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7-Mile ‘Bee Corridor’ of Wildflowers Will Feed London’s Pollinators This Summer
StephenMitchell / Flickr / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
It's a scary time for the world's pollinators. A study published in February warned that more than 40 percent of the world's insects could go extinct within the next 30 years. Another study published in Nature in March found that a third of wild pollinator species in the UK had declined since 1980.
But one North London council has a plan to fight this trend: a seven-mile "bee corridor" of wildflowers seeded through Brent Council's parks and green spaces.
"Bees and other insects are so important for pollinating the crops that provide the food that we eat," Brent Councillor Krupa Sheth told London's Evening Standard. "We must do all we can to help them to thrive."
The corridor will combine 22 wildflower meadows and should be in bloom this summer. The flowers will help not only bees, but also butterflies, dragonflies and moths.
"The team curated the mix of wildflowers with bees and other insects in mind, choosing varieties that would attract these pollinators," Projects Manager Kelly Eaton said, as BBC News reported.
That mix included ragged robin, cowslip and common poppy. Workers are currently plowing the selected meadows and will then begin planting. The council said it believed the initiative was the first of its kind in London, according to The Independent.
Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn called the corridor a "fantastic initiative" in a Tweet Monday.
The decline in wildflowers and other natural habitat in the UK has been cited as one reason for the decline in pollinators. Since World War II, more than 97 percent of the country's wildflower meadows have disappeared, The Independent reported. Other likely reasons for the decline of bees and other pollinators are pesticide use and climate change, according to the March study.
Brent Council announced the plan the same week as a major UN report on biodiversity, which warned that human activities had caused wild mammal populations to fall 82 percent since 1980, halved the space occupied by natural ecosystems and continue to threaten one million species with extinction, according to The Independent.
"The loss of species, ecosystems and genetic diversity is already a global and generational threat to human well-being," UN Biodiversity Chief Robert Watson said ahead of the report's release. "Protecting the invaluable contributions of nature to people will be the defining challenge of decades to come."
In this context, the "bee corridor" could be seen as a small part of the solution.
"I'm proud of Brent's commitment to boost biodiversity in the borough and look forward to seeing the meadows in full bloom in just a few months' time," Sheth said, as The Independent reported.
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"Most of this fossil fuel finance flowed to wealthier countries," the report says, noting that China (pictured), Canada, Japan, and Korea provided the most public finance for dirty energy projects from 2016 to 2018.
Kevin Frayer / Stringer / Getty Images
Kevin Frayer / Stringer / Getty Images
By Jessica Corbett
Even after the world's largest economies adopted the landmark Paris agreement to tackle the climate crisis in late 2015, governments continued to pour $77 billion a year in public finance into propping up the fossil fuel industry, according to a report released Wednesday.
<p>The new <a href="http://priceofoil.org/2020/05/27/g20-still-digging/" target="_blank">report</a>, from Oil Change International and Friends of the Earth (FOE) U.S., focuses on financing for oil, gas, and coal projects from members of the Group of 20 (<a href="https://g20.org/en/about/Pages/whatis.aspx" target="_blank">G20</a>), which comprises governments and central bank governors from 19 countries and the European Union.</p><p>Although U.S. President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/11/04/delivering-catastrophic-message-moment-great-urgency-trump-formally-begins-ditching" target="_blank">began</a> the one-year withdrawal process for ditching the Paris accord in November 2019 after years of <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/06/01/destructive-fossil-fuel-puppet-trump-ditches-climate-deal-fact-free-speech" target="_blank">threats</a>, other G20 nations remain committed to the agreement, which aims to keep global temperature rise well below 2°C (35.6 F) and further limit it to 1.5°C (34.7 F) by 2100.</p><p>Despite their public commitments to the Paris agreement, "G20 countries continue to subsidize the fossil fuel industry even as it makes bad business decisions that hurt people and the planet," FOE U.S. senior international policy analyst Kate DeAngelis <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/05/27/report-g20-governments-bankrolling-fossil-fuel-industry-least-77-billion-year" target="_blank">said</a> in a statement.</p><p>"Our planet is hurtling towards climate catastrophe and these countries are pouring gasoline on the fire to the tune of billions," she said. "We must hold G20 governments accountable for their promises to move countries toward clean energy. They have an opportunity to reflect and change their financing so that it supports clean energy solutions that will not exacerbate bad health outcomes and put workers at greater risk."</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1265419719403876353" id="twitter-embed-1265419719403876353" lazy-loadable="true" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1265419719403876353&created_ts=1590534546.0&screen_name=PriceofOil&text=%E2%9A%A1%E2%9A%A1Just+Released%3A+Our+new+report+w%2F+%40FoE_US+reveals+G20+countries+provided+at+least+%2477+billion+a+year+in+public+fin%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FwizlSeXnRT&id=1265419719403876353&name=Oil+Change+International" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="fc626c0dd110d303e518e96fd2453ab1"></iframe>
