JasonOndreicka / iStock / Getty Images
Twenty-five years ago, a food called Tofurky made its debut on grocery store shelves. Since then, the tofu-based roast has become a beloved part of many vegetarians' holiday feasts.
<p>"Tofurky and Thanksgiving are forever intimately tied in my heart," said Jan Dutkiewicz, a visiting fellow at Harvard Law School's animal law and policy program.</p>
<iframe style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/16550342/height/45/theme/standard/thumbnail/yes/direction/backward/" height="45" width="100%" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe><p>He said Tofurky was different from most vegetarian fare because it could actually stand in for a turkey roast.</p><p>"It allowed me to be at a Thanksgiving meal having a sort of centerpiece of my own and not just eating stuffing and nibbling on veggies and whatnot," he said.</p><p>Today, there are many more meat alternatives on the market. Some brands such as <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/impossible-burger-vs-beyond-burger-2645075556.html">Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat</a> work hard to appeal not only to vegetarians, but meat lovers too.</p><p>"The strategy has been to offer a product that's as close as possible in taste, texture, and price to the products that meat consumers are already eating," Dutkiewicz said.</p><p>Producing plant-based proteins generates much less carbon pollution than animal agriculture. So Dutkiewicz said making plant-based foods that appeal – even to meat eaters – can help reduce global warming on Thanksgiving or any day of the year.</p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/11/the-lasting-influence-of-the-tofurky/" target="_blank">Yale Climate Connections</a>.</em> <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/r/entryeditor/2649054032#/" target="_self"></a></p>
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Protestors walk past an image of a Native American woman during a march to "Count Every Vote, Protect Every Person" after the U.S. presidential Election in Seattle, Washington on November 4. Jason Redmond / AFP / Getty Images
By Jessica Corbett
A leading environmental advocacy group marked Native American Heritage Month on Wednesday by urging President-elect Joe Biden, Vice President-elect Kamala Kamala Harris, and the entire incoming administration "to honor Indigenous sovereignty and immediately halt the Keystone XL, Dakota Access, and Line 3 pipelines."
<p><span style="background-color: initial;">That call from 350.org U.S. communications director Thanu Yakupitiyage for Indigenous <a href="https://landback.org/" target="_blank">#LandBack</a> came just ahead of Thanksgiving in the U.S. and as the coronavirus pandemic continues to devastate communities across the country — with more than 12.7 million COVID-19 cases and over 261,000 deaths nationwide as of Wednesday afternoon.</span></p>
<p>"As we embark on a just recovery from the compound crises of climate disasters, racist police brutality, economic injustice, and Covid-19, we are in a pivotal moment of reckoning that requires us to ground in the history of the United States as a country built on stolen Indigenous land by stolen Black and African labor," Yakupitiyage said.</p><p>"As we act to stop state-sanctioned violence against Black and Brown communities," she continued, "we also acknowledge the decades and centuries of white supremacy, colonialism, and capitalism that continue to have devastating and genocidal impacts on the lives, livelihoods, and traditions of Native and Indigenous communities across the United States, North America, and around the world."</p><p>The activist drew attention to three controversial pipelines against which Indigenous people <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/11/25/brutal-memories-standing-rock-stop-line-3-campaigners-wary-rule-barring" target="_blank">have led</a> the opposition, highlighting some of the destructive impacts that such projects have on Native communities and lands, in addition to the climate effects.</p><p>"Fossil fuel executives and racist climate criminals continue to assault treaty rights and Indigenous sovereignty, attempting to ram toxic and unnecessary pipelines like Keystone XL, Dakota Access, and Line 3 through sacred Indigenous land and waters, while perpetuating threats and violence against Indigenous womxn, girls, and two-spirit people," said Yakupitiyage.</p>
<div id="ef565" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9cdfa0e287c7703a509672ed361c63a4"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1331660175024001025" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">We are seeing day in and day out black and brown organizers across Minnesota gather to resist the Line 3 pipeline t… https://t.co/FDHSaEDRpJ</div> — 350 dot org (@350 dot org)<a href="https://twitter.com/350/statuses/1331660175024001025">1606327501.0</a></blockquote></div><p>"Transformative climate solutions to truly tackle the root of climate change require systemic action to decolonize from the very systems that have created the crisis in the first place," she added. "Our leap toward a just recovery must start with honoring treaties with sovereign Indigenous nations and returning land back to Native peoples. The time is now for meaningful care and repair."</p><p>For months, 350.org has spearheaded global calls for a just recovery from the pandemic — <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/30/ahead-may-day-500-groups-worldwide-demand-just-and-visionary-recovery-covid-19" target="_blank">demanding</a> that policymakers prioritize human health, provide economic relief directly to the people, help workers and communities rather than corporate executives, work to create resilience for future crises, and build solidarity across borders.</p><p>Yakupitiyage's comments centering Indigenous communities in relation to a just recovery come as Biden is facing calls from Native Americans and climate campaigners to consider appointing Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.), a member of Pueblo of Laguna, as his interior secretary. Two years ago, she and Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.) became the first two Native American women elected to Congress.</p>
<div id="defe7" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7f8197a96f6d6b3f20364ebc2044701d"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1329136271717851136" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">When we say #landback, it means fundamentally undoing the harm that has been done to Indian Ppl...appointing an Ind… https://t.co/I7y4j0MvdU</div> — NDN Collective (@NDN Collective)<a href="https://twitter.com/ndncollective/statuses/1329136271717851136">1605725755.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Broadly, Biden is <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/11/20/new-no-corporate-cabinet-campaign-pushes-biden-pick-people-who-will-advance-public" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">facing</a> pressure from progressives — and <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/11/25/new-poll-shows-68-americans-want-senators-block-any-corporate-biden-nominees" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">public opinion</a> — to stock the next administration, including his Cabinet, with people committed to serving in the public interest rather than corporate insiders. Earlier this month, the Sunrise Movement and Justice Democrats launched a campaign that includes Cabinet suggestions; Haaland is among them.</p><p>"A visionary secretary of the interior has enormous latitude to crack down on giveaways to fossil fuel corporations, like permits to drill for oil on public lands and in public waters. With a progressive leader at the helm, we can make real progress," the groups explain on the campaign website.</p><p>"As the first Native American to hold this position, Rep. Deb Haaland would usher in a new era of Indigenous authority over stolen land," they added. "She is a fierce ally of our movement who has fought for renewable energy job creation in the House as vice chair of the House Natural Resources Committee and chair of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands."</p>
<div id="5b957" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="519eba91a8fc7d7ef319cba86cf1960f"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1331383407255969792" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The Secretary of the Interior oversees the management and conservation of federal lands.
Who better to head the de… https://t.co/f1IJwNd1Bt</div> — Sunrise Movement 🌅 (@Sunrise Movement 🌅)<a href="https://twitter.com/sunrisemvmt/statuses/1331383407255969792">1606261514.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Haaland <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/biden-transition-updates/2020/11/23/937756927/rep-haaland-cabinet-pick-would-mean-a-lot-to-indian-country" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">discussed</a> the potential nomination on NPR this week, telling Rachel Martin, "First of all, it would mean a lot to Indian Country."</p><p>"When Sharice [Davids] and I got sworn in, everybody was so happy," said the congresswoman. "It means a lot to a group of people who have been here since time immemorial to know that they're truly being represented. I think it would really change the way people see our federal government."</p><p>"Being able to listen," Haaland added, "being able to move issues forward, bringing people to the table — I think that would make a huge difference."</p><p>From Arizona to Wisconsin, reporters have highlighted in the messy aftermath of Election Day that Native voters were key contributors to Biden's victory over President Donald Trump, who has yet to formally concede even though the transition process is already underway.</p>
<div id="cedbb" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="fd66c0f753f0ad581dcb839602f0738c"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1329876320470360068" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">NEW from me for @CBSNews: Native American turnout in Arizona surged this year. Biden won Arizona by nearly 12,000 v… https://t.co/sMmk2La1nw</div> — Grace Segers (@Grace Segers)<a href="https://twitter.com/Grace_Segers/statuses/1329876320470360068">1605902197.0</a></blockquote></div>
<div id="e082d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8f5d07fe514d9d2156acd08cd74909c3"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1330489726516793348" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">When we talk about the rural vote, remember that it is incredibly diverse, and that Democrats can and must recogniz… https://t.co/TNDWMHgT0L</div> — John Nichols (@John Nichols)<a href="https://twitter.com/NicholsUprising/statuses/1330489726516793348">1606048444.0</a></blockquote></div><p>After election-callers and major news networks named Biden the winner, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez <a href="https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/the-native-vote-turned-out-so-today-it-s-celebration-F77qX2eKZ0mGV-SJhcxz9g" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">released</a> a statement noting the significance of the Native vote.</p><p>"The First Americans of this country, including a large majority of Navajo voters, had a major impact in the outcome of the presidential election in several swing states — that needs to be recognized and acknowledged by all," he said. "Both campaigns fought hard for Native American votes, particularly Navajo votes, and that's truly a reflection of the growing influence and power of tribal nations across the country."</p><p>Nez, who met with Biden and Harris to discuss tribal policy, added that "the Navajo Nation now looks forward to working together with the Biden-Harris administration to put that plan into action."</p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/11/25/biden-urged-honor-indigenous-sovereignty-and-immediately-halt-fossil-fuel-pipelines" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>. </em></p>
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Like many other plant-based foods and products, CBD oil is one dietary supplement where "organic" labels are very important to consumers. However, there are little to no regulations within the hemp industry when it comes to deeming a product as organic, which makes it increasingly difficult for shoppers to find the best CBD oil products available on the market.
