Despondency, sabotage, new normal, omnicrisis, devastating, hottest, fastest, largest, historic, highest, lowest, catastrophic...
HI,
With attention and focus on the upcoming COP27 next week, Earth will be waiting to see what positive will result. Certainly many poor nations highly affected by the climate crisis will be seeking, if not demanding, assistance to adapt to future (even current) climate induced crises. They tried last year in Glasgow to no avail other than having the topic punted to this year. But with all the richer nations so far behind in paying up to their earlier commitments to these highly vulnerable populations, hope is fragile to say to the least. These nations feel the full weight of problems they contributed very little to. Be on the lookout for ecojustice.
The two biggest greenhouse gas emitters are mostly onboard for the fight against fossil fuels though to differing levels. At the last COP they strategically announced a partnership to fight the crisis, but the intervening months have seen a near total deterioration of their agreement, in part a fallout of Russia’s illegal and disgusting invasion of its southern neighbour. At least, though, the USA has committed large sums of cash to do its part, while still being the world’s second largest contributor. The world’s largest GHG emitter, China, still has lots of work to do at home where it’s reported that only about 20% of its giant population believes climate change is a serious threat, down 3% from the last poll in 2019. In the USA it’s at least a majority of its citizens, with 51.5% believing so, which when you think about it, is pretty darn good for a nation wracked, debilitated and imploding by conspiracy theory after lie after conspiracy theory. Even we here in Canada have all that too creeping firmly into our society, as we are being reminded this week as the federal government holds mandatory hearings into its use of the Emergencies Act to clear a hostile and illegal anti-vaccine and anti-mandate protest that took over downtown Ottawa for three weeks last February.
But, along with the continued bad news of climate weather extremes, including enormous health impacts (see the just released 2022 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change) and an atmosphere continually under assault, causing the ‘single biggest health threat facing humanity and the livability of the planet’ according to a just released Government of Canada report, we are being held hostage to place our hope in COP27 (starting next week). Let’s hope this meeting of the most important multilateral decision-making body on the climate crisis will not again be a disappointment. There must be real movement on real greenhouse gas reductions. Time is not on our side.
But not all was lost in recent days with the change of leadership in Brazil and its soon to be leader again pledging to protect the Amazon to the benefit of all 8 billion of us. Read on in today’s Planetary Health Weekly (#44 of 2022) for further news about these issues and more:
- CLIMATE & BIODIVERSITY CRISES UPDATES:
- ‘Lungs of the Earth Will Breathe Easier Tonight’: Amazon Defenders Cheer Lula Victory in Brazil,
- The 2022 Report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change: 'Health at the Mercy of Fossil Fuels,'
- Climate Pledges Are Falling Short, and a Chaotic Future Looks More Like Reality,
- New Jersey Takes Big Oil to Court for Climate Lies, Becomes the 7th State to Do So,
- PBS Frontline Unmasks the Villains of the Climate Crisis,
- Climate Change Puts a Billion Children at ‘extremely high risk,’
- Kenya Lifts Ban on Genetically Modified Foods Despite Strong Opposition,
- A California City’s Water Supply is Expected to Run Out in Two Months,
- Protected Tropical Forest Sees Major Bird Declines Over 40 Years,
- Denmark Pledges Millions to Nations Disproportionately Affected by Climate Change,
- Greenwashing Debunked in 11 FortisBC Gas Claims,
- Scientists Warning Europe “Warnings To Action: Mobilising Humanity,”
- In History: Statement on Signing the Instrument of Ratification for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992) by the then US president,
- CORONAVIRUS UPDATES:
- Cases following vaccination in Canada,
- How COVID-19 damages lungs: The virus attacks mitochondria, continuing an ancient battle that began in the primordial soup,
- Levels and Determinants of Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy among sub-Saharan African adolescents,
- Experts slam Florida surgeon general’s warning on coronavirus vaccines,
- 'Unreasonable' order lifting Alberta school mask mandate made by politicians not (health leader) Hinshaw: judge, THEN
- Disbelief in human evolution linked to greater prejudice and racism,
- A whiplash week for the Black Sea grain deal AND Ukraine said 218 vessels blocked after Russia suspended grain deal,
- The harmful effects of microplastics and 10 ways you can prevent pollution,
- SAFE cities from Stand.earth,
- Welcome to Modhera, India’s first village entirely powered by solar,
- Busiest ferry routes inside Arctic Circle go electric,
- In a starving world, is eating well unethical?
- Fighting For A Shot (Part 1) ‘Dose of Desperation,’
- When Canada Banned Indigenous People from Seeking Justice,
- Quote by William Shatner on his sad discovery while in space,
- New events: Smart City Expo World Congress, 15-17 November (Barcelona, Spain); and Circularity: Driving Circular Innovation, Nov 24-25. Sydney, Australia,
- Season 2 of Africa Forward, a podcast (and the latest on Innovative Solutions to Financing African Conservation),
- An interview with Alberta Rockson on physiotherapy care in sub-Saharan Africa,
- CO2 effects on plants increase global warming,
- How NGOs bolster democracy,
- November Book Recommendation: "Global Health -
Ethical Challenges" (2nd Edition) edited by Solomon Benatar and Gillian Brock,
- Delivery of climate services to last mile users: challenges and opportunities for scaling, and lastly
- ENDSHOTS of Lingering Autumn Beauty Despite Despondency.