<p>The new report—<a href="http://priceofoil.org/content/uploads/2020/05/G20-Still-Digging.pdf" target="_blank"><em>Still Digging: G20 Governments Continue to Finance the Climate Crisis</em> </a>(pdf)—warns that "with the health and livelihoods of billions at immediate risk from Covid-19, governments around the world are preparing public spending packages of a magnitude they previously deemed unthinkable."</p><blockquote>In normal times, development finance institutions (DFIs), export credit agencies (ECAs), and multilateral development banks (MDBs) already had an outsized impact on the overall energy landscape and more capacity than their private sector peers to act on the climate crisis. In the current moment, their potential influence has multiplied, and it is imperative that they change course. The fossil fuel sector was showing long-term signs of systemic decline before Covid-19 and has been quick to seize on this crisis with requests for massive subsidies and bailouts. We cannot afford for the wave of public finance that is being prepared for relief and recovery efforts to prop up the fossil fuel industry as it has in the past. Business as usual would exacerbate the next crisis—the climate crisis—that is already on our doorstep.<br></blockquote><p>As Oil Change International research analyst Bronwen Tucker put it: "Fossil fuel corporations know their days are numbered. Their lobbyists are using the Covid-19 crisis as cover to try to secure the massive new government handouts they need to survive."</p><p>Echoing <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/26/hundreds-medical-professionals-and-groups-say-covid-19-stimulus-plans-must-be" target="_blank">recent calls</a> from climate campaigners, advocacy groups, progressive policymakers, and healthcare professionals, the report urges G20 governments and multilateral development banks to support a global, just recovery to the coronavirus pandemic.</p><p>"Government money must instead support a just transition from fossil fuels that protects workers, communities, and the climate—both at home and beyond their borders," said Tucker. "Instead of bankrolling another major crisis—climate change—our governments should invest in a resilient future."</p><p>Based on information from Oil Change International's Shift the Subsidies database, the report details financing from public institutions controlled by G20 governments—DFIs, ECAs, and MDBs. Key findings include that support for the fossil fuel industry has "stayed steady" since the Paris agreement and ECAs are "the worst public finance actors."</p><p>"Most of this fossil fuel finance flowed to wealthier countries," the report says, noting that China, Canada, Japan, and Korea provided the most public finance for dirty energy projects from 2016 to 2018.</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1265623289118015492" id="twitter-embed-1265623289118015492" lazy-loadable="true" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1265623289118015492&created_ts=1590583080.0&screen_name=envirodefence&text=New+research+from+%40PriceofOil+%26amp%3B+%40foe_us+shows+Canada+has+the+2nd+highest+public+finance+for+fossil+fuels+in+the+G20%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FCC21WVmLhZ&id=1265623289118015492&name=EnvironmentalDefence" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="3a8dab253abb0ab96502809508dffa35"></iframe>
<p><em>Still Digging</em> examines just one way these nations support planet-wrecking oil, gas, and coal projects, acknowledging that "unlike the 2017 version of this report, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/07/05/talk-cheap-g20-told-end-public-subsidy-all-dirty-fuels-2020" target="_blank"><em>Talk is Cheap</em></a>, it does not include public finance directly from G20 government departments due to a gross lack of transparency."</p><p>The report also doesn't cover "majority government-owned banks without a clear policy mandate, sovereign wealth funds, or public finance institutions with subnational governance," or "subsidies to fossil fuel production at the national level in G20 state budgets, which previous analysis has indicated may provide an additional $80 billion per year in support to fossil fuel production."</p><p>However, <em>Still Digging</em> suggests that G20 public finance institutions—as entities owned by governments party to the Paris accord—could be catalysts for more climate-friendly financing decisions "due to their economic and political power."</p><p>"Private and public financial investors alike will need to shift rapidly," the report says, "but the role of public institutions is unique because of both their outsized influence on energy finance and their capacity and mandate to lead on climate action."</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1265668484349992961" id="twitter-embed-1265668484349992961" lazy-loadable="true" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1265668484349992961&created_ts=1590593856.0&screen_name=PriceofOil&text=%F0%9F%93%96New+Report%F0%9F%93%96%3A+As+%23G20+governments+spend+historic+levels+of+public+finance+on+%23COVID19+stimulus%2C+our+new+report+w%2F%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2Fbw8awZru86&id=1265668484349992961&name=Oil+Change+International" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="4c26ee7a9cd92203449579ca4aa553e7"></iframe>
<p>More than 30 groups from across the globe endorsed the report—including Justica Ambiental, or FOE Mozambique, which has worked to raise alarm about international public finance supporting the expansion of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in southern African country.</p><p>"It is unacceptable that such a high investment, which will provide billions of profits for foreign companies like Total, is contributing to the impoverishment and oppression of already vulnerable local communities," said Justica Ambiental director Anabela Lemos.</p><p>"Peasant and fishing families have lost their livelihoods for a lifetime," Lemos added. "The discovery of gas has stolen their identity and failed to provide them with the conditions stipulated in the so-called community consultation processes."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/27/new-report-details-how-g20-nations-spend-77-billion-year-destroy-climate" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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An aerial view shows new vehicles that were offloaded from ships at Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics on April 26, 2020 in Wilmington, California. "Vehicles are the biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in America," said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. David McNew / Getty Images
Twenty-three states and Washington, DC launched a suit Wednesday to stop the Trump administration rollback of Obama-era fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks.