<p>Here you can learn about the importance of organic hemp oil, why it's better for the environment, and which CBD companies actually make trustworthy products with sustainable farming processes. origins which weigh heavily on many consumers who want to buy a product that's produced in the best way possible for not only themselves to ingest, but for the environment as well through sustainable farming methods. </p><h2>What Is CBD Oil?</h2><p>First things first, CBD stands for cannabidiol, and it's a cannabinoid found within cannabis sativa plants. This plant compound is believed to have many potential benefits, and it is primarily derived from hemp plants via a CO2 extraction process. </p><p>Since CBD is extracted from industrial hemp, which contains only trace amounts of THC (the psychoactive component in cannabis plants), this means that CBD won't make you feel high like marijuana, which has much higher levels of THC that causes psychoactive effects. Instead, the effects of CBD are much more subtle and promote a general sense of calm and relaxation in most users.</p><h2>What Makes a CBD Oil Organic?</h2><p>In terms of organic labels, perhaps the most important (and prominent) certification comes from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This government organization has been labeling foods as "organic" for many years, but what exactly does this certification entail? Essentially, a label indicating that a product is "USDA Organic" or "Certified Organic" means that at least 95% of the ingredients are obtained from organic sources.</p><p>For a crop to be considered organic by the USDA, it must be grown without the use of industrial solvents, irradiation, genetic engineering (GMOs), synthetic pesticides, or chemical fertilizer. Instead, farmers rely on natural substances and <a href="https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2012/03/22/organic-101-what-usda-organic-label-means" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mechanical, physical, or biologically based farming</a> techniques to cultivate healthy and organic crops.</p><p>Before the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, no hemp-derived products could be dubbed as "certified organic" since the hemp plant and its extracts were still categorized as a Schedule I Controlled Substance. However, it's still difficult for CBD companies to obtain a USDA certified organic label for their products due to the legal grey area that still surrounds CBD extracts. </p><p>Because of these challenges, and due to the fact that industrial hemp has only recently become an agricultural crop, very few CBD oils are USDA certified organic. Rather, many CBD products contain hemp extracts from plants that were grown in organic conditions but may not be federally certified.</p><h2>What are the Best Organic CBD Oil Brands?</h2><p><em>Each product featured here has been independently selected. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.</em></p>
<h2>Why Organic Hemp Oil Matters</h2><p>Hemp is a unique plant, not only for its rich cannabinoid content, but also for its ability to absorb a wide variety of components in soil. But this trait poses great risks when it comes to the creation of CBD products derived from hemp.</p><p>Because hemp has a high capacity for compound uptake, this means that the plants can retain <a href="https://www.remedyreview.com/industry/lab-test-results/" target="_blank">harmful chemicals like pesticides</a>, heavy metals, and other residual solvents. This is especially true when it comes to synthetic chemicals that are more toxic to humans, and difficult to remove once they have been absorbed by the hemp plant.</p><p>Organic farming practices help reduce the risk of hemp crops absorbing harsh chemicals that may later end up in CBD oil after extraction. When you're taking CBD as a wellness supplement to help alleviate your symptoms or improve your overall well-being, the last thing you want is to ingest compounds that might negatively outweigh the benefits of CBD. This is an important reason to look for third party lab test results when shopping for CBD products since these certificates of analysis can show the full cannabinoid and terpene profile of a hemp extract, as well as test results that search for the presence of any residual solvents.</p><p>In addition to creating a better end product, organic farming practices are also better for the environment. Sustainable and organic farming methods may <a href="https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/organic-foods.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reduce pollution, conserve water, reduce soil erosion, increase soil fertility, and use less energy</a>. The use of natural pest deterrents as opposed to chemical pesticides is also better for nearby animal populations and ecosystems.</p><h3>Organic vs. Natural</h3><p>While there are only a select few companies offering certified organic ingredients in their products, almost every brand in the CBD market creates "natural" products. The term "all-natural" or "plant-based" does not mean that a product is organic, and since hemp oil is a natural derivative of hemp plants, these products are often referred to as all-natural. However, there are some synthetic CBD oils that should be avoided because they are chemically constructed and may produce unwanted side effects that are not caused by naturally derived CBD extracts.</p><h2>What are the Benefits of Organic CBD Oil?</h2><p>There's a long list of potential CBD oil health benefits, and some of the most common wellness advantages include:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2503660/" target="_blank">Chronic pain relief</a></li><li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4604171/" target="_blank">Anti-anxiety effects</a></li><li>Better sleep</li><li><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/inner-source/201901/cbd-oil-mental-health-should-you-take-it-too" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Improvements in mood</a></li><li>Internal balance and regulation</li></ul><p>When dealing with pain, inflammation, sleep issues, and mental health struggles, it can be hard to find sufficient treatment options. The use of certain prescriptions can cause unwanted side effects, yet they are often the only solution for patients with these medical conditions. In search of other therapies, people have started to flock towards CBD oil as an alternative remedy for a variety of conditions. However, it should be noted that CBD products are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and you should seek your doctor's advice before using CBD if you have a serious medical condition.</p><h2>Look at the Labels Before You Buy CBD Oil</h2><p>When you go online to buy CBD oil, you'll quickly realize there is an overwhelming number of brands that are saturating the market. It can be difficult to determine which products are truly as good as they make themselves out to be. Always look for up-to-date third-party lab tests so you know you are getting a great product, and don't hesitate to contact the brand if you have any additional questions. And if you're intent on purchasing 100% organic CBD oil, it's best to look for certified products or brands that are held to strict regulatory standards.</p><p><strong>Melena Gurganus </strong>is the Reviews Editor at EcoWatch. She is passionate health and wellness and her writing aims to help others find products they can trust. Her work has been featured in publications such as Health, Shape, Huffington Post, Cannabis Business Times, and Bustle.<br></p>
Spruce
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjI3OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyOTM2NzgzOX0.axY0HjeqRctJsR_KmDLctzDpUBLBN-oNIdqaXDb4caQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="774be" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8379f35b1ca8a86d0e61b7d4bfc8b46e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="spruce organic cbd oil" /><p>As one of the best brands in the business, Spruce CBD is well-known for its potent CBD oils that feature many additional beneficial phytocannabinoids. This brand works with two family-owned, sustainably focused farms in the USA (one located in Kentucky and one in North Carolina) to create its organic, small product batches. The max potency Spruce CBD oil contains 2400mg of full-spectrum CBD extract, but the brand also offers a lower strength tincture with 750mg of CBD in total.</p>
$89
CBDistillery
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDcwMjkzNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMTU4OTM4Nn0.ypRdeDSBcE87slYrFfVrRwtJ2qGIK6FD5jBB4pndTMo/img.jpg?width=980" id="b473b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9930b53c9d58cb49774640a61c3e3e75" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="cbdistillery cbd oil" /><p>All of the products from CBDistillery are <a href="https://ushempauthority.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">U.S. Hemp Authority Certified</a>, and for good reason. The company only uses non-GMO and pesticide-free industrial hemp that's grown organically on Colorado farms. Its hemp oils are some of the most affordable CBD products on the market, yet they still maintain a high standard of quality. CBDistillery has a wide variety of CBD potencies across its product line (ranging from 500mg to 5000mg per bottle) and offers both full-spectrum and broad-spectrum CBD oils to give customers a completely thc-free option.</p>
$35
FAB CBD
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjIyNS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NDIwOTEyMn0.MlTjz096FJ0ev_-soK7_Z-FeQeJczWoeh9Qi9SSkHsY/img.jpg?width=980" id="04b26" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="76aa4862f44603242e318982acea6646" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="fab cbd oil" /><p>For an organic CBD oil that has it all, FAB CBD offers plenty of variety for any type of consumer. All of its products are made with zero pesticides and extracted from organically grown Colorado industrial hemp. FAB CBD oil comes in five all-natural flavors (mint, vanilla, berry, citrus, and natural) and is also available in four strengths (300, 600, 1200, and 2400mg per bottle).</p>
$39
NuLeaf Naturals
