Single-use plastic bag sales fall 86% since introduction of 5p charge | The Independent

Incentives work!



Campaigners are now calling for charges on plastic bottles and disposable coffee cups in the hope of producing a similar effect




Friends of the Earth hailed the legislation for making reusable shopping bags the ‘new norm’ ( AFP/Getty )



Single-use plastic bag sales fall 86% since introduction of 5p charge | The Independent

Environmental Health Perspectives – Estimated Effects of Future Atmospheric CO2 Concentrations on Protein Intake and the Risk of Protein Deficiency by Country and Region

Crops grown under elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations (eCO2) contain less protein. Crops particularly affected include rice and wheat, which are primary sources of dietary protein for many countries.Under eCO2, rice, wheat, barley, and potato protein contents decreased by 7.6%, 7.8%, 14.1%, and 6.4%, respectively. Consequently, 18 countries may lose >5% of their dietary protein, including India (5.3%). By 2050, assuming today’s diets and levels of income inequality, an additional 1.6% or 148.4 million of the world’s population may be placed at risk of protein deficiency because of eCO2. In India, an additional 53 million people may become at risk.


Figure 3. Risk of protein deficiency as defined by protein intake below estimated average protein requirements (EAR). Estimates of (A) current percentage of the population at risk of deficiency, (B) percent of the population newly at risk of deficiency under elevated carbon dioxide (eCO2), and (C) millions of people estimated to be newly at risk of deficiency under eCO2, based on 2050 population projections. Data were plotted using the Rworldmap package in R (version 3.2.4; R Development Core Team).

Environmental Health Perspectives – Estimated Effects of Future Atmospheric CO2 Concentrations on Protein Intake and the Risk of Protein Deficiency by Country and Region

30 Years Of Talking (And Talking And Talking) About Climate Change | On The Media | WNYC Studios

April 16, 2017: The Theewaterskloof Dam, a key source of water supply to Cape Town, South Africa, is shown at low levels. ( Halden Krog / Associated Press )

In June of 1988, NASA's James Hansen testified before the Senate about global warming and presented data linking that year's high temperatures to the greenhouse effect. That summer, Americans experienced a powerful heat wave, a devastating drought, and intense wildfires. The greenhouse effect resonated, and the idea of global warming became front page news.

That was also the year that Andrew Revkin started covering global warming, starting with a cover piece for Discover Magazine (and later for The New York Times). This summer, he spoke with Brooke about the lessons he's learned in thirty years of coverage — and what they mean for how humankind might be able to navigate a much warmer future.

Revkin's piece on thirty years of climate change reporting is in the July issue of National Geographic. He is also the co-author of Weather: An Illustrating History: From Cloud Atlases to Climate Change. He is now Strategic Adviser for Environmental and Science Journalism at the National Geographic Society.

Full Broadcast and transcript: 30 Years Of Talking (And Talking And Talking) About Climate Change | On The Media | WNYC Studios

The practically cost-free way to slow global warming that Trump won’t adopt - The Washington Post

Gas flares from a stack at a natural gas processing facility near Williston, N.D., in 2015. (Matthew Brown/AP)

WHAT IF there were a way to slash planet-warming greenhouse-gas emissions at little to no net cost? Opportunities such as these exist because knowledge about them has emerged gradually and the government has failed to require the simple changes needed. An example is curbing methane emissions from the nation’s booming natural gas industry. A new study in the journal Science suggests that the industry can easily do much better, driving immediate emissions benefits while extracting and transporting a fossil fuel that, if handled correctly, is substantially cleaner than coal.

Full Story: The practically cost-free way to slow global warming that Trump won’t adopt - The Washington Post

Trump Tried to Stop These Teens Suing Over Climate Change. It Didn't Work.

As we all will be suffering - we all should join as co-plaintiffs to make this the largest law suit ever...

(c)  Youtube/Alliance for Climate Education

“The courts have the ability to make the other branches do their jobs when they are failing.”
The kids suing the federal government over climate change will get their day in court after all.
The administration of US President Donald Trump tried to get the case thrown out because it would allegedly be too burdensome to resolve.
But a federal appeals court in San Francisco unanimously voted 3-0 to reject this claim on July 20, arguing that the case should be decided in a court, according to Reuters.

FULL STORY: Trump Tried to Stop These Teens Suing Over Climate Change. It Didn't Work.

Clean Air Act Violation by Savoy Energy Finalized

After more than 3 years since the EPA issued a Clean Air Act violation notice against Savoy Energy L.P. in May 2015, the violation notice is finally resolved and Savoy L.P. agreed to pay a civil fine of $66,000. The question is if Savoy is also obliged to fix the issues after more than 3 years. An announced site visit in October 2015 yielded that none of the issues that the EPA built their violation case upon were fixed. It is incomprehensible that the EPA never went back to check that the facility transitioned to best management practices - and also has no plan to do so now. A fine of $66,000 seems a low price for Savoy to pay and being allowed to continue to pollute our air...

The full documents can be downloaded here and here.

The Amazon Rain Forest vs. Oil Drilling and Pollution

The Achuar of Peru's Pastaza River in the northern Amazon have sent many oil companies packing. Now GeoPark, a company based in Chile, thinks it can succeed where Talisman, Oxy, and ARCO failed.

The Achuar remain as committed as ever to resisting extractive industries in their ancestral territory, helping defend its biodiversity and the global climate. Now they've asked international civil society to stand with them as they defend their sacred rainforests from an attack on their ancestral way of life.




AMAZON WATCH » Tell GeoPark: Stay Out of Achuar Territory!