<p>The Trump rollback, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-fuel-efficiency-pollution-2645597122.html" target="_self">finalized in March</a>, slashed a requirement that automakers increase fuel efficiency by five percent a year through 2026 to 1.5 percent, <a href="https://uk.mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUKKBN2332UT" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>. The lower standard undid the single greatest U.S. attempt to fight the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/climate/lawsuit-fuel-economy-climate.html" target="_blank">The New York Times pointed out</a>, and the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa" target="_self">Environmental Protection Agency's</a> (EPA) own scientists warned it could increase deadly <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/air-pollution" target="_self">air pollution</a>.</p><p>"Vehicles are the biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in America, and pollution-related respiratory illnesses make people more susceptible to Covid-19," California Attorney General Xavier Becerra told The New York Times.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BREAKING</a>: we’re suing the Trump Administration over its reckless rollback of national <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CleanCarStandards?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CleanCarStandards</a>.<a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RealDonaldTrump</a>’s so-called SAFE rule is a job killer and a public health hazard. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaveCleanCars?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SaveCleanCars</a> <a href="https://t.co/1dILJu88yC">https://t.co/1dILJu88yC</a> <a href="https://t.co/6ceaoC8F2t">pic.twitter.com/6ceaoC8F2t</a></p>— Xavier Becerra (@AGBecerra) <a href="https://twitter.com/AGBecerra/status/1265700972858208256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="_self">Donald Trump</a> has touted the new standards as the most important rollback of his time in office and argued they would help the economy and the auto industry. The industry, however, is split on the new rules, with the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which includes General Motors and Toyota, backing the administration, while Ford, Honda, BMW and Volkswagen <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/automakers-emissions-california-trump-2639356453.html" target="_self">have struck a deal</a> with California to follow tougher standards.</p><p>Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, whose state has also joined the suit, told Reuters the new standards would actually decrease auto industry employment by four percent.</p><p>Nessel also called the new rule a "gift to the fossil fuel industry" and "a slap in the face to public health," according to Reuters and The New York Times respectively.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">AG Nessel Files Lawsuit Challenging Federal Government's Reckless Rollback of National Clean Car Standards ➡️ <a href="https://t.co/jSMnG8xhFv">https://t.co/jSMnG8xhFv</a> <a href="https://t.co/1NzIzPIXIF">pic.twitter.com/1NzIzPIXIF</a></p>— Michigan Attorney General (@MIAttyGen) <a href="https://twitter.com/MIAttyGen/status/1265722254371028998?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>The EPA did not comment on the lawsuit, but defended the new standards as a "sensible, single national program that strikes the right regulatory balance, protects our environment, and sets reasonable targets for the auto industry," according to Reuters. However, the administration's own figures show the new rule would increase greenhouse gas emissions by at least 867 million metric tons compared to the original standards, The New York Times reported. The difference amounts to more than the yearly emissions of many midsized countries.</p><p>This is the 82nd lawsuit California has filed against the Trump administration, according to Becerra, and most of the suits have targeted environmental rollbacks. The suit claims the reduced standards violate national laws requiring the government to issue the highest possible standards for automakers, <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/499770-23-states-sue-trump-over-rollback-of-obama-fuel-efficiency" target="_blank">The Hill explained</a>.</p><p>The states are joined in the suit by the cities of New York City, Denver, San Francisco and Los Angeles, Reuters reported.</p><p>Moments after the state lawsuit was filed, a coalition of 12 environmental groups including the <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/" target="_blank">Sierra Club</a> issued a separate legal challenge to the new rules, The Hill reported.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Bit of a litigious day when you've got ~40 parties suing you over your clean car rule all at once.<br><br>Obama rule: 55 mpg by 2025<br>Trump rule: 40 mpg by 2026<a href="https://t.co/ZLVvFYmxKO">https://t.co/ZLVvFYmxKO</a></p>— Rebecca Beitsch (@RebeccaBeitsch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RebeccaBeitsch/status/1265730658250481665?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>"This flawed rule — which will increase pollution, endanger public health, cut auto jobs, and further burden American families with higher fueling costs — will not hold up in court, just like the vast majority of the Trump Administration's unjustified actions," the Sierra Club said in a statement reported by The Hill. </p>
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A food delivery courier packs an order in Bangkok on March 25, 2020, after the government limited restaurants to takeout during the COVID-19 pandemic. MLADEN ANTONOV / AFP / Getty Images
By Tanika Godbole
Southeast Asia is one of the biggest sources of plastic waste from land to the ocean, and Thailand is among the top five contributors. In January, Thailand placed a ban on single-use plastic, and was looking to reduce its plastic waste by 30% this year.
