Discover the Wild Jungles in mysterious Belize
More than half of Belize, a Central American country with as many as 2 million indigenous Mayan inhabitants, is covered in dense, sprawling jungle – meaning the region has adventures galore for any traveler wishing to explore.
Sitting on the coast of the Caribbean, emerging from the lush green rainforest, sectioned by fast-flowing vibrant rivers, and against the backdrop of dramatic mountains is Punta Gorda, a town reached by a small plane and the gateway to Mayan villages, jungles, and waterfalls.
Peini is the Garifuna word for Punta Gorda, located in Belize’s Toledo district, and the town itself is packed with colorful markets selling fresh local produce, tasty food, and cool beers. But the real adventure lies outside the town.
For a truly Belizean experience, head to the small Mayan town of Santa Cruz, where you can experience true Mayan life.
Learn how to make a freshly-ground corn tortilla, discover the medicinal uses of plants that grow in backyards, and learn about protecting indigenous land rights.
Visitors should use a tour guide, such as Toledo Cave & Adventure Tours, as indigenous culture is in need of protection from outside influences. It is frowned upon to simply turn up unannounced.
The village was at the center of a landmark ruling against the Belizean government to protect their land, and its residents are stewards of an ancient culture.
If you are interested in exploring Mayan culture further, then take a step into the past by visiting Nim Li Punit. Discovered in 1970, it is well known for its large number of stelas – or monuments – found in one of its plazas, eight of which are carved with hieroglyphs.
Or go to Lubaantun, where one of the crystal skulls were found – stunning skulls made from clear quartz from Maya and Aztec times. (Others theorize that they are paranormal.)
Maya people lived at Lubaantun from 700-900 AD, building large pyramid structures, on top of which human sacrifices were likely made.
For more jungle adventures, strap on your hiking boots, throw on long pants to protect against mosquitoes, and hike up Cerro Hill, in the Garifuna Reserve.
The trail is rough and steep in places, but the summit is well worth it – views over the town and Gulf of Honduras. Keep watch for toucans, howler monkeys, iguanas, and other stunningly colored native birds.
Another adventure option is caving. Toledo has some of the most extensive caving systems in the country. With many caves in remote areas, part of the fun is the jungle hike to get there.
They should be visited as part of an organized tour with specialist-trained guides and safety equipment. One highlight is the Tiger Cave, with its wide chamber lit by skylights, or the incredible Yok Balum Cave with its 30 ft high chamber with some amazing formations.
Finally, head to Rio Blanco Falls, located in the 500-acre Rio Blanco National Park. A series of waterfalls that culminate in a plunge pool at the bottom, dive in for the perfect cooling off to a long day’s exploration.
Discovery / ABC Flash Point News 2023.
How European Banks are linked to Deforestation and Slavery
Environmental campaigners have dragged controversial investments into the spotlight, claiming that major European banks are linked to businesses that harm threatened species, deforestation in Brazil and other questionable environmental practices.
European banks, including Switzerland’s UBS, Britain’s HSBC and Spain’s Santander, have been thrown into the spotlight after two recent reports linked them to significant environmental damage, while green washing bonds in Brazil.
The revelations come as these green investments, so called because they were made to fund environmentally friendly activities, are increasingly falling under scrutiny:
The British Financial Conduct Authority is investigating the sustainability-linked loans market, while a new European Green Bond Regulation is coming into effect next year – a gold standard that aims to eliminate any green-washing from the bond market.
At the center of the allegations is the green bond market in Brazil, which environmental campaigner Greenpeace says UBS and Santander, among other non-European banks, have acted as intermediaries in.
The banks helped investors to purchase green investment assets, according to a report by Greenpeace’s investigative journalism project Unearthed, which generated funds that were ultimately used to finance controversial companies including de foresters, land grabbers and ranchers accused of slave labor in Brazil.
The banks orchestrating these bond transactions define the price of the bonds and sell them to investors in exchange for a fee, which is usually 3% to 5% of the total offer.
The allegations focus on so-called Agribusiness Receivables Certificates (CRA) – an asset backed security which represents investment in agribusiness, financing those on the ground in the hope of a hefty return on investment.
These are referred to as green bonds and they were initially created to support small-scale, sustainable farmers’ practices in Brazil?
But in reality, the market has swollen by around €8 billion and the bonds often finance large companies and their suppliers. It’s these bonds that have linked European banks to claims of deforestation and even slave-like working conditions.
According to Unearthed, UBS helped Brazilian grain trader Caramaru to raise funds worth of €66.5 million in CRA’s in October 2021.
Part of the money ended up in the hands of Caramuru’s soy suppliers, Unearthed said, some of whom have a history of illegal deforestation and land grabbing. Another has even been sued for alleged slave-like labor.
Caramuru denies wrongdoing, claiming that it monitors the environmental compliance of all its suppliers and that the company hasn’t done business with all of the suppliers.
As such, it is possible to state that soy was not acquired from places with issues of illegal deforestation or land grabbing, nor from farms with work similar to slavery, the company said.
For its part, UBS said it does not knowingly provide financial or advisory services to clients associated with damages to high conservation value forests, child labor and forced labor, among other practices.