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjIxOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NzExNTgyMX0.D6qMGYllKTsVhEkQ-L_GzpDHVu60a-tJKcio7M1Ssmc/img.jpg?width=980" id="94e4a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3609a52479675730893a45a82a03c71d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="nuleaf naturals organic cbd oil" /><p>As an industry-leading brand, it comes as no surprise that NuLeaf Naturals sources its CBD extract from organic hemp plants grown on licensed farms in Colorado. The comany's CBD oils only contain two ingredients: USDA certified organic hemp seed oil and full spectrum hemp extract.</p><p>NuLeaf Naturals uses one proprietary CBD oil formula for all of its products, so you will get the same CBD potency in each tincture (60mg per mL), but can purchase different bottle sizes depending on how much you intend to use.</p>
$38.50
Charlotte's Web
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDcwMjk3NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MzQ0NjM4N30.SaQ85SK10-MWjN3PwHo2RqpiUBdjhD0IRnHKTqKaU7Q/img.jpg?width=980" id="84700" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a2174067dcc0c4094be25b3472ce08c8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="charlottes web cbd oil" /><p>Perhaps one of the most well-known brands in the CBD landscape, Charlotte's Web has been growing sustainable hemp plants for several years. The company is currently in the process of achieving official USDA Organic Certification, but it already practices organic and sustainable cultivation techniques to enhance the overall health of the soil and the hemp plants themselves, which creates some of the highest quality CBD extracts. Charlotte's Web offers CBD oils in a range of different concentration options, and some even come in a few flavor options such as chocolate mint, orange blossom, and lemon twist.</p>
$60
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Returning the ‘Three Sisters’ – Corn, Beans and Squash – to Native American Farms Nourishes People, Land and Cultures
7h
Food
Marilyn Angel Wynn / Getty Images
By Christina Gish Hill
Historians know that turkey and corn were part of the first Thanksgiving, when Wampanoag peoples shared a harvest meal with the pilgrims of Plymouth plantation in Massachusetts. And traditional Native American farming practices tell us that squash and beans likely were part of that 1621 dinner too.
<p style="">
For centuries before Europeans reached North America, many Native Americans grew these foods together in one plot, along with the less familiar sunflower. They called the plants sisters to reflect how they thrived when they were cultivated together.
</p><p style="">
Today
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/04/native-americans-stories-california" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">three-quarters of Native Americans live off of reservations</a>, mainly in urban areas. And nationwide, many Native American communities <a href="https://civileats.com/2019/07/24/indigenous-food-security-is-dependent-on-food-sovereignty/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">lack access to healthy food</a>. As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=yCZ-SMUAAAAJ&hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">scholar of Indigenous studies</a> focusing on Native relationships with the land, I began to wonder why Native farming practices had declined and what benefits could emerge from bringing them back.
</p>
<p>To answer these questions, I am working with <a href="https://www.agron.iastate.edu/people/marshall-mcdaniel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">agronomist Marshall McDaniel</a>, <a href="https://www.hort.iastate.edu/directory/ajay-nair/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">horticulturalist Ajay Nair</a>, <a href="https://www.globe.iastate.edu/staff/donna-winham/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">nutritionist Donna Winham</a> and Native gardening projects in Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Our research project, "Reuniting the Three Sisters," explores what it means to be a responsible caretaker of the land from the perspective of peoples who have been balancing agricultural production with sustainability for hundreds of years.</p>
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Abundant Harvests
<p>Historically, Native people throughout the Americas bred indigenous plant varieties specific to the growing conditions of their homelands. They selected seeds for many different traits, such as <a href="https://emergencemagazine.org/story/corn-tastes-better/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">flavor, texture and color</a>.</p><p>Native growers knew that planting corn, beans, squash and sunflowers together produced mutual benefits. Corn stalks created a trellis for beans to climb, and beans' twining vines secured the corn in high winds. They also certainly observed that corn and bean plants growing together tended to be healthier than when raised separately. Today we know the reason: Bacteria living on bean plant roots pull nitrogen – an essential plant nutrient – from the air and <a href="http://www.tilthalliance.org/learn/resources-1/almanac/october/octobermngg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">convert it to a form that both beans and corn can use</a>.</p><p>Squash plants contributed by shading the ground with their broad leaves, preventing weeds from growing and retaining water in the soil. Heritage squash varieties also had spines that discouraged deer and raccoons from visiting the garden for a snack. And sunflowers planted around the edges of the garden created a natural fence, protecting other plants from wind and animals and attracting pollinators.</p><p>Interplanting these agricultural sisters produced bountiful harvests that sustained large Native communities and <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/eam.2015.0016" target="_blank">spurred fruitful trade economies</a>. The first Europeans who reached the Americas were shocked at the abundant food crops they found. My research is exploring how, 200 years ago, Native American agriculturalists around the Great Lakes and along the Missouri and Red rivers fed fur traders with their diverse vegetable products.</p><div id="b473d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="02bce33cbe23b74661e1a9279fef31bc"><blockquote class="instagram-media"
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Displaced From the Land
<p>As Euro-Americans settled permanently on the most fertile North American lands and acquired seeds that Native growers had carefully bred, they imposed policies that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr/87.2.550" target="_blank">made Native farming practices impossible</a>. In 1830 President Andrew Jackson signed the <a href="https://guides.loc.gov/indian-removal-act" target="_blank">Indian Removal Act</a>, which made it official U.S. policy to force Native peoples from their home locations, pushing them onto subpar lands.</p><p>On reservations, U.S. government officials discouraged Native women from cultivating anything larger than small garden plots and pressured Native men to practice Euro-American style monoculture. Allotment policies assigned small plots to nuclear families, further limiting Native Americans' access to land and preventing them from using communal farming practices.</p><p>Native children were forced to attend boarding schools, where they had no opportunity to <a href="https://doi.org/10.5749/jamerindieduc.57.1.0145" target="_blank">learn Native agriculture techniques or preservation and preparation of Indigenous foods</a>. Instead they were forced to eat Western foods, turning their palates away from their traditional preferences. Taken together, these policies <a href="https://kansaspress.ku.edu/978-0-7006-0802-7.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">almost entirely eradicated three sisters agriculture</a> from Native communities in the Midwest by the 1930s.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDgyNzYyMi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NzM2MjkwOX0.kTWQ0TwFFU0ZF3yKNzQn9zq_ouX0TpVY2oZUE-XvPbM/img.png?width=980" id="a58aa" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4d5f239c5d47ebaf3157af1fe8bb54ba" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Native American tribes in the Great Lakes region pre-European settlement. Milwaukee Public Museum / CC BY-ND
Reviving Native Agriculture
<p>Today Native people all over the U.S. are working diligently to <a href="https://www.oupress.com/books/15107980/indigenous-food-sovereignty-in-the-united-sta" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reclaim Indigenous varieties of corn, beans, squash, sunflowers and other crops</a>. This effort is important for many reasons.</p><p>Improving Native people's access to healthy, culturally appropriate foods will help lower rates of <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/aian-diabetes/index.html" target="_blank">diabetes</a> and <a href="https://www.apa.org/pi/oema/resources/ethnicity-health/native-american/obesity" target="_blank">obesity</a>, which affect Native Americans at disproportionately high rates. Sharing traditional knowledge about agriculture is a way for elders to pass cultural information along to younger generations. Indigenous growing techniques also protect the lands that Native nations now inhabit, and can potentially benefit the wider ecosystems around them.</p><span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="82270cf0c87ca398f9818159ccc7e015"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IooHPLjXi2g?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>But Native communities often lack access to resources such as farming equipment, soil testing, fertilizer and pest prevention techniques. This is what inspired Iowa State University's Three Sisters Gardening Project. We work collaboratively with Native farmers at <a href="https://gardenwarriorsgoodseeds.com/2015/01/19/tsyunhehkw-oneida-nation-wisconsin/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tsyunhehkw</a>, a community agriculture program, and the <a href="https://www.wisconsinlife.org/story/the-lands-we-share-laura-manthe-the-oneida-white-corn-growers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ohelaku Corn Growers Co-Op</a> on the Oneida reservation in Wisconsin; the <a href="http://72.15.165.18/index.php/en/nebraska-indian-community-college/about-nicc-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nebraska Indian College</a>, which serves the Omaha and Santee Sioux in Nebraska; and <a href="https://dreamofwildhealth.