<p>But the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdown has led to a huge rise in the country's plastic waste. According to the Thailand Environment Institute (TEI), the average amount of plastic waste went from 2,120 tons per day in 2019 to approximately 3,440 tons per day between January and April 2020. The rise in the month of April alone was nearly 62%.</p>
Food Delivery
<p>One of the biggest contributors to the plastic problem is food delivery. As people have been housebound, their tendency to order food delivery has risen, resulting in increased usage of plastic containers and wrapping material.</p><p>Grab, a Singaporean food delivery app, saw a surge of 400% in orders. Other such apps like Line Man and Foodpanda Thailand, too, have seen a rise of 300% and 50% in their orders, respectively.</p><p>Waste from a single delivery could contain several plastic items such as containers, seasoning packets, beverage holders, chopsticks, spoons, forks and so on.</p><p>"Plastic containers for food are often contaminated, the waste separation and collection are not systematic, and there is no regulation on waste separation and enforcement," said Wijarn Simachaya, President of TEI.</p>Waste Management
<p>While countries across North America, Europe and Japan also contribute high levels of plastic waste, they have relatively efficient waste management systems in place.</p><p>The Thai government had released a "Plastic Waste Management Road Map," to phase out the use of plastic by 2030. One of the initiatives of this plan was the single-use plastic ban that has been enforced since January.</p><p>According to data released by the Department of Environment and Quality Promotion, an average person in Thailand uses about 8 plastic bags per day, which adds up to 200 billion per year.</p><p>According to Greenpeace, imported plastic waste is also adding to Thailand's plastic crisis. Their research has revealed that imports of plastic waste into the country jumped two years ago, mostly due to China's decision to ban imports at the start of 2018.</p><p>"This has put added pressure on a waste system which is already failing to deal with domestic demand. Making matters worse, much of it is mislabeled as 'recyclable' even though the shipments constitute hundreds of thousands of tons of contaminated plastic and other mixed wastes from developed countries that cannot be processed," said Pichmol Rugrod, team leader of Plastic Free Future, Greenpeace Thailand.</p><p>"Thailand is in the grip of a growing plastic waste crisis - both domestically, through overproduction and consumption, and via the importation of plastic waste from abroad," Rugrod told DW. "Much of this plastic simply ends up in landfill sites or dumped in our streets because of a lack of waste management options, exacerbating urban flooding, or polluting rivers, seas and oceans - killing wildlife and affecting the food chain."</p>
Widespread
<p>Some say the pandemic has merely brought to the surface an already existing problem for the country. Experts believe that greater awareness and lifestyle changes among the masses could help address this issue.</p><p>The effects of plastic waste are long term. The pollution affects the oceans, aquatic life and also humans.</p><p>"Plastic pollution may also be contaminating the air that we breathe every day. Plastics do not biodegrade, therefore once they are introduced into an animal's system, they will stay there for a long time. Therefore, consuming these plastics leads to malnutrition, digestive blockage and slow poisoning effects due to plastic's heightened toxicity," Simachaya told DW.</p><p>While the pandemic may have been a setback to Thailand's struggle to eliminate plastic waste, Simachaya believes a change in awareness and habits will lead to a gradual decrease in plastic waste.</p><p>Thailand is slowly starting to ease lockdown rules. While it is too premature to say whether the plastic waste levels are expected to go down, some delivery outlets have started offering bio-degradable containers and cutlery. Some online shopping companies are also giving the option of receiving packages without the use of plastic.</p>From Your Site Articles
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A man walks by a memorial for those who have died from the coronavirus outside Green-Wood Cemetery on May 27, 2020 in Brooklyn, New York. Green-Wood Cemetery, one of New York's oldest cemeteries, has been the site of hundreds of burials and cremations of Covid-19 victims. Spencer Platt / Getty Images
The U.S. death toll from the new coronavirus surpassed 100,000 Wednesday, even as all 50 states begin to reopen.
