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Poisoning Earth and our terrible fate, if, if, if





















 

Global sharks and rays populations

--------- have halved since 1970

December 6th, 4:43pm

(Prensa Latina) 

 

The world's shark and ray population have declined 

by more than 50 percent since 1970, a new study 

published in Science journal was revealed 

on Friday.

 

The main factor behind their demise is overfishing, which 

has wiped out populations of chondrichthyans fishes
(cartilaginous fishes) ..such as sharks, rays, and 

chimaeras, over the last 50 years. 

 

In the case of sharks, the threat posed by intentional 

fishing and bycatch is compounded by habitat 

degradation, climate change, and pollution.

 

The result is over one-third of chondrichthyans fishes 

now face the threat of extinction, a statement by 

Australia’s James Cook University noted.

 

The sequential depletion... of the largest and most 

functionally important species -- such as sawfish 

and rhino rays, the latter considered the world’s 

most threatened marine fish - was followed by

 the decline of large manta rays, eagle rays, 

angel sharks, hammerhead sharks, and 

requiem sharks.


 


_________________________________________



 

Caring for soils is a priority

------------ for global survival

December 5th, 11:13am

(Prensa Latina) 

 

As World Soil Day is celebrated this Thursday, experts are urging 

people to step up its care, from which over 95% of our food 

comes, and the 15 naturally occurring chemical elements 

that are essential for plants.

 

This year’s theme, “Caring for Soils: Measure, Monitor, Manage,” 

underscores the importance -- of having accurate data and 

information about this natural element to understand its 

properties and make informed decisions about its 

sustainable management, to ensure global 

food availability.

 

Despite climate change and human activities, soils are being 

degraded; erosion and poor management are altering the

natural balance of the land, wasting water resources, 

and reducing the levels of vitamins and nutrients

in the food we produce (and eat).

 

Sustainable soil management practices, such as minimum tillage, 

crop rotation, organic matter additions, and cover crops, improve 

soil's health, reduce erosion and pollution, and increase water 

infiltration and retention.

 

These practices also conserve soil biodiversity, improve fertility, 

and contribute to soil-based carbon sequestration, playing a 

critical role in fighting climate change.

 

A report released by the United Nations Convention, to Combat 

Desertification and presented at the Conference of the Parties

(COP16) in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday stated that at least 

2.6 trillion dollars in investment are required by 2030 - 

to restore the over one billion hectares of degraded

land and to enhance global resilience to drought.

 

 

 

_______________________________




 


Philippines hosts 4th FRLD board 


meeting ---- on climate resilience


December 2nd, 4:04pm


  (Prensa Latina) 


 


The Philippines is hosting the 4th meeting of the Board of the Fund


 for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), starting on Monday 


and marking a milestone in the country's commitment to


 climate resilience.


 


Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 


Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga made the remarks 


---- after welcoming the delegates at the Philippine 


International Convention Centre in Pasay City.


 


It is a moment of pride for the Philippines to host this 4th 


meeting of the Board, and the first in our country since


 we were selected to host the Board.


 


The meeting is particularly significant as it comes at an


 important stage in the Fund’s establishment and 


implementation, Loyzaga noted, in her 


opening remarks.


 


The secretary highlighted that the meeting underscored the


 Philippines’ commitment to supporting global climate 


resilience and addressing the urgent needs 


of climate-vulnerable nations --- while 


strengthening its leadership... in the 


global fight against climate change.


 






______________________________




Indonesia - plans to implement 
oil palm to produce biodiesel


December 2nd, 2:19pm


(Prensa Latina) 


 


Indonesia is set to implement the B40 biodiesel program, 


based on the most abundant of its crops, the oil palm, 


starting on January 1, 2025.


 


At the 12th Ministerial Meeting of the Council of Palm Oil Producing 


Countries (CPOPC), Airlangga Hartarto, Coordinating Minister for 


Economic Affairs in this nation, highlighted at a press briefing 


the usefulness of the initiative.


 


The program aims to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) 


emissions by up to 40 million tons annually.


 


Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of palm oil, an essential


 ingredient in the manufacture of a wide array of goods, including 


food, and the most widely used vegetable oil, globally.





__________________________________________




Ghanaian capital.. at risk of


 being submerged in water?


Accra, November 27th, 10:59am 


(Prensa Latina) 


 


In a health cure, specialized sources warned today 


that this city - the capital of Ghana - could be 


submerged by the waters - and recommend 


to prioritize the defenses against floods.


 


The fears of environmental groups are by no means 


idle, viewing the hundreds of deaths and damage 


caused by floods in several African countries 


due to an unusually wet season --- after a 


prolonged drought --- unprecedented 


in years.


 


The ''likely'' crisis would be compounded by the 


overcrowding of the metropolitan area where 


some three million people reside, thousands 


of whom migrated to higher ground after 


witnessing the increasing frequency 


and intensity of storms.


 


However, the usual migration... from rural areas to the 


capital --- a repeatedly phenomenon in developing 


countries, increases the risks as these persons 


build illegal settlements in low-lying areas
and 
near rivers.


