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Devastating Wildfires Are Even Changing the Appearance of the Moon
This wildfire season has burned 7.8 million acres to date, an area larger than the state of Massachusetts. In Alaska alone, 5.1 million acres have burned. Washington has officially had its most destructive wildfire season on record, including its largest wildfire in state history.
Wildfires are becoming more common and more destructive, according to a recent report from Climate Central. Photo credit: National Park Service Climate Change Research
"Even if all the fires went out across the West tomorrow, this year would still rank as the seventh-most destructive wildfire season in terms of acres burned," reports Climate Central. And there is still at least another month to go to see if experts were right in predicting 2015 will top 2006 as the worst wildfire season on record.
Smoke from the wildfires has been seen from space and has even drifted as far east as the Atlantic Ocean. Large stretches of the U.S. are experiencing persistently hazy skies with serious health impacts and the smoke is even altering the moon's appearance. "Heavy smoke from forest fires in Washington, California and Montana has now spread to cover nearly half the country in a smoky pall, soaking up starlight and muting the moonlight," says Universe Today.
Smoke from the western wildfires of both the U.S. and Canada has wafted across the continent and out to sea. Photo credit: NASA / Goddard / Lynn Jenner
If there is a silver lining to the fires, it's that the sunrises, sunsets and the moon have looked spectacular in recent days because of the fires. But, of course, there are so many harms to human health and to the environment.
"Forest fire smoke contains carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and soot," says Universe Today. "On especially smoky days, you can even smell the odor of burning trees in the air at ground level. Some may suffer from burning eyes, asthma or bronchitis on especially smoky days even a thousand miles from the source fires."
Tonight's #moon with a dark orange shade caused by heavy smoke from wildfires in the western US. cc: @AnthonyFarnell pic.twitter.com/Ylg2KjScFE
— Jeremy Cohn (@JeremyGlobalTV) September 1, 2015
Blood Moon. - the deepest red I have ever seen. Eerie for the last night of meteorological summer. Fergus, Ontario pic.twitter.com/jzTJBvk8ko
— Dave Patrick (@wwxchaser) September 1, 2015
And this is only a sign of what's to come as the West gets hotter and drier, according to an updated analysis from Climate Central. Large wildfires—defined as those 1,000 acres or bigger—have been on the rise since the 1970s.
Large wildfires have been on the rise since the 1970s. Photo credit: Climate Central
The team's analysis of U.S. Forest Service data through 2014 shows that large fires are 3.5 times more common now than they were in the 1970s. They also burn seven times more acreage in an average year.
As temperatures have increased in recent decades, so have large wildfires. Photo credit: Climate Central
The average acres burned has been increasing for decades. Photo credit: Climate Central
It's even more severe for the Northern Rockies. Large wildfires are now 10 times more common than they used to be and the area burned is up to 45 times greater in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
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A baby humpback whale tail slaps in the Pacific Ocean in front of the West Maui Mountains. share your experiences / Moment / Getty Images
The depths of the oceans are heating up more slowly than the surface and the air, but that will undergo a dramatic shift in the second half of the century, according to a new study. Researchers expect the rate of climate change in the deep parts of the oceans could accelerate to seven times their current rate after 2050, as The Guardian reported.
<p>The study, published in the journal <em><a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-0773-5" target="_blank">Nature Climate Change</a></em>, found that different parts of the ocean undergo change at different rates as the extra heat from increasing levels of greenhouse gases moved through the vast ocean depths, making it increasingly tricky for <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/marine-life" target="_self">marine life</a> to adapt, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/26/climate-change-in-deep-oceans-could-be-seven-times-faster-by-middle-of-century-report-says" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p><p>The researchers saw grim prospects for marine life after looking at a metric called climate velocity, which measures the speed and direction a species shifts as their habitat warms, according to <a href="https://www.coastfm.co.uk/news/technology/deep-ocean-life-faces-escalating-threat-from" target="_blank">Sky News</a>.</p>
<p>The scientists, led by Isaac Brito-Morales, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Queensland in Australia, used data from 11 different climate models to predict what the rest of the 21st century will look like, as <a href="https://www.coastfm.co.uk/news/technology/deep-ocean-life-faces-escalating-threat-from" target="_blank">Sky News</a> reported. Brito-Morales and his team looked at the past 50 years of data and projections for future greenhouse gas emissions.</p><p>"This allowed us to compare climate velocity in four ocean depth zones — assessing in which zones <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity" target="_self">biodiversity</a> could shift their distribution the most in response to climate change," said Brito-Morales, in a University of Queensland <a href="https://phys.org/news/2020-05-deep-ocean-slowlybut.html" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p>
