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Why Are Flint Residents Being Forced to Pay for Their Toxic Water?
National advocacy group Food & Water Watch today joined local Flint, Michigan residents calling for a moratorium on water service bills until the water flowing from taps is free of lead and other contaminants. The move is an effort to raise awareness about the alarming shutoff notices Flint residents are facing for non-payment, even as people are not able to drink their tap water or cook with it.
Flint residents are facing water shutoff notices for non-payment, even as their tap water is too contaminated to drink or cook with. Photo credit: Food & Water Watch
“In 2016, it's shocking that an entire U.S. city cannot drink its tap water. Now they are shutting off residents for overdue bills. But no one should have to pay for poisoned tap water," Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch, said. “Today we're calling on Mayor Karen Weaver, City Administrator Natasha Henderson and Flint's Chief Financial Officer Jody Lundquist to stop the water shut offs in Flint; restore service where it has been disconnected, which is necessary for basic sanitation and hygiene; and to cease billing Flint residents for water until this tragic situation has been corrected."
“Skin rashes, hair loss and long-term health consequences that result from copper and lead poisoning are just some of the impacts that Flint residents like me and my family have been dealing with for over a year," Melissa Mays, Flint resident and founder of Water You Fighting For?, said. “To be told our water was safe to drink when it wasn't is criminal and to continue to have to pay for it is unconscionable."
In 2014, Flint's emergency manager Darnell Earley disconnected the city from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department and started providing residents with water from the Flint River in order to cut costs. Almost immediately after the switch, residents noticed changes in the smell, color and taste of the water coming out of their taps. Tests showed high levels of bacteria that forced the city to issue boil advisories. The city then upped the amount of chlorine it used to treat the polluted river water to kill pathogens, resulting in high levels of potentially carcinogenic disinfectant byproducts. The city failed to put in place proper corrosion controls based on direction from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, so lead and other heavy metals leached into Flint's drinking water, poisoning residents for over a year.
Despite the fact that it knew about the problems with Flint's water, Governor Rick Snyder's administration and the Department of Environmental Quality told Flint residents that their water was safe to drink.
“Flint is not the first city to fall victim to the shortsighted quick fixes of emergency management, particularly in Michigan," Hauter added. "Conservative-led austerity measures have stripped communities like Flint, Detroit and Highland Park of democracy, taking control of vital resources like water away from the people and placing them in the hands of incompetent emergency dictators who then cut corners, shut off water service and pave the way for corporate control. We must reverse the austerity measures that have brought Flint to this dire place and commit federal funding to upgrade our water infrastructure so no community suffers without access to safe, clean, affordable water."
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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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Harmful algal blooms, seen here at Ferril Lake in Denver, Colorado on June 30, 2016, are increasing in lakes and rivers across the U.S. Helen H. Richardson / The Denver Post / Getty Images
During summer in central New York, residents often enjoy a refreshing dip in the region's peaceful lakes.
But sometimes swimming is off-limits because of algae blooms that can make people sick.
<iframe style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/14386367/height/45/theme/standard/thumbnail/yes/direction/backward/" height="45" width="100%" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>"Some of the algae may produce chemical toxins that can have harmful effects on people, fish, shellfish, terrestrial and marine mammals, and birds," says Jennifer Graham, a research hydrologist with the United States Geological Survey.</p><p>She says reports of harmful algal blooms are increasing across the country, and climate change could be part of the reason.</p><p>Some harmful algae prefer warm temperatures, so blooms may be growing more common as rivers and lakes warm.</p>
<p>Extreme weather can also contribute to algal blooms because heavy rain can cause nutrients to run off farm fields and sewage systems into waterways.</p><p>"Nutrients are basically the food source for algae," Graham says.</p><p>In New York's Finger Lakes and other locations across the country, the USGS is monitoring algal blooms.</p><p>Graham says they are trying to better understand toxic bloom growth and severity, so local agencies can make informed decisions about how to protect people.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/05/as-u-s-lakes-and-rivers-warm-reports-of-harmful-algal-blooms-are-on-the-rise/" target="_blank">Yale Climate Connections</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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A group of doctors prepared to treat coronavirus patients in Brazil. SILVIO AVILA / AFP via Getty Images
More than 40 million doctors and nurses are in, and they are prescribing a green recovery from the economic devastation caused by the new coronavirus.
