There are hundreds of species of sharks in the world, and they have been around since before the dinosaurs. Albert kok / Wikimedia Commons / CC by 3.0
Every day, sharks suffer from different threats. Up to 100 million sharks disappear every year, due to destructive fishing by humans and the impact of climate breakdown. One-third of the world's known shark species have been listed as "threatened" species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
We need to talk about them, because the ocean desperately needs sharks! After 400 million years of evolution, sharks are incredible creatures—master hunters with incredible precision. Sitting at the top of the food chain, they're central to maintaining the balance of marine ecosystems.
There are hundreds of species of sharks in the world, and they have been around since before the dinosaurs. Despite their fearsome Hollywood reputation, they are some of the most amazing animals on the planet.
1. Many sharks lay eggs, but some give birth to live young, just like we do. Shark pregnancies can last from a few months to well over a couple of years. That's longer than whales or elephants!
This whale shark smiles for the camera in the warm water off the coast of the Philippines. Greenpeace
2. Sharks come in all shapes and sizes, from the tiny lantern sharks, which are about the size of your hand, to giant whale sharks, which are about the same size as a bus.
A former fisherman, now a whale shark guide, hand feeds a whale shark as a tourist takes an underwater photo, Tan-awan, Oslob Cebu. Greenpeace
3. Greenland sharks, which live in cold polar waters, hold the record as the oldest known vertebrate animals on the planet. Since they are estimated to live as long as 500 years, there could be some alive today that were born in the Middle Ages. For reference, Leonardo Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa 500 years ago!
An oceanic whitetip shark in Egypt. Greenpeace
4. Mako sharks hold the record for being the most athletic sharks, reaching swimming speeds of over 40 miles per hour! They are also known to have jumped as much as 30 feet out of the water.
A whale shark photographed from above in Cenderawasih Bay National Park, Indonesia. Greenpeace
5. The world's biggest sharks also have the widest mouths and eat only tiny ocean plankton, just like the largest whales.
A whale shark in the Philippines. Greenpeace
6. Carpet sharks live on the ocean floor and have elaborate patterns to blend in with perfect camouflage. The Tasseled Wobbegong shark takes this to the extreme, with a fringe of feathery 'tassels' around its body.
7. Epaulette sharks have developed a cunning ability to hold their breath and walk over rocks and land using their fins and tail. This lets them check out the seafood buffet in neighboring rock pools at low tide.
Lemon shark and other fish underwater at Tuamotus, French Polynesian. Greenpeace
8. Hammerhead sharks' elongated heads not only give them super-sense when it comes to electromagnetic detection, but they also have almost 360-degree surround vision.
A Blue Shark (Prionace glauca) near the Azores. Greenpeace
9. When sharks are turned upside down, they go into a natural suspended state called tonic immobility.
A shark is seen in the Republic of Palau. Greenpeace
10. It's dark in the deep sea, so tiny lantern sharks have developed their own way to glow in the dark. It's not yet known if this is to find food, find each other, or help avoid being eaten!
Grey Reef Sharks in Tahiti. Greenpeace
In June 2019, the Greenpeace ship Esperanza went to the North Atlantic to confront the overfishing of sharks. At the same time, Greenpeace International issued a report, Sharks Under Attack: Overfished and under-protected. It proposed a solution: secure a strong Global Ocean Treaty at the UN.
Reposted with permission from Greenpeace.
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Visitors look at a Volkswagen ID.4 electric car at the Autostadt promotional facility next to the Volkswagen factory on Oct. 26, 2020 in Wolfsburg, Germany. Sean Gallup / Getty Images
By David Reichmuth
Over the last month, I've seen a number of opinion articles attacking electric vehicles (EVs). Sadly, this comes as no surprise: now that the Biden administration is introducing federal policies to accelerate the roll out of electric vehicles, we were bound to see a reaction from those that oppose reducing climate changing emissions and petroleum use.