<p>The researchers looked at future rates of change in three different scenarios, one where emissions start to fall, another where they start to fall by the middle of this century, and a third where emissions continued to rise up to 2100.</p><p>The study found "a rapid acceleration of climate change exposure throughout the water column" in the second half of the century, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/26/climate-change-in-deep-oceans-could-be-seven-times-faster-by-middle-of-century-report-says" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p><p>Professor Jorge García Molinos, a climate ecologist at Hokkaido University's Arctic Research Center in Japan, and a co-author of the study, said to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/26/climate-change-in-deep-oceans-could-be-seven-times-faster-by-middle-of-century-report-says" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>, "Our results suggest that deep sea biodiversity is likely to be at greater risk because they are adapted to much more stable thermal environments."</p><p>"The acceleration of climate velocity is consistent through all tested greenhouse gas concentration scenarios," Moinos added, as <a href="https://www.aninews.in/news/science/climate-change-can-affect-deep-sea-biodiversity-slowly-study-finds20200526181939/" target="_blank">ANI News</a> in India reported.</p>
<p>So far, ocean water surfaces are experiencing climate velocity about twice the rate of the lower regions. Consequently, life in the depths of the ocean has been less affected than, say, coral, which are much closer to the surface of the water.</p><p>"However by the end of the century, assuming we have a high-emissions future, there is not only much greater surface warming, but also this warmth will penetrate deeper," said Brito-Morales in a <a href="https://phys.org/news/2020-05-deep-ocean-slowlybut.html" target="_blank">statement</a>. "In waters between a depth of 200 and 1000 meters, our research showed climate velocities accelerated to 11 times the present rate.</p><p>"And in an interesting twist, not only is climate velocity moving at different speeds at different depths in the ocean, but also in different directions which poses huge challenges to the ways we design protected areas," he added.</p><p>Several problems exist for marine life such as tuna. First, although they live in the depths, the plankton they eat are near the surface, meaning tuna will have to go through changing water to find food. Secondly, fish in the depths of the ocean are accustomed to a highly stable environment. They are extremely vulnerable to any slight changes in ocean temperatures, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/26/climate-change-in-deep-oceans-could-be-seven-times-faster-by-middle-of-century-report-says" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p>
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Opinions vary among healthcare providers and the conditions of their patients, as well as the infection rate in their communities and availability of personal protective equipment. Aekkarak Thongjiew / EyeEm Getty Images
By Joni Sweet
Should you skip your annual checkup? The answer would have been a resounding "no" if you asked most doctors before the pandemic.
But with the risk of COVID-19, the answer isn't so clear anymore.
<p>Many states banned nonessential medical procedures in an effort to stop the spread of the disease. Patients have also put off routine care out of fear that they could be exposed to the new coronavirus at hospitals and doctors' offices.</p><p>With states starting to open up, you might be wondering whether you can finally get that checkup, dental cleaning, or cancer screening you've been pushing off.</p><p>Here's what you need to know about scheduling preventive care appointments during the pandemic</p>
Are States Allowing Preventive Care Visits?
<p>First things first: If you're experiencing a medical emergency, don't delay treatment.</p><p>While there's the potential that you could be <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/hai/data/portal/index.html" target="_blank">exposed to infections at the emergency room</a>, the health risks of avoiding urgent medical care could be far more severe.</p><p>Hospitals have also implemented precautionary measures, like distributing masks to patients, that help cut down the risk of viral exposure.</p><p>Now that that's out of the way, is it possible to start catching up on routine healthcare appointments, like physicals and dental cleanings?</p><p>"Different places are in different stages of opening up," said <a href="https://www.methodisthealth.org/doctors/arvind-ankireddypalli/" target="_blank">Dr. Arvind Ankireddypalli</a>, primary care physician and geriatrician at Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare. "Preventative services might not even be available in some communities, [and in others] medical appointments may be on a case-by-case basis."</p><p>Like medical care, dental appointments fall under similar guidelines.</p><p>"Dental cleanings are nonessential treatments, and the department of health in most states only allowed emergency dental treatments to be completed during COVID-related shutdowns," said Dr. John Nelson of <a href="https://www.midtowndentalmiami.com/miami-dentist/" target="_blank">Midtown Dental Miami</a>.</p><p>"As states begin to slowly reopen and restrictions begin to relax, dental cleaning services are starting to be provided again. I expect [that within the next few weeks], barring any setback, your local dental office will begin providing cleanings," he said.</p><p>Check with your local and state health departments for the most up-to-date guidelines.</p>
Is it Safe to Go to the Doctor?