 


In addition, there is a history of flooding during the


 rainy season... which, without being lethal, is a


 warning of what could be coming - in the form


 of floods that trigger outbreaks of infectious 


stomach and respiratory diseases.. and an 


invasion of rats, the usual companions of 


these catastrophes.


 


 


_________________________________________



COP29: Venezuelan Government 

Strengthens Strategies for the 

Generation of Clean Energy 

in the Country

November 21st, 7pm

(teleSUR)

 

During the 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN 

Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) 

held in Azerbaijan, the Minister of People’s Power 

for Ecosocialism, José Lorca ------ met with Ajay 

Mathur, Director-General of the International 

Solar Alliance (ISA).

 

At the meeting, both discussed the importance

 of Venezuela’s --- active participation in this
organization, 
dedicated to promoting
the use of 
renewable energies. 

 

Minister Lorca highlighted, that Venezuela is positioned 

as one of the countries most committed to training and 

technological development in the field of solar energy.

 

“We are implementing photovoltaic projects --- that 

not only improve our electricity service - but also 

demonstrate the commitment of the government 

of President Nicolás Maduro - and the Sectoral 

Vice President of Public Works and Services, 

General in Chief Jorge Márquez, to the UN 

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” 

he said.

 

Lorca also emphasized --- that Venezuela’s geographic 

location makes it an ideal site for photovoltaic power 

generation. “It is essential ---- to diversify our energy 

sources in order to face the climate crisis and move 

towards a more sustainable future,” he said.

 

Currently... it is estimated that 80% of the electricity 

generation in Venezuela comes from hydroelectric 

sources. However, photovoltaic projects are 

being developed --- with the objective of 

reaching 30% of national generation -- 

as indicated by Tania Masea, Deputy 

Minister for New Sources and 

Rational Use of Energy.

 

 

____________________________________



COP29: Delegates --- renegotiate new 

compensation for developing nations

November 19th, 2:24pm

  (africanews)

 

Money is the key issue at the United Nations climate 

talks in Baku, Azerbaijan, where negotiators are

 working on a new amount for developing 

nations to transition to clean energy, 

adapt to climate change and deal 

with weather disasters.

 

Experts put the need close to $1 trillion, while 

developing nations have said they'll need 

$1.3 trillion in climate finance.

 

But negotiators are talking about different types of

 money -- as well as amounts, involving a complex 

package of grants, loans and private investment.

 

Whatever the form of the finance, Ireland’s 

environment minister Eamon Ryan said it 

would be “unforgivable” for developed 

countries ----- to walk away from 

negotiations, without making 

a firm commitment toward 

developing ones.

 

“We have to make an agreement here,” he said. "We 

do have to provide the finance, particularly for the 

developing countries, and to give confidence that 

they will not be excluded, that they will be 

centre stage.”

 

Kenya’s special envoy for climate Ali Mohamed said 

that most developing nations are in agreement that 

funds for climate finance need to be at $1.3 trillion. 

That’s a similar figure to one proposed by 

independent U.N. experts last week.

 

“We hope -- that our partners from the developed world 

will come up and join us in addressing this challenge 

honestly ---- and with commitment,” Mohamed said.

 

Mohamed said “it is not encouraging that we continue 

haggling”  - while people continue to die and become 

displaced --- due to climate crises around the world.

 




_________________________________________________





COP29: Oil and Gas Company 


Delegates... Outnumber 


Social Activists


November 15th, 12:10pm


(teleSUR)


 


While 1,773 lobbyists represent corporations, only


 1,033 people speak on behalf of the 10 most 


climate-vulnerable nations.


 


On Friday, the environmental group “Kick Big Polluters 


Out” denounced that the COP29 conference in Baku 


hosts 1,773 representatives ---- from the fossil 


fuel companies. This number ------- exceeds 


the delegations of the most vulnerable 


countries, and the staff of nearly all


the states present at the UN 


climate conference.


 


“The 1,773 lobbyists registered in Baku are surpassed


 only by the delegations of Azerbaijan (2,229), Brazil 


(1,914), & Turkey (1,862),” said Kick Big Polluters 


Out, noting that the same situation occurred 


during COP28 in Dubai in 2023.


 


Representatives from fossil fuel companies outnumber 


all the delegates from the 10 most climate-vulnerable 


nations combined (1,033), highlighting how industry 


presence - overshadows those on the frontlines of 


the climate crisis, added the environmental 


platform.


 


At COP28 in Dubai - for the first time - attendees were 


required to disclose whom they represent, “exposing 


many lobbyists who likely attended covertly in 


previous years.”


 


Most of the accredited fossil delegates come from 


wealthy countries, representing companies such 


as like the French oil giant TotalEnergies, the 


Italian gas company Eni, or the Japanese 


coal company Sumitomo. Major fossil 


energy corporations - such as 


Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP, 


and Shell.... are also 


represented.


 


“The control of fossil fuel lobbyists over climate 


negotiations is like a venomous snake coiling 


around the future of our planet. We must 


expose their deception, remove them 


from these discussions, and hold 


them accountable ---- for their 


violations - against Earth,” 


said Nnimmo Bassey ------


the head of the Health of


Mother Earth Foundation.