<p>The U.S., with less than five percent of the world's population, accounts for nearly a third of its coronavirus deaths, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/05/27/860508864/we-all-feel-at-risk-100-000-people-dead-from-covid-19-in-the-u-s" target="_blank">according to NPR</a>. It has by far the highest death toll of any country in the world, and the virus that causes COVID-19 has now killed more Americans than every military conflict since the Korean War, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/us/coronavirus-live-news-updates.html" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>.</p><p>"Back in March, I did not think this would be possible — I was not expecting 100,000 deaths," Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, told NPR. "I really believed we as a nation would have taken the decision to put in place social distancing and accepted the economic hardship that it's creating, and that we would have stuck to it to get transmission down to a very low level."</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">JUST IN: More than 100,000 people have now died in the US from the coronavirus, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.<br><br>In just four months, the virus has killed almost twice the number of Americans lost during the entire Vietnam War. <a href="https://t.co/RNH5IROg3B">https://t.co/RNH5IROg3B</a> <a href="https://t.co/9baVumuaUc">pic.twitter.com/9baVumuaUc</a></p>— CNN (@CNN) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1265766289487912962?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>The first known U.S. coronavirus death occurred in Northern California Feb. 6, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/u-s-coronavirus-deaths-top-100-000-n1214106" target="_blank">NBC News reported</a>. That ballooned to an average of 2,000 deaths a day in April, and has fallen to an average of 1,400 a day in May, <a href="https://uk.mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUKKBN233351" target="_blank">Reuters calculated</a>. The U.S. now has more than 1.7 million confirmed cases. Worldwide, the disease has infected more than 5.6 million and killed more than 350,000.</p><p>The new virus has not been an equal opportunity killer in the U.S., NPR pointed out. According to calculations based on the first nearly 69,000 fatalities, it killed around twice the number of men than women under 75, and 80 percent of the dead were 65 or older. It has disproportionately impacted <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/black--hispanic-americans-coronavirus-2645677258.html" target="_self">African American</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/navajo-nation-covid-19-infection-rate-2646033759.html" target="_self">Native American</a> communities, and has taken a higher toll on low income areas.</p>
<p>"If you look at the locations where people are disproportionately dying, they are in places that are lower income," University of Chicago Population Research Center Director Kathleen Cagney told NPR. "They are places that likely have multiple residents in a single-unit space. They are places where people rely on public transit and rely on services like big-box locations, where by entry alone you're putting yourself at risk."</p><p>The grim 100,000 milestone comes about a week after a Columbia University study found that the death toll could have been significantly lower if the country had entered lockdown just one week earlier, <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/05/21/860077940/u-s-could-have-saved-36-000-lives-if-social-distancing-started-1-week-earlier-st" target="_blank">NPR reported at the time</a>. If social distancing measures had begun March 8 instead of March 15, around 36,000 lives could have been saved.</p>
<p>President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="_self">Donald Trump</a>, who <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/coronavirus-infections-trump-2645393552.html" target="_self">claimed as late as March</a> that those with mild cases could still go to work, took to Twitter Wednesday to stave off criticism of his handling of the virus.</p><p>"The Radical Left Lamestream Media, together with their partner, the Do Nothing Democrats, are trying to spread a new narrative that President Trump was slow in reacting to Covid 19," he wrote, as The New York Times reported. "Wrong, I was very fast, even doing the Ban on China long before anybody thought necessary!"</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Radical Left Lamestream Media, together with their partner, the Do Nothing Democrats, are trying to spread a new narrative that President Trump was slow in reacting to Covid 19. Wrong, I was very fast, even doing the Ban on China long before anybody thought necessary!</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1265633761024188417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>Former Vice President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/joe-biden" target="_self">Joe Biden</a>, his rival in the upcoming 2020 presidential election, posted a video Wednesday in which he did fault the administration for not acting sooner.</p><p>"This is a fateful milestone we should have never reached," he said, according to The New York Times.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">There are moments in our history so grim, so heart-rending, that they're forever fixed in each of our hearts as shared grief. Today is one of those moments. 100,000 lives have now been lost to this virus.<br><br>To those hurting, I'm so sorry for your loss. The nation grieves with you. <a href="https://t.co/SBBRKV4mPZ">pic.twitter.com/SBBRKV4mPZ</a></p>— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1265757168504049664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>The concern now is that states will reopen too quickly. While the number of new cases and deaths have fallen nationwide, some locations have seen a surge in cases.</p><p>In New York state, the nation's hardest hit, the daily death toll has declined to numbers not seen since March.</p><p>But a White House coronavirus task force report found that cases were surging by as much as 72 percent in cities around the country, according to NBC. In Mecklenberg County, North Carolina, where Charlotte is located, cases had nearly doubled between May 1 and Saturday. In Montgomery County, Alabama, they had nearly tripled during the same period, and the hospitals have been forced to send people to Birmingham.</p><p>"Right now, in Montgomery, we're at a point where we can see the cliff, and we don't want to get too close to it for fear of falling off," Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on Thursday. "We're in a very dangerous predicament."</p>
<p>Public health experts warn the death toll could keep climbing as all 50 states are moving to ease their lockdowns, surging past 140,000 by August.</p><p>"Now we're almost getting the worst of both worlds — we're getting the economic hardship and we're relaxing," Murray told NPR. "And it seems either now or in the fall, we're going to have a big second wave, and we'll be right back to dealing with pressure on the hospital system and dealing with, when is the peak surge coming?"</p>
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Dominion Resources' coal-fired power plant located in central Virginia beside the James River. Edbrown05 / CC BY-SA 2.5
Corporations that flouted environmental regulations and spewed pollutants into the air and dumped them into waterways will not be required to pay the fines they agreed to during the pandemic, according to The Guardian.