<p>Some of the opposition will come from auto companies that want to delay the transition to electric vehicles, but others will be from <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels">fossil fuel</a> interests or climate deniers. But it really doesn't matter why they're trying to mislead the public about electric vehicles.The important thing is that you know that this is familiar and worn-out disinformation, designed to sow doubt and confusion. Here are some of the truths about EVs, so that you can spot misleading attacks.</p>
<h3>1. EVs aren't the perfect solution for the future of transportation – they're just much, much better than gasoline vehicles.</h3><p>EVs offer us a way to have personal mobility with much fewer global warming emissions than gasoline vehicles. It's clear that the emissions from driving on electricity are lower than those from using a gasoline vehicle, even when accounting for electricity generation. Our most recent analysis shows that, across the country, <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/dave-reichmuth/are-electric-vehicles-really-better-for-the-climate-yes-heres-why" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">driving electric is cleaner than even the most efficient gasoline car</a>. As our electric grid continues to get cleaner (with lower coal use and more renewable energy sources), the climate benefit from electric vehicles is increasing. And, of course, because they avoid burning gasoline, electric vehicles can reduce <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/dave-reichmuth/air-pollution-from-cars-trucks-and-buses-in-the-u-s-everyone-is-exposed-but-the-burdens-are-not-equally-shared" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tailpipe emissions that lead to harmful air pollution across the country</a> and put us on the path to reducing the pollution and environmental degradation that is associated with extracting and refining petroleum.</p><p>Of course, there are emissions from building every vehicle. Because of battery manufacturing, climate emissions from building electric vehicles are slightly higher those from manufacturing a gasoline vehicle. <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/cleaner-cars-cradle-grave#ucs-report-downloads" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">However, those increased emissions are quickly (within 6 to 16 months depending on location) made up from the savings from using electricity in place of gasoline</a>. As we increase the production of EVs, it will be important to work to minimize manufacturing emissions by reducing energy use in the extraction and preparation of battery materials and by the recycling and reuse of used batteries.</p><p>It will also be important to hold all companies to environmental and human rights standards for their manufacturing and supply chains. Auto companies and battery suppliers need to source products and raw materials in a sustainable and ethical way. Greater transparency from manufacturers would be helpful in this area. <a href="https://responsiblemining.net/2020/01/10/bmw-group-joins-the-initiative-for-responsible-mining-assurance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Some have started to disclose details on their supply chain and make commitments to improve their practices</a>. We also need to remember this goes beyond electric cars; we should be asking the same sorts of questions about our consumer-electronics companies and yes even the companies that produce and extract petroleum products and other fossil fuels.</p>
<h3>2. EV sales are a small fraction of U.S. autos now, but that's going to change.</h3><p>A common line used to argue against EVs is that they have historically made up a small fraction of the sales in the U.S. and therefore they can't possibly make a difference in our emissions. Others try to use the fact that fewer EVs were sold than gasoline cars to mean that EV's just aren't very popular.</p><p>These backwards-looking approaches could be used to dismiss any new technology, not just EVs. For example, in 2000 only <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_in_the_United_States" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2.5% of households had broadband internet access.</a> Of course that didn't mean that home internet wasn't going to be a transformative technology. We can't look in the rear view mirror to see the road ahead for EVs.</p><p>It's obvious if we look back 10 years ago that the number and the capability of EVs was not at the level needed to replace gasoline vehicles. The good news is that in 2021, the EV landscape is vastly changed from even 5 years ago. New car buyers now have multiple options for long range EVs and can choose compelling options from more automakers than ever before. Currently, plug in cars make up about 2 percent of all sales in the U.S., but the number is higher in areas that have sought to accelerate the market via regulation and incentives. For example, in California, EV sales were over 8% of all new car sales in the state, showing the potential for higher sales elsewhere in the country with the use regulations, incentives, and customer awareness efforts.</p>
<h3>3. EVs are much more than the Tesla Model S.</h3><p>Tesla gets the lion's share of attention in the EV market, and for good reason. Tesla has led in plug-in car sales and the introduction of the Tesla Model S in 2012 changed many people's impression of what an electric car is. While some may have thought EVs were "golf carts", unstylish, or boring before, it would be hard to apply those labels to Tesla's Model S. However, Tesla's success (and press coverage) has now meant that the Tesla brand or the Model S is used synonymously with "EV."</p><p>Tesla has been a game changer in the EV market, but there are many more plug-in options now than the Tesla Model S. We're seeing many more affordable EVs on the market, though they often get much less press coverage. As more automakers introduce EV models and production volumes of plug-in vehicles increase, we are seeing even long-range battery electric cars being offered for lower than the MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) of the average new car in the U.S. (<a href="https://www.coxautoinc.com/market-insights/average-weighted-manufacturers-suggested-retail-price-sets-record-in-2019/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">estimated to be over $40,000 in 2019</a>). The majority of EVs sold in 2020 were models with a base model MSRP under $40,000 and only a fifth of models had a starting price over $60,000. Those who are critical of EVs would like to portray all plug-ins as high-priced luxury vehicles, but that simply isn't the case in 2021. Both here and abroad, automakers are increasing electric vehicle production, pushing down prices and making more options available to buyers.</p><p>Despite the proliferation of anti-EV arguments in the press, these arguments are old and long-debunked — dubious even when they were introduced, but downright silly after a decade of advancement in the EV market.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTc5ODMxNy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1OTgyNDc3MX0.yQHMfJTy3En9xQ3OdO5rsJ7h6PwnPgcIXbMo7f-nVrk/img.jpg?width=980" id="5bca6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e73103f1249e84ef19b3241e45a9245c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1024" data-height="759" />
The majority of EVs sold in 2020 were models with a starting price (Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price) under $40,000 and only a fifth of models had a starting price over $60,000.