<p>If your state is open (or will end its lockdown soon), you may be able to start booking preventive care appointments, like Pap smears, cancer screenings, checkups, and dental cleanings.</p><p>But is it worth the risk of possible exposure to the new coronavirus?</p><p>Opinions vary among healthcare providers and the conditions of their patients, as well as the infection rate in their communities and availability of personal protective equipment.</p><p><a href="https://www.lenhorovitz.com/" target="_blank">Dr. Len Horovitz</a>, internist, pulmonary specialist, and director of Carnegie Medical, recommends that patients avoid delaying their annual physical or other types of preventive care.</p><p>"You will encounter problems that are best seen earlier rather than later," he said. "It is possible to provide a safe environment for a patient in the doctor's office. There's no reason for people to put off an annual exam; these are important appointments that help keep problems from getting out of control."</p><p>In an effort to curb the spread of infection, Horovitz has been following a strict set of procedures at his office, including allowing just one patient in at a time, requiring patients to wear masks and gloves, and disinfecting the examination room between every patient.</p><p>Other physicians, like Ankireddypalli, conduct a risk-benefit analysis for every patient before agreeing to see them in person.</p><p>"It is probably not appropriate to keep delaying visits for high-risk patients, like older adults or people with chronic conditions," he explained.</p>Role of Telehealth Visits
<p>Telemedicine visits, where doctors connect with patients via phone or video chat, can be an option if in-person appointments are risky or prohibited.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/benefits/downloads/medicaid-chip-telehealth-toolkit.pdf" target="_blank">Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services</a> and some private insurance companies have expanded coverage for telehealth services during the pandemic. As a result, some practices have seen the <a href="https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/during-pandemic-telehealth-visits-soar-10-week-300-group-practice" target="_blank">use of telemedicine services soar</a> over the last few months.</p><p>"Telemedicine is a way that patients can be seen, evaluated, counseled, and informed about their healthcare without being exposed to the dangers of going into lobbies and offices," said <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/biographies/ommen-steve-r-m-d/bio-20053861" target="_blank">Dr. Steve Ommen</a>, cardiologist and associate dean of the Mayo Clinic Center for Connected Care, which offers telemedicine services.</p><p>"It is particularly relevant for patients who already have a relationship with a provider, the appointment is for an ongoing care episode, and the patient doesn't need to be touched," he said.</p><p>A virtual doctor's visit can't be a substitute for all routine care, though. Cancer screenings, blood draws, evaluations of lumps, Pap smears, and other services still need to be done in person.</p><p>But even if you do have to go to the doctor's office, telehealth services can help cut down on the amount of time you spend there, thus potentially reducing your exposure to the new coronavirus and other germs.</p><p>"Patients often come to the Mayo Clinic for a major evaluation and then sit with us to go over the results, but we can go over the results through telemedicine when they're at home, rather than having them stay another day," Ommen explained.</p><p>He adds that telemedicine services generally won't suffice for patients who are unwell or experiencing any new symptoms.</p><p>"That's a different level of acuity than a health maintenance visit," he said.</p><p>With so much uncertainty, the best thing you can do is keep an open line of communication with your doctor, dentist, and the rest of your healthcare team.</p><p>Don't just push off your routine services indefinitely, doctors say.</p><p>"By delaying preventative care, we can miss the window of catching certain conditions early. Patients can work with their healthcare providers to put a plan in place and get their services back on track," Ankireddypalli said.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.healthline.com/" target="_blank">Healthline</a>. For detailed source information, please view the original article on <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health-news/can-you-get-your-annual-physical-dental-checkup-right-now" target="_blank">Healthline</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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People wait in a queue at a snack bar at Island H2O Live! water park in Kissimmee, Florida on May 23 as the attraction reopens for Memorial Day weekend after closing for the coronavirus pandemic. Paul Hennessy / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images
Viral images of thousands of people eschewing the recommendations of medical experts and epidemiologists were on full display in the U.S. over Memorial Day weekend. In Missouri, St. Louis County officials called the images of crowds gathered at pool parties at bars and yacht clubs in the Lake of the Ozarks an "international example of bad judgment," according to The Washington Post.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Crowds pack venues in Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks, ignoring social distancing <a href="https://t.co/kqezd69SBl">https://t.co/kqezd69SBl</a></p>— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) <a href="https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1264604851297759232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 24, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>"This reckless behavior endangers countless people and risks setting us back substantially from the progress we have made in slowing the spread of COVID-19," County Executive Dr. Sam Page said in a statement, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/26/health/us-coronavirus-tuesday/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported.</p><p>That was just one example of how a global pandemic that has claimed the lives of nearly 100,000 Americans has not stopped beachgoers and sun seekers from sacrificing public health for a little pleasure. Despite pleas from health officials and politicians, crowds flocked to certain areas, making the scene look like Memorial Day in any other year, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/26/health/us-coronavirus-tuesday/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported.</p>