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dream of Wild Health</a>, a nonprofit organization that works to reconnect the Native American community in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, with traditional Native plants and their culinary, medicinal and spiritual uses.</p><p>We are growing three sisters research plots at ISU's Horticulture Farm and in each of these communities. Our project also runs workshops on topics of interests to Native gardeners, encourages local soil health testing and grows rare seeds to <a href="https://doi.org/10.17953/aicrj.41.3.hill" target="_blank">rematriate them</a>, or return them to their home communities.<br></p><p>The monocropping industrial agricultural systems that produce much of the U.S. food supply <a href="https://theconversation.com/us-agriculture-needs-a-21st-century-new-deal-112757" target="_blank">harms the environment, rural communities and human health and safety in many ways</a>. By growing corn, beans and squash in research plots, we are helping to quantify how intercropping <a href="https://doi.org/10.14237/ebl.7.1.2016.721" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">benefits both plants and soil</a>.</p><p>By documenting <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19320248.2016.1227750" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">limited nutritional offerings at reservation grocery stores</a>, we are demonstrating the need for Indigenous gardens in Native communities. By interviewing Native growers and elders knowledgeable about foodways, we are illuminating how healing Indigenous gardening practices can be for Native communities and people – their bodies, minds and spirits.</p><p>Our Native collaborators are benefiting from the project through rematriation of rare seeds grown in ISU plots, workshops on topics they select and the new relationships they are building with Native gardeners across the Midwest. As researchers, we are learning about what it means to work collaboratively and to conduct research that respects protocols our Native collaborators value, such as treating seeds, plants and soil in a culturally appropriate manner. By listening with humility, we are working to build a network where we can all learn from one another.</p><p><em>Christina Gish Hill is an associate professor of Anthropology at Iowa State University.</em></p><p><em>Disclosure statement: Christina Gish Hill receives funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs.</em></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/returning-the-three-sisters-corn-beans-and-squash-to-native-american-farms-nourishes-people-land-and-cultures-149230/" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>. </em><br></p>
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Climate Coalition Pressures Biden to Reject 'Corporate Shill' Ernest Moniz as Energy Chief
23h
Politics
Former U.S. Sec. of Energy Ernest Moniz listens during the National Clean Energy Summit 9.0 on October 13, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Isaac Brekken / Getty Images for National Clean Energy Summit
By Jake Johnson
Amid reports that oil industry-friendly former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz remains under consideration to return to his old post in the incoming Biden administration, a diverse coalition of environmental groups is mobilizing for an "all-out push" to keep Moniz away from the White House and demand a cabinet willing to boldly confront the corporations responsible for the climate emergency.
<p>On Tuesday night, climate campaigners <a href="https://twitter.com/greenpeaceusa/status/1331405987425685506" target="_blank">projected</a> onto the primary Department of Energy building messages urging President-elect Joe Biden to say "yes to a sustainable future" and no to Moniz, who currently serves on the board of the polluting utility giant Southern Company.</p>
<p>Following the demonstration, the coalition on Wednesday morning debuted <a href="https://nomoniz.org/" target="_blank">NoMoniz.org</a>, a website that warns the policies of Obama's former energy secretary "might be good for his friends in the coal, oil, and gas industries, but they're a death sentence for us and our planet."</p><p>"It's unacceptable that Ernest Moniz is being considered for a role in the Biden administration — his policies, his financial ties to fossil fuel companies, his contempt for youth climate activists, and his overall unwillingness to do what it takes to protect our future should disqualify him immediately," reads the site, which was launched by Oil Change U.S., Greenpeace USA, Sunrise Movement, the Climate Justice Alliance, Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth U.S., and dozens of other groups.</p>
<div id="a6564" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d27a41c6b56d432ce974b11d22bbe6e6"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1331587846411603968" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">It is absolutely imperative that @JoeBiden keep @ErnestMoniz out of his cabinet, and any of his protégée like Liz S… https://t.co/7x2WN6nxgs</div> — Evan Weber 🌅🔥 (@Evan Weber 🌅🔥)<a href="https://twitter.com/evanlweber/statuses/1331587846411603968">1606310256.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Previously an <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/159357/ernie-moniz-biden-energy-gives-climate-nightmares" target="_blank">adviser to major companies</a> such as BP and General Electric, Moniz's tenure as head of Obama's energy department as well as his public statements since leaving office make clear that he is opposed to the kind of sweeping climate action that environmentalists and scientists say is necessary to avert planetary catastrophe.</p><p>Speaking to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce last year, Moniz endorsed what he <a href="https://www.axios.com/ernest-moniz-green-real-deal-climate-change-policy-4090206b-3f36-4747-9b3c-2655e15402d5.html" target="_blank">dubbed</a> a "Green Real Deal" that would welcome a "broad coalition" of supporters — including the fossil fuel industry. In an interview months earlier, Moniz — a proponent of <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/05/30/gas-loser-and-its-time-move-report-debunks-big-oil-myth-natural-gas-can-help-fight" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">natural gas</a> as a bridge to a clean energy future — <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/23/joe-biden-fight-climate-crisis-ernest-moniz" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">denounced</a> what he described as "often completely unrealistic proposals for the pace at which we can decarbonize."</p><p>"With his deep ties to the fossil fuel industry and promotion of false solutions like carbon capture and sequestration, Ernest Moniz is not a forward-thinking choice for the cabinet," Anthony Rogers-Wright, policy coordinator for the Climate Justice Alliance, said in a statement Wednesday. "The Department of Energy must be led by someone open to concrete ideas for a fossil-free future, not continued dominance by a corrupt, heavily-subsidized industry whose existence hinges on maintaining an antiquated all-of-the-above strategy."</p><p>Janet Redman, climate campaign director at Greenpeace USA, warned that Moniz's fossil fuel connections "spell danger for the nation's efforts to mitigate the climate crisis" as atmospheric carbon dioxide <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/11/23/no-time-lose-climate-action-atmospheric-co2-continued-rise-2020-despite-covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">continues to rise</a> in 2020 despite widespread coronavirus lockdowns.</p><p>"We need a true climate leader who understands that we must phase out fossil fuels, not a corporate shill with 'all of the above energy' policies who wants to prop up fracked gas and pipelines," said Redman. "The American people have given Joe Biden a mandate to take bold action in service of climate justice, public health, economic prosperity, and racial equity. Moniz would only be holding him back."</p><p>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/11/25/planet-stake-climate-coalition-pressures-biden-reject-corporate-shill-ernest-moniz" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>. </p>
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How To Talk To People About the Climate Crisis When Scary Facts Are Not Enough
25 November
Insights + Opinion
Climate change can evoke intense feelings, but a conversational approach can help. Reed Kaestner / Getty Images
Anger, anxiety, overwhelm … climate change can evoke intense feelings.
<p>"It's easy to feel dwarfed in the context of such a global systemic issue," says psychologist Renée Lertzman.<br/></p><p>She says that when people experience these feelings, they often shut down and push information away. So to encourage climate action, she advises not bombarding people with frightening facts.</p>
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<p>"When we lead with information, we are actually unwittingly walking right into a situation that is set up to undermine our efforts," she says.<br></p><p>She says if you want to engage people on the topic, take a compassionate approach. Ask people what they know and want to learn. Then have a conversation.</p><p>This conversational approach may seem at odds with the urgency of the issue, but Lertzman says it can get results faster.</p><p>"When we take a compassion-based approach, we are actively disarming defenses so that people are actually more willing and able to respond and engage quicker," she says. "And we don't have time right now to mess around, and so I do actually come to this topic with a sense of urgency… We do not have time to not take this approach."</p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/11/why-frightening-facts-dont-always-move-people-to-action-on-climate-change/" target="_blank">Yale Climate Connections</a>.</em></p>
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Critically Endangered North Atlantic Right Whale Baby Found Dead in North Carolina
25 November
Animals
A rare North Atlantic right whale is seen off Cape Cod Bay on April 14, 2019 near Provincetown, Massachusetts. Don Emmert / AFP / Getty Images
An extremely rare North Atlantic right whale calf was found dead off the North Carolina coast on Friday.