<h3>Now is the time to accelerate the switch to EVs.</h3><p>With the impacts of climate change becoming more evident every year and the clear science on the health harms of air pollution, it's imperative that we switch from gasoline to electric vehicles as soon as possible. To make this happen, we need to use all of the policy tools available.</p><p>Federal and state incentives are vital in the short term to make buying EVs easier for more people. Battery prices (and therefore EV prices) are dropping as the scale of production ramps up, but incentives are vital now to offset the extra initial cost of EVs.</p><p>We also need to use existing greenhouse gas emissions and air quality regulations to make sure the <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/dave-reichmuth/press-releases-alone-arent-going-to-clean-up-cars-and-trucks" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">aspirations of automakers to go electric become reality</a>. This means setting both strong federal standards for emissions and using California's authority under the Clean Air Act to require zero emission vehicles. Because the Clean Air Act also allows other states to adopt the California standards, there are now 11 states representing 30% of the U.S. population now moving forward with zero emission clean car standards to reduce their residents' exposure to tailpipe pollution and put their states on a path to lower carbon emissions and more states are poised to enact these standards.</p><p>Some have argued that we shouldn't rush this transition or wait until electricity and EVs are perfectly clean to start rolling out electric vehicles. There might be value in those propositions if there was not such urgency in the need to reduce emissions and clear costs for delay. Every gasoline vehicle we put on the road today means 10 to 20 years of pollution over its lifetime, and the climate-warming tailpipe pollutants accumulate in the atmosphere accumulate over time. If we want to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we can't afford to keep putting tailpipes on the road.</p>
<p><em>David Reichmuth is a senior engineer in the Clean Transportation Program with the Union of Concerned Scientists, focusing on oil savings and vehicle electrification.<br/></em></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from the <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/dave-reichmuth/three-truths-about-electric-vehicles" target="_blank">Union of Concerned Scientists</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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A woman walks along The Embarcadero under an orange smoke-filled sky in San Francisco, California on September 9, 2020. Brittany Hosea-Small / AFP / Getty Images
Smoke from wildfires may be more harmful to public health than other sources of particulate matter air pollution, according to a new study.
<p>The research, published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-21708-0.pdf" target="_blank">Nature Communications</a> on Friday, found that wildfire smoke could be up to 10 times more harmful than other sources of air pollution, such as from vehicles or industry.</p><p>"We know wildfires are going to become more extreme, due to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate change</a>," Rosana Aguilera, study co-author and postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography, told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/mar/06/california-wildfire-smoke-harmful-pollution-study" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>. "And it's important that we start to reckon with the health effects of that."</p><p>The researchers examined hospital admission records in California between 1999 and 2012. They found that admissions for respiratory problems increased from around 1.3 percent to 10 percent following an uptick in wildfire-specific air pollution. The same amount of air pollution from other sources led to a smaller admissions increase, topping out around 1.3 percent. </p><p>This isn't the first study to suggest that wildfire smoke might be more harmful than other forms of air pollution, the authors noted. Animal studies have suggested the same thing.<strong> </strong></p><p><strong></strong>Mary Prunicki, a Stanford air pollution researcher who was not part of the study, told The Guardian that evidence also suggested that wildfire smoke could exacerbate heart conditions and respiratory ailments.</p>
<p>She explained that since wildfires engulf homes and businesses, they emit fumes that contain metals, plastic and cleaning supplies. Large fires also suck smoke high into the atmosphere, where it lasts longer and combines with oxygen to become more dangerous.</p><p>"We're pretty aware of the physical costs of wildfire, in terms of firefighting costs and damage to property," Tom Corringham, a study co-author also at Scripps, <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/03/05/973848360/study-finds-wildfire-smoke-more-harmful-to-humans-than-pollution-from-cars" target="_blank">told NPR</a>. "But there's been a lot of work that has shown that the health impacts due to wildfire smoke are on the same order of magnitude, or possibly even greater, than the direct physical cost."</p><p>The study comes as this problem is only getting worse. While particulate matter air pollution has been decreasing across most of the U.S. thanks to stricter environmental regulations, that has not been the case in wildfire-prone areas, the study found. Wildfires will likely increase as long as the climate crisis persists. In 2020, California experienced six of its largest fires on record, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-09-11/six-of-californias-largest-fires-in-history-are-burning-right-now" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the Los Angeles Times reported</a>. Those fires choked the Western U.S. with smoke, in some places for weeks. An NPR analysis found that one in seven West Coast residents experienced at least one day of unhealthy air quality last year.</p><p>Unfortunately, wildfire smoke is not as easy to regulate as tailpipe or power-plant emissions. Corringham called for providing low-income households with money for air purifiers. But he also suggested a longer-term solution.</p><p>"Anything we can do today to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stabilize the global climate system will have significant benefits," he told NPR.</p>
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China's new five-year plan could allow further expansion of its coal industry. chuyu / iStock / Getty Images Plus
On Friday, China set out an economic blueprint for the next five years, which was expected to substantiate the goal set out last fall by President Xi Jinping for the country to reach net-zero emissions before 2060 and hit peak emissions by 2030.