UBS isn’t the only European bank caught in the crosshairs. Spain’s Santander was involved in raising funds to the tune of €280 million in CRA’s for JBS, the largest meat processing enterprise in the world, in August 2023, according to Unearthed.
JBS admitted in 2022 to buying cattle from a farmer that prosecutors dubbed one of the biggest de-foresters in Brazil, despite saying it has strict, self-imposed rules on who it does business with.
Santander also helped Uisa, one of the largest ethanol and sugar producers in the world, to issue a R$150 million green CRA, for a fee of roughly €710,000.
Uisa has received a dozen environmental fines for illegal deforestation, and was also responsible for leaking toxic material into a river that is vital to the Umatina Indigenous people in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso.
Aside from the Unearthed report, a new study from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) has linked 62 banks and financial institutions, including some in Europe, to harming threatened animal species.
The report states that the banks have invested in three companies that produce traditional Chinese medicine, using leopard and pangolin parts. Both animals are classified as highly threatened species – a stone’s throw from being considered endangered.
UBS is once again named as having invested in the companies, but so are British lender HSBC and Germany’s Deutsche Bank.
All three are members of The Royal Foundation’s United for Wildlife (UfW) Financial Taskforce, which was launched in 2018 to stop the trafficking of wildlife, according to the report.
Both the EIA and Unearthed reports are just two of many which claim to shed light on the impact that major banks’ business practices have on the environment.
The worsening dangers of climate change have prompted investors and companies across the globe to increasingly turn towards green financial products, including green bonds, and present themselves as sustainable businesses that care about the environment.
The number of instances of greenwashing by banks and financial service companies around the world has risen by 70% in the past 12 months, according to RepRisk, a Swiss environmental, social and corporate governance data provider.
The European Union is hoping to stem the flow of green-washing with its new European Green Bond Regulation, which is due to come online in 2024.
It will introduce legal sanctions for any misleading business practices related to sustainability and the environment.
The newly-approved rules against green-washing in the bond market include a registration system and supervisory framework, but who will control these entities?
Under the new regulations, companies issuing green bonds will have to disclose more information about their practices with special regards to show how these investments feed into the companies’ plans to transition to a net zero carbon emissions economy.
The new law also specifies that at least 85% of funds raised would have to be allocated to activities that are sustainable according to EU law.
At the same time, the European Banking Authority will require banks to publish their so-called green asset ratio, a percentage of environmentally sustainable assets, in their books.
A common classification system, the EU’s taxonomy will define what makes a green asset.
The EU isn’t alone in wanting to regulate greenwashing: Reuters reports that the Swiss government will consider the matter as part of a plan to introduce overall state regulation on sustainable finance in the country.
Switzerland, a huge center for asset and wealth management, accounted for sustainable investments totaling around 1.6 trillion Swiss francs (€1.69 trillion) in 2022, according to industry association Swiss Sustainable Finance.
The Swiss Bankers Association, which represents lenders like UBS and Julius Baer as well as Switzerland’s smaller banks, wants to continue with self-regulation rather than be subject to tighter government rules, according to Reuters.
UBS, the country’s biggest bank with $5.5 trillion in invested assets, also supports self-regulation, saying it sets a minimum standard. There is a wave of regulation coming to Swiss banks…it will really hit (them),” said Daniel Schmid Perez of banking consultancy ZEB.
He estimates the total cost for lenders to adjust their processes would be around 100 million to 200 million francs. Yet many consider the cost worth it to boost sustainability in the effort to avoid climate disaster.
Euro Green News / ABC Flash Point News 2023.
Greenpeace calls on Greece to halt Gas exploration and protect Wildlife
Greece’s exploration for natural gas in the Aegean has led to concerns from Greenpeace that marine wildlife, such as dolphins and whales, will be under threat.
Greenpeace has issued a strong plea to Greece, urging the nation to abandon its ambitious deep-sea gas exploration venture with French oil company Total in the Mediterranean.
Citing recently released research, the environmental organization argues that the project’s impact on endangered whales and dolphins is far more significant than previously believed.
A survey conducted last year in the waters off southwestern Greece and Crete, areas slated for exploratory drilling, revealed the consistent presence of sea mammals throughout the year, both in the winter and summer, reaffirming previous findings.
The region under scrutiny for gas exploration largely coincides with the Hellenic Trench, encompassing the Mediterranean’s deepest waters at a staggering depth of 5,267 meters (17,300 feet).
This trench serves as a crucial habitat for the sea’s sparse population of sperm whales and other marine mammals already under threat from fishing, ship collisions, and plastic pollution.
Existing environmental safeguards for the project restrict exploration to the winter season to minimize adverse effects on whale and dolphin breeding periods.
However, a report published in the Endangered Species Research journal on Thursday indicates that at least four cetacean species, including sperm whales and Cuvier’s beaked whales, inhabit the area year-round.
Kostis Grimanis of Greenpeace Greece emphasized the enormous ecological significance of this Mediterranean region, condemning the government and oil companies for their relentless pursuit of hydrocarbon exploration in these waters.