<p>The male calf was also the first documented birth this calving season, a development the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) called devastating.</p><p>"Each new right whale calf brings so much hope for this critically <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered species</a>, and losses like this have a substantial impact on their recovery," NOAA wrote in a <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/first-known-north-atlantic-right-whale-calf-season-washes-dead-north-carolina" target="_blank">press release</a>.</p><p>National Park Service workers discovered the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/whales" target="_self">whale</a> on <a href="https://npplan.com/parks-by-state/north-carolina-national-parks/cape-lookout-national-seashore-park-at-a-glance/cape-lookout-national-seashore-the-islands/cape-lookout-national-seashore-north-core-banks/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">North Core Banks</a>, the northernmost of three barrier islands that comprise the Cape Lookout National Seashore in North Carolina. On Saturday, a team of biologists came to conduct a necroscopy on the animal and take a DNA sample in order to determine its mother, Cape Lookout National Seashore explained on its <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CapeLookoutNPS/posts/3608024915884969" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>.</p><p>"Right Whales are critically endangered and are one of the rarest marine mammals," the seashore wrote.</p>
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<p>The cause of death is not yet known, but NOAA said that there was no evidence human activity was a factor, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/23/us/rare-right-whale-washed-ashore-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN reported</a>. Initial reports suggest the baby died either during birth or soon after.</p><p>The sad discovery comes little less than a month after a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/endangered-right-whale-population-2648532928.html" target="_self">grim NOAA report</a> found there are no more than 366 North Atlantic right whales left. The whales have been suffering from an "unusual mortality event" since 2017, NOAA said Monday. The agency has documented at least 32 deaths and 13 injuries during this event, more than 10 percent of the whales' remaining population. The leading causes of these deaths are vessel strikes and entanglements in <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fishing" target="_self">fishing</a> gear.</p><p>The endangered whales also struggle to reproduce. Female whales give birth to only five or six calves per year, according to the Cape Lookout National Seashore. There are about 100 female whales left, CNN reported.</p>
<p>Female right whales usually reach maturity after 10 years and then give birth every three to five years. However, in recent years, the time between births has increased to six to 10 years. Scientists think that females are giving birth less often partly because of the stress of getting entangled in fishing gear. There have been just 22 births total during the past three calving seasons, about one-third of the previous annual average.</p><p>The right whale calving season extends from mid-November to mid-April. In winter, the whales migrate more than 1,000 miles from the waters of Canada and New England to warmer waters around South Carolina, Georgia and Florida's east coast, NOAA <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/news/watching-migrating-right-whales-more-important-ever" target="_blank">said</a>. This is also where they give birth and nurse their young. NOAA urged boaters and fishers to watch out for the whales as their migration begins.</p>"NOAA is cautioning all boaters to be vigilant, slow down, and give these endangered whales plenty of room," NOAA wrote. "This will avoid accidental collisions and disturbing the whales as they migrate south. The agency is also asking fishermen to remove their unused gear from the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/ocean" target="_self">ocean</a> to help avoid entanglements. Vertical lines with required markings, weak links, and breaking strengths are also required by law."
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Just 1% of Farms Control 70% of Global Farmland: Study Finds 'Shocking State of Land Inequality'
25 November
Food
Sprinklers irrigate a field of onions near a Castilian village in Spain. According to a new study, the average farm size in the EU has almost doubled since the 1960s. miguelangelortega / Moment / Getty Images
By Andrea Germanos
A new report released Tuesday details the "shocking" state of global land equality, saying the problem is worse than thought, rising, and "cannot be ignored."
<p>Among the key findings is that the largest 1% of the world's farms operate 70% of farmland and "form the core of production for the corporate food system." What's more, "given the trends in the agriculture and food systems, land consolidation will inevitably increase further."</p><p>The warning is laid out in "<a href="https://www.landcoalition.org/en/uneven-ground/" target="_blank"><em>Uneven Ground: land inequality at the heart of unequal societies</em></a>." Released by the International Land Coalition in collaboration with Oxfam, the publication synthesizes new research and existing data and shows how land inequality is linked with other issues including poverty, intergenerational justice and migration, environmental degradation, and the climate crisis.</p><p>"These findings radically alter our understanding of the extent and far reaching consequences land inequality has, proving that not only is it a bigger problem than we thought but it's undermining the stability and development of sustainable societies," said Ward Anseeuw, a co-author of the report.</p>
<div id="79f64" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bd50807364597fe98806eb08bea91ecb"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1331254927746883593" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The shocking reality of #LandInequality
Read more about rising land inequality 📈 on:
💻 https://t.co/uRxTpE4fm7… https://t.co/Q3OyiJ4hCV</div> — Land Coalition (@Land Coalition)<a href="https://twitter.com/landcoalition/statuses/1331254927746883593">1606230882.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>According to the analysis, the issue of land inequality should encompass a broader range of dimensions than typically used to capture not only differences in land ownership but other factors such as the size and quality of land and the ability to have real decision-making power over how the land is used.</p><p>The report lays out the scope of the issue:</p><blockquote>Land is a common good, providing water, food, and natural resources that sustain all life. It is the guarantor of biodiversity, health, resilience, and equitable and sustainable livelihoods. It is immovable, non-renewable, and inextricably connected to people and societies. How we manage and control land has shaped our economies, political structures, communities, cultures, and beliefs for thousands of years.</blockquote>
<p><br>Who gets that control is not decided by accident, says Giulia Baldinelli of ILC and co-author of the report.</p><p>"What we're seeing is that land inequality is fundamentally a product of elite control, corporate interests, and political choices. And although the importance of land inequality is widely accepted, the tools to address it remain weakly implemented and vested interests in existing land distribution patterns, hard to shift," Baldinelli <a href="https://www.landcoalition.org/en/newsroom/new-report-reveals-land-inequality-worse-we-thought-and-fueling-other-inequalities/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said</a> in a statement.</p><p>The impacts of the imbalance are far-reaching, with links stretching to the coronavirus pandemic. From the report:</p><blockquote>Covid-19 is the latest zoonotic disease to emerge from a combination of unsanitary animal farming and pressure on wildlife populations. While its main impact has been on urban populations, Covid-19 has further exposed inequalities faced by land-disadvantaged groups, such as indigenous peoples, lower castes, the elderly, women, youth, and migrants, as well as casual workers (common in agribusiness) and landless tenants (UNDP, 2020; FAO, 2020; ILC, 2020). Land inequality diminishes resilience to disease shocks and, at a household level, may lead to loss of shelter and lack of access to infrastructure and services, traditional community networks, and institutions of social reciprocity. Women's resilience and coping strategies are limited by weaker land rights, which puts them at even greater disadvantage in these situations, with a knock-on effect on children and youth in their households (FAO, 2020; FAO, IFAD and UNIDO, 2016). Land grabbing and forced evictions have been documented in the context of Covid-19 (ILC, 2020), exacerbating land and land rights inequalities, particularly in societies that are heavily policed.</blockquote>
<p>"As we move towards a post-Covid world, we will see increased pressure for fast economic gain at the expense of people and nature," warned Mike Taylor, director of the International Land Coalition Secretariat He added that "there is always, however, a more inclusive path to rebuilding our economies, that emphasizes sustainable use of natural resources, respects human rights, and addresses systemic causes of inequality."</p><p>While low-income countries have seen an "increasing number of mega-farms, each taking up thousands, even tens of thousands, of hectares," the issue of land inequality stretches globally. "After 1980, in all regions, land concentration has either been increasing significantly (North America, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific) or a decreasing trend is being reversed (Africa and Latin America)," the report finds.</p><p>In North America, for example, the report points to the decades between 1960 and 1990 when there was a "drastic increase in land and agricultural concentration" and the number of farms plummeted by 1.6 million, dropping to 2.1 million. The same time period also saw the average farm size swell from 122.6 hectares to 187 hectares.</p>
<p>Although there has been a more recent stabilization in the number of farms in North America, that doesn't capture the whole story:</p><blockquote>What the figures on farm size do not reveal, however, are the even more substantial increases in the concentration of large-scale production on a shrinking number of farms. Almost 1 million farms (980,000) in the USA have less than $5,000 in sales per annum, while the largest 7% of farms account for 80% of production value (MacDonald, 2016). This leaves a situation where some 1.3 million, or 60%, of the farms in the USA produce only 6.6% of the total production value (Gollin, 2019). These include farms of below five hectares, many of which are known as "retirement farms" or "off-farm occupation farms," with owners who do not depend on agricultural production for their livelihoods."</blockquote><p>So what is to be done?</p><p>The report outlines a number of possible steps: democratize land governance; strengthen land-related regulation; invest in well-functioning land registries; strengthen transparency and monitoring of land holdings; legally enforce responsible corporate practice; Protect common and customary rights; recognize and protect women's land rights; respect and strengthen civil society institutions and capacities; and build more sustainable and equitable production models and food systems.</p><p>"A transformative agenda of this magnitude is not optional," the report concludes. "It is urgent and is in the interests of all humanity, for more resilient, sustainable, and equitable societies."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/11/24/just-1-farms-controlling-70-global-farmland-study-reveals-shocking-level-land" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Members of the San Carlos Apache Nation protest to protect parts of Oak Flat from a copper mining company on July 22, 2015 in Washington, DC. Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty Images
In yet another attack on the environment before leaving office, the Trump administration is seeking to transfer ownership of San Carlos Apache holy ground in Oak Flat, Arizona, to a copper mining company.