<p>While the plan calls for a "major push" on <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/">clean energy</a> development, a few aspects have left <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis">climate</a> experts with questions about how exactly the world's largest emitter will hit its stated climate goals. For example, the plan did not include a ban on new <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal">coal</a> projects, nor did it set a "carbon cap" to define what peak emissions will be, instead setting a carbon intensity target that is the same as in the previous five-ear plan. </p>
<p>However, some are hopeful that the government will announce more detailed regulations on carbon-intensive construction and manufacturing industries later this year, and that more details will be laid out in an upcoming separate five-year plan for the energy sector. Fan Dai, director of the California-China Climate Institute at the University of California, Berkeley, told Quartz that the plan is "simply aggregating existing targets from last year." </p>
<p>Dai added that "[t]here's a lot of room for further development and ambition, especially around those targets that were missing that we hoped would be included."</p>
<p>As reported by The Guardian:</p><blockquote>China will reduce its "emissions intensity" – the amount of CO2 produced per unit of GDP – by 18% over the period 2021 to 2025, but this target is in line with previous trends, and could lead to emissions continuing to increase by 1% a year or more. Non-fossil fuel energy is targeted to make up 20% of China's energy mix, leaving plenty of room for further <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/01/world-kick-coal-habit-start-green-recovery-iea-fatih-birol" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">expansion of the country's coal industry</a>.</blockquote><blockquote>Swithin Lui, of the Climate Action Tracker and NewClimate Institute, said: "[This is] underwhelming and shows little sign of a concerted switch away from a future coal lock-in. There is little sign of the change needed [to meet net zero]."<br></blockquote><blockquote>Zhang Shuwei, chief economist at Draworld Environment Research Centre, said: "As the first five-year plan after China committed to reach carbon neutrality by 2060, the 14th five-year plan was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/04/chinas-five-year-plan-for-economy-is-crucial-to-meeting-net-zero-by-2060" target="_blank">expected to demonstrate strong climate ambition</a>. However, the draft plan presented does not seem to meet the expectations. The international community expected China's climate policy to 'jump,' but in reality it is still crawling."</blockquote>
<p><strong>For a deeper dive:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.vox.com/22313871/china-energy-climate-change-five-year-plan-wind-solar-coal-oil-gas?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=114718913&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_0DrubumD0whtbL-W2ORst7KP8movAOiMZ0TFnGuJ5squBkLONcUr8x7lF-lC7rlQrG7dXLS_ZkakLE3UbeDRRctW-jw&utm_content=114718913&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Vox</a>, <a href="https://qz.com/1980664/this-is-what-chinas-new-five-year-plan-says-about-climate-change/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=114718913&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--8Dmc2MDASwlMLHj7urdPKD4xRZrSnNcWqbESpUz6rXiaz5O4uWQIDQZu08MryxFoODttY9l6vrdZfcX-_KN12a2VDYg&utm_content=114718913&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Quartz</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/05/china-five-year-plan-emissions?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=114718913&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9utt1bmQIvRpc0qbODMCbIecHfocQud2ovactbRtBWynCWypUSfLDCbWexaFNNxVHM4_YrKkWq0YuvhRreg4DeMI4YQA&utm_content=114718913&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/china-sets-moderate-energy-goals-climate-change-76271934?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=114718913&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9jYE5QFbYI1PBAF0EAyVFsP17n7nQsqL5MXE15xuN4jJsOCxVUe9ogByfz6xfzacxi_vHnMgapUXm5Ehhl4V_o3xWeUg&utm_content=114718913&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">ABC</a>, <a href="https://www.climatechangenews.com/2021/03/05/china-makes-no-shift-away-coal-five-year-plan-crawls-carbon-neutrality/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=114718913&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8pt2s3MdAzinj7-660wCUR435gIyIppd5CBaq0JgoKgsVovG6V3v1-ksT8918Jr1dRbg_VGbPVoTEo4zeHp-7qYxaSqg&utm_content=114718913&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Climate Home</a>, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-06/china-s-top-leaders-leave-tough-climate-decisions-to-bureaucrats?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=114718913&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9TfW3dCe9tHJkH60aQmMkezo5SxTu0pt17YeXKnR_w9YfI0h8yXSY4UO1SNag_ZjDg-sARbmK79r-N7X1ICc5T7N9DPA&utm_content=114718913&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a>, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-05/china-s-new-green-target-still-means-pumping-too-much-pollution?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=114718913&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9f_aDHNPTHQHFudfMhSkgaET49GREWycQGNQIC37IAeFt71FQLiTDWacxcyuAa8MD0uE4A_V7HL8tFh9EiKF2cxDWi7A&utm_content=114718913&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a>, <a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/tc/VVXsMx6RNSZBW4q8y4r4zfLj5W1vWpFD4nX2tlN1WCR-55nxG7V3Zsc37CgH1rW1Y0B383T8V8TW2jcg5Y1lcBR2W4rXWJ_97Bgz6W8J2CPZ2XG84DW10cssS6NYvmjW8xzrqK8x2fb3W75_Y6L1yZbqcW7FMmCq90PsssW1Wfgnp4s-Tk1W50l7FK5CT1RCVCKX3m426CZhW2H-gPT4VGcL5W3ZlsFn6JFczQW9hdgd31VzYlXW1bZ7512Ck592W3TT6dB1RRl6hW79DnSS5wGhp5W3p4D0C2tsWMxW6W9LGh5bkSQhW7q11lV144xQjW8vfs1l5j6pllW5Wkjvp4FSpXtW6pK8kQ8YLzG9W2gXtn969z9HJW4x1d-f5fP8__W3hRsXc4gXZBBW623VLG5LNgJYW2Wnm-https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/03/china-announces-major-boost-rd-plan-lacks-ambitious-climate-targets?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=114718913&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--bfdXUmo9wi3CsZlRyDiFY8NmmwOtTQftc5rxyCqUwrzpxIQkZQxPewep5gGpvL_Kp9Kzv1eucHV2bN7B_ah4EBkrsWA&utm_content=114718913&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Science Magazine</a><br/></p><p><em>For more </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>climate change</em></a><em> and </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, sign up for daily </em><a href="https://www.linktrack.live/hot-news-sign-up" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>, and visit their news site, </em><a href="https://nexusmedianews.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Nexus Media News</em></a><em>.</em></p>