<p>More than 350 health organizations representing some 40 million medical professionals, as well as more than 4,500 individual health workers from 90 countries, signed a <a href="https://healthyrecovery.net/" target="_blank">letter</a> to the G20 leaders Tuesday urging them to craft what they are promoting as a #HealthyRecovery by taking measures such as reforming <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuel</a> subsidies and fighting pollution and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/deforestation" target="_self">deforestation</a>.</p><p>"A truly healthy recovery will not allow pollution to continue to cloud the air we breathe and the water we drink," the health professionals wrote. "It will not permit unabated <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate change</a> and deforestation, potentially unleashing new health threats upon vulnerable populations."</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Health workers are at the frontline of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COVID19</a> pandemic, working tirelessly to ensure that people receive the treatment they need. <br><br>Now millions of them have signed a letter with a simple message: We need a <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HealthyRecovery?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HealthyRecovery</a> from this crisis.<br><br> 👉<a href="https://t.co/MfkPaoUu8A">https://t.co/MfkPaoUu8A</a> <a href="https://t.co/XErStuXCAM">pic.twitter.com/XErStuXCAM</a></p>— UN Climate Change (@UNFCCC) <a href="https://twitter.com/UNFCCC/status/1265287853694738433?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>The signatories represent about half of the world's medical workers, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/26/world-health-leaders-urge-green-recovery-from-coronavirus-crisis" target="_blank">The Guardian reported</a>. They include the World Medical Association, the International Council of Nurses, the Commonwealth Nurses and Midwives Federation, the World Organization of Family Doctors and the World Federation of Public Health Associations, according to a <a href="https://unfccc.int/news/medical-professionals-want-green-recovery-from-covid-19" target="_blank">UN Climate Change press release</a>. The letter also has the support of the World Health Organization and the Global Climate and Health Alliance, <a href="https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/world-needs-green-recovery-health-experts-tell-g20-leaders-doc-1s95mj3" target="_blank">AFP reported</a>.</p><p>By writing the letter, the health workers are joining a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/un-earth-day-coronavirus-climate-crisis-2645802263.html">growing movement</a> for a recovery from the impacts of the virus and subsequent lockdown measures that also addresses the climate crisis and other environmental problems.</p><p>"Health professionals are at the frontlines of this emergency, and we are seeing the immense loss of lives because of acting too late," World Medical Association President Miguel Jorge said, as The Guardian reported. "We know now more than ever that healthy lives depend on a healthy planet. As we walk on the road to recovery, we need to build a system that will protect us from further damage. We need a healthy and green recovery."</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WMA joins +40 million doctors, nurses and health professionals calling upon <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/G20?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#G20</a> leaders to put public health at the center of their countries' <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COVID19</a> recovery plans. <a href="https://t.co/QMZJuXj065">https://t.co/QMZJuXj065</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HealthyRecovery?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HealthyRecovery</a> <a href="https://t.co/Dz6tIRJQbc">pic.twitter.com/Dz6tIRJQbc</a></p>— World Medical Association (@medwma) <a href="https://twitter.com/medwma/status/1265284083082498050?