the company bears no responsibility, so the burden will lie with Ukraine,” states Rafael Arutyunyan, nuclear security expert & professor at Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.
Kiev’s actions are being dictated by politics and corruption rather than risks, even when the severe consequences may affect not just Ukraine, but the entire European continent.
When the Chernobyl tragedy occurred in 1986, it was by pure coincidence that Ukraine’s wind direction, usually directed to Europe, changed, sending most radioactive fallout in the direction of Russia and Belarus.
In this over-politicized case, European capitals would do well to understand how the wind blows.