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Trans Canada Trail and AccessNow partnership for AccessOutdoors / Trails for All project. Mapping day on Capital Pathway in Ottawa, Ontario with Camille Bérubé. Daniel Baylis
The Great Trail in Canada is recognized as the world's longest recreational trail for hiking, biking, and cross-country skiing. Created by the Trans Canada Trail (TCT) and various partners, The Great Trail consists of a series of smaller, interconnected routes that stretch from St. John's to Vancouver and even into the Yukon and Northwest Territories. It took nearly 25 years to connect the 27,000 kilometers of greenway in ways that were safe and accessible to hikers. Now, thanks to a new partnership with the Canadian Paralympic Committee and AccessNow, the TCT is increasing accessibility throughout The Great Trail for people with disabilities.
<p>Since The Great Trail opened in 2017, the TCT has worked hard to provide as much information about the greenway to Canadians across the country. By working with the individual parks and trail groups that make up The Great Trail, they have created an experience that outdoorsmen from all over Canada can enjoy. However, until recently, little information was given for accessibility to the individual trails. This is why the <a href="https://accessnow.com/blog/new-national-partnership-focuses-on-improving-accessibility-on-the-great-trail-of-canada/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">partnership with AccessNow</a> is crucial. </p>
<p>AccessNow is a Canadian social enterprise that allows individuals to pin areas on a worldwide map that are accessible or that need accessibility improvements. By using the AccessNow map on The Great Trail, the TCT hopes to help Canadians can find barrier-free segments of the trail as well as alert the organization to areas that still have barriers. This measure aims to provide a better overall experience for hikers, bikers, and skiers visiting the Great Trail.</p><p>The AccessNow mapping initiative began with para-athlete volunteers from the <a href="https://paralympic.ca/news/new-national-partnership-focuses-improving-accessibility-great-trail-canada" target="_blank">Canadian Paralympic Committee</a>. After the announcement that the 2020 Paralympics would be <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/new-dates-announced-tokyo-2020-olympics-postponed-over-coronavirus-concerns-n1171871" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">postponed to August of 2021</a>, many para-athletes were eager to help in the project. The TCT's president and CEO <a href="https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/para-athletes-working-with-trans-canada-trail-to-improve-accessibility-across-the-network" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Eleanor McMahon said</a>, "With the Games postponed, (the athletes) had some time in their schedule — we were fortunate enough that they chose to spend some of their time helping us."</p><p>To McMahon and other leaders of the project, the partnership is about more than tracking access on the trail. It's about making as many voices heard, and ensuring that everyone can receive the <a href="https://thegreattrail.ca/news/canadians-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">physical and mental benefits</a> of outdoor recreation. <a href="https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/new-national-partnership-focuses-on-improving-accessibility-on-the-great-trail-of-canada-860329231.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Maayan Ziv, founder & CEO of AccessNow</a> said, "It is an honor to work closely with the athletes involved in this project, their voices and perspectives contribute to the 'nothing about us without us' mandate that we pride ourselves on celebrating across Canada."</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTc5NzI3My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NTcwNzk1NX0.LPt_XahV2Jj70Hv90h3g0aDEbe2vS8XWI_hdTNyHlcw/img.png?width=980" id="4c53f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a582bac12629e279ff8b8462d8ea194b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1358" data-height="900" />
Trans Canada Trail and AccessNow partnership for AccessOutdoors / Trails for All project. Mapping day at Stanley Park Seawall in Vancouver, British Columbia with Richard Peter. Alexa Fernando