Do keep reading. Best, david
David Zakus, Editor and Publisher
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WHITETAIL DEER NEAR WHITEFISH LAKE |
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IN COMPLETE SOLIDARITY WITH UKRAINE SEEKING PEACE AND VICTORY |
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AND WITH THE BRAVE WOMEN OF IRAN |
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CLIMATE & BIODIVERSITY CRISES UPDATES |
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Vanda Witoto, an indigenous leader who has spoken out against deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, celebrates the victory of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brazil's presidential election on October 30, 2022. Credit: Michael Dantas/AFP via Getty Images
Former Brazilian President
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's victory Sunday in the country's
presidential election, which one climate policy journalist called "the most important
climate election of the year," yielded a hopeful response from
environmental defenders Monday as they celebrated an end in sight for President
Jair Bolsonaro's destructive policies in the Amazon rainforest.
Da Silva, who is commonly called Lula, spoke directly in his
victory speech about protecting the 1.5 million
square miles that the Amazon spans in Brazil, saying, "Brazil and the planet
need a living Amazon."
Lula pledged to reverse the damage done by Bolsonaro, who has
pushed miners and other industrial interests to develop in the Amazon. In the
four years since Bolsonaro took office, deforestation has soared to a 15-year high.
During his campaign, the president-elect said he plans to
restore funding to the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural
Resources (IBAMA), the federal agency which protects the rainforest from
extractive industries, following Bolsonaro's weakening of environmental
enforcement.
"Let's fight for zero deforestation," Lula said in his
first speech as president-elect. "Brazil is ready to resume its leading
role in the fight against the climate crisis, protecting all our biomes,
especially the Amazon forest... We will resume monitoring and surveillance of
the Amazon, and combat any and all illegal activity—whether mining, logging, or
improper agricultural occupation."
Read more at CommonDreams
See More:
At The Lancet: The 2022 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: health at the mercy of fossil fuels
The 2022 report of theLancet Countdown is published as the world confronts profound and concurrent systemic shocks. Countries and health systems continue to contend with the health, social, and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, while Russia's invasion of Ukraine and a persistent fossil fuel overdependence has pushed the world into global energy and cost-of-living crises. As these crises unfold, climate change escalates unabated. Its worsening impacts are increasingly affecting the foundations of human health and wellbeing, exacerbating the vulnerability of the world's populations to concurrent health threats
At New York Times: Climate Pledges Are Falling Short, and a Chaotic Future Looks More Like Reality
With an annual summit later this month, the United Nations assessed progress on countries’ past emissions commitments. Severe disruption would be hard to avoid on the current trajectory.
Countries around the world are failing to live up to their commitments to fight climate change, pointing Earth toward a future marked by more intense flooding, wildfires, drought, heat waves and species extinction, according to a report issued Wednesday by the United Nations.
Just 26 of 193 countries that agreed last year to step up their climate actions have followed through with more ambitious plans. The world’s top two polluters, China and the United States, have taken some action but have not pledged more this year, and climate negotiations between the two have been frozen for months.
Without drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, the report said, the planet is on track to warm by an average of 2.1 to 2.9 degrees Celsius, compared with preindustrial levels, by 2100.
That’s far higher than the goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) set by the landmark Paris agreement in 2015, and it crosses the threshold beyond which scientists say the likelihood of catastrophic climate impacts significantly increases.
At ExxonKnews: PBS Frontline umasks the villains of the climate crisis
Part one of "The Power of Big Oil," the new three-part documentary series about the oil industry's insidious campaigns to block climate action, is a must watch.
At France24: Climate change puts a billion children at 'extremely high risk'
At Devex: Kenya lifts ban on genetically modified foods despite strong opposition
At Washington Post: A California city’s water supply is expected to run out in two months
The most severe drought in the American West since the 9th century is now in its 23rd year. All across the region, communities are confronting shortages worse than they have ever known. The biggest reservoirs have fallen to record lows. Whole neighborhoods have lost their water supply as wells have gone dry. States along the dwindling Colorado River are negotiating water cuts that could bring dramatic disruptions to some of the country’s most important agricultural belts.
The hotter and drier climate has forced California and other states to reckon with a future in which they will have access to far less water, even as populations continue to grow. In August, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) presented a 19-page plan to deal with the expected loss of 10 percent of the state’s water supply by 2040.
“The hots are getting a lot hotter. The dries are getting a lot drier,” Newsom told reporters at the time. “We have to adapt to that new reality, and we have to change our approach.”
California started the year with its driest four months on record. Snowpack in the Sierra Nevada this year was a small fraction of the historical average. Depleted reservoirs have led to restrictions on outdoor watering for millions of state residents.
