Climate Change / Global Warming Discussion

[JRP3]

The Green Dream to Rebuild a Sustainable Ukraine from the Rubble of War

The war’s widespread devastation provides an opportunity to rebuild the nation on more sustainable grounds. Plans are already circulating.

www.politico.com

Hopefully Tesla can get involved with solar, Megapacks, and maybe a local factory at some point.

 

[mspohr]

'Clairvoyant' 2012 climate report warned of extreme weather

Record high temperatures in urban Europe as heat waves bake the planet more often. Devastating floods, some in poorer unprepared areas. Increasing destruction from hurricanes. Drought and famine in poorer parts of Africa as dry spells worsen across the globe.

apnews.com

In a report that changed the way the world thinks about the harms of global warming, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s special report on extreme events, disasters and climate change warned in 2012: “A changing climate leads to changes in the frequency, intensity, spatial extent, duration, and timing of extreme weather and climate events, and can result in unprecedented extreme weather and climate events.” It said there would be more heat waves, worsening droughts, increasing downpours causing floods and stronger and wetter tropical cyclones and simply nastier disasters for people.

 

[mspohr]

Why we should forget about the 1.5C global heating target | Bill McGuire

The key point, then, is not the precise value of the global average temperature rise, but the simple fact that it is continuing to rise. The climate system is so sensitive to additional heating that every fraction of a degree rise counts, so that every 0.1C rise is just as important as every other. Global heating is now translating into extreme weather rapidly: there has been a huge hike in these events over the last few years, during which time the global average temperature climbed by one- or two-tenths of a degree at most.

 

[mspohr]

NGO retracts ‘waste colonialism’ report blaming Asian countries for plastic pollution

environmental watchdog has retracted an influential report that blamed five Asian countries for the majority of plastic pollution in the ocean. The report, Stemming the Tide, from the US-based environmental advocacy group Ocean Conservancy, also included incineration and waste-to-energy as “solutions” to the plastics crisis. Published in 2015, it was decried as “waste colonialism” by hundreds of environmental, health and social justice groups across Asia. The watchdog has now publicly apologised for unfairly “creating a narrative” about who is responsible for producing plastic waste and removed the report from its website. Its apology was welcomed on Wednesday as “long overdue” by Gaia, an alliance of 800 waste-reduction groups in 90 countries, and by Break Free From Plastic, a global movement of more than 2,000 organisations. environmental watchdog has retracted an influential report that blamed five Asian countries for the majority of plastic pollution in the ocean. The report, Stemming the Tide, from the US-based environmental advocacy group Ocean Conservancy, also included incineration and waste-to-energy as “solutions” to the plastics crisis. Published in 2015, it was decried as “waste colonialism” by hundreds of environmental, health and social justice groups across Asia. The watchdog has now publicly apologised for unfairly “creating a narrative” about who is responsible for producing plastic waste and removed the report from its website. Its apology was welcomed on Wednesday as “long overdue” by Gaia, an alliance of 800 waste-reduction groups in 90 countries, and by Break Free From Plastic, a global movement of more than 2,000 organisations.

Christie Keith, Gaia’s international coordinator, said the five Asian countries named in the report were not to blame for plastic waste. “That fault lies with the corporations that make and push out ever-increasing quantities of plastic,” she said. “And those fighting for zero-waste community solutions deserve to be honoured and celebrated, not attacked.”

 

[ElectricIAC]

NGO retracts ‘waste colonialism’ report blaming Asian countries for plastic pollution

environmental watchdog has retracted an influential report that blamed five Asian countries for the majority of plastic pollution in the ocean. The report, Stemming the Tide, from the US-based environmental advocacy group Ocean Conservancy, also included incineration and waste-to-energy as “solutions” to the plastics crisis. Published in 2015, it was decried as “waste colonialism” by hundreds of environmental, health and social justice groups across Asia. The watchdog has now publicly apologised for unfairly “creating a narrative” about who is responsible for producing plastic waste and removed the report from its website. Its apology was welcomed on Wednesday as “long overdue” by Gaia, an alliance of 800 waste-reduction groups in 90 countries, and by Break Free From Plastic, a global movement of more than 2,000 organisations. environmental watchdog has retracted an influential report that blamed five Asian countries for the majority of plastic pollution in the ocean. The report, Stemming the Tide, from the US-based environmental advocacy group Ocean Conservancy, also included incineration and waste-to-energy as “solutions” to the plastics crisis. Published in 2015, it was decried as “waste colonialism” by hundreds of environmental, health and social justice groups across Asia. The watchdog has now publicly apologised for unfairly “creating a narrative” about who is responsible for producing plastic waste and removed the report from its website. Its apology was welcomed on Wednesday as “long overdue” by Gaia, an alliance of 800 waste-reduction groups in 90 countries, and by Break Free From Plastic, a global movement of more than 2,000 organisations.