<p>The forbearance of payments totals $56 million from ten corporations for a variety of violations across the country, including polluting air and water in already vulnerable communities, like East Chicago, Indiana, according to legal proceedings.</p><p>The companies agreed to settlements with the U.S. government that forced them to pay fines without admitting liability. However, the U.S. Department of Justice advised most of the companies of extensions in letters that were obtained by the government watchdog group <a href="https://www.accountable.us/" target="_blank">Accountable.US</a> via public records requests, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/27/epa-corporation-environmental-fines-decision" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p><p>The Department of Justice said the move is intended to "mitigate the financial impact" of the coronavirus. However, enforcement attorneys who have spent years targeting the companies expressed shock over the blanket policy, according to <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/493216-doj-lets-companies-skip-paying-penalties-during-pandemic" target="_blank">The Hill</a>.</p><p>"It's unprecedented in how broad it is," said Francis Lyons, a partner with Schiff Hardin LLP who previously worked on environmental enforcement issues at the Justice Department, to <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/493216-doj-lets-companies-skip-paying-penalties-during-pandemic" target="_blank">The Hill</a>. "I think this policy goes beyond what is necessary under the circumstances."</p>
<p>In one example that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/27/epa-corporation-environmental-fines-decision" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> provided, KP Kauffman, a Denver-based oil and gas company, has spent $200,000 lobbying the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa">EPA</a> in 2019 and 2020. It also hosted a meeting with oil executives and Donald <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump">Trump</a> in 2016. Now, the company has stopped paying the fines it agreed to for allegedly violating air pollution laws when the company emitted smog-forming compounds in the Denver-Julesburg Basin, an area that wasn't meeting smog standards.</p><p>"This is exactly the time to make sure support is flowing to the federal, state and local governments that need a hand with responding to the coronavirus crisis and with the environmental problems that these special interests have caused," said Chris Saeger, director of strategic initiatives at Accountable.US, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/27/epa-corporation-environmental-fines-decision" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p><p>"When we're facing a public health crisis that causes respiratory problems, this is a time to be holding companies to a higher standard of air quality, not a lower one."</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, a number of companies that do not have to pay the fines they agreed to are ones with deep ties to the Trump administration. Dominion Energy in Virginia agreed to pay for a coal ash impoundment that seeped pollutants into the groundwater along the James River. That company has several ties to the administration, including a former top EPA enforcement official and Attorney General William Barr, who leads the Department of Justice.</p><p>Similarly, ArcelorMittal, one of the world's largest steel companies, agreed to pay $5 million for polluting the air in Indiana and Ohio. Its CEO dined with Trump in Davos in January and was part of the president's roundtable in India in February. And Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross is a former employee of ArcelorMittal, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/27/epa-corporation-environmental-fines-decision" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p><p>"This policy cuts off income to the federal government at a time when there's this massive spending by the federal government to keep the economy afloat, so you'd think they'd care about other funds coming in," said Joel Mintz, a former EPA enforcement attorney who later worked as a law professor at Nova Southeastern University in Florida, to <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/493216-doj-lets-companies-skip-paying-penalties-during-pandemic" target="_blank">The Hill</a>. "It kind of sends a message to these companies that you're letting them off the hook."</p>
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The Ministry of Trade issued a regulation revoking its decision from February to no longer require Indonesian timber companies to obtain export licenses that certify the wood comes from legal sources. BAY ISMOYO / AFP / Getty Images
By Hans Nicholas Jong
The Indonesian government has backed down from a decision to scrap its timber legality verification process for wood export, amid criticism from activists and the prospect of being shut out of the lucrative European market.