 


On Friday, a group of scientists and experts, including 


former UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon, former UN climate


chief Christiana Figueres, and renowned scientist


Johan Rockström ----- called for a fundamental 


reform of UN conferences in an open letter. 


 


Among other recommendations, they demanded that 


climate summits ensure “equitable representation” 


and criticized that, during the last edition, COP28 


in Dubai - also held in a gas-rich country, like the 


United Arab Emirates - 2,456 fossil fuel lobbyists 


were accredited.


 


 


 


____________________________________________




COP29: GSLTF Proposes Climate Taxes 
on Cryptocurrencies, Plastics, and 


the Ultra-Rich


November 14th, 12:24pm


(teleSUR)


 


The solidarity levies would also affect aviation, 


fossil fuels, and financial transactions.


 


On Thursday, the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force 


(GSLTF) published its progress report at COP29, 


presenting proposals for new taxes on 


cryptocurrencies, plastics, and the 


ultra-wealthy -- to help close the 


global climate financing gap. 


 


These new “solidarity levies” ..would be used to 


financeclimate action and development efforts 


and would also affect aviation, fossil fuels,


and financial transactions.


 


For cryptocurrencies, “considering the high energy 


demand of mining” necessary to obtain them, this 


coalition of countries and organizations proposes


 a tax of US$0.045 per kilowatt-hour, which could 


generate US$5.2 billion while also 


reducing emissions.


 


The levy on the plastics sector would apply to the 


primary production of polymers at a rate ranging 


between US$60 and US$90 per ton, which would 


allow for the collection of between US$25 billion 


and US$35 billion annually and simultaneously 


support actions against pollution from 


this material.


 


Regarding individuals with very high net worth, the 


report proposes a coordinated minimum tax of 2% 


that would impact billionaires -- which was 


recently discussed at the G20 and would 


generate between US$200 billion and 


US$250 billion -- promoting a fairer 


global tax landscape.


 


The GSLTF also includes other “more specific” options


 in its document to tax industries considered “highly 


polluting” like aviation, ---- for which - it suggests a 


kerosene fuel tax, including a coordinated levy on 


private jet fuel, luxury tickets, and frequent fliers, 


which would provide between US$19 billion and 


US$164 billion annually “depending on design


 and scope.”


 


It also proposes tougher measures on the fossil fuel 


sector with “a combination of levies” that would 


include new taxes on extraction and on windfall 


profits, as well as an increase in the minimum 


corporate tax rate for multinationals or a 


mixed instrument that would vary 


by country.


 


As for financial transactions ------- options under 


consideration include “revitalizing EU efforts”


 to design a global tax ------ by mobilizing a 


coalition of countries willing to adopt 


measures - on stocks, bonds, and 


derivatives, while also working 


toward global harmonization 


of transaction taxes.


 


 This action would include a tax of 0.1 percent on 


equity and bond instruments and another of 0.01 


percent on derivatives.


 


Officially led by Kenya, Barbados, and France, the 


GSLTF currently includes 17 countries and 


associated observer organizations, among 


which are Spain, Denmark, the European 


Commission, the African Union, 


and Senegal. 


 


All members are committed to finding solutions 


to generate substantial, fair, and predictable 


funding to address urgent global needs.


 


 


 


_____________________________________________


 


 


 


Cuba urges to guarantee funds 


to fight climate change


November 14th, 11:40am


(Prensa Latina) 


 


Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez on Thursday 


urged world leaders at the COP29 Climate Action 


Summit to focus on financing to guarantee 


actions to fight climate change.


 


On X, the head of Cuban diplomacy expressed that it is 


time to prioritize the means that will implement what 


has been agreed for a reinforced climate action.


 


Officials and experts from the Cuban Science, 


Technology, and Environment Ministry 


(CITMA) and the Foreign Ministry 


(MINREX) are attending 


the meeting.


 


On the first day, United Nations Secretary-General 


Antonio Guterres urged to tear down the walls of 


climate finance after acknowledging that no 


country is immune to such human-made 


challenges.


 


Guterres warned that the world is in a final countdown 


to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, 


and insisted on changing the current order in which 


“the rich cause the problem, the poor pay the 


highest price.”


 


COP29 brings together hundreds of representatives 


worldwide in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, from 


November 11 to 22, to prepare a new financial 


plan to develop clean energy and overcome


 the effects of extreme weather.


 


 


 


_______________________________________








Pope Francis - tells COP29

to fight to save the planet

November 13th, 10:44am 

(Prensa Latina) 

 

Pope Francis sent a message to the Conference of 

States Parties to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (COP29), where 

he called for greater common efforts to save

 the planet.

 

In the document published by the Holy See press office 

and read on Wednesday by the Vatican Secretary of 

State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin at the event, which 

takes place from November 11 to 22 in Baku, 

the capital of Azerbaijan, the Supreme 

Pontiff ---- deplores the selfishness 

that weighs down this effort.

 

That selfish attitude of “individual, national and power 

groups --- feeds a climate of distrust and division that 

does not respond to the needs of an interdependent 

world in which we should act and live - as members 

of a family that inhabits the same interconnected 

global village,” Francis said.