<p>"My family has the same mindset as me and we kind of just agreed that if we get it, we get it. We're going to handle it as a family and get over it," one beachgoer in Gulf Shores, Alabama told <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/26/health/us-coronavirus-tuesday/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>.</p><p>Organizers called off an event called Orlando Invades Daytona, yet thousands still flocked to Daytona Beach and danced together on the streets. Aerial footage showed people tightly packed together eschewing any recommendations of safe social distancing.</p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e20314d7cd426108dee5c4da16316d11"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fVXWfH9mFbY?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<p>"It looks like there are two people out the sunroof throwing money," a seemingly perplexed pilot of a police helicopter said over his radio as he flew over the wild scene near the beach to get a closer look, according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/05/26/memorial-day-weekend-crowds-coronavirus/" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a>. "They're clearly throwing cash at the crowd."</p><p>In rural North Carolina, <a href="https://www.wxii12.com/article/ace-speedway-reopens-with-large-crowd/32655641" target="_blank">thousands packed the stands</a> and sat <a href="https://twitter.com/IMcMillerNews/status/1264347541816127495?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1264347541816127495%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fnation%2F2020%2F05%2F26%2Fmemorial-day-weekend-crowds-coronavirus%2F" target="_blank">shoulder to shoulder</a> at Ace Speedway on its opening night, where face masks were difficult to spot, as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/05/26/memorial-day-weekend-crowds-coronavirus/" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a> reported. That flouted the governor's mandate that restricts gatherings to 25 people. Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson said he refused to "enforce an unconstitutional law," allowing the speedway's opening night to proceed as planned on Saturday night, according to <a href="https://abc11.com/ace-speedway-terry-johnson-open-memorial-day-weekend/6208793/" target="_blank">WTVD</a>, an ABC News affiliate in North Carolina.</p>
<p>In Ocean City, Maryland throngs of beachgoers crowded on to the boardwalk.</p><p>"What I was surprised at was the amount of people that weren't wearing their masks or weren't social distancing," said Lauren Dixon, who owns a condominium in Ocean City to <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/coronavirus/bs-md-ci-memorial-day-weekend-beaches-20200525-wtdco53qwvg35fmqyuuaitqsyy-story.html" target="_blank">The Baltimore Sun</a>. "They congregated without masks. I was surprised to see that many people. I understand people wanting to get out. But they need to do physical distancing and wear their masks."</p><p>She added that she favors police fining people who violate social distancing orders and who do not wear face masks.</p><p>"But how are you going to have police everywhere?" she said to <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/coronavirus/bs-md-ci-memorial-day-weekend-beaches-20200525-wtdco53qwvg35fmqyuuaitqsyy-story.html" target="_blank">The Baltimore Sun</a>. "You would want to regulate common sense. But you can't."</p><p>Similarly, Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, expressed concern about scenes of people crowding together over the weekend. She also asked for people to use their common sense.</p><p>"We really want to be clear all the time that social distancing is absolutely critical. And if you can't social distance and you're outside, you must wear a mask," she said on ABC's "This Week," as <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/coronavirus/bs-md-ci-memorial-day-weekend-beaches-20200525-wtdco53qwvg35fmqyuuaitqsyy-story.html" target="_blank">The Baltimore Sun</a> reported.</p>
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Only the paper part of a drink carton would be recycled — everything else, including the plastic coating or layer or aluminum foil, would be incinerated as residual waste. tavan amonratanasareegul / Getty Images
By Jeannette Cwienk
When it comes to recycling and recyclability, very little, it seems is straightforward — even something as seemingly simple as orange juice can present a conundrum. In Germany, many smaller shops sell drinks in cartons or plastic bottles, both of which will end up in the yellow recycling bin. But how do their recycling credentials stack up?
<p>"As far as recyclability is concerned, the plastic bottle is probably slightly better because it is likely only made from one plastic, and so is easier to recycle than a multilayer material like a beverage carton," says Rolf Buschmann, waste and resource expert with the German environmental organization BUND, who worked on the group's 2019 Plastic Atlas.</p><p>He explains that only the paper part of the drink carton would be recycled <em>—</em> everything else, including the plastic coating or layer or aluminum foil, would be incinerated as residual waste.</p>
More and More Multilayer Packaging
<p>How easy is it to recognize multilayer packaging? With drink cartons, it's usually obvious that they're made from a combination of different materials, but with other products, such as candy wrappers, it's a different story.</p><p>Such packaging can be made from a complex mix of up to 10 different films of plastic, which as Joachim Christiani, managing director of German recycling institute cyclos-HTP, explains, is <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/germany-produces-record-amount-of-packaging-waste/a-51293541" target="_blank">invisible to consumers</a>.</p><p>"In recent years there's been a trend toward so-called multilayer packaging, which is extremely light and thin. It saves material as well as CO2 emissions during transport, but can't be recycled," Christiani says.</p><p>Because it is not possible to melt the different plastics together, or — at least for now — to separate the individual films from one another at recycling plants.</p>Lack of Recycled Plastic