<p>This partnership also comes at a time when access to outdoor recreation is more important to Canadian citizens than ever. <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/200527/dq200527b-eng.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Studies from the spring of 2020</a> indicate that Canadian's <a href="https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/moneytalk-mental-health-during-covid-19-1.1567633" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mental health has worsened</a> since the onset of social distancing protocols due to COVID-19. </p><p>The <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/safe-activities-during-covid19/art-20489385" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mayo Clinic</a> lists hiking, biking, and skiing as safe activities during COVID-19. Their website explains, "When you're outside, fresh air is constantly moving, dispersing these droplets. So you're less likely to breathe in enough of the respiratory droplets containing the virus that causes COVID-19 to become infected."</p><p>TCT leadership took this into consideration when embarking on the accessibility project. McMahon explains that there has never been a more important time to bring accessibility to the great outdoors: "Canadians have told us that during these difficult times, they value access to natural spaces to stay active, take care of their mental health, and socially connect with others while respecting physical distancing and public health directives. This partnership is incredibly important especially now as trails have become a lifeline for Canadians."</p><p>Together, these organizations are paving the way for better physical and mental health among all Canadians. To learn more about the TCT's mission and initiatives, check out their <a href="https://thegreattrail.ca/stories/" target="_blank">trail stories</a> and <a href="https://thegreattrail.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/TCT_2020-Donor-Impact-Report_EN_8.5x14-web.pdf" target="_blank">2020 Impact Report</a>.</p>From Your Site Articles
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A lone house is seen inside the exclusion zone near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on February 26, 2016 in Namie, Fukushima, Japan. Christopher Furlong / Getty Images
By Kiyoshi Kurokawa and Najmedin Meshkati
Ten years ago, on March 11, 2011, the biggest recorded earthquake in Japanese history hit the country's northeast coast. It was followed by a tsunami that traveled up to 6 miles inland, reaching heights of over 140 feet in some areas and sweeping entire towns away in seconds.
<p>This disaster left nearly 20,000 people dead or missing. It also destroyed the <a href="https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/fukushima-daiichi-accident.aspx" target="_blank">Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station</a> and released radioactive materials over a large area. The accident triggered widespread evacuations, large economic losses and the eventual shutdown of all nuclear power plants in Japan. A decade later, the nuclear industry has yet to fully address safety concerns that Fukushima exposed.</p><p>We are scholars specializing in <a href="https://viterbi-web.usc.edu/~meshkati/" target="_blank">engineering</a> and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Kiyoshi-Kurokawa-2163025935" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">medicine and public policy</a>, and have advised our respective governments on nuclear power safety. Kiyoshi Kurokawa chaired an <a href="https://warp.da.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/3856371/naiic.go.jp/en/report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">independent national commission</a>, known as the NAIIC, created by the Diet of Japan to investigate the root causes of the Fukushima Daiichi accident. Najmedin Meshkati served as a member and technical adviser to a committee appointed by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences to <a href="https://www.nap.edu/catalog/18294/lessons-learned-from-the-fukushima-nuclear-accident-for-improving-safety-of-us-nuclear-plants" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">identify lessons from this event</a> for making U.S. nuclear plants safer and more secure.</p><p>Those reviews and <a href="https://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publications/PDF/Pub1710-ReportByTheDG-Web.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">many</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2014.0379" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">others</a> concluded that Fukushima was a <a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/2012/03/06/why-fukushima-was-preventable-pub-47361" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">man-made accident</a>, triggered by natural hazards, that <a href="https://thenewpress.com/books/fukushima" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">could and should have been avoided</a>. Experts widely agreed that the root causes were lax regulatory oversight in Japan and an ineffective safety culture at the utility that operated the plant.</p><p>These problems are far from unique to Japan. As long as commercial nuclear power plants operate anywhere in the world, we believe it is critical for all nations to learn from what happened at Fukushima and continue doubling down on nuclear safety.</p>
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<h2>Failing to Anticipate and Plan</h2><p>The 2011 disaster delivered a devastating one-two punch to the Fukushima plant. First, the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Japan-earthquake-and-tsunami-of-2011" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">magnitude 9.0 earthquake</a> knocked out off-site electric power. Next, the tsunami breached the plant's protective sea wall and swamped portions of the site.</p><p>Flooding disabled monitoring, control and cooling functions in multiple units of the six-reactor complex. Despite heroic efforts by plant workers, three reactors sustained severe damage to their radioactive cores and three reactor buildings were damaged by hydrogen explosions.</p><p>Off-site releases of radioactive materials contaminated land in Fukushima and several neighboring prefectures. Some 165,000 people left the area, and the Japanese government established an exclusion zone around the plant that extended <a href="https://www.britannica.com/story/nuclear-exclusion-zones" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">over 311 square miles</a> in its largest phase.</p><p>For the first time in the history of constitutional democratic Japan, the Japanese Parliament passed a law creating an <a href="https://warp.da.