<p>The administration pushed to finish the environmental review process, a necessary step to transfer ownership to copper mining company Resolution Copper, and its two parent companies Rio Tinto and BHP, to December 2020, almost a full year ahead of the planned completion. </p><p>"The Trump administration is cutting corners and doing a rushed job just to take care of Rio Tinto," Democratic Arizona representative Raúl Grijalva told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/24/trump-mining-arizona-holy-land-oak-flat-tribes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Guardian</a>. Grijalva has been outspoken in his <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2020/11/16/rio-tinto-copper-mine-not-protect-oak-flat-look-australia/6245846002/" target="_blank">opposition</a> to the mine plans.<br></p><p>"And the fact they are doing it during Covid makes it even more disgusting. Trump and Rio Tinto know the tribes' reaction would be very strong and public under normal circumstances but the tribes are trying to save their people right now," Grijalva said.</p>
<p>Oak Flat is a high desert wonderland full of rock spires, choppy hills, ancient oaks, medicinal plants and long stretches of desert flatland. It contains many Indigenous archaeological sites dating back 1,500 years, and is near Tonto National Forest, the largest of six national forests in Arizona. For centuries, the Apache have considered the site holy, using the area for ceremonies. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.</p><p>However, what is estimated to be one of the world's largest copper deposits resides 7,000 feet underneath the site. If mining proceeds, more than 11 miles of Indigenous sacred sites, burial grounds and petroglyphs would be destroyed, The Guardian reported. Not only that, but Resolution Copper intends to extract 1.4 metric tons of ore, which would create a crater stretching almost two miles wide and 1,000 feet deep. </p><p>Rio Tinto, the world's second largest mining company, is no stranger to controversy. The Anglo-Australian company was <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/top-rio-tinto-executive-says-iron-ore-boom-unravelled-indigenous-ties-20201125-p56hwk.html" target="_blank">recently involved</a> in destroying a 46,000-year-old Aboriginal site in order to mine iron ore, against the wishes of the land's traditional owners, the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people. </p>
<p>In 2014, a proposal called the Southeastern Arizona Land Exchange was tacked onto the end of a spending bill to exchange federal land for privately owned land for Resolution Copper. Several Arizona legislators supported it, despite<a href="https://www.energy.senate.gov/services/files/bd432593-9e7c-4f18-8a61-4e74bc6edb34" target="_blank"> opposition from regional Arizona tribes</a>.<span></span></p><p>Currently there is no federal law that allows control of ancestral lands outside of Native reservation boundaries. </p><p>After the environmental review process is complete, the transfer must occur within 60 days, potentially before President-elect Joe Biden's Jan. 20 inauguration. </p>
<p>The move marks one of many attempts by the outgoing administration to keep pushing for <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-environmental-rollbacks-election-2648378494.html" target="_blank">environmental rollbacks</a> as it leaves office, including <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-anwr-oil-leases-2648954756.html" target="_blank">opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge </a><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-anwr-oil-leases-2648954756.html"> the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge </a>for drilling and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-migratory-bird-killing-protection-2644987725.html" target="_blank">weakening migratory bird protections</a>.</p><p>"We are looking at the destruction of some of the Apache's most significant cultural and historic sites with this project," Kathryn Leonard, an Arizona state historic preservation officer, told The Guardian. </p><p>"Our preservation laws are not set up to prevent this level of loss. It weighs heavily on me."</p>
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A fish farm off the coast of Tasmania. CW03070 / E+ / Getty Images
Around 50,000 farmed salmon swam free on Monday after a fire melted part of their enclosure off the coast of Tasmania.
<p>The salmon's escape has prompted concerns from local environmentalists, who are worried about the impact of the farmed fish on native <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a> and ecosystems. While the farm's owners insist that impact will be minimal and the fish will be quickly eaten by seals or caught by recreational fishers, others disagree.</p><p>"It's like claiming a sewage spill is all good because it releases nutrients into the food chain," <a href="https://neighboursoffishfarming.org.au/" target="_blank">Neighbours of Fish Farming</a> president Peter George told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/nov/24/fears-for-environment-after-50000-fish-escape-salmon-farm-in-tasmania" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>The fire that allowed the fish to escape broke out early Monday morning at an offshore enclosure owned by Huon Aquaculture, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-23/salmon-breakout-after-fire-huon-aquaculture-tasmania/12912222" target="_blank">Australia's ABC News reported</a>. The fire damaged about a third of a pen by burning and melting the pen both above and below the waterline, allowing the fish to escape. The company estimates that between 50,000 and 52,000 fish weighing four kilograms (approximately 8.8 pounds) each got away.<br></p><p>Huon Aquaculture does not yet know what caused the blaze.</p><p>"We have electrical equipment on our pens but in 35 years of farming we have never had an electrical fire on a fish pen so the cause has baffled us," CEO Peter Bender told the <a href="https://www.portnews.com.au/story/7025098/fish-farm-fire-sets-52k-salmon-free-in-tas/" target="_blank">Australian Associated Press</a>.<br></p>
<p>The escaped fish account for less than one percent of Huon's stocks, and the company has no plans to recapture them, according to The Guardian. But company representatives were confident the fish would not harm Tasmanian ecosystems.</p><p>Pene Snashall, the corporate communications and community relations manager at Huon Aquaculture, pointed to a 2018 <a href="https://www.imas.utas.edu.au/" target="_blank">Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies</a> (IMAS) report that found that escaped farmed fish tend not to eat native fauna.</p><p>"Farmed salmon generally don't appear to feed on native species. While some fish did survive for some months, this did not necessary mean that these fish were thriving," Snashall told The Guardian.</p>
<p>But environmentalists disagreed.</p><p>"One IMAS [Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies] study found 15% of escaped salmon lived off wild fish – that's 7,800 from just this escape, and they happen regularly," Laura Kelly of <a href="https://www.et.org.au/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Environment Tasmania</a> told The Guardian. "Then there's the animal welfare issues – with thousands of animals just starving to death. Huon needs to follow global investment patterns and get their feedlots out of the ocean and onto land."</p><p>And competition for food is not the only concern.</p><p>"There is also the worry these introduced species will [be] establishing populations in the wild," Dr. Christine Materia, also of Neighbours of Fish Farming, told <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-24/salmon-escaped-from-fish-farm-caught-by-tasmanian-anglers/12914804" target="_blank">ABC News</a>.</p>
<p>IMAS associate professor Jeremy Lyle said that evidence did show that the impact of fish farm escapes like this one was "not that significant," but he also said any release of non-native species could pose problems.</p><p>"Any event like this is of some concern," he told ABC News. "Keeping introduced animals contained is more desirable."</p><p>The escape has brought out lots of recreational fishing aficionados to try and catch some of the salmon. Materia thought the company should compensate them for their efforts at containing the escape. Lyle, meanwhile, asked anyone who caught a fish to report the contents of its stomach to IMAS for research.</p>
<p><em>Correction: This article has been revised to reflect that each fish that got away weighed an estimated four kilograms.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Jobs and justice are two key areas where Biden can focus attention to push transformative climate action. DisobeyArt / Getty Images
By Steve Trent
Joe Biden's election is a huge positive in a year that has been extremely difficult across the globe. I speak for a vast number of people who watched anxiously from outside the United States when I heartily thank those who mobilized, campaigned and voted to make it happen. Your hard work affects us all.