<p>A 2017 cyclos-HTP study into the recyclability of conventional packaging waste concluded that a third of it was not recyclable, and only 40% of the remaining two-thirds was made into plastic recyclate. The rest was used as fuel <em>—</em> in other words it was incinerated.</p><p>"There was no economic or political pressure to recycle more than this amount," Christiani says. "The prescribed recycling quotas were met, and there were not nearly enough recycling plants."</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzMxNjYwMy9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MTQ4MzI5M30.HL0sO8u-CFQf1FvXt4uVkyWtp5iseVH4FmaVYGkfNEY/img.png?width=980" id="b5980" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0967b762faff5003e7a353180d4ad95e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /><p>Another 2017 study by the chemical and waste disposal industry also shows that to date, Germany has not made much use of recycled plastic. According to the findings, plastic recyclate accounted for only 12% of the total amount of plastic processed in Germany <em>—</em> just under 1.8 million tons. The share of new plastic, on the other hand, was more than 12 million tons.</p>
Room for Greenwashing
<p>According to a 2018 survey by Germany's vzbv consumer protection association, most consumers would like to see more plastic recycling, especially when it comes to packaging.</p><p>Although some products come in packaging that is advertised as being "made from recycled material," Elke Salzmann, a resource protection officer with vzbv, says that can be misleading.</p><p>"It says nothing about how much recycled material the packaging actually contains," according to Salzmann. "And it also doesn't mean that the recycled plastic comes from collected plastic waste. It could just as well come from plastic leftovers created during the production of primary plastic."</p><p>The term "ocean plastic," which some textile and shoe manufacturers use to advertise the recycled plastic in their product lines, can also be misleading, Salzmann says.</p><p><span></span>"Plastic waste from the ocean is in much too bad a state to be recycled. Instead, they use plastic waste from beaches or riverbanks."</p>Laws Against Plastic
<p>Images of garbage choking our waters and <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/eurythenes-plasticus-a-deep-sea-crustacean-full-of-plastic/a-52663559" target="_blank">killing marine wildlife</a> have played a key role in giving plastic a negative reputation among the public, and politicians have started to act.</p><p>Many countries worldwide have introduced bans on single-use items, and in Germany, a 2019 packaging law stipulates a plastics recycling quota of 90% from 2022, up from 36%. That said, the quota only refers to how much material has to be fed into the recycling system, not how much ultimately needs to be recycled.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzMxNjYxNC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMzE4OTE0M30.8xGfBu2brG_AIp45i_q_LxZZu0nMvlFGAEWGL93Hv6M/img.png?width=980" id="79d47" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6bc3d22db4f442dacf798ac32ccc7671" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /><p>This may be addressed in future European Union legislation. As part of its "<a href="https://www.dw.com/en/will-trains-play-a-key-role-in-the-european-green-deal/a-52263495" target="_blank">Green Deal</a>," the European Commission <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/eu-commission-aims-to-clamp-down-on-waste-with-new-law/a-52720804" target="_blank">is aiming to move toward a circular economy</a>, and has announced an action plan to conserve resources and prevent waste.</p><p>The Commission is also being advised by the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) on how to establish new rules around the use of recycled materials.</p><p>The recommendations range from landfill and export bans on plastic waste and tax rebates for recycled products, to the introduction of a plastics tax and a legal minimum quota of recycled content in packaging.</p>
Rethinking the Whole System
<p>Although plastic is a very useful material, at the end of its life it causes many problems, EASAC environmental program director Michael Norton tells DW, adding that we have to rethink the whole system and completely change the way we use plastic.</p><p>Joachim Christiani says the packaging industry is starting to catch on. Around 70% of recycled mass can currently be generated from packaging, but that figure is expected to rise in the future.</p><p>"95% is quite feasible," says the engineer, adding that sorting facilities are currently undergoing improvements, while packaging design is also changing.</p>Clear Plastics Are Easiest to Recycle
<p>As things stand, PET bottles are easiest to recycle because they're not mixed with other materials. New bottles can therefore easily be made from the old ones and the recycling rate is high. But the color of the bottle can pose a problem.</p><p>Because plastic is sorted by type rather than color, if different colors of plastic are mixed, the resulting recyclate cannot be used for light-colored packaging, which many manufacturers want. The upshot is the introduction of new plastic instead.</p><p>Consumer and environmental associations have long called for recyclability, greater sorting purity and better sorting facilities, but their most important demand remains waste avoidance through reusable systems.</p><p>"Why melt down disposable bottles to make new disposable bottles when you can refill them up to 20 times?" Buschmann asks.</p>From Your Site Articles
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A field of organic lettuce grows at a sustainable farm in California. thinkreaction / Getty Images
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, the future of the Cannard Family Farm—whose organic vegetables supplied a single Berkeley restaurant—was looking stark.