Christie Keith, Gaia’s international coordinator, said the five Asian countries named in the report were not to blame for plastic waste. “That fault lies with the corporations that make and push out ever-increasing quantities of plastic,” she said. “And those fighting for zero-waste community solutions deserve to be honoured and celebrated, not attacked.”

Lemme guess. It’s actually the USA’s fault as usual.

 

[JRP3]

Lemme guess. It’s actually the USA’s fault as usual.

Guess who was shipping their waste plastics to those other countries? You really are a

 

[ElectricIAC]

Guess who was shipping their waste plastics to those other countries? You really are a

Can you prove without a shadow of a doubt that every piece of plastic pollution is a result of American export?

 

[traxila]

Can you prove without a shadow of a doubt that every piece of plastic pollution is a result of American export?

Plastic pollution needs to be ascribed to corporations and propaganda.

Nation origins are incidental.

 

[JRP3]

Can you prove without a shadow of a doubt that every piece of plastic pollution is a result of American export?

Proving once again your status. Sorry I clicked on show hidden replies.

 

[mspohr]

Regenerative Agriculture in Mexico Boosts Yields While Restoring Nature

The initiative intends to restore soil health and in the process store carbon, free up more land for conservation, and maintain jobs in rural areas.

www.goodgoodgood.co

A study published this year in the journal Nature Sustainability also shows that using ecological processes to replace human-produced inputs like pesticides and fertilizers can maintain or increase food production, while reducing the environmental and economic input costs.

The value of moving away from agrochemical inputs is being increasingly recognized. A 2018 study in the U.S. showed that regenerative corn fields generate nearly twice the profit of conventionally managed ones, largely because legume-based cover crops can reduce fertilizer costs, with these accounting for 32% of gross income for conventional fields versus 12% in regenerative fields.

Baez, who has worked with farmers in the region for more than 30 years, tells Mongabay that although crop productivity initially increased after the start of the Green Revolution in Mexico in the 1940s — a farming model that promoted high-yielding crop varieties and the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides — yields began dropping about 20 years ago, despite the continued intensive use of agrochemicals. In 2010, INIFAP worked with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to analyze 300 plots in Chiapas, Mendoza’s among them, and found similar results. Results showed that soils had high levels of acidity and aluminum, were lacking nutrients, and were highly compacted from tractors. This meant roots couldn’t grow deep, creating drainage problems — all signs of bad land management, according to Bae

Both the guama and the Canavalia are part of the Fabaceae or bean family, and as such have roots that fix nitrogen in the soil. They also grow quickly, making them a “permanent biomass factory,” providing a cover of organic matter on the ground surface that maintains soil moisture, breaks down nutrients for other plants, and prevents the growth of weeds, thereby reducing the need for herbicides

 

[mspohr]

Extreme hunger soaring in world’s climate hotspots, says Oxfam

Extreme hunger is closely linked to the climate crisis, with many areas of the world most affected by extreme weather experiencing severe food shortages, research has shown. The development charity Oxfam examined 10 of the world’s worst climate hotspots, afflicted by drought, floods, severe storms and other extreme weather, and found their rates of extreme hunger had more than doubled in the past six years. Within the countries studied, 48 million people are currently suffering from acute hunger, up from about 21 million people in 2016. Of these, about 18 million people are on the brink of starvation, according to the Oxfam report published on Thursday.E

Gabriela Bucher, executive director of Oxfam International, said: “Climate change is no longer a ticking timebomb, it is exploding before our eyes. It is making extreme weather such as droughts, cyclones and floods – which have increased five-fold over the past 50 years – more frequent and more deadly.” As global heating gathers pace, fossil fuel companies have been reaping bumper profits from the soaring price of gas after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The profits of fossil fuel companies over 18 days would be enough to fulfil the UN’s $49bn appeal for humanitarian aid this year, the Oxfam report found.

 

[mspohr]

Burning world’s fossil fuel reserves could emit 3.5tn tons of greenhouse gas

Burning the world’s proven reserves of fossil fuels would emit more planet-heating emissions than have occurred since the industrial revolution, easily blowing the remaining carbon budget before societies are subjected to catastrophic global heating, a new analysis has found. A total of 3.5tn tons of greenhouse gas emissions will be emitted if governments allow identified reserves of coal, oil and gas to be extracted and used, according to what has been described as the first public database of fossil fuel production.

 

[mspohr]

Gina McCarthy: Businesses No Longer See Climate Action as Driving Job Losses https://nyti.ms/3QVXckO

This week, as the world’s leaders gather in New York for the U.N. General Assembly, the United States will deliver a message many thought was not possible: We are going to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, and zero them out by 2050.

It’s a striking shift after four years of the Trump administration, which threw science out the window and backed out of the Paris climate agreement. In 2020 the future seemed grim. But today, states and companies across the country are running toward a clean energy future. How did what was once considered impossible become not just feasible, but at the core of America’s manufacturing and economic resurgence?