But we're not at the end of the line. Far from it.
<p>Biden shows promise, but there can be no backsliding and or watering down. In fact, the ambition needs to grow. Now is the time for truly bold vision, leadership and action. For instance, Biden has said repeatedly that he will not ban fracking, a destructive and polluting practice that uses high-pressure injections of water, chemicals and sand to suck yet more fossil fuels from the ground. Instead he turns to carbon capture to offset these emissions, a plan that relies on untested technology and does nothing to deal with fracking's <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/08/fracking-boom-tied-to-methane-spike-in-earths-atmosphere/" target="_blank">methane release</a>, <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fracking-can-contaminate-drinking-water/" target="_blank">water pollution</a> and <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/12/e1603021" target="_blank">health issues</a>.</p><p>He can and must do better. And there are two key areas where he can focus to help push transformative climate action: jobs and justice.</p><h1>Jobs</h1><p>The fact that Biden ran and won with a proposal to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 highlights one key aspect he got right: A transformation to sustainability means innovation, new livelihoods, revitalization and importantly, jobs.</p><p>The green economy in the United States already <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2219927-us-green-economy-has-10-times-more-jobs-than-the-fossil-fuel-industry/" target="_blank">employs</a> 10 times as many people as the fossil fuel industry, and Biden's plan specifically focuses on the economic opportunities that tackling climate change will bring.<span></span></p>
<p>But climate action is not a flail that we must use to flog ourselves in penitence, seeking absolution for past sins. Action for our planet creates untold opportunities for us. It will provide different ways of living that will reimagine and reinvigorate our relationship with the natural world, making us <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/02/nature-fix-brain-happy-florence-williams/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">happier</a> and <a href="https://ejfoundation.org/reports/why-ban-commercial-wildlife-markets" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">healthier</a>.</p><p>It will give us livelihoods that are truly sustainable, not based on the myth of infinite growth on a finite planet.</p><p>Biden's plan for net zero in energy production by 2035 is a good example of how a climate-smart jobs boom could work. At present <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/07/30/biden-calls-100-percent-clean-electricity-by-2035-heres-how-far-we-have-go/?arc404=true" target="_blank">62%</a> of energy in the United States comes from fossil fuels. Wind, hydroelectric and solar power are all growing industries, and renewable energy is expected to be the biggest global energy source <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/10/renewable-energy-covid-19-record-growth-2020" target="_blank">by 2025</a>. Shifting U.S. energy production to net zero will create solid, reliable and well-paid jobs across the nation as renewable energy truly takes off. Funding training to enable workers to shift from fossil fuels will be a key part of that transition.</p>
<h1>Justice</h1><p> Biden has also referenced the need for equality in climate action, setting a goal for disadvantaged communities to receive 40% of all the clean energy and infrastructure benefits his plan would generate.</p><p>While this goal is a relatively small step for a big problem, the recognition is important. Ninety-nine percent of all deaths from weather-related disasters occur in the <a href="http://www.ghf-ge.org/human-impact-report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">world's 50 least developed countries</a> — countries that have contributed less than 1% of global carbon emissions.</p><p>In every nation around the world, including the United States, this is played out again on a smaller scale. We can't continue to allow the poorer, marginalized and more vulnerable communities to bear the brunt of a crisis they did not cause. </p><p>The U.S. government is uniquely placed to drive forward international progress on climate.</p><p>Biden's climate plan <a href="https://joebiden.com/climate-plan/" target="_blank">explicitly includes</a> environmental justice as a key target. Within the United States this encompasses standing up to polluters who disproportionately harm marginalized communities.</p>
<p>The United States must reduce its own emissions and maintain strong diplomacy with its international partners. This leadership will allow the Biden-Harris administration to champion environmental justice around the world.</p><p>The <a href="https://twitter.com/FijiPM/status/1324941240731840512" target="_blank">swift congratulations</a> on Biden's victory offered by Frank Bainimarama, the Fijian prime minister, show what can now be achieved. The United States being back in a leading role on global climate action means that small island nations, responsible for minimal emissions but suffering outsized, unjust climate impacts, may have a chance of survival. <a href="https://ejfoundation.org/what-we-do/climate/protecting-climate-refugees" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tens of millions</a> of people have already been displaced by climate breakdown, a grave global environmental injustice. The new administration has a chance to reverse this.</p><p>As a major developed economy and one of the worst emitters, action from the United States would put pressure on others — such as China — to do more. Meaningful progress within the United States and European Union, and strong, progressive voices from both parties at the negotiation table could be the change we need.</p><p>The votes for this election have been counted, but now the real work begins. We will all be needed — both in and outside the United States — to show again and again that we are watching and we will fight for our future, and our planet, with everything we have.</p>
<p class=""><em></em></p><p><a href="https://therevelator.org/author/stevetrent/" target="_blank"><em>Steve Trent </em></a><em>is executive director and co-founder of the </em><a href="https://ejfoundation.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Environmental Justice Foundation</em></a><em> and has more than 30 years experience in environmental and human rights campaigning. He also co-founded WildAid serving as president for over a decade, and leading WildAid's work in China and India. </em><em><em><a href="https://ejfoundation.org/" target="_blank">https://ejfoundation.org</a></em></em></p><p><em><em><a href="https://ejfoundation.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a></em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://therevelator.org/biden-climate-plan-trent/" target="_blank">The Revelator</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Florida Wildlife Federation / NBC2News / YouTube
In a dramatic rescue captured on camera, a Florida man ran into a pond and pried open an alligator's mouth in order to rescue his beloved puppy, all without dropping his cigar.