 

The Pope emphasized that this COP29 takes place “in 

a context conditioned by a growing disillusionment 

with multilateral institutions, and dangerous 

tendencies.... to build walls, while the 

preservation of creation is one of 

the most urgent issues - of our 

time, closely related to the 

preservation of peace”.

 

The Bishop of Rome stressed that ---------- “society is
increasingly globalizing and makes us neighbours, 

but it doesn't make us brothers”, while economic 

development does not reduce inequality and, on 

the contrary, favours the prioritization of profit 

and special interests “to the detriment of the 

protection of the weakest”.

 

This negative tendency contributes ---- in an important 

way “to the progressive worsening of environmental 

problems”, the Pontiff emphasized, adding that “it 

is essential to seek a new international financial 

architecture centred on the human being, bold, 

creative -------- and based on the principles
of
 
equity, justice and solidarity”.

 

 

 

____________________________




High Levels of CO2 To Lead to 


Years of Rising Temperatures


October 28th, 10:52am


(teleSUR)


 


On Monday ---- the World Meteorological Organization 


(WMO) reported that greenhouse gas concentrations 


broke all previous records again in 2023. The main


constituent of these gases, carbon dioxide (CO2), 


increased by 11.4% over the past two decades.


 


According to the annual report on greenhouse gas 


concentrations, published by the UN agency two 


weeks before the Climate Summit in Baku, CO2 


levels reached 420 parts per million last year,


 a 151 percent increase over pre-industrial 


levels (before 1750).


 


Concentrations of methane... were measured at 1,934 


parts per billion, and nitrous oxide at 336.9 parts per 


billion, the other two gases responsible for global 


warming, with levels up by 265 percent and 125


 percent from pre-industrial levels, respectively.


 


“Another year --- another record. This should sound all 


the alarms for decision-makers; there is no doubt that 


we are very far from meeting the Paris Agreement 


goal of keeping global warming well below


 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels,” 


emphasized the WMO Secretary 


Celeste Saulo.


 


Carbon dioxide (CO2), estimated to contribute about 64 


percent to global warming and primarily derived from 


fossil fuel burning and cement production, rose by 


2.3 parts per million in 2023 compared to 2022 - a 


figure higher than the previous year though lower


 than the three years before that.


 


Seventh Year with Highest Emissions 


from Wildfires Since 2003


 


This increase..... was partly influenced by the transition


 from the La Niña to the El Niño phenomenon (the latter 


associated with rising Pacific Ocean temperatures) ---


and a disastrous wildfire season, with CO2 emissions 


16% higher than the average of previous years, 


including large forest fires in countries 


like Canada and Australia.


 


Methane and nitrous oxide, produced by natural causes 


and human activities.... such as agriculture, livestock 


farming, and biomass burning, experienced smaller 


concentration increases than in 2022.


 


The last time Earth experienced a concentration of 


carbon dioxide comparable to today’s was three to


 five million years ago, when the temperature was


 2 to 3 degrees warmer, and sea levels were 10 


to 20 centimetres higher than they are today.


 


The UN’s meteorological agency warns that ------ even if 


emissions were quickly reduced to net zero (i.e., offset 


by absorption phenomena like those provided by 


forests), it would take decades to lower current 


temperature levels due to the long-lasting 


presence of CO2 in the atmosphere.


 


A Phenomenon That Could Accelerate


 


The WMO also warns ---- of the risk that the rise 


in the concentrations of gases causing global 


warming, could become increasingly intense.


 


“Wildfires could release more carbon emissions into 


the atmosphere, while rising ocean temperatures 


could reduce their CO2 absorption capacity, 


leading to more CO2 accumulation in the 


atmosphere and accelerating global 


warming,” noted the WMO Deputy 


Secretary, Ko Barrett.


 


Slightly less than half of carbon dioxide emissions 


remain in the atmosphere, about a quarter is 


absorbed by the oceans, and around 30%


 by land ecosystems.... although - these 


percentages vary due to phenomena 


like La Niña or El Niño.


 


 


___________________________________





U.S. Approves Lithium Mining 

Despite Opposition From 

Indigenous Peoples

October 25th, 10:15 am

 

They warned of the potentially devastating impact 

on Silver Peak Range’s fragile ecosystems and 

sacred sites.

 

On Thursday, the U.S. government approved a lithium 

mine project in Nevada aimed at increasing the 

domestic supply of the essential mineral 

needed for the US’s energy transition, 

despite years of fierce opposition 

from environmental groups, 

Native American tribes, 

& local communities.

 

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management --- granted final 

approval to Ioneer Ltd’s Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron 

project -- located about 355 km southeast of Reno 

city. The project’s lithium deposit is projected 

to be sufficient to power approximately 

370,000 electric vehicles annually for 

over two decades. Construction is 

set to begin in 2025 ------ with 

production expected to

 start in 2028.

 

The approval ...concluded a six-year review process, 

during which opponents warned of the potentially 

devastating impact on the region’s fragile 

ecosystem and sacred sites in the 

Silver Peak Range, which are 

integral ---- to the cultural 

heritage of the Western

 Shoshone people.