<p>Ross Cannard is the son of an iconic leader in the local organic movement in California. "Iconoclastic," Ross says with a chuckle. Bob Cannard built his 30-year career by rejecting organic certification in favor of his own "better than organic" breed of "natural process agriculture," enriching the soil on his Green String Farm with crushed rock and compost.</p><p>He and his son have long sold the fruits of their labor to the famous restaurant Chez Panisse, where, since 1971, chef Alice Waters has pioneered an elegant cuisine based entirely on fresh, local foods straight from the farm.</p><p>But in March, the stay-at-home order hit, and the restaurant closed.</p><p>"You're a farmer. Plants are already in the ground," says Evan Wiig, director of membership and communications for the Community Alliance with Family Farmers. "You make plans months and months in advance. You can't just turn on a dime."</p>
<p>Waters was worried about the vulnerable situation her workers and producers were finding themselves in. She rushed to establish a subscription CSA, which stands for community supported agriculture, offering weekly food boxes that could be picked up at the shuttered restaurant, filled with goodies from her regular producers like Cannard.</p><p>"I'm trying to connect our network with the people who would like to have that food in their home," she said on Michael Dimock's podcast, <a href="https://www.rootsofchange.org/flippingthetablepodcast/available-episodes/" target="_blank">Flipping the Table</a>, on March 26. "We can sort of skip the restaurant for now. … We could help people do the cooking in their own kitchen."</p><p>Cannard augments that market with his own local CSA, setting up a farm stand in the parking lot of Baker & Cook, a café in nearby Boyes Hot Springs, now serving only takeout. Along with produce, Cannard has his olive oil available, as well as wine from a friend's vineyard, and flowers from another local farm. Friends and neighbors are among his 100 or so customers.</p><p>This CSA model, where buyers invest in a farm's annual production upfront in exchange for a regular share of the harvest, is built on long-term relationships between farmers and consumers. It's those relationships, farmers say, springing from the fertile soil of Sonoma County, that are making survival possible. New local grassroots networks and nimbler digital marketplaces, too, are popping up to provide critical lifelines. And despite the strange, isolating atmosphere created by the coronavirus, the region is now bursting with spring growth.</p>
Building Food Communities
<p>Family farms in California and across the country have been hit hard by the impact of the coronavirus on their markets. But in the health-conscious Bay Area, where celery was already one of the first groceries to disappear from the produce rack, demand for fresh local produce has shot up. The challenge is in redirecting food from farms to new customers.</p><p>Sonoma County has historically been an agricultural region. When the organic food movement sprang up in the 1970s, this area was one of its early proponents. The first farmers markets and CSAs appeared in the 1980s and flourished, but the burgeoning network was later eclipsed by an inflated wine industry, much of it owned by distant corporations.</p><p>According to a 2018 crop report, 60,000 acres have gone to grapes, with only 500 acres in food crops. Land prices have skyrocketed, the cost of labor has gone up, and increased regulations have all made it harder to run a viable business here. Many farmers had turned to "boutique" specialty crops for restaurants.</p><p>"Farmers are always in an uphill battle, especially ecological farmers," says Wiig of the Community Alliance with Family Farmers. "I often hear them say, 'I'm working my butt off and hoping for the best.'" That's even more true now, as the pandemic strangles economies the world over.</p><p>For farms with existing CSAs, Wiig says, this is a really good time. "In the beginning of March, most CSAs were struggling to fill boxes. Now some now have waiting lists, some in the 100s."</p><p>But for those who didn't have CSAs established, Wiig says, this is a really tough time. "We've been able to keep farm markets open as essential businesses, but crowds have decreased with people afraid to go out, and sales are down."</p><p>Community Alliance was quick to jump in, becoming a "matchmaker" for producers and buyers on its website. They're also providing all kinds of information for farmers about how to start and run a CSA, including useful software, relevant legislation, available funding sources, and a series of four webinars showcasing successful farms.</p><p>Farm Trails, a local nonprofit with 250 farmer members, also leapt into the fray. The organization has been building relationships between farmers and consumers for 47 years by organizing farm visits and hosting educational events. Two days after the shelter-in-place shut down regular sales outlets, Farm Trails had put up a new page on its website and invited its members to post their offerings.<span></span></p><p>"We know our farmers well," executive director Carmen Snyder says. "We did outreach to them to see what they had. Spirit Works had plenty of alcohol, so they started making lavender sanitizer, giving it away to first responders and health care workers, and selling the rest at the local hardware store."</p><p>In the online marketplace's first two days, web traffic on Farm Trails' site went up 1000%.</p><p>"Many people have been on the fence about CSAs," says Sonya Perrotti, who runs the 1-acre Coyote Family Farm in Penngrove. "This was the push." While she has always sold most of her produce in a CSA, Perrotti benefited from the new digital marketplace. She has now sold out of her 100 shares and plans to expand.</p>
Scaling Up Support
<p>F.E.E.D. Sonoma, a food hub that aggregates produce from dozens of local farms, was another quick responder. When the pandemic hit, it went from serving Bay Area restaurants to building a cooperative of farmers, filling food boxes for distribution at F.E.E.D.'s Petaluma warehouse and other drop spots in the county.</p><p>"Our local food system is extremely diverse," says co-founder Tim Page, who has the energy of a visionary combined with the skills of a businessman. "We have a ton of small farms but we don't have the infrastructure to support them. That is what F.E.E.D. is trying to establish." Since converting the restaurant supply business to a CSA, it has gone from 90 boxes to 450. Ultimately, the goal is 1,800 or more.</p><p>"I grew up in L.A.," Page says. "Every single farm is gone. The same thing will happen here if the general public does not understand the importance of it.</p><p>"That understanding was on display at the Sonoma Farmers Market, which now operates with strict restrictions and safety precautions because of the virus. "We think F.E.E.D. is going to save us," said Candy Wirtz, co-director of Paul's Produce, a well-established farm in Sonoma, as she weighed out my purchases. The CSA model could be transformative for Paul's and other farms across the country.</p><p>Subscribing to a CSA is a lifestyle change for consumers, to be sure. It means eating what's in season and learning to cook unfamiliar vegetables. But it's a change that many people are making now because of the stay-at-home orders. "People just have to learn to cook again instead of eating out," says Judith Redmond, part-owner of Full Belly Farm near Sacramento.</p><p>In light of this newfound commitment to CSAs, Perrotti, of Coyote Family Farm, says: "My hope is that this solidifies instead of going back to the way things were. I hope the importance of local farming stays at the forefront."</p>Farms With Futures