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>The letter highlighted the damage caused by <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/air-pollution" target="_self">air pollution</a>, which led to seven million early deaths a year before the emergence of the new coronavirus. There is <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/coronavirus-air-pollution-fatality-2645656760.html" target="_self">evidence</a> that exposure to air pollution could make the new disease more deadly, and one of the most memorable effects of the lockdown measures has been the clearing of skies from <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/coronavirus-china-pollution-2645356657.html" target="_self">China</a> to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/coronavirus-italy-air-pollution-2645508891.html" target="_self">Italy</a> as factories closed and cars stayed off the roads.</p><p>To maintain some of these gains while fighting the climate crisis, the health professionals recommended reforming fossil fuel subsidies and putting more of that money towards <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/renewable-energy" target="_self">renewable energy</a>, something they argued would grow global GDPs by nearly 100 trillion dollars by 2050.</p><p>They also urged G20 leaders to involve their chief medical and scientific advisors in creating economic stimulus plans.</p><p>"The enormous investments your governments will make over the coming months in key sectors like health care, transport, energy and agriculture must have health protection and promotion embedded at their core," they wrote.</p><p>The next G20 meeting has been scheduled for November, according to AFP.</p><p>However, some world leaders on the list, such as U.S. President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="_self">Donald Trump</a> and Brazil's <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/jair-bolsonaro" target="_self">Jair Bolsonaro</a>, have already faced criticism for <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/doctor-bright-coronavirus-trump-drug-2645811981.html" target="_self">sidelining science</a> in their response to the coronavirus and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/brazil-amazon-deforestation-coronavirus-2645950493.html" target="_self">using the crisis</a> as an excuse to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-dismantles-environmental-protections-under-cover-of-coronavirus-2645989316.html" target="_self">roll back environmental protections</a>.</p>
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Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson (R) and Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte shake hands during an event to launch the United Nations' Climate Change conference, COP26, in central London on February 4, 2020. CHRIS J RATCLIFFE / POOL / AFP / Getty Images
The U.K. government has proposed delaying the annual international climate negotiations for a full year after its original date to November 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
<p>The UNFCCC COP26, which was <a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/c/*W2G3xB-365jDnW7FKT0q4fMDf10/*W7mzLKG7tDPWfW91dsgq3nnS2m0/5/f18dQhb0S1Wd2RMFdXV11TtV2qy7pLN34PF4vjRgVqW8FqQ885Jsq0TW58BCvB5YYLg9W1mBYw16TClNQW7lcb078Qz-49N1fd-MyMZtdbVmZZPX1HRDfsW8VRs1v5ZPKVJVSDjNt9g5w7-W1f2W8F7B0W-RW44CHhW8nqc0CN6GXR3kY3n6SW1_7cM_5m4gSGVV7ctz1Q2qYzW5CWBtk2FY3D6W1-HJhY795-RDW7GssYn7Jld55W5SLLBH3SvxdNW5chH-f78YRW1W3JZSl8477PTRW4V5vmj2JR3bfW32wBsP79XBhhW7sPKm-6KgCzwW2Ds88Y5tBYhRW5t23HG7XGttkW4Xc8Km1FBQrcN7Jxl-LT2pXLN4h9zBycfl10N44VzMhGnJvlN3__bBCPPXR-W4rGfw64hNLR9W8Dq7wk6XQY-BN6m9SqCjmRfGW7GP_CP1tLb3_W8Ch-wJ5S7dkfW6DHhHm4gLK1cVgj-Dv7b3kXNW5Z-tSt4NbSBZW3Tt0xN6JS3NGW7vY8pY7XxV3lW5yvwDd7r87ycN46Pv811gf1sW81GG9G3FWMkHW2WK_F68q-yC_W30Bd3S5jGCnKW1lWJ1l3TMH9zW6jf9jy9jRbRhW8Nl_Gk8M35VpW7plpB09f9Q0JW9f8728936FS5W7QQwM93FThBGW3V6g6F1rTssH111" target="_blank">first delayed</a> from November 2020 to early 2021, is the most important COP since world leaders met in Paris in 2015 because countries are expected to bring revised targets for how they will meet the Paris Agreement goals to keep global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius (35.6 F). The additional delay worried diplomats and experts that governments will craft economic recovery policies that do not align with the aggressive greenhouse gas pollution cuts needed by 2030 to avoid the worst of climate change impacts, according to the "<a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/c/*W2G3xB-365jDnW7FKT0q4fMDf10/*W3Cd5lX4JtGPrW25dC4H2-mmHF0/5/f18dQhb0SbTW8XJ93YN834vY8HyjJqVQBs5C64zxy8N3hHhcDXL0jYVnQ9Qq8--HBkW8ZPJ4K5pYx6BW8Ywp0W2SRqVtN2MTPSyKng6qW1Wg4bj2gd99PW58jrRT7rD5W4W8hrVbp2yJF1WVYT2jk6P4lCXW6hFc9L69NG1wW6Pr5q24MK9wZW4r1Pm71nq3H7W3cKN1v6gXBFnN67h1zcQC5z2VPC2cV3j5wXvVgvbF36TdDFQW2zGrSs3P_nV_W4Vs8-W6SN4p-VXhZrM36GfSQVQDpH03h24bMW5Hw66-4tpPR1W6Nz3wK1msDV8W2zWgNK1sdH0NW5CzfQH10JPclM-d-tDZMQwSW98bP2295LLcnW2xkLjl3kSB6WW8rZsJm63kCgxW5yJGY56Q_NSKW5HFsGK8dt46NW4Pw1Vk2sbPxnV_sGSc2xFq_DN3J3zp77DTKjN3jL8vRyvCdqW49X0tl4QDcJ_W1vt3zQ4dS8dTW3tVQ5k5_5lxDW4m8Tyn4ddW-XW3Df1mh10rzlyW1NwBMn1MVsRjTjMl_2MHrzj103" target="_blank">1.5 Report</a>" published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in October 2018. </p>
<p>Richard Black, director of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, also expressed concern over the wording of the U.K.'s postponement proposal. "What will surprise some is that despite saying 'ambition must continue,' the proposal doesn't specify sticking to the schedule of the Paris Agreement," he told the BBC.</p>
<p class=""><strong>For a deeper dive:</strong></p><p><em><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-52814996?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=88545146&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8Y0wSxkkDfKIYYaKhmWfVV8OGk103MmjyH2Us08v9D0s7yTIJ9BFFYdfaCeeXkLkaefB49qO2Dpe2IOq3C35LIufLAmNX01_9b0OmpBJfnx7tofiE&_hsmi=88545146" target="_blank">BBC</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/26/climate/cop26-climate-talks.html?searchResultPosition=1&utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=88545146&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8Y0wSxkkDfKIYYaKhmWfVV8OGk103MmjyH2Us08v9D0s7yTIJ9BFFYdfaCeeXkLkaefB49qO2Dpe2IOq3C35LIufLAmNX01_9b0OmpBJfnx7tofiE&_hsmi=88545146" target="_blank">New York Times</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/26/cop26-climate-talks-in-glasgow-likely-to-be-delayed-again?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=88545146&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8Y0wSxkkDfKIYYaKhmWfVV8OGk103MmjyH2Us08v9D0s7yTIJ9BFFYdfaCeeXkLkaefB49qO2Dpe2IOq3C35LIufLAmNX01_9b0OmpBJfnx7tofiE&_hsmi=88545146#maincontent" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-27/u-k-proposes-one-year-delay-for-key-climate-talks-pa-says?cmpid=BBD052720_GREENDAILY&utm_term=200527&utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=88545146&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8Y0wSxkkDfKIYYaKhmWfVV8OGk103MmjyH2Us08v9D0s7yTIJ9BFFYdfaCeeXkLkaefB49qO2Dpe2IOq3C35LIufLAmNX01_9b0OmpBJfnx7tofiE&_hsmi=88545146" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a> </em></p><p><em><em>For more </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" target="_blank"><em>climate change</em></a><em> and </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, and sign up for daily </em><a href="http://climatenexus.us4.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=7c84c08aaa" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>.</em></em></p>From Your Site Articles
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The Upcycled Food Association announced on May 19 that they define upcycled foods as ones that "use ingredients that otherwise would not have gone to human consumption, are procured and produced using verifiable supply chains, and have a positive impact on the environment." Minerva Studio / Getty Images
By Jared Kaufman
Upcycled food is now an officially defined term, which advocates say will encourage broader consumer and industry support for products that help reduce food waste. Upcycling—transforming ingredients that would have been wasted into edible food products—has been gaining ground in alternative food movements for several years but had never been officially defined.