 

Environmental groups also highlighted the project’s 

existential threat to Tiehm’s buckwheat, a rare 

wildflower found nowhere else on Earth.

 

 In June, over 100 scientists submitted a letter to the

 Bureau of Land Management, expressing concern 

that the mine would put Tiehm’s buckwheat 

“on a path to extinction.”

 

“By greenlighting this mine, the Bureau of Land 

Management is abandoning its duty to protect 

endangered species, like Tiehm’s buckwheat, 

and ---- making a mockery of the Endangered 

Species Act. We need lithium for the energy 

transition --- but it can’t come with a price 

tag of extinction,” said Patrick Donnelly, 

Great Basin director at the charitable 

organization, the Centre for 

Biological Diversity.

 

Water consumption emerged as another significant

 environmental concern. According to the online 

news website Nevada Current, traditional 

ithium mining operations can consume 

up to 2 million litres of water, per 

metric ton of lithium produced -

jeopardizing already strained 

desert aquifers.

 

Indigenous peoples, including the Fort McDermitt 

Paiute and Shoshone Tribe --- have expressed 

serious worries about the project’s impact 

on their water supplies and sacred 

cultural sites.

 

Beyond water usage, the Institute for Energy Research

 noted that lithium mining operations can lead to 

significant soil and water contamination, air

 pollution from dust... and potential ground-

water contamination from the extraction 

chemicals. The mining also generates 

extensive waste tailings, containing 

toxic substances and heavy metals.

 

Lithium, a key component of lithium-ion batteries, 

is considered essential for electric vehicles and 

renewable energy storage systems, both 

crucial for transitioning to a clean 

energy economy.

 

The Rhyolite Ridge lithium project --- marks the first 

domestic source of lithium permitted by President 

Biden’s administration --- which has implemented 

measures to support domestic critical minerals’ 

production, including a US$700 million loan 

from the Department of Energy --- to 

Ioneer Rhyolite Ridge LLC.

 

The Silver Peak lithium mine, in Clayton Valley, Nevada, 

is the only producing lithium mine in the United States
- although over 100 other sites are under exploration. 

 

The brine evaporation mine has faced scrutiny - for

 depleting groundwater aquifers in an increasingly 

arid region.

 

A map from the Centre for Biological Diversity identifies 

over 125 lithium extraction projects in the western US 

-- seven of which are inactive and the majority -- at

various stages, from exploration to development. 

Most proposed mines... are in Nevada, which is 

considered a future “Silicon Valley of lithium.”

 

“Concerned about the risks ------ local residents and 

environmentalists have resisted new mines with 

tactics from protests to litigation...... but a 

government-supported lithium boom 

appears to be underway -

 regardless,” reported 

Energy News Net-

work in July.

 

Historically, the high costs of environmental
compliance and labour in the US, have 

limited domestic lithium production, 

with companies often finding it 

cheaper to import it from 

other countries.

 

A recent report by Solar Reviews ---- indicated that 

production costs in the US, can range from $4,000 

to US$12,000 per metric ton of lithium carbonate, 

significantly higher than in major exporting 

countries like Chile and Argentina.

 

“U.S. environmental regulations make it much more 

expensive to extract lithium here. This is why 

companies have traditionally chosen to 

mine lithium in countries with fewer 

environmental protection, ------

effectively exporting our 

environmental impact, 

overseas,” according 

to the Institute for 

Energy Research.

 

“Because lithium deposits come embedded in other 

metals and minerals -- extracting lithium can be 

incredibly difficult. More refineries, the plants 

where raw lithium.... is processed into a 

concentrated form of the metal that 

goes into batteries, need to be
built
 in North America. 

 

Lithium processing also requires expertise, that is in 

short supply in the United States ....and among our 

allies,” it added ------ noting that “environmentalist 

opponents, have driven mines from our shores.” 

 

 

 

__________________________________________




Delegates meet in Colombia ---- to 

address global biodiversity crisis

October 21st, 3:39pm

(africanews)

 

The United Nations Environment Programme, reports

 that the planet is facing its most significant loss of 

life since the time of the dinosaurs, with 

approximately 1 million species of 

plants and animals currently 

at risk of extinction.

 

Global environmental leaders, convene on Monday, in 

Cali, Colombia, to evaluate the declining biodiversity

 worldwide ------ and the pledges made by nations to

 safeguard plants, animals, and essential habitats.

 

Eva Zabey, executive director of the coalition Business

 for Nature, calls for a Shift from establishing targets 

to implementing tangible actions in the field. "The 

biodiversity conference, the COP16, comes at an 

absolutely critical moment for us to move from 

targets setting to real actions on the ground."

 

The agreement outlines 23 actions aimed at stopping 

and reversing the decline of nature, which includes

 protecting 30% of the Earth's surface and 30% 

of damaged ecosystems, by the year 2030.

 

According to Linda Krueger, director of biodiversity at 

The Nature Conservancy --- all evidence indicates a 

significant decrease in both the abundance and

 distribution of species.

 

"All the evidence shows that there's dramatic decline 

in species abundance and distribution. That means 

wild species have less room to live, and and they

are declining in numbers. And we also see 

rising extinction rates," she said.