Then, we secured the historic Inflation Reduction Act — the most aggressive action on climate in U.S. history. When President Barack Obama took office, there were 500 charging stations nationwide. Now, thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we plan to install 500,000 chargers across the country. Every major automaker signed on to the president’s goal of achieving 50 percent E.V. sales nationwide by 2030, a goal considered laughable just two years ago.

 

[mspohr]

There’s Nothing Natural About Puerto Rico’s Disaster

Honoring the victims of Hurricane Maria begins with telling the truth. Long before that storm, Puerto Rico was a textbook example of disaster capitalism.

theintercept.com

God didn’t decide that Puerto Rico should import 85 percent of its food — this archipelago blessed with some of the most fertile soil in the world. God didn’t decide Puerto Rico should get 98 percent of its energy from imported fossil fuels — these islands bathed in sun, lashed by wind, and surrounded by waves, all of which could provide cheap and clean renewable power to spare. These were decisions made by people working for powerful interests. Because for 500 uninterrupted years, the role of Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans in the world economy has been to make other people rich, whether by extracting cheap labor or cheap resources or by being a captive market for imported food and fuel.

A colonial economy by definition is a dependent economy. A centralized lopsided and distorted economy. And as we have seen, an intensely vulnerable economy. And it isn’t even right to call the storm itself a “natural disaster.” None of these record-breaking storms are natural anymore — Irma and Maria, Katrina and Sandy, Haiyan and Harvey, and now Florence and Mangkhut, which battered parts of Asia this week. The reason we are seeing records shattered time after time is that the oceans are warmer and the tides are higher. And that’s not God’s fault either. It’s the fault of governments protecting the interests of the fossil fuel companies and agribusiness giants that pay for their campaigns.

Yet we have seen the precise opposite. We have seen nothing but more disaster capitalism — using the trauma of the storm to push massive cuts to education, hundreds of school closures, wave after wave of home foreclosures, and the privatization of some of Puerto Rico’s most valuable assets.

 

[mspohr]

‘Polluters must pay’: UN chief calls for windfall tax on fossil fuel companies

Countries should impose windfall taxes on fossil fuel companies and divert the money to vulnerable nations suffering worsening losses from the climate crisis, the United Nations secretary general has urged. António Guterres said that “polluters must pay” for the escalating damage caused by heatwaves, floods, drought and other climate impacts, and demanded that it was “high time to put fossil fuel producers, investors and enablers on notice”. “Today, I am calling on all developed economies to tax the windfall profits of fossil fuel companies,” Guterres said in a speech to the UN general assembly on Tuesday. “Those funds should be redirected in two ways – to countries suffering loss and damage caused by the climate crisis and to people struggling with rising food and energy prices.”

 

[mspohr]

We need to be told the true climate cost of Schumer and Manchin’s pipeline side deal | David Sirota and Julia Rock

As climate change batters America with heatwaves, droughts and floods, lawmakers should be asking a simple question about any bill: does it increase or decrease the greenhouse gas emissions that are fueling the ecological emergency? Somehow, though, that query is still not being asked right now in Washington, even as Democratic leaders are promising to advance a bill to gut environmental laws and expedite oil and gas pipelines.

The fact that emissions projections for Schumer’s side deal have not been discussed either in private or in public point to the reality of what’s at stake here,” said Jim Walsh of the environmental group Food and Water Watch. “Schumer and Manchin’s deal is not talking about clean energy; it’s a fossil fuel payday. The leaked draft specifies the fast-tracking of 19 fossil fuel-related infrastructure projects. Any effort to spin that increased pollution as emissions reduction would be just that – spin.”

 

[iPlug]

@SageBrush and others particularly interested:

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted 69-27 to ratify an amendment to the Montreal Protocol that would cut the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a major greenhouse gas, in a key step towards combating climate change.​

​

The so-called Kigali amendment calls for the phase-down of HFCs, gases used in heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) that are significantly more potent than carbon dioxide in contributing to global warming.​

U.S. Senate votes to amend global treaty to curb climate-warming gas

 

[mspohr]

Denmark offers ‘loss and damage’ funding to poorer countries for climate breakdown

Denmark became the first central government of a developed country to propose funding devoted to “loss and damage” – which refers to those ravages of climate-related disasters which are so extreme that no protection against them is possible. At the UN general assembly, for which world leaders are converging on New York this week, the Danish government announced to philanthropists and poor countries that it would provide DKK 100m (£12m) specifically for loss and damage.

The sums are tiny compared with the tens or hundreds of billions of dollars of losses that countries are expected to experience, but the symbolism is important. At Cop26, governments agreed to forge a framework to address loss and damage, but there was no agreement on a funding mechanism.

 

[mspohr]

Thousands call for ‘climate reparations and justice’ in global protests

Fridays for Future ‘strikes’ in about 450 places demanded rich countries pay for damage from global heating

www.theguardian.com

Thousands of young people have staged a coordinated “global climate strike” across Asia, Africa and Europe in a call for reparations for those worst affected by climate breakdown.

 

[eevee-fan]

Moo?