He labeled it an absurd crime against nature that not only endangers iconic marine species but also jeopardizes the fight against the climate crisis by seeking to exploit undersea fossil fuels.
In 2019, Greece granted exploration rights for two seabed blocks south and southwest of Crete to an international energy consortium, while smaller projects are underway to the north.
This year, ExxonMobil and Greece’s Helleniq Energy completed a three-month seismic survey of the seabed in the two major blocks, with initial exploratory drilling potentially commencing in 2025, according to the Greek government.
Officials assure that the strictest environmental standards are being adhered to.
The seismic survey, involving the use of sonic blasts to identify potential gas deposits, raises concerns about its impact on sound-sensitive cetaceans.
Similar sonar technology used by warships has been linked to fatal consequences for whales, and experts suggest that seismic surveys can have similar effects.
Furthermore, drilling and gas extraction would introduce substantial undersea noise, as pointed out by environmentalists.
The recent report, compiled by Greenpeace Greece in collaboration with the University of Exeter and the Athens-based Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute, documented encounters with at least five cetacean species, including 14 sperm whales, during the winter of 2022, following previous research conducted during the summer months.
Euronews / ABC Flash Point News 2023.
Canada’s record Wildfires got so Bad, so Fast
Wildfires in Canada have burned a staggering 25 million acres so far this year, an area roughly the size of Kentucky.
With more than a month of peak fire season left to go, 2023 has already eclipsed Canada’s previous annual record from 1989, when over 18 million acres were scorched. And the country’s worst wildfire season on record continues to rage.
Hot, dry conditions have fueled widespread wildfires, mostly in Canada’s boreal forests, since the spring, with some of the largest blazes burning in northwest Canada and in Quebec.
The fires have forced more than 120,000 people to evacuate their homes, stretched firefighting resources, and repeatedly darkened the skies and polluted the air for millions of people across North America.
International fire crews, including more than 1,800 firefighters and support staff from the United States, have been mobilized to help battle the flames since May, but the size and ferocity of the blazes have often hampered their efforts even as many of the largest, most remote fires have been left to burn.
Over the past week, two Canadian firefighters were killed on duty just days apart.
High temperatures in the spring helped the fire season get off to an intense early start. A heat wave baked British Columbia and Alberta in mid-May, exacerbating several early wildfires.
In early June, multiple fires broke out in Quebec amid record heat and rapidly intensified. By the end of the month, June was recorded as the planet’s hottest month ever, and some of the world’s most anomalous temperatures were found in northern Canada.
Studies directly linking climate change to this year’s wildfires have not yet been carried out, but the 2023 fire season is in line with scientists’ understanding of how global warming is affecting wildfires.
That doesn’t mean that quieter wildfire years, such as last year, are no longer possible, Flanningan said, but a warmer world makes large, explosive wildfires more likely than they were in the past.
This year’s hot, dry conditions have contributed to extreme fire behavior, too. More than 100 times over the past three months.
Canadian wildfires have grown sufficiently large and powerful to produce their own weather, kicking up giant thunderclouds known as pyrocumulonibus, and injecting smoke high into the atmosphere. These events can help transport smoke over very long distances.
The previous most active year for such extreme fire weather in Canada was 2021, which had fewer than half as many pyroCbs, as they are more commonly called, over the entire season.
Forecasts for the rest of the summer suggest that higher-than-normal fire activity is likely to continue across much of Canada, which could mean more heat, more fires and more smoke ahead.
The New York Times ABC Flash Point News 2023.
Cities turning Parks into Orchards where people can Pick & Eat for Free
With rising food costs you might be looking to supplement your diet with as much free produce as possible. To do so, you may just have to stroll down to the park.
The city of Andernach in Germany is one of the world’s edible cities. Andernach has parks that have been turned into orchards where you are free to pluck and take whatever you desire from low-hanging fruits and bushes.
A recent report explains that this town- which sits by the Rhine River Valley- is one of the “edible cities” throughout the globe.
Speaking in an interview with The Washington Post, the organizers of the city stated that ever since this program was launched in 2010, there was never a problem of people taking more than they needed to eat.
As it turns out, even if someone were to grab an entire bag of vegetables- there would still be enough to go around. Good example for future generation, avoiding the very polluting fossil fuel transportation chain.
The city team coordinator for the Edible Cities Network, Bettina Schneider, stated, many here are very proud when you talk to them about our edible city.
The coordinator also went on to claim that a large portion of the orchards and the public gardens in this city had been an inspiration for other cities in the country. Also, several other countries in the European Union were following suit.
Currently, the entire network has around 150 cities globally with vegetable gardens and fruit trees placed in public places where anyone would be able to access them- free of charge.
The network receives major funding from the European Commission, which is the executive body of the European Union.
According to Schneider, the entire land used for Edible Cities was transformed into orchards and fruiting gardens. This was definitely quite a sight over its previous overgrown nature.
Currently, the medieval moat present in the town finds itself filled with lush almond, peach, and pear trees. Every vacant space near a school has also been transformed into community vegetable patches.
Other cities under the program receive funding for living labs. These are green spaces where residents can hold community events and develop their own plans to help their urban gardens to thrive and produce bountiful harvests.