 

During her opening remarks on Sunday, Susana 

Muhamad, Colombia’s environment minister 

and COP16 president, stated that the 

conference presents a chance to 

gather insights - from various 

civilizations, cultures, and 

knowledge.... throughout 

history.

 

She emphasized the goal of creating sustainable and 

stable conditions for a new society that will emerge 

in response to the ongoing crisis.

 

The two-week United Nations Biodiversity Conference, 

known as COP16, builds on the 2022 meetings 

in Montreal ..where 196 nations agreed to a 

landmark treaty aimed at safeguarding

biodiversity.

 

 

Additional sources • Other agencies

 

 

 

______________________________________




Nobel Prize laureate challenges 

effectiveness of Paris climate 

agreement

October 12th, 3pm

TASS) 

 

The Paris climate agreement is unlikely to lead to any 

tangible results, and humanity will have to look for
another solution for the climate problem, says 

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Rae Kwon Chung.

 

The scientist, who spoke at the ‘Nauka 0+’ festival, leads the 

Global Energy Award International committee, and acts as 

an advisor to the Chairman of the UN High-level Experts 

and Leaders Panel on Water and Disasters (HELP), and

 a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate 

Change (IPCC), awarded with a Nobel Peace Prize

in 2007.

 

"I have doubt, that the Paris climate agreement will lead to 

any tangible results," he said, speaking at the ‘Nauka 0+’ 

scientific festival in Moscow. "This agreement was 

signed on a voluntary basis. Years later... we see

that these were mere words, with little results,"

 the Nobel Prize laureate said.

 

"The climate continues to change and I think that 

we will require a different solution," he added.

 

The expert called not to accuse governments and 

companies of exerting insufficient efforts on

 reduction of CO2 emissions.

 

"Unless... you make a personal contribution to reducing 

emissions, then there will be no market for carbon-free 

products. This contribution may seem like a sacrifice, 

but this it is not. It is an investment in a carbon-free 

market, which will ensure the future for the people, 

jobs included.  ‘Begin with yourself’ is a kind of 

social campaign that would allow us to work

 together," he believes.

 

 

 

____________________________________






For the first time, a Latin 

American ------ wins the
Global 
Energy Award

July 3rd, 12:48pm

 (Prensa Latina) 

 

For the first time, a Latin American won the international 

Global Energy Award, the president of the World Energy

 Association, Sergey Briliov, announced today.

 

''It is a victory - that we have a Latin American and 

Caribbean winner, since the award was created 

in 2003 they had not been presented, I hope to

 increase the presence of contestants from 

that region. They are welcome,'' 

said Briliov.

 

The prize fund is worth 39 million 

rubles (almost 450,000 dollars).

 

According to the results ---- the laureates are professors 

from the British University of Sheffield, China’s Zi-Qiang 

Zhu, Puerto Rican chemistry professor from Cornell 

University in the United States, Hector Abruña, 

and from Tsinghua University in China, 

Mingao Ouyang.

 

''I am grateful to receive this award, which means a lot

to my work team. It is necessary to solve the current 

challenges,'' Abruña said.

 

Hector Abruña was presented with the prize in the 

category of Non-Conventional Energy ----- for his 

contributions in the fields of electrochemistry, 

batteries, fuel cells and molecular electronics.

 

For his part, the governor of Volgograd, Andrei Bocharov, 

pointed out that the city is now a centre of development 

and commented on regional efforts to solve problems.

 

The award winners were selected by an international 

committee, which includes scientists from

 13 countries, including Bolivia.

 

The award ceremony will traditionally take place within 

the framework of the international forum ‘Russian 

Energy Week’, which will be held in Moscow 

on September 26-28, 2024.

 

 

 

_______________________________






Cuba calls to address 

desertification and 

drought

June 17th, 11:11am

 (Prensa Latina) 

 

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez urged to face 

desertification and drought - because of their close 

relationship with the preservation of biodiversity

 and ecosystems.

 

On the occasion of Monday’s celebration of the World 

Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, the 

Foreign Minister denounced in X, that the 

capitalist system, with its production 

and consumption levels, which he 

described as both irrational and 

unsustainable ---- has caused 

the degradation of 40% of

 the Earth’s surface.

 

Officially declared by the United Nations General 

Assembly in 1994, the date aims to promote 

public awareness on issues related to 

desertification, land degradation 

and drought.

 

This year, Desertification and Drought Day 

is celebrated with a call to mobilize all 

generations to support sustainable 

land management.

 

Desertification is the result of the permanent 

degradation of soils, caused by a constant 

deforestation of forests, salinization, lack 

of water, and overexploitation of aquifers 

...which is usually produced by human 

economic activity.

 

 

 

_________________________________________




Global call for sustainable

 land management

June 17th, 10:47am

(Prensa Latina) 

 

Mobilizing all generations to support sustainable 

land management is the central theme of the 

Desertification and Drought Day celebrated 

today, amid the global effort to combat 

this scourge.