<p><br/></p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.upcycledfood.org/" target="_blank">Upcycled Food Association</a> announced on May 19 that they define upcycled foods as ones that "use ingredients that otherwise would not have gone to human consumption, are procured and produced using verifiable supply chains, and have a positive impact on the environment."</p><p>The definition was drafted by a working group convened by the Upcycled Food Association, which included representatives from Harvard University, Drexel University, <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/" target="_blank">Natural Resources Defense Council</a>, <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/initiatives/food-waste" target="_blank">World Wildlife Fund</a>, and <a href="https://www.refed.com/" target="_blank">ReFED</a>, a nonprofit that analyzes solutions to food waste. The Upcycled Food Association is a member-based industry non-profit that aims to boost the profile of upcycled foods. The association's working group hopes that such a definition will make it easier for food companies to show how their products contribute to food waste reduction.</p><p>The definition is "putting some teeth into a trend that is doing the right thing for our food supply, our environment, consumers, and businesses," Jonathan Deutsch, a professor at Drexel University and the director of the Drexel Food Lab, says in a statement.</p>
<p>Standardizing the term is also a first step toward legislation that supports upcycling, according to Emily Broad Leib, a Harvard University law professor and the director of Harvard's Food Law and Policy Clinic. "Further research can be done to identify and leverage policy incentives to support upcycled foods as a model to reduce food waste and support a more sustainable food system," she says in a statement.</p><p>Upcycling has emerged in recent years as a way for food producers to add value to byproducts or surplus ingredients that might otherwise have been wasted. Already, food companies such as <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/01/philabundances-abundantly-good-cheese-benefiting-dairy-farmers-hungry-families/" target="_blank">Philabundance</a> and <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2018/10/treasure8s-inventions-aim-to-change-the-idea-of-food-waste/" target="_blank">Treasure8</a> are repurposing safely edible ingredients, like excess milk or "ugly" vegetables, into nutritious cheeses and chips.</p><p>"We can take these very large waste streams and we can upcycle them into safe, tasty, healthy products and ingredients that can work at large scale distribution," Treasure8 co-founder Timothy Childs told Food Tank in 2018.</p>
<p>Food waste is a significant plague on both the food system and the climate. The <a href="https://www.usda.gov/foodwaste/faqs" target="_blank">U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates</a> that between 30–40 percent of the food supply is lost or wasted—about 133 billion pounds a year. The impact is magnified by the water, energy, and land resources that went into producing food that was never consumed. Project Drawdown, an organization that advocates cutting greenhouse gas emissions, <a href="https://drawdown.org/drawdown-framework/drawdown-review-2020" target="_blank">has identified reducing food waste</a> as the No. 1 solution to keep warming below 2ºC.</p><p>And research shows that consumers not only understand the term "upcycled" as a distinct category, but also see added value in it. According to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/cb.1689?systemMessage=Wiley+Online+Library+usage+report+download+page+will+be+unavailable+on+Friday+24th+November+2017+at+21%3A00+EST+%2F+02.00+GMT+%2F+10%3A00+SGT+%28Saturday+25th+Nov+for+SGT" target="_blank">a benchmark study conducted by Deutsch's team at Drexel University</a> in 2017, customers surveyed viewed "value-added surplus foods" as being significantly different from conventional products and preferred the term "upcycled" over eight alternatives. The results suggest that many customers might find the benefit of upcycled food to be on par with organic certification, meaning they assign value to—and may be willing to pay more for—truly sustainable upcycled products.</p>
<p>The Upcycled Food Association hopes to use the new definition as a way to signal to consumers that food waste reduction claims on products are consistent and verifiable. To follow up on the definition, Upcycled Food Association COO Ben Gray says the association is planning to launch a product certification program for upcycled foods later this year.</p><p>"We want to give people the ability to participate in the solution every time they visit a grocery store," Gray says in a statement. "We envision a future in which many products in every aisle and around the perimeter proudly display the upcycled certification, giving consumers the opportunity to vote to reduce food waste with their dollars."</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/05/upcycled-food-is-officially-defined-with-a-goal-of-paving-the-way-for-industry-food-waste-reduction/" target="_blank">Food Tank</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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