Interestingly, several cities in the United States have also brought out such projects. There are multiple lands from Seattle to North Carolina where people can take and pick from fruiting trees and bushes.
The Edible Cities network has also found a firm footing in Detroit, which has an urban farming movement. In Philadelphia, one would find food forests, while Los Angeles and Atlanta are home to edible community projects.
Other cities in the country- which are smaller- like Hyattsville and Bloomington- also have vegetable gardens and fruit trees that anyone can access.
Anyone can get whatever they want, when they want it. This is about taking away as many barriers as possible to create public food access, whether somebody wants a single apple or an entire basket.
The official Twitter account for Edible Cities Network did have a lot to say about the city of Andernach which uses public spaces to grow fruit, vegetables, and herbs anyone can pick free of charge. The project has been a hit with locals. For some, it’s been life-changing.
The Premier Daily.com / ABC Flash Point News 2022.
British water plant spilling Human sewage near protected Dolphin habitat
A British water company has been releasing sewage near one of Europe’s largest dolphin habitats for at least a decade. The protected species in the River Teifi and Cardigan Bay have been exposed to untreated sewage discharges for years.
The Welsh water plant has admitted to illegally spilling untreated waste at dozens of sites, after the BBC presented it with analysis of its own data.
One of the leakiest plants is located in the town of Cardigan in west Wales. Professor Peter Hammond, a mathematician who shared his findings with the broadcaster, described it as the worst sewage works I’ve come across in terms of illegal discharges.
Unfortunately for wildlife, the outflow point from this treatment plant spills into the Teifi estuary. Home to Atlantic salmon, lamprey and otters, the River Teifi is meant to be protected as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).
The dirty and poisonous sewage waste water flows into Cardigan Bay, an important habitat for around 300 bottle-nose dolphins.
A combined sewerage system covers most of Great Britain, meaning that rainwater and wastewater travel through the same pipes before being treated at a sewage treatment works.
During extreme weather, release of this mixed wastewater into rivers and seas is allowed via storm overflow pipes, to prevent the system from being overwhelmed.
But recent investigations have revealed how often water companies are using the overflows to discharge sewage in mild conditions, before their permitted overflow level is reached. Releasing wastewater in these circumstances is illegal.
Raw discharges were sent into English rivers 825 times a day last year, the latest data from the nation’s Environment Agency show. Cardigan plant spilled sewage for over 1,000 days in 5 years.
A former University College London professor, Hammond is part of the campaign group Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP), one of many local groups formed in outrage at this situation.
Analysing data provided by Welsh Water, he discovered that Cardigan almost never treated the amount of sewage it was supposed to, the BBC reports.
According to its permit, it has to treat 88 liters a second before spilling. However, the plant had illegally spilled untreated sewage for a cumulative total of 1,146 days from the start of 2018 to the end of May 2023.
Welsh Water does not dispute this analysis and says it is working to fix the problem.
The company admitted that it has up to 50 wastewater treatment plants currently operating in breach of their permits, and prioritize improving plants that will help lighten customer bills.
It added that there is no measurable environmental impact from the Cardigan estuary spills – something environmental groups dispute.
Critics have pointed to the privatization of England and Wales’s water network in 1989, which has led to years of mismanagement and under-investment.
Others say abnormally dry ground was to blame as it could not absorb excess water, meaning discharges into seas and rivers were needed to prevent flooding.
Associations fighting river pollution have urged water companies to publish information on wastewater dumps in a bid to improve transparency. Fundamentally this site [Cardigan] has been discharging raw sewage for possibly 10 years and no action has been taken
The water company’s regulator, Natural Resources Wales, told the BBC that it has been aware of the issues at Cardigan for eight years and has issued enforcement notices but no fines.
The pollution is now unsolvable without significant investment and upgrading of infrastructure by Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, the regulator adds in an online statement. But this is the kind of investment that we, and the public expects.
Euronews.com / ABC Flash Point News 2023.
India wants Oil Refiners and Fertilizer Plants to start using Green Hydrogen
India plans to force refineries and fertilizer plants to use some green hydrogen, junior oil minister Rameswar Teli said on Monday, as Asia’s third-largest economy strives to reduce carbon emissions.
Governments and energy companies around the world are betting on clean hydrogen playing a leading role in efforts to lower greenhouse gas emissions, though its future uses and costs remain uncertain.
India’s draft hydrogen policy will mandate a gradual increase in the use of green hydrogen instead of fossil fuels in refineries and fertilizer plants, Teli told lawmakers in a written reply to questions.
Green hydrogen is a zero-carbon fuel made by electrolysis, using renewable power from wind and solar to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, but green hydrogen is yet to be produced in India on a commercial scale due to the high cost of production.
India is already encouraging the use of hydrogen as a transport fuel, with some buses running on hydrogen blended fuel on a trial basis. Last week, Indian Railways invited bids to explore if diesel-fuel trains could operate using hydrogen.
Fertilizer minister Mansukh Mandaviya said last month the use of green hydrogen would cut imports of ammonia and natural gas required for fertilizer production.
The policy aims to boost green hydrogen production and its use across multiple sectors, including transportation. India is already encouraging the use of hydrogen as a transport fuel, with some buses running on hydrogen blended fuel on a trial basis.