 

Organized through the Federal Ministry for Economic 

Cooperation and Development in Bonn, actors 

worldwide gather under the motto “United 

for the Earth: Our Legacy. Our Future.”

 

This year coincides... with the 30th anniversary of the 

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification,

 the only global agreement dedicated to sustainable

 land management ratified by 196 countries and
the 
EU.

 

The date... officially declared by the United Nations 

General Assembly in 1994, aims to promote public 

awareness of issues related to desertification, 

land degradation, and drought.

 

The executive secretary of the Convention, Ibrahim 

Thiaw, warned that by 2050, 10 billion people will

 depend on this vital resource and yet, every 

second an area equivalent to four football 

fields is lost --- due to land degradation.

 

 

 

________________________________________




 New eco-industrial parks

 to appear in Russia

by Victoria Abramchenko

April 22nd, 9:04pm

(Lenta.ru)

 

By the end of 2024, Russia will have six new eco-industrial

 parks. They will be built as part of the federal project 

"Closed-loop Economy", according to the website 

of the Russian Environmental Operator (REO).

 

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Victoria Abramchenko 

noted the uniqueness of the project. "There were

 industrial parks in Russia, but there were never 

any eco-industrial parks. So that it is possible 

to gather residents in one place - who will be 

engaged in the closed-loop economy, waste 

processing, extract useful parts.... ensure

 the processing of these useful fractions 

and, accordingly, make new products, 

new goods," she explained.

 

The parks will be located in the Stavropol Territory, 

Leningrad, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk 

and Chelyabinsk regions. Two more parks — in the

 Krasnodar and Primorsky Territories - are planned

 to be introduced before 2027. According to Denis 

Butsaev, General Director of REO, eco-industrial 

parks..... will become anchor sites for creating

production clusters for waste disposal and

the production of products from 

secondary raw materials.

 

Earlier it was reported that REO will issue its first green 

bonds, the funds from which will go to the creation of 

waste management facilities.

 

 

 

________________________________________




 

Cuba denounces --- climate damage 

due to NATO military expenditure

April 8th, 12:56pm 

(Prensa Latina) 

 

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said on Monday 

that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is the largest 

military emitter of Greenhouse Gases in the planet. 

 

On his official X account, he noted that the alliance's goal 

of increasing military spending to two percent of its 

members' GDP is a serious threat to global efforts

 to mitigate the impact of climate change.

 

Recently, the head of Cuban diplomacy stated on the same

 social network that NATO’s military carbon footprint went 

from 196 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (C02) in 

2021 ------- to 226 million in 2023.

 

Those numbers exceed the GHG emissions of 80 percent

 of the countries of the world, he pointed out.

 

 

 

__________________________________________________





China confirms meeting with Japan 


on radioactive water discharge


April 1st, 8:22am


 (Prensa Latina) 


 


China confirmed a meeting between Chinese and


 Japanese nuclear specialists... regarding the 


discharge of radioactive water from the 


Fukushima plant ---- into the sea.


 


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 agency calls 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 Deal Raises 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.


 


 


__________________________________



 Brazil to 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 Francis spurs: 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 urges West: 
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,
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 of
 all

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 Korea to 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


hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) 


until that year.


 

____________________________________________________________





  Zakharova: ammunition with


 uranium ...makes Ukraine 


uninhabitable land


August 24th, 10:21pm


(RT.ru)


 


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.

 

 

_________________________________________



Venezuela Controls

 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 ---


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.

 

 

____________________________



 


Fishermen Stage New Protest 


Against Japanese 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 Canada Wildfire 


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
o
f 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 Against Japan'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 for Cooling to 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 Dismantled in 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 


Bags Banned 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 

inequality, climate change & protecting biodiversity.

 

RESPOND TO EXISTING CONCERNS

 

In a policy brief published in May, United Nations Secretary

 Guterres said that the existing international financial

 system, created in 1945 after World War II, has 

proven "totally unsuitable in the face of a 

world characterized by relentless 

climate change" --- and other 

challenges --- illustrating 

the urgency of reforms.

 

For Stephanie Segal, a researcher at the Centre for Strategic 

and International Studies, climate issues became a "catch-

all" term during the Spring Meetings of the International 

Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in April.

 

Climate-related issues are "increasingly recognized 

as central to the evolution of MDBs (multilateral 

development banks)," she said.

 

Eight years after adopting the Paris Agreement, France

 expects to build a new Paris consensus for "a more 

united international financial system" to combine 

the efforts of climate action and reforms of the

 international financial system.

 

Noting that "there is today a trust... that is crumbling, if 

not more, between the North and the South" at COP27

 in Egypt last November, French President Emmanuel 

Macron ....called for financial solidarity for 

climate justice.

 

Later, while attending the G20 summit in Bali, Macron

 announced an intention to hold an international

conference "on the new financing pact with

 the South."

 

"We are entering the era of the climate emergency," 

he said. "Today, nothing in our international 

financial rules takes these criteria 

into account."

 

CALL FOR ACTION

 

To jointly address climate-related issues, the summit in Paris

 covers the following areas: overhauling the international 

financial architecture, restoring confidence, forging

 partnerships for strategies --- innovating with

 instruments and financing, ensuring more 

reliable information and data, and 

creating a conducive 

environment.....  for 

the private sector.