<p>On May 11, the Ministry of Trade issued <a href="http://jdih.kemendag.go.id/peraturan/detail/1998/2" target="_blank">a regulation</a> revoking its decision from February to no longer require Indonesian timber companies to obtain export licenses that certify the wood comes from legal sources. That earlier decision caught environmental activists, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, and even timber businesses by surprise, prompting a widespread outcry.</p><p>Sulistyawati, the trade ministry's director of forestry product exports, said that with the revocation, the export process would go back to the previous system. She <a href="https://kompas.id/baca/humaniora/ilmu-pengetahuan-teknologi/2020/05/14/lemahkan-sistem-verifikasi-legalitas-kayu-peraturan-menteri-perdagangan-dicabut/" target="_blank">said</a> the revocation was in accordance with a request from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.</p><p>Under the trade ministry's <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/03/indonesia-timber-illegal-logging-legality-license-svlk/" target="_blank">controversial February regulation</a>, which would have taken effect on May 27, exporters would no longer have needed to obtain licenses verifying that their timber and finished wood products come from legal sources. The so-called v-legal ("verified legal") licenses are at the heart of Indonesia's timber legality verification system, or SVLK, which took the country a decade to develop and implement in an effort to tackle illegal logging.</p>
<p>The European Union, one of the key markets for Indonesian timber and finished wood products, <a href="https://www.euflegt.efi.int/background-indonesia" target="_blank">recognizes the SVLK</a> as the basis for importing timber from Indonesia into its market. Scrapping the standard would have <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/03/indonesia-eu-timber-wood-legality-svlk-license-logging/" target="_blank">jeopardized exports to the EU</a>, experts warned. Activists were also quick to <a href="https://theconversation.com/penghapusan-syarat-lisensi-kayu-bisa-tingkatkan-penebangan-liar-dan-beri-citra-buruk-pada-produk-mebel-lokal-136509" target="_blank">criticize</a> the move, saying it would open up the black market for illegally logged timber.</p><p>Businesses, meanwhile, were worried the decision would undermine hard-won gains for the reputation of Indonesian timber, which was heavily associated with illegal logging in the past.</p><p>A recent poll by Gadjah Mada University showed that nearly half of 137 timber businesses surveyed felt ending the v-legal license requirement for exports would harm their business. Industry groups in key export markets have also raised questions about the policy, including the International Wood Product Association (IWPA) in the United States and the Australian Timber Importers Federation (ATIF).</p>
<p>The Indonesian Furniture Entrepreneurs Association (Asmindo), a trade group, welcomed the government's U-turn and reinstatement of the v-legal license requirement. Robert Wijaya, the deputy head of regulation reviews at Asmindo, said the rationale that the licensing requirement put an onerous burden on exporters was baseless. He said data from the national statistics agency, the BPS, showed Indonesia's furniture exports increasing since the implementation of the SVLK.</p><p>In 2019, Indonesia exported $1.95 billion worth of wood furniture, a 14.6% increase from 2018.</p><p>"So it's not true that the SVLK is said to be hampering exports," Robert said.</p><p>Muhammad Kosar, from the Indonesian Independent Forest Monitoring Network (JPIK), which keeps track of the SVLK's implementation, said the trade ministry's about-face showed the lack of coordination between government institutions. As a result, he said, different government departments have different interpretations of the importance of the system.</p>
<p>Krystof Obidzinski, a timber legality expert at the European Forest Institute, agreed that appreciation of the SVLK and associated export agreement with the EU might have declined in recent few years. Thus it's important to communicate the importance of the SVLK to ministries other than the environment ministry, the main proponent of the system, so that the SVLK isn't jeopardized in the future, he said.</p><p>"Communication and understanding of the SVLK outside the environment ministry are very minimal," Obidzinski said. "Maybe that's because [of] staff turnover or other interests. So to increase export and [strengthen] the SVLK, it's important to build bridges with other ministries so that the level [of understanding] can be the same."</p><p>Under the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA), <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2013/10/indonesia-eu-sign-historic-deal-to-end-the-illegal-timber-trade/" target="_blank">signed</a> in 2013, all timber shipped to the EU from Indonesia must be certified under the SVLK, which aims to track the chain of custody of timber products and ensure that timber is harvested in compliance with Indonesian law. The agreement also requires Indonesia to commit to SVLK certification for all timber exports — not just to the EU — as well as timber traded in the domestic market.</p>
<p>That stringent implementation of checks at every stage of the process was the justification for cited by the trade ministry for dispensing with the requirement at the end stage — exports. In making this argument, the ministry adopted the main talking point of the Indonesian Furniture and Craft Association (HIMKI), a trade body that has been at the forefront of the lobbying efforts to drop the SVLK requirement for producers of finished wood items. It <a href="https://ekonomi.bisnis.com/read/20180826/257/831697/kenapa-svlk-di-industri-hilir-mebel-perlu-dihapus-ini-jawabannya" target="_blank">argued</a> that if a piece of timber has already been legally certified at the logging stage, then there's no need to continue with legality checks further on down the line, including for exporters.</p><p>HIMKI chairman Sunoto denounced the trade ministry's backtracking, insisting the SVLK requirement made it difficult for producers to export their furniture products overseas.</p><p>"Two months ago, we were already happy because the SVLK had been cancelled at the downstream level [exporters]," he <a href="https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/news/20200513145438-4-158200/pak-jokowi-aturan-legalitas-kayu-bikin-pengusaha-mebel-marah" target="_blank">said</a>. "Now it is resurrected. It's not that we don't agree with the SVLK. HIMKI doesn't agree if the SVLK is implemented at the downstream level."</p>
<p>This argument was echoed by Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita during a government meeting on May 22. He <a href="https://bisnis.tempo.co/read/1345507/alasan-menteri-luhut-sebut-svlk-atau-legalisasi-kayu-penting/full&view=ok" target="_blank">suggested</a> that the SVLK requirement should only be made mandatory at the logging stage, but not at the downstream level.</p><p>To address the concerns over the high cost of SVLK certification, the environment ministry will issue a regulation containing several changes to the system. Under the regulation, it'll be the government who verify SVLK certification, not third-party agencies, according to Bambang Hendroyono, the secretary-general of the environment ministry.</p><p>"So in the [planned] ministerial regulation, we will make sure that small-and-medium businesses no longer have problems for export, especially to China and Korea," he said.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/05/indonesia-svlk-legal-timber-license-eu-vlegal-export/" target="_blank">Mongabay</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Viruses, pollution and warming ocean temperatures have plagued corals in recent years. The onslaught of abuse has caused mass bleaching events and threatened the long-term survival of many ocean species. While corals have little chance of surviving through a mass bleaching, a new study found that when corals turn a vibrant neon color, it's in a last-ditch effort to survive, as CBS News reported.
