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






 
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.


 


 


 


_____________________________





2022 to be among 

hottest years 


since 1850


by Ana Luisa Brown


January 7th, 00:30am (Prensa Latina)  


 


The average temperature in 2022 will be 


between 0.97 and 1.21 degrees Celsius


 (°C), among the warmest years since 


1850, the World Meteorological 


Organization (WMO) noted 


regarding the estimates 


from the UK Service.


 


 


The fact that the central figure has exceeded 1.0°C


 since 2015 masks the considerable international 


variation, explained one of the leading experts 


in climate prediction, Doug Smith, who added 


that in some places, such as the Arctic, 


temperatures have risen several 


degrees... since pre-


industrial times.


 


According to the head of Long Range Forecasting 


at the British Met Office, Professor Adam Scaife, 


the predicted temperature illustrates that the 


increase in greenhouse gases in the 


atmosphere is now warming the 


planet at an exponential rate.


 


 


 


____________________________




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).

 

 

___________________________




Biden electric vehicle push 

hits ''setback'' in US Senate

December 20th, 11:04am (PressTV)

 

A bid by the White House to dramatically boost 

electric vehicle tax credits hit a major road-

block on Sunday, when a key Senate 

Democrat...   said he would not 

support Biden's $1.75 trillion 

domestic investment bill.

 

West Virginia's Joe Manchin appeared to deal a fatal

 blow to President Joe Biden's signature domestic

 policy bill, known as Build Back Better, which 

also aims to expand the social safety net 

and tackle climate change.

 

The bill includes increasing the current $7,500 EV tax

 credit to up to $12,500 for union-made US vehicles 

as well as creating a credit of up to $4,000 for 

used vehicles. The bill would also, again, 

make General Motors and Tesla Inc... 

eligible for tax credits after they hit

 the 200,000-vehicle cap on the 

existing $7,500 credit.

 

The bill also includes a 30% credit
for 
commercial electric vehicles.

 

GM and Ford are both launching electric pickup

 trucks in 2022, and new tax credits could be 

crucial to meeting initial sales targets,
as 
well as meeting rising vehicle 

emissions requirements.

 

Biden wants 50% of new US vehicles to be electric or

 plug-in electric hybrid, by 2030. The administration

 is expected, as soon as this week, to finalize

 tougher new vehicle emissions rules 

through 2026, automakers say.

 

Manchin opposes a $4,500 tax credit for union-made

 vehicles that is part of the $12,500 proposal. He 

calls the union credit "wrong" and 

"not American."

 

The EV tax credits are backed by Biden, many 

congressional Democrats and the United
Auto
 Workers (UAW) union and would 

disproportionately benefit Detroit's
Big Three auto
makers - GM, Ford
Motor
 Co and Chrysler parent 

Stellantis NV - which 

assemble their US-

made vehicles in 

union plants.

 

Tesla, and foreign automakers operating in the 

United States do not have unions representing 

assembly workers --- and many have fought 

UAW efforts to organize US plants.

 

Toyota Motor Corp, which has a plant in West 

Virginia, but whose US employees are not 

union members, has ''lobbied'' against 

the $4,500 union credit.

 

Toyota announced this month it is building a $1.29

 billion battery plant in North Carolina, while EV 

startup, Rivian Automotive, said on Thursday 

that it will build a $5 billion plant in Georgia.

 

Vehicles would have to be made in the United States 

starting in 2027, to qualify for any of the $12,500 

credit, which includes $500 for US made 

batteries. It has faced criticism from 

Canada, Mexico, Japan and

 the European Union.




(Source: Reuters)

 




_________________________________







‘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.

 




________________________________




Shell oil company abandons 

controversial project in

 British seas

 by Erich Tellez Corrales

December 3rd, 9:24am (Prensa Latina) 

 

The Anglo-Dutch multinational Royal Dutch Shell 

announced, today, that it will abandon a 

controversial oil exploration project 

in the North Sea, in a decision 

welcomed by the British 

environmental groups.

 

According to the company, a comprehensive 

analysis of plans to exploit Cambo, a field 

..outlined west of Scotland’s Shetland

 islands, showed that the economic 

benefits are not strong enough at 

the moment, plus there are 

possibilities of delays 

to put the project 

into motion.

 

The announcement by Shell, which held 30%

of the shares, was greeted with rejoicing by

environmental organizations, and environ-

mental defenders who have been demand-

ing for years.. that the British government 

prohibit exploration & exploitation permits.

 

Shell is out! This is the beginning of the end of 

Cambo, said on Twitter the environmental 

group, Stop Cambo, which warned, 

however, that it will not rest until 

the entire project is shut down.

 

Greenpeace’s UK affiliate, which last October lost a

 legal challenge to force the government to reverse

 a permit granted to British Petroleum to operate
in 
a neighbouring North Sea field, said the
Anglo-
Dutch oil company’s withdrawal
should be 
seen as a death blow
to Cambo.

 

The right decision to ensure the UK’s energy security

 is to speed up the introduction of renewable sources

 and ensure that the interests of oil and gas workers

 are protected through a fair transition, said Labour 

MP and well-known environmentalist Ed Miliband.

 

The company Siccar Point Energy, which shared

 the Cambo project with Shell, promised to look 

for alternatives to continue exploration, while 

the government limited itself to saying that
it 
is a commercial decision... taken 

independently by the Anglo-

Dutch transnational.

 


 

___________________________________





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