 

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 Yemen into 


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 chief calls 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.




 

________________________________________________________




Russian scientists propose 

method.... to improve

 soil fertility

by Luis Linares Petrov

April 11th, 9:26am

 (Prensa Latina) 

 

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 environmentalists condemn 

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.

 

 

____________________________________





Norway Reaffirms 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.

 

 

____________________________________



Deforestation in 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.

 

 

_____________________________________________




Colombia to 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 bamboo as 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

 climate solutions. • Enhancing existing environmental 

observation networks with more representative sites 

and data. • Creating a national soil-carbon-

monitoring network.

 

"Essentially we can use the many agricultural fields of

 Arkansas... as test-beds for research under real-world

 management conditions," Runkle said. "This provides

 a quicker and more thorough understanding of how

 field and farm management can be used to boost 

sustainability outcomes -- quicker because we

 don't have to work first in a greenhouse and

 then an experimental farm."

 

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 Reject Judicial 

Authorization for 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.


Image: Cuba-proteccion-medio-ambiente

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.



Image: Cuba-dia-mundial-del-medio-ambiente

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, a
re 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. "

 
Go to this site before it's ''lost'':



https://www.sciencealert.com/experts-warn-
mediterranean-soil-is-reaching-a-critical-limit


_______________________________________





Illegal gold mines flood


 Amazon forests with


 toxic mercury


by Elsy Fors Garzon


 January 29th, 3:02am (Prensa Latina)


 


 Illegal gold mines in the Amazon jungle of Peru


 contaminate with mercury at levels as high as


 those found in the industrial regions of China,


 a new investigation revealed today.


 


The levels, 137 micrograms per square metre 


of soil each year, were higher than in any 


forest tested near coal-fired power plants


 in Europe and North America... the 


authors reported...  in the British


 journal Nature Communication.


 


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
traffic
 in
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.



________________________________________________




FAO calls for urgent action on

 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,
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.

 

 

 

__________________________________




 

 

FAO supports Cuba 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.





_____________________________________________



 

UNESCO highlights role 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 Chief Warns 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’ wood emits

 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's first 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 curb biodiversity 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 chief
 warns
 - 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 

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
Inter
governmental 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
millennia
in 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.

 

 

__________________________



Activists peacefully take over 

Ministry of Petroleum in 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. 


 


Think your friends would be interested?


 


 Share this story!


 


 


_________________________________






Germans, Japanese and

Marylanders poisoned
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
l
aunch more satellites capable of observing 

asteroids & other bodies with the intention
of commencing its mining 
by 2045, its co-
founder, Su Meng, note
d, 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.

 

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__________________________________________________





 Beijing tells Japanese politicians,


 to drink Fukushima’s wastewater


 to prove it’s safe, before they


 dump it into the ocean


April 15th,, 10:24am (RT)


 


The Chinese Foreign Ministry has called on 


politicians in Tokyo to use Fukushima’s 


wastewater for drinking, cooking, 


washing clothes, or irrigation


- in order to prove it is safe 


enough to be discharged 


into the ocean.


 


Speaking on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry 


spokesman, Zhao Lijian, reinforced Beijing’s 


opposition to Tokyo’s decision to dump 


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 leaders ask US to

 reduce polluting 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


 Plastic Waste to 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
 
allow the dumping of our plastic trash 


on environments and communities" 




 in poorer countries, arguing that 


"this is not leadership, it’s failing 


to do the bare minimum."



 


_____________________________


 


Biden’s climate advisor has 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,
unless
 
we 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.


(Source - RT)



________________________________________________________




Fantastic news
from Wales –



 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.


(Source - Pravda.Ru)



____________________________________________________________




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.



________________________________________________________






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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.


(Source - Morning Star)




_______________________________________________________




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?


(Source - Morning Star)




___________________________________________________




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.


(Source - RT)




___________________________________________________






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)



________________________________________________





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.


___________________________

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.






_______________________

US demands China reconsider

 ‘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.”



___________________________________________



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)


______________________________________



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)


_____________________________________________


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)


_____________________________________________



$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)


______________________________________________


 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)


_______________________________________________


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.


______________________________________________

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)


______________________________________________


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.

_________________________________________________


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)

_______________________________________________


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)


 _____________________________________



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.

__________________________________


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.


___________________________________


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.


__________________________________


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.

___________________________________


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.


______________________________________


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.


_______________________________



‘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

_______________________________


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.


__________________________________________


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."

_________________________________________


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.

Go here --- for the complete plan:

http://unionsforenergydemocracy.org/wp-content/uploads
/2015/09/Jeremy-Corbyn-Environment-plan-Aug-2015.pdf


_______________________________


 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.

_____________________________________


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.


___________________________________________


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.

____________________________________


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.



________________________________________



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.



________________________



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.


________________________________



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.


__________________________________



 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.


________________________________



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.


________________________________


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.


__________________________


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.


______________________________


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.


________________________________


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.


_____________________________________


‘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.


____________________________________


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."


_________________________________


 ‘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.


______________________________

 
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.



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