The draft policy wants green hydrogen to account for 10% of the overall hydrogen needs of refiners from 2023/24, rising to 25% in five years. The respective requirements for the fertilizer sector are set at 5% and 20%.
India is raising its renewable energy capacity, currently 92.97 gigawatts (GW), to meet about 40% of its electricity needs by 2030 under the Paris climate accord, compared with 36.7% currently?
It wants to raise renewable energy capacity to 175 GW by 2022 and 450 GW by 2030. India’s top refiner Indian Oil Corp, top power utility NTPC Ltd and conglomerates including Reliance and Adani have announced plans to build green hydrogen projects.
India Times / ABC Flash Point News 2021.
World Water Shortages could affect half of the Global Population over the next 20 Years
The United Nations reported that about half the world’s population could be affected by severe water shortages in the next 20 years due to a number of increasing global development factors.
In its World Water Development Report, UN researchers said shortages could directly impact 5 billion people by 2040, when the world population will be between 8 to 10 billion.
The study warns that stresses on rivers, lakes, reservoirs, aquifers and other water sources, such as glaciers could lead to shortages — which could then result in conflict, environmental damage and threats to civilization.
Good examples are the current water conflicts an be noted in Northern Africa, but also in the Middle East, where Israel confiscated the Jordan River flow from Syria to fill up the Sea of Galilee, but also ISIS that annexed Raqqa (Euphrates) and Mosul (Tigris) before they were defeated by Syria and Iraq with the help of Iran and Russia.
Industrialization, population growth, climate change and the growth of developing countries are straining the water supply, the research says.
The global water cycle is intensifying due to climate change, with wetter regions generally becoming wetter and drier regions becoming even drier.
Global changes like urbanization, deforestation, intensification of agriculture add to these challenges.
Noting the 2014-15 drought in Sao Paolo, Brazil, which was linked to Amazon deforestation, the U.N. research urges planners to consider a wider geographic area when anticipating water supply.
It also says trees and other vegetation help to recycle and distribute water, contrary to the views of many farmers.
Especially now with the former military paratrooper and new Brazilian president, Bolsonaro who has promised to seize the lands of Brazil’s indigenous tribes and hand them over to private businessmen for exploitation.
UPI / ABC Flash Point News 2018.
Vietnam demands Monsanto to pay Compensation to Victims of Agent Orange
Vietnam demands Monsanto pay compensation to the victims of Agent Orange, which the company supplied to the US military during the Vietnam War, in response to Monsanto being ordered to pay $289 million to a man whose terminal cancer was linked to their products.
The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or simply the American War, was a conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975.
The North Vietnamese army was supported by the Soviet Union and China, while the South Vietnamese army was supported by the USA, South Korea, Australia, Thailand and France.
The war is considered a Cold War-era proxy war by some US perspectives. The majority of Americans believe the war was unjustified, after the USA went bankrupt, resulting in abandoning the gold standard in order to print money to keep the economy alive.
Estimates of the number of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed vary from 966,000 to 3.8 million. Some 275,000–310,000 Cambodians, 20,000–62,000 Laotians and 58,220 U.S. service assassins also died in the bloody conflict, and a further 1,626 remain missing in action.
Agent Orange is an herbicide and defoliant chemical, one of the tactical use Rainbow Herbicides. It is widely known for its use by the US military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971.
It is a mixture of equal parts of two herbicides, 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D. In addition to its damaging environmental effects, traces of dioxin found in the mixture have caused major health problems for many individuals who were exposed.
Up to four million people in Vietnam were exposed to the defoliant. The government of Vietnam says as many as 3 million people have suffered illnesses because of Agent Orange.
The Red Cross of Vietnam estimates that up to 1 million people are disabled or have health problems as a result of Agent Orange contamination.
Agent Orange also caused enormous environmental damage in Vietnam. Over 3,100,000 hectares of forest were defoliated.
Defoliants eroded tree cover and seedling forest stock, making reforestation difficult in numerous areas. Animal species diversity sharply reduced in contrast with unsprayed areas.
Almost 25% of the Vietnam land, including wildlife have been contaminated by Agent Orange during the evil military horror show in the French Indo-China War.
Monsanto, now owned by Bayer, has to swallow the consequences of the humanitarian disgrace and compensate the collateral damage.
RT.com / Wikipedia Flash Point Humanitarian News 2018.
Future of Urban Consumption in a Climate Change controlled World
C40 is delighted to publish this pioneering piece of thought leadership, The Future of Urban Consumption in a 1.5°C World. The report demonstrates that mayors have an even bigger role and opportunity to help avert climate emergency than previously thought.
But to grasp that opportunity, city leaders need to be even more entrepreneurial, creating and shaping markets and engaging in sectors that may not previously have been considered within the domain of city government, and working out how to support their citizens and businesses in achieving a radical, and rapid, shift in consumption patterns.
Cities drive the global economy, and urban decisions have an impact well beyond city
boundaries. In this case, the impact we are considering is the greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions resulting from urban consumption of building materials, food, clothing & textiles,
private transport, electronics & household appliances, as well as private aviation travel.