<p>To help small farmers stay in business during the crisis, Community Alliance is also advocating for stimulus dollars. "Most often subsidies go to a small number of the largest farms, or to buy food that goes to food banks from far away, while local farmers can't sell their food," Wiig says. "We want food banks to buy from local farms."</p><p>This seems like a win-win. Millions of tons of food is being plowed under as 60 million people are now going hungry, 17 million of them since the pandemic began, according to Feeding America, the national network of food banks.</p><p>But it's complicated. David Goodman of the Redwood Empire Food Bank puts it plainly: Local food is too expensive. "We distribute nine and a half million pounds of produce annually," he says. "It costs about 9 cents a pound, 3 cents to transport. With 82,000 people to feed, it would be a luxury to think of tending to local needs by buying locally."</p><p>That reticence is partly because the food bank system is tangled in bureaucracy. The USDA decides what to purchase and from where. Because of the distances between sites, the federal agency has tended to favor foods with long shelf lives, such as canned and processed foods, and long-lasting produce like apples and potatoes. "If local food is what we need, there has to be a plan," Goodman says.</p><p>Such a plan might be where short-term disaster relief meets long-term resilience. Michael Dimock is president of Roots of Change, a nonprofit organization that advocates for transforming California's food system. To get serious about preparing the food system for future disasters, Dimock says, the government needs to be involved. Roots of Change is now advocating for a tax on sugary beverages to help foot the bill.</p><p>Dimock says the state needs a paradigm shift for farms to remain viable in the face of multiplying disasters to come—not only pandemics, but fires, floods, and other symptoms of climate change. "How bold will people get in the months ahead to demand real change? My hope is they will get more radical."</p><p>Food is fundamental. While farmers have yet to face the full economic impact of this pandemic, their collaborative efforts, along with local grassroots networks, could mark the beginning of a new economy laboring to be born.</p>
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Nearly 200 Canadian organizations rolled out their demands for a "just recovery." DKosig / Getty Images
By Andrea Germanos
Nearly 200 Canadian organizations on Monday rolled out their demands for a "just recovery," saying that continuing business-as-usual after the pandemic would prevent the kind of far-reaching transformation needed to put "the health and well-being of ALL peoples and ecosystems first."
<p>The choices we make now about how to recover from this pandemic will shape not only our health and economic future, but also the future of human life on this planet," Canadian Labour Congress president Hassan Yussuff said in a statement.</p>
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<p>"This moment is a reminder that the status quo can and must be disrupted," the new Just Recovery for All website declares. "We are standing on the threshold between the old world and the next and we must choose to build the future we want."</p><p>A just recovery—which would enable the government and civil society to "build back better"—rests in six key principles:</p><ol><li>Put people's health and well-being first, no exceptions. Health is a human right and is interdependent with the health and well-being of ecological systems.</li><li>Strengthen the social safety net and provide relief directly to people. Focus relief efforts on people—particularly those who are structurally oppressed by existing systems.</li><li>Prioritize the needs of workers and communities. Support must be distributed in a manner consistent with Indigenous sovereignty, a climate resilient economy, and worker rights, including safe and fair labor standards and a right to unionize. Improved conditions for essential service workers must be maintained beyond this crisis.</li><li>Build resilience to prevent future crises. We cannot recover from the current crisis by entrenching systems that will cause the next crisis.</li><li>Build solidarity and equity across communities, generations, and borders. In a globalized world, what happens to one of us matters to all of us.</li><li>Uphold Indigenous rights and work in partnership with Indigenous peoples. A Just Recovery must uphold Indigenous Rights and include the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples, in line with the standard of free, prior, and informed consent.</li></ol>
<p>The principles were endorsed by progressive groups focused on a broad range of issues including 350.org, the Canadian Federation of Students, Oxfam Canada, and The Leap.</p><p>"The huge collaborative effort that brought these principles to life over many weeks of rich, challenging discussions exemplifies the kind of action we expect of political leaders as we move through this crisis," Catherine Abreu of Climate Action Network Canada said in a statement.</p><p>"It's going to take a massive and diverse community of voices to encourage governments to be bold in the face of corporate lobbies, and to put people and communities first," she said.</p><p>"Our goal was to capture the immense amount of care work happening throughout Canadian civil society right now and present a vision of a Just Recovery that leaves no one behind," Abreu explained. "We know this is a vision the majority of Canadians support, and millions of people are ready to take action."</p>
<p>As for the inevitable question—How are you going to pay for it?—the groups say the money is already there. It's just a question of changing who's on the receiving end. From the new site:</p><blockquote>The government currently gives billions of dollars in handouts to industries that harm our environment and communities, including the oil and gas industry. Canada also loses billions of dollars to offshore tax havens every year.<br><br>Right now, the government is working on a plan to rebuild our economy. It is likely that they will unveil a stimulus package, but it's on all of us to ensure that money goes directly to workers and communities, not corporations. By bailing out people, not big businesses, and closing tax loopholes, we can start to build a sustainable and just future for all.<br></blockquote><p>Dr. Courtney Howard of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment says it's clear from what she's witnessed amid the global pandemic that people are willing to use moments of crisis as turning points for positive change.</p><p>"To feel safe," she said, "we need to manage two planetary health emergencies at once—Covid-19 and its economic fallout, and climate change."</p><p>"We've shown that when pressed, we prioritize health. We take care of one another," said Howard.</p><p>"We have a generational opportunity to use this time of crisis and reflection to bring to life a vision of planetary health for all," she continued. "We've stayed home to save lives. By working together on a just and healthy recovery, we'll save more." </p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/25/nearly-200-groups-canada-vow-fight-covid-19-recovery-puts-human-and-ecological" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>
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Alberta Energy Minister Calls Pandemic ‘a Great Time’ to Build Pipelines Due to Protest Restrictions
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Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage in Edmonton on Friday, April 24, 2020. Chris Schwarz / Government of Alberta / Flickr
Anti-pipeline protests work.