<p>The protagonist of the video is 74-year-old Richard Wilbanks of Estero, Florida, who risked his hands in order to save his three-month old Cavalier King Charles spaniel named Gunner from the jaws of an almost four-foot alligator.</p><p>"It was like a missile," Willbanks told the <a href="https://eu.news-press.com/story/news/local/2020/11/23/florida-man-saves-puppy-from-alligator-jaws-shares-update-dog-estero-backyard-camera/6391734002/" target="_blank">Fort Myers News-Press</a> of the alligator. "We were only about 3 feet away from it, but it struck like a snake. It had Gunner in a vise grip and I just rushed in."</p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9874812d72046531a6d9d993089b8f1d"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9boZ_k6-oqM?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<p>Wilbanks told <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/21/us/puppy-alligator-rescue-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> that grabbing a hold of the gator was the easy part. The hard part was prying its jaws open. After Wilbanks managed to free Gunner, the alligator then bit down on his hands, the Fort Myers News-Press reported.</p><p>"He had one little puncture wound, and... my hands were just chewed up," Wilbanks told <a href="https://www.winknews.com/2020/11/20/man-saves-pet-dog-from-alligators-jaws-in-estero-encounter-caught-on-video/?__cf_chl_captcha_tk__=cc13405351fae3a243c02dd9e37f3e432f802fbf-1606234364-0-ARvmRjR89RfVKXdnFuzyZ5Yn8WdIOvD01mBmS8-2MyijX8YgP_VFWT4liE-ixtvoyt6lrPY7EIjd4y8bt1aPBRkGJ5GsCuNDQWCvV_Z411Oe1gyYmXd6HNL7Rfmdt6QwMkeehHAxCepa91ByjkPSfCbSbCtHjpiFlXwTs25qcTQk-VaxSBkUTtMnv7A_v8JXuYPTbJvsbL6mN_gGUr-PC2rY0TtiaqwR4gnc_U9jQNUAqAblzAZyjaSMh3xlcH1SIYnGUgVVOv1h-y7i9gTZlLWCxg65Vae05DMykRzD8KRoebzurkDewW6Kr0M-ysmyBiDmpknvlhfmGr344pJ88e3lNTyVa8AlG1d8-TzNGKV8I5RQEzEUfh2nkrX4iEMy6XUmNKJf6LpAfk5KvdtCa-MUHS8PhgO03NksXd5ueGltbfNIIpvoremdtUl2FLvcHftGL-gDjSgOUeN9aK8j4d2O-lQp5wFMVjnAiKWTclWVz4WLdmEyT6oL7E_vr4LEQalMGcElY-kSXbHqkn8Dr-E5MwkZoQ13rHihUCkCD67c8_KuMFbFXjDQVuPUrBKdQB16wOLUgXGW8TBvXuWoQn3c50FVYKRj3VryxD_71CtzJheTXKN-bmzDXX4VFuX-Xg" target="_blank">WINK</a>.</p><p>After tending to his hands, Wilbanks rushed Gunner to the animal hospital, where he was treated for a puncture wound, the Fort-Myers News Press reported. However, he has now fully recovered.</p><p>Wilbanks has learned from the incident. He has bought Gunner a new leash, and plans to keep him at least 10 feet from the pond at all times.</p><p>He has "a new leash on life," Wilbanks told the Fort Myers News-Press.</p>
<p>Education is also the reason that footage of the rescue was made public. Wilbanks' property borders a nature reserve, and a partnership between the <a href="https://floridawildlifefederation.org/" target="_blank">Florida Wildlife Federation</a> (FWF) and the <a href="https://fstopfoundation.org/" target="_blank">fSTOP Foundation</a> put cameras in the area to monitor <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a>. All told, there are 17 cameras in 15 backyards in Estero.</p><p>The purpose of the project, called Sharing the Landscape, is to teach residents how to live safely and respectfully with wild <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/animals/" target="_self">animals</a>.</p><p>"We live on a shared landscape," FWF regional policy director Meredith Budd told WINK. "We don't just want to tolerate wildlife, but, rather, we want to thrive with wildlife on a shared landscape."</p><p>The project decided to share the video of the rescue, which was captured late in October, in order to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.</p><p>"If we understand how to deal with them [wildlife], how to interact with them. The outcome is always positive," William Freund of the fSTOP Foundation told <a href="https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2020/11/21/lee-county-man-puppy-from-alligators-jaws-in-estero/" target="_blank">NBC2</a>.</p>
<p>Wilbanks and his wife Louise have loved living so close to nature, and their close call hasn't changed their point of view. Willbanks told WINK he did not call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) because he understood that the alligator was just doing what he needed to do to survive.</p><p>"It gives us a new appreciation," Louise told WINK. "We do need to be aware they are wild animals. They're not here for our benefit. We're very lucky to share this space with them."</p><p>Wilbanks told the Fort Myers News-Press that the alligator was still swimming in the pond.</p><p>FWC told WINK that alligators rarely cause serious injuries in Florida, but that pet owners should take proper precautions.</p><p>"We encourage everyone to take precautionary measures, particularly those who live or recreate near the water. Dogs and cats are similar in size to the natural prey of alligators," the FWC said in a statement.</p>
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Imagesines / iStock / Getty Images Plus
Jean-Marc Neveu and Olivier Civil never expected to find themselves battling against disposable mask pollution.
When they founded their recycling start-up Plaxtil in 2017, it was textile waste they set their sights on. The project developed a process that turned fabrics into a new recyclable material they describe as "ecological plastic."
<p>But almost as soon as face coverings became standard attire to help fight the spread of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/covid-19">COVID-19</a>, the pair noticed disposable masks strewn around the streets and parks of their town, Chatellerault, France.</p>
<p>"We said to ourselves: 'It's not possible to leave this pollution,'" Neveu recalls. "We thought, we've found a solution for fabrics, [so] maybe we can also find a solution to reuse the masks."</p><p>In July, the company began one of the earliest face mask recycling programs and has since processed more than 100,000.</p><p>Neveu and Civil don't deal with special medical-grade masks used by healthcare professionals, which tend to be disposed of separately as clinical waste in hospitals. And although they can process fabric face coverings, they focus on disposable ones which are plastic-based.</p><p>As many of the mass-produced fabrics they were used to working with contain large amounts of plastic fibers, they were able to tweak their existing process to deal with the plastic composition of the masks.</p><p>Sections of the mask pass under UV light to kill any remaining virus particles and are fed into a whirring shredder. The scraps are then mixed with additional plastic and formed into new products to help fight coronavirus transmission. This includes visor attachments, mask strap extenders and door-openers for nursing home residents. </p>
Mounting Piles of Waste
<p>It is not only the streets of Chatellerault where pandemic pollution is piling-up, but also the world's beaches and oceans. Once there, they can take up to 450 years to degrade and disappear.</p><p>Esther Röling, co-organizer of the annual Adventure Clean Up Challenge held on Hong Kong Island, has seen this waste firsthand. In October the sports challenge pitted teams against one another in a competition to remove trash from 13 hard-to-reach coastal areas around the city.</p><p>They find tons of both disposable and reusable masks, said Röling. "You wonder how it ended up there. Was it just thrown on the ground? Or was it in a garbage bag that broke open?"</p><p>Almost 10,000 kilometers away in Antibes on the sunny French Riviera, it's a similar picture. For the past few months, divers and clean-up volunteers working with an ocean clean-up non-profit called Operation Mer Propre have been collecting an increasing number of masks found on land and in the sea.</p><p>"Since the beginning of the lockdown when we started to count, we've reached 800, 900, [and now in total] 1000 masks," said co-founder Joko Peltier. </p><p>According to <a href="https://unctad.org/news/growing-plastic-pollution-wake-covid-19-how-trade-policy-can-help" target="_blank">UN estimates</a>, up to 75% of all coronavirus-related plastic could end up as waste in oceans and landfills.</p>The Limits of Recycling
<p>Yet not all are convinced the recycling of this waste is possible on a global scale. </p><p>"What those citizen groups are doing is really beneficial but once they collect it, it should just go to a landfill or an incinerator. They shouldn't necessarily expect it to get recycled," said Jonathan Krones, an industrial ecologist and visiting assistant professor of environmental studies at Boston College.</p><p>That's because mask recycling programs like Plaxtil are few and far between and most don't have the benefit of a readily adaptable production process. </p><p>Even in countries with solid recycling infrastructure, he says, the system is designed to separate out specific types of waste like bottles or cardboard.</p><p>"I imagine that it would be technically feasible to develop a separation process to filter out masks, but there simply aren't enough of them to make that economical," he said.</p><p>Collection is a big hurdle, he adds. Since each mask only weighs a fraction of a gram and they're scattered on roads or mixed with other trash, it is difficult and costly. </p><p>"You need a lot of raw material of the right quality to make investing in the recycling technology and the recycling system worthwhile," he said.<span></span><br></p>Hemp, Sugar Cane and Sustainable Alternatives
<p>Some projects are instead addressing the material used to make masks.</p><p>French company Geochanvre have created a mask made primarily from hemp, while in Australia, researchers at the Queensland University of Technology are experimenting with a disposable product made from agricultural waste. </p><p>Biodegradable options are exciting alternatives to reduce the fossil fuels needed for the creation of plastic-based masks, said Krones, but they don't absolve the wearer from the responsibility of what happens afterwards. </p><p>Bio-based masks often need their own composing solutions, he explains, because in landfill they can produce high amounts of the greenhouse gas methane when anaerobic bacteria feeds on the organic material. Methane is known to be significantly more potent than carbon dioxide.</p><p>"I think as long as we have in our mind that we want to have disposability, we're going to have to wrestle with a variety of different sorts of environmental tradeoffs," he said, adding that reusable, fabric masks are the best option available to most people.</p><p>Precimask is developing a clear face covering with an optional visor made from hard plastic, designed to be long-lasting.<br></p><p>Air enters either side of the cheeks through a technology normally found in pool filters and car exhaust systems, said company spokeswoman Juliette Chambet.</p><p>"We wanted to make ceramic-based filters that would be washable and cleanable, which would allow them to be reused as many times as desired without having to buy a new consumable or produce waste," she said. </p><p>Ultimately, encouraging mask wearers to think about the entire lifecycle of a mask is key, explains Neveu. </p><p>"We want people who put on the masks to realize that they are also responsible for the waste, he said. "It's not inevitable that this [pandemic] will become an environmental catastrophe.</p><p><em>Reposted with permission from </em><em><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/covid-19-recycling-pollution-trash-pandemic/a-55707817" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle</a>.</em><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/r/entryeditor/2649032193#/" target="_self"></a></p>From Your Site Articles
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