What is the true scope and scale of urban impacts on the environment? What is the role of mayors and other urban stakeholders in addressing them?
How can we fairly and equitably address consumption-based emissions if many citizens in C40 cities still do not meet their basic needs? Is it possible to avert climate breakdown given that the current rules of the global economy encourage ever-increasing consumption?
The work also shows that there are huge health and cost benefits in doing so. A world with low-impact consumption will be more prosperous and happy than the over-consuming, polluted alternative that we are currently heading for.
C40 recognizes that the full environmental consequences of twenty-first century consumption are only beginning to be understood and that the findings of this report will make uncomfortable reading for many mayors, businesses and citizens.
As a result, C40 cities will need time to develop the partnerships, strategies and actions that can deliver the necessary changes. C40 is committed to supporting that process.
US Cities are leading on tackling climate breakdown by setting ambitious targets and taking impactful action to reduce their local emissions.
This work has mostly focused on transport, buildings, energy and waste, which reduces GHG emissions that are emitted within the city, or production-based emissions. Production based emissions have already peaked in 27 C40 cities.
New information shows that fast-growing urban consumption is a key driver of climate change. When a product or service is bought by an urban consumer in a C40 city, resource
extraction, manufacturing and transportation have already generated emissions along every
link of a global supply chain.
Together these consumption-based emissions add up to a total climate impact that is approximately 60% higher than production-based emissions.
Consumption-based emissions account for the total climate impact accumulated around the world of a good or service, allocated to the place where an end-product is used or consumed. Take a pair of jeans, for example.
Its climate impact includes the GHG emissions that resulted from growing and harvesting the cotton used for the fabric, the CO2e emitted by the factory where it was stitched together, and the emissions from ships, trucks or planes that transported it to the store.
Its impact also includes the emissions from heating, cooling or lighting the store the jeans were bought in and the CO 2e emitted by the end-consumer washing and drying it over its lifetime.
C40’s 94 member cities can therefore influence roughly 10% of global emissions. By contrast, the total production-based emissions of C40 cities in 2017 are estimated to be 2.9 GtCO 2e.
When considering C40 cities’ consumption-based emissions, mayors, businesses and urban residents can influence an approximately 60% larger share of global GHG emissions than previously thought.
Cities and urban consumers have a huge impact on emissions beyond their own borders since 85% of the emissions associated with goods and services consumed in C40 cities are generated outside the city; 60% in their own country and 25% from abroad.
These developments must initiate sweeping decreases in the carbon-intensity of industrial
processes such as the making of steel, cement and petrochemicals.
If cities then develop additional bespoke consumption interventions, for a wider set of diverse goods and service categories that have not been the focus of this report, C40 cities could close their full consumption-based emissions gap by 2050.
The C40 network represents 25% of the global economy, and vast amounts of goods and
services are produced around the world in order to meet consumer demands in C40 cities.
Mayors and city governments are well-positioned to bring together urban residents, businesses, civil society groups and national governments to collaborate on the delivery of transformative climate solutions.
However, this research is evolving. This report is based on the best currently available evidence, but more and better data will become available over time, allowing the goals and approaches to be refined.
The findings presented in this report constitute the first step of an ongoing process of measurement and prioritization that C40 will lead over the next few years to better understand what cities can do to reduce their consumption-based emissions in line with a 1.5°C scenario.
We have published the evidence, methods and assumptions within an accompanying method report, and welcome suggestions for improvements. An overview of the research approach is shown on the next page.
Two target levels were established for each intervention. The progressive target level is based on research that identifies the threshold of resource efficiency and behavioral change potential, as defined by current technology and progressive changes in consumer
choices.
The clothing and textile industry plays a significant part in the global economy. The industry is undergoing a transformation as growth rates are increasingly driven by expanding markets in rapidly developing nations.
Emissions from clothing and textiles made up 4% of C40 cities consumption-based emissions in 2017. If all C40 cities make the changes set out in table 4, the emissions of the clothing and textiles category could be cut by 47% between 2017 and 2050.
The adoption of ambitious targets would enable a further 19% emissions reduction. It is notable that the impact of reducing the number of new clothing and textile items people buy significantly exceeds the impact of cutting supply chain waste.
In the ambitious scenario, the limited number of items being produced means that there are lower savings to be made through supply chain waste reductions.
Emissions associated with aviation in C40 cities make up 2% of total consumption-based
emissions in 2017.
This may seem relatively marginal compared to other sectors examined in this report, but air travel is one of the most carbon-intensive activities that individuals can personally undertake and the aviation industry is experiencing rapid growth.
If all residents of C40 cities fly less38 and airlines increase the proportion of sustainable aviation fuel they use as outlined in the progressive target, a cumulative 43% emissions saving can be achieved (Figure 25).
Given the current global disparity in flying, it is important to note that C40 cities can, on average, actually increase flight trips by 43% compared to 2017 levels, if the target is one short-haul flight every two years per person.
However, 46% of C40 cities’ residents would need to reduce the number of trips, compared to their 2017 levels.