That's the implication behind comments made by Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage Friday on how coronavirus social distancing requirements could ease the construction of Canada's controversial Trans Mountain Expansion project.
<p>"Now is a great time to be building a pipeline because you can't have protests of more than 15 people," Savage said, as <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/pipelines-alberta-protests-physical-distancing-1.5584025" target="_blank">The Canadian Press reported</a>. "Let's get it built."</p><p>Savage made the comments while speaking on a Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors podcast. After the remark, the interviewer laughed, but Savage did not.</p>
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<p>Savage also argued that the political and economic climate caused by the pandemic would not favor protesters.</p><p>"People are not going to have tolerance and patience for protests that get in the way of people working," she said on the podcast. "People need jobs and those types of ideological protests that get in the way are not going to be tolerated by ordinary Canadians."</p><p>The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which would nearly triple the amount of oil carried from Edmonton, Alberta to Burnaby, British Columbia from 300,000 to 890,000 barrels per day, has faced fierce opposition from environmental groups, the B.C. government and some <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/indigenous" target="_self">indigenous</a> communities along its route, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-52804344" target="_blank">BBC News reported</a>. Pipeline opponents cite the risk of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oil-spill" target="_self">oil spills</a>, the threat to endangered orcas off the B.C. coast and the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a> as reasons the project should not be expanded.</p>
<p>Construction on the project began in December, but in the podcast Savage acknowledged that protests had been a major hurdle.</p><p>"The activists have been so effective because the industry has been so ineffective," Savage said, as <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/alberta-energy-minister-pipeline-protest_ca_5ecc1dc5c5b6fd5bd57f1215?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACZLberJaRiI3IUecNLxlObw0VUGa0voqOClhc59lw9R-GhSH90WGTBduckFaRR4tyjBO1Bhszp82L6E5sFRFZcpb2bnc7_SK6oGNl-396Mv68dfczXkeJhu6UohURTawVCYUJH8S9LGdDjwZvethwPJqnzrwqIZah4_enMre5cn" target="_blank">HuffPost reported</a>. "They outsmarted the entire industry […] they got ahead of everyone."</p><p>Both Alberta and British Columbia have actually increased their upward limit on outdoor gatherings to 50, according to The Canadian Press. But while protesting in person against a pipeline might be more difficult because of the coronavirus pandemic, the outbreak has actually given environmental groups and frontline communities another reason to oppose them. Because <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oil-and-gas" target="_self">oil and gas</a> has been designated an "essential service" by the Alberta government, work camps have spread the new disease to rural areas, HuffPost pointed out. In one April incident, an outbreak at Imperial Oil's Kearl mine led to more than 100 cases in Western Canada. Another outbreak at the Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. Horizon oilsands mine generated at least five new cases last week.</p><p>"Can't believe we have to say it but it absolutely is NOT a 'great time' to build a pipeline," <a href="https://350.org/no-cgl/" target="_blank">350 Canada</a> tweeted in response to Savage's comments. "We are in the midst of a health and climate crisis. And setting up man camps will endanger the lives of Indigenous and rural communities with already strained healthcare systems."</p>
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<p>Savage's spokesperson Kavi Bal acknowledged that she spoke on the podcast but denied that social distancing measures were good for the industry.</p><p>"We respect the right to lawful protests," Bal told The Canadian Press. "I would note that the limitations to public gatherings … have benefited no one – including project proponents and any opposition groups."</p><p>Irfan Sabir, the Opposition New Democrat energy critic, denounced Savage's remarks and Alberta's ruling United Conservative Party (UCP), led by pro-<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil-fuel</a> Premier <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/keystone-xl-pipeline-construction-2645607020.html" target="_self">Jason Kenney</a>.</p><p>"These comments do not come as a shock," he said. "The UCP have already used the pandemic as an excuse to suspend environmental monitoring. When combined with the minister's latest comments, this will harm the reputation of Alberta's energy industry and inhibit our ability to attract investment and get our product to market."</p>
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