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/3856371/naiic.go.jp/en/resources/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">independent national commission</a> to investigate the root causes of this disaster. In its report, the commission concluded that Japan's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Nuclear_Safety_Commission" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nuclear Safety Commission</a> <a href="https://warp.da.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/3856371/naiic.go.jp/en/report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">had never been independent from the industry</a>, nor from the powerful Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, which promotes nuclear power.</p><p>For its part, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, had a history of disregard for safety. The company had recently released an error-prone assessment of tsunami hazards at Fukushima that significantly <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsta.2014.0379" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">underestimated the risks</a>.</p>
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Nuclear power generates about 10% of the world's electricity (TWh = terawatt-hours). About 50 new plants are under construction, but many operating plants are aging. World Nuclear Association / CC BY-ND
<p>Events at the Onagawa Nuclear Power Station, located 39 miles from Fukushima, told a <a href="https://thebulletin.org/2014/03/onagawa-the-japanese-nuclear-power-plant-that-didnt-melt-down-on-3-11/" target="_blank">contrasting story</a>. Onogawa, which was owned and operated by the Tohoku Electric Power Company, was closer to the earthquake's epicenter and was hit by an even larger tsunami. Its three operating reactors were the same type and vintage as those at Fukushima, and were under the same weak regulatory oversight.</p><p>But Onogawa shut down safely and was remarkably undamaged. In our view, this was because the Tohoku utility had a <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2014/03/14/commentary/japan-commentary/culture-of-safety-can-make-or-break-nuclear-power-plants/" target="_blank">deep-seated, proactive safety culture</a>. The company learned from earthquakes and tsunamis elsewhere – including a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Chile-earthquake-of-2010" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">major disaster in Chile in 2010</a> – and continuously improved its countermeasures, while TEPCO overlooked and ignored these warnings.</p><h2>Regulatory Capture and Safety Culture</h2><p>When a regulated industry manages to cajole, control or manipulate agencies that oversee it, rendering them feckless and subservient, the result is known as <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/3003160" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">regulatory capture</a>. As the NAIIC report concluded, Fukushima was a textbook example. Japanese regulators "<a href="https://warp.da.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/3856371/naiic.go.jp/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/NAIIC_report_lo_res10.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">did not monitor or supervise nuclear safety</a>….They avoided their direct responsibilities by letting operators apply regulations on a voluntary basis," the report observed.</p><p>Effective regulation is necessary for nuclear safety. Utilities also need to create internal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/safety-culture" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">safety cultures</a> – a set of characteristics and attitudes that make safety issues an overriding priority. For an industry, safety culture functions like the human body's immune system, protecting it against pathogens and fending off diseases.</p><p>A plant that fosters a positive safety culture encourages employees to ask questions and to apply a rigorous and prudent approach to all aspects of their jobs. It also fosters open communications between line workers and management. But TEPCO's culture reflected a Japanese mindset that emphasizes hierarchy and acquiescence and discourages asking questions.</p><p>There is ample evidence that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/108602669100500203" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">human factors</a> such as operator errors and poor safety culture played an instrumental key role in all three major accidents that have occurred at nuclear power plants: <a href="https://www.osti.gov/biblio/5395798-three-mile-island-report-commissioners-public-volume" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Three Mile Island</a> in the U.S. in 1979, <a href="https://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub913e_web.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Chernobyl</a> in Ukraine in 1986 and <a href="https://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publications/PDF/Pub1710-ReportByTheDG-Web.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Fukushima Daiichi</a> in 2011. Unless nuclear nations do better on both counts, this list is likely to grow.</p>
<div id="07c42" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ac2be7bdc1a748c089d24d27f01992a2"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1366694917045690369" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">🇸🇪 Nuclear Safety statement in IAEA BoG: Important safety upgrades introduced at 6 remaining nuclear power stations… https://t.co/FrgHv4N4UL</div> — SwedenUN Vienna 🇸🇪 (@SwedenUN Vienna 🇸🇪)<a href="https://twitter.com/SwedenUN_Vienna/statuses/1366694917045690369">1614680434.0</a></blockquote></div>