The relative contributions of the two consumption interventions are similar, though it should be noted that the adoption of sustainable bio-fuel is dependent on also limiting the number of flights to avoid potentially negative consequences on other systems.
Such as land and water required for producing feed-stocks, and potential competition with other land uses such as food production or the chopping down of the rain forests in Brazil and Africa.
The use of electronics and household appliances has grown substantially over the last few
decades. Emissions from electronics and household appliances in C40 cities made up 3% of total consumption-based emissions in 2017.
By keeping electronic goods and household appliances for longer and optimizing their lifespan, a total emissions reduction of 33% can be achieved by 2050.
In 2017, the total consumption-based emissions associated with the use and manufacturing of private vehicles in C40 cities represented 8% of total emissions.
A third of the emissions from private transport are related to the materials and processes used to make vehicles and motorbikes.
For this consumption category, there is a clear overlap with Deadline 2020 commitments given that reductions in the use of private transport could catalyze a reduction in ownership and vice versa.
In 2017, emissions associated with food were estimated to account for 13% of total consumption based emissions across C40 cities.
Roughly three quarters of these emissions stem from consumption of animal based foods, with the remaining 25% from consumption of plant based foods.
In 2017, C40 cities’ emissions associated with construction and refurbishment of buildings and infrastructure accounted for 0.45 GtCO2e, representing 11% of emissions in that year.
These emissions are not only associated with construction within C40 cities; city residents are also beneficiaries of buildings and infrastructure across their host country, such as public and commercial buildings, railways, bridges, highways, water and sewerage infrastructure.
Emissions from construction of such national infrastructure is included within C40 cities’
consumption-based emissions.
To avoid climate breakdown across the world, including in C40 cities, major industries such as energy generation, transportation, agriculture, construction, electronics, and clothing and textiles, will have to undergo significant structural changes.
Evolving consumer demands will both require new, sustainable products and services, and that existing consumer goods are made in a more resource-efficient and sustainable way.
These changes in consumer demands and production will affect businesses and workers throughout supply chains across the world, leading to a completely new economic takeover.
Expose News.com / ABC Flash Point News 2023.
Immortal Jellyfish & the Secret to Cheating Death
What most of us would recognize as a jellyfish – the otherworldly, gelatinous aquatic animals renowned for their sting-filled tentacles – is actually just the final stage of these animals’ life cycle.
At least, it usually is, but not all jellyfish play by the same rules, and one species may have discovered the secret to immortality. The life cycle of most jellyfish species is similar. They have eggs and sperm and these get released to be fertilized, and then from that you get a free-swimming larval form.
The larva will move about in the current until it finds a hard surface to establish itself. It will then start to mature and grow. Larvae mature into polyps, which will then bud off and mature into young jellyfish.
An adult jellyfish is known as a medusa. Jellyfish belong to a group called Cnidaria, which also includes sea anemones and corals. As animals, they are subject to the cycle of life and death – though one species is known to bend the rules.
The hydrozoan Turritopsis dohrnii, an animal about 4.5 millimeters wide and tall (likely making it smaller than the nail on your little finger), can actually reverse its life cycle. It has been dubbed the immortal jellyfish.
When the medusa of this species is physically damaged or experiences stresses such as starvation, instead of dying it shrinks in on itself, reabsorbing its tentacles and losing the ability to swim. It then settles on the seafloor as a blob-like cyst.
Over the next 24-36 hours, this blob develops into a new polyp – the jellyfish’s previous life stage – and after maturing, medusae bud off. This phenomenon has been likened to that of a butterfly which, instead of dying, would be able to transform back into a caterpillar and then metamorphose into an adult butterfly once again.
The process behind the jellyfish’s remarkable transformation is called trans-differentiation and is extremely rare. Medusa cells and polyp cells are different – some cells and organs only occur in the polyp, others only in the adult jellyfish.
Trans-differentiation reprogrammed the Medusa’s specialized cells to become specialized polyp cells, allowing the jellyfish to regrow themselves in an entirely different body plan to the free-swimming jellyfish they had recently been. They can then mature again from there as normal, producing new, genetically identical medusae.
This life cycle reversal can be repeated, and in perfect conditions, it may be that these jellyfish would never die of old age. We might be distracted watching much larger jellyfish, but the tiny things such as this can inform so much of our science about these animals,
T. dohrnii may bend the rules to rejuvenate itself, but it can’t always cheat death. For example, jellyfish, including immortal ones, are prey to other animals, such as fish and turtles. Polyps are also practically defenseless to predation by animals such as sea slugs and crustaceans.
Understanding how long jellyfish including T. dohrnii, can live for can be tricky. A lot of deep-ocean science takes a long time, and it is very costly to do observations over time to see change.
The jellyfish also must have perfect conditions where they aren’t going to be harmed by anything external, such as by humans or other predators, imagination is more important than knowledge..
T. dohrnii is sensitive, making it also difficult to rear in a lab for studies. But despite the challenges, one scientist is known to have had long-term success with captive immortal jellyfish.
Japanese scientist Shin Kubota has kept populations of immortal jellyfish looping through their unusual back and forth life cycle since the 1990’s.