<p>Rather than going through a bleaching where the coral turns white, many reef regions around the world have seen coral reefs go through a "colorful bleaching," where the coral turns brilliant hues of bright purple, pink, and orange. The colors appear as a survival technique as the corals face stress from increased ocean temperatures and a lack of nutrients, according to <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/coral-reefs-dying-climate-change-oceans-seas-bleaching-a9529261.html" target="_blank">The Independent</a>.</p><p>The new <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(20)30571-6.pdf?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982220305716%3Fshowall%3Dtrue" target="_blank">study</a> led by researchers from the University of Southampton in the UK was published in the journal <em><a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(20)30571-6#secsectitle0090" target="_blank">Current Biology</a></em>. Scientists had first spotted the neon coral a decade ago, but they were stumped as to why the vibrant colors appeared.</p>
<p>In coral bleaching, the algae that live in healthy coral try to flee from rising ocean temperatures. Their symbiotic relationship can end if ocean temperatures rise just 1 degree Celsius. The warmer temperatures cause the algae to escape the shelter provided by the coral, leaving behind a bleached skeleton.</p><p>However, in colorful bleaching events, the coral add an extra protective layer to help them endure difficult ocean conditions. That new layer is made up from pigments similar to the green fluorescent protein that makes some jellyfish glow, according to <a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/coral-reefs-glow-neon-colors-in-an-effort-to-survive/" target="_blank">CNET</a>. The glowing pigment is produced through the algae's interaction with sunlight.</p>
<p>To perform the study, researchers at the University of Southampton's Coral Reef Laboratory analyzed 15 colorful bleaching events between 2010 and 2019. They identified the trends that caused them and recreated those conditions in their lab. They noticed that the color comes out to protect the coral from the sun's harmful rays, effectively making it a sunscreen layer. That display of glowing color is an attempt to signal the algae to come back, as <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dying-coral-reefs-colorful-bleaching-survival-effort-climate-change/" target="_blank">CBS News</a> reported.</p><p>"Our research shows colorful bleaching involves a self-regulating mechanism, a so-called optical feedback loop, which involves both partners of the symbiosis," lead researcher professor Jörg Wiedenmann of the University of Southampton said in a <a href="https://www.southampton.ac.uk/news/2020/05/colourful-corals.page" target="_blank">press release</a>.</p>
<p>"The resulting sunscreen layer will subsequently promote the return of the symbionts. As the recovering algal population starts taking up the light for their photosynthesis again, the light levels inside the coral will drop and the coral cells will lower the production of the colorful pigments to their normal level."</p><p>Bleaching is not always a death sentence for corals, the coral animal can still be alive," said Dr. Cecilia D'Angelo, professor of molecular coral biology at Southampton, as <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/coral-reefs-dying-climate-change-oceans-seas-bleaching-a9529261.html" target="_blank">The Independent</a> reported. "If the stress event is mild enough, corals can re-establish the symbiosis with their algal partner.</p><p>"Unfortunately, recent episodes of global bleaching caused by unusually warm water have resulted in high coral mortality, leaving the world's coral reefs struggling for survival."</p><p><a href="https://earth.google.com/web/@-22.3116493,166.2806091,2.21258836a,0d,60y,286.28320394h,95t,0r/data=CkoSSBIgY2EwYzk0ZGNhN2I4MTFlN2I1ZDBiNzRhMWFlNGU2MDMiJGVmZWVkX29jZWFuX2FnZW5jeV9jb3JhbF9ibGVhY2hpbmdfNCIwCixBRjFRaXBNV1VMNTBRSWIxYmMzNkdmb2JmV3JrSU9rWmtGWEZiTExDeW5kVRAF" target="_blank">The Ocean Agency</a> describes the process as a "chilling, beautiful and heartbreaking" final cry for help as the coral attempts to grab the algae's attention, as <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dying-coral-reefs-colorful-bleaching-survival-effort-climate-change/" target="_blank">CBS News</a> reported.</p>
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