<h2>Global Nuclear Safety Grade: Incomplete</h2><p>Today there are some <a href="https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/current-and-future-generation/plans-for-new-reactors-worldwide.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">440 nuclear power reactors operating</a> around the world, with about 50 under construction in countries including China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.</p><p>Many advocates argue that in light of the threat of climate change and the increasing need for carbon-free baseload electricity generation, nuclear power <a href="https://cen.acs.org/energy/nuclear-power/nuclear-power-help-save-us/97/i37" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">should play a role</a> in the world's future energy mix. Others call for <a href="https://thebulletin.org/2019/08/the-false-promise-of-nuclear-power-in-an-age-of-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">abolishing nuclear power</a>. But that may not be feasible in the foreseeable future.</p><p>In our view, the most urgent priority is developing tough, system-oriented nuclear safety standards, strong safety cultures and much closer cooperation between countries and their independent regulators. We see worrisome indications in the U.S. that <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Confessions-of-a-Rogue-Nuclear-Regulator/Gregory-B-Jaczko/9781476755779" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">independent nuclear regulation is eroding</a>, and that nuclear utilities are resisting pressure to learn and delaying adoption of internationally accepted safety practices, such as <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aal4890" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">adding filters</a> to prevent radioactive releases from reactor containment buildings with the same characteristics as Fukushima Daiichi.</p><p>The most crucial lesson we see is the need to counteract nuclear nationalism and isolationism. Ensuring close cooperation between countries developing nuclear projects is essential today as the forces of populism, nationalism and anti-globalism spread.</p><p>We also believe the <a href="https://www.iaea.org/" target="_blank">International Atomic Energy Agency</a>, whose mission is promoting safe, secure and peaceful uses of nuclear energy, should urge its member states to find a balance between national sovereignty and international responsibility when it comes to operating nuclear power reactors in their territories. As Chernobyl and Fukushima taught the world, radiation fallout does not stop at national boundaries.</p>
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Author Najmedin Meshkati holding an earthquake railing in a Fukushima Daiichi control room during a 2012 site visit. Najmedin Meshkati / CC BY-ND
<p>As a start, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/01/world/middleeast/uae-nuclear-Barakah.html" target="_blank">Persian Gulf countries</a> should set aside political wrangling and recognize that with the startup of a nuclear power plant in the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/01/world/middleeast/uae-nuclear-Barakah.html" target="_blank">United Arab Emirates</a> and others planned in <a href="https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsconstruction-of-egypts-first-nuclear-plant-to-begin-in-2021-8100216" target="_blank">Egypt</a> and <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-21/saudi-atomic-reactor-progresses-with-inspectors-still-frozen-out?sref=Hjm5biAW" target="_blank">Saudi Arabia</a>, they have a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0018720815623143" target="_blank">common interest in nuclear safety</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13753-016-0099-0" target="_blank">collective emergency response</a>. The entire region is vulnerable to radiation fallout and water contamination from a nuclear accident <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b00688" target="_blank">anywhere in the Gulf</a>.</p><p>We believe the world remains at the same juncture it faced in 1989, when then-Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/43309384" target="_blank">made this perceptive argument</a>:</p><blockquote>"A decade ago, Three Mile Island was the spark that ignited the funeral pyre for a once-promising energy source. As the nuclear industry asks the nation for a second look in the context of global warming, it is fair to watch how its advocates respond to strengthened safety oversight. That will be the measure of whether nuclear energy becomes a phoenix or an extinct species."<br></blockquote>
<p>
<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kiyoshi-kurokawa-1215666" target="_blank">Kiyoshi Kurokawa</a> is a </em><em>Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo.</em>
</p><p>
<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/najmedin-meshkati-908960" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Najmedin Meshkati</a> is a </em><em>Professor of Engineering and International Relations, University of Southern California.</em>
</p><p>
<em>Disclosure statement: </em><em>Kiyoshi Kurokawa, MD, MACP, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo and Professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Tokyo. He served as Chairman of the National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission, which released its official report in July 2012. The English translation of his book, Regulatory Capture: Will Japan Change? is expected to be released in 2021.</em>
</p><p>
<em>Najmedin Meshkati, Ph.D., CPE, is a Professor of Civil/Environmental, Industrial & Systems Engineering, and International Relations at the University of Southern California (USC). He teaches and conducts research on technological systems safety and has visited many nuclear power stations around the world, including Chernobyl (1997), Mihama (1999), and Fukushima Daiichi and Daini (2012). He served as a member and technical advisor on the U.S. National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council Committee on Lessons Learned from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident for Improving Safety and Security of U.S. Nuclear Plants.</em>
</p><p>
<em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/10-years-after-fukushima-safety-is-still-nuclear-powers-greatest-challenge-155541" target="_blank">The Conversation.</a></em>
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