His work with the species is time-consuming, with Kubota needing to monitor and care for the colonies daily, even having to slice up their miniature meals of brine shrimp eggs under a microscope so they’re small enough for the tiny jellyfish to eat.
But through his endeavors, Kubota has reported that over a two-year period, captive colonies of the jellyfish naturally rejuvenated themselves up to 10 times, sometimes at intervals of just one month.
Immortal jellyfish are thought to have originated in the Mediterranean Sea, however they are now found in oceans all around the world. It is thought this recently noticed invasion may have been predominantly caused by humans.
A prevailing theory is that ships are responsible for widely dispersing the creatures through Earth’s oceans. The jellyfish’s immortality makes it an excellent hitchhiker, after all.
Ballast water is pumped in and out of vessels like cargo and cruise ships to maintain stability. It is highly possible that immortal jellyfish get drawn in with this water and are able to survive ocean crossings thanks to their ability to reverse their life cycle when they experience stresses, such as a lack of food.
The immortal jellyfish is also relatively inconspicuous, which may have contributed to its spread being difficult to spot. It is tiny and translucent, and can have different features depending on where in the world it’s living.
From a study of T. dohrnii around the world, researchers found that immortal jellyfish in tropical regions like Panama had only eight tentacles, whereas those in more temperate waters, such as in the Mediterranean and Japan, can have 24 or more. It is not clear yet why they differ.
Another reason the immortal jellyfish’s spread around the globe may have gone unnoticed for so long is that they don’t have a perceivable negative impact.
Invasive species can be problematic, and some, such as zebra mussels in North America, wreak havoc that costs enormous sums of money to fix. Others, like the hippos introduced to Colombia about 30 years ago, pose threats to the native wildlife they coexist with.
While there have not yet been any major problems identified that are linked to immortal jellyfish, their silent spread at the hand of humans is yet another good reminder of our influence on the natural world, even when we don’t notice the effect we’re having.
Natural History Museum United Kingdom / Crickey Conservation Society 2023.
Factory Farming is the definition for Extreme Misery for Animals
On today’s factory farms, animals are crammed by the thousands into filthy, windowless sheds and stuffed into wire cages, metal crates, and other torturous devices.
These animals will never raise their families, root around in the soil, build nests, or do anything that is natural and important to them.
Most won’t even feel the warmth of the sun on their backs or breathe fresh air until the day they’re loaded onto trucks headed for slaughterhouses.
The factory farming industry strives to maximize output while minimizing costs—always at the animals’ expense.
The giant corporations that run most factory farms have found that they can make more money by squeezing as many animals as possible into tiny spaces, even though many of the animals die from disease or infection.
Animals on factory farms endure constant fear and torment:
- They’re often given so little space that they can’t even turn around or lie down comfortably. Egg-laying hens are kept in small cages, chickens and pigs are kept in jam-packed sheds, and cows are kept on crowded, filthy feedlots.
- Antibiotics are used to make animals grow faster and to keep them alive in the unsanitary conditions. Research shows that factory farms’ widespread use of antibiotics can lead to antibiotic-resistant bacteria that threaten human health.
- Most factory-farmed animals have been genetically manipulated to grow larger or to produce more milk or eggs than they naturally would. Some chickens grow so unnaturally large that their legs cannot support their out-sized bodies, and they suffer from starvation or dehydration when they can’t walk to reach food and water.
When they’ve grown large enough to slaughter or their bodies have been worn out from producing milk or eggs, animals raised for food are crowded onto trucks and transported for miles through all weather extremes, typically without food or water.
At the slaughterhouse, those who survived the transport will have their throats slit, often while they’re still conscious.
Many remain conscious when they’re plunged into the scalding-hot water of the de-feathering or hair-removal tanks or while their bodies are being skinned or hacked apart.
ABC Flash Point Factory Farming Blog News 2019.
Michigan sold Nestle 100 Million Gallons of Water for just $200
Despite almost unanimous disapproval from local residents, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) sold Swiss based corporation, Nestle a permit to allow them to extract $100 million of drinking water at $1 per gallon for just $200?
The water taken by Nestlé will be bottled and sold from White Pine Springs in Michigan at a rate of 400 gallons per minute, despite a petition collected 376,241 signatures from outraged citizens making it clear they do not approve of the fascist capitalist move.
The new permit has allowed Nestlé to lift their original limit of 250 gallons a minute to 400, which works out at 100 million gallons a year. The original agreement was a tiny fee of just $200 a year. The fee will not change for the new permit, allowing Nestle to cash in $100 million in profits per year.
The scope and detail of the department’s review of the Nestlé permit application represents the most extensive analysis of any water withdrawal in Michigan history.
In full transparency, the majority of the public comments received were in opposition of the permit, but most of them related to issues of public policy which are not part of an administrative permit decision.
Michigan cannot base their decisions on public opinion because the department is required to follow the rule of law when making determinations?
Sadly, the DEQ chose to give the “Green Light”to Nestlé to continue pumping the people’s water (by hanging a ‘For Sale’ sign on Michigan’s water resources) at a time when communities across Michigan state lack safe, affordable access to drinking water.
Truth Theory.com / ABC Flash Point Water News 2018.
Crickey Amigu di Natura 