Coalinga, named for its history as a coaling station on a railway line, is a small Republican outpost in liberal California. Coalinga’s brackish groundwater has never been a reliable option. Before a canal was completed in the early 1970s that connected Coalinga to a major aqueduct, the city relied on water delivered by train. After a 1983 earthquake that destroyed some 300 homes in town and spread concerns about water contamination, residents resorted to donations; Anheuser-Busch sent drinking water to Coalinga in beer cans and bottles.
But the current drought has made residents question the very survival of their city.
At Science Daily: Protected tropical forest sees major bird declines over 4
Deep in a Panamanian rain forest, bird populations have been quietly declining for 44 years. A new study shows a whopping 70% of understory bird species declined in the forest between 1977 and 2020. And the vast majority of those are down by half or more.
The study wasn't designed to explain why birds are declining in the forest, but the researchers have some ideas they want to follow up on. Things like changing amounts of rainfall, food resources, and reproductive rates, many of which may be tied to climate change.
But whatever the cause, the researchers expressed urgency to figure it out.
"Almost half the world's birds are in the Neotropics, but we really don't have a good handle on the trajectories of their populations. So, I think it's very important more ecological studies be done where we can establish trends and mechanisms of decline in these populations. And we need to do it damn quick" says Jeff Brawn, Levenick Chair in Sustainability in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences (NRES) at University of Illinois and a co-author on the study. He's been investigating birds at the study site, Parque Nacional Soberanía, for more than 30 years.
At Optimist Daily: Denmark pledges millions to nations disproportionately affected by climate change
Denmark has made
a historic move for climate justice by pledging 100 million Danish crowns ($12.9
million) to developing nations damaged by the climate crisis. This makes
it the first United Nations member state to offer “loss and damage”
compensation. Denmark joins Scotland and the Belgian region of Wallonia in
pledging money for loss and damage—but the latter two are not members of the
UN.
Flemming Møller Mortensen, Denmark’s development minister,
announced the funds after visiting Bangladesh this spring.
“I saw for myself in Bangladesh this
spring that the consequences of climate change need increased focus,” Mortensen
said when he announced the funds. “It’s grossly unfair that the world’s poorest
should suffer the most from the consequences of climate change to which they
have contributed the least. In his view, it is action, not words, that is
needed.
Denmark’s financial commitment was made at a ministerial
gathering in New York in conjunction with the UN General Assembly late last
month.
During
his address to the assembly, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged member
states to tax fossil fuel firms’ windfall earnings and divert the money to
nations experiencing loss and damage. “Loss and damage are happening now,
hurting people and economies now, and must be addressed now – starting at COP
27,” he declared. “This is a fundamental question of climate justice,
international solidarity, and trust.”
At the Tyee: Greenwashing Debunked in 11 FortisBC Gas Claims
Watching videos on FortisBC’s YouTube page, you might get the idea the company is advertising spa services. FortisBC is a regulated utility that largely provides fossil gas to around 1.1 million customers across B.C. in 135 different communities via 50,000 kilometres of pipelines. Shots of laughing children playing sports are overlaid with aerial shots of water flowing over hydro dams and cows contemplating life while taking in the sunset from a grassy field.
You don’t need to visit YouTube to view them — these soothing ads are found across every platform in B.C. The croaking “rrreeeebates” frog on the radio, pictures of people hiking on social media and full-page sponsored articles in local magazines.
There’s just one problem: it’s all greenwashing, according to several experts.
Scope 3 emissions, which include financed and supply chain emissions, cover indirect emissions related to goods and services that a reporting company produces or uses.
Reporting companies are now required to disclose their Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) said, citing strong support for the move.
“Following careful analysis of the feedback on its proposed standards, the ISSB voted unanimously to require company disclosures on Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions,” the board said in a statement today. The rules are likely to be finalised by early 2023.
The ISSB also announced that it would develop relief provisions to help companies apply the Scope 3 requirements, which could include giving companies more time to provide the disclosures and “working with jurisdictions on so-called ‘safe harbour’ provisions”.
The announcement comes amid divisive views on whether Scope 3 emissions reporting should be made mandatory. A survey of 20 asset managers by investment research firm Morningstar this year revealed that while all agreed on the need for international convergence in sustainability reporting standards, they were split on whether mandatory disclosure of Scope 3 emissions was premature.
The ISSB said that it aims to complete deliberations on the proposed Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) standards around the end of 2022, and to issue the final standards “as early as possible” in 2023.
At Devex: A Whiplash
Week for the Black Sea Grain Deal
Just as there was some positive news on global food prices — even as the most vulnerable had yet to benefit from the trickle down of cheaper staples — Russian President Vladimir Putin heightened fears of world hunger by pulling out of the recently inked grain deal on Saturday. Yesterday, Russia announced it would rejoin.
The hard-fought Black Sea Grain Initiative, reached in July, saw the export of nearly 10 million tons of “grain and food stuffs” out of Ukraine, somewhat alleviating a food crisis that put millions at risk of starvation worldwide. It’s extremely positive news that Russia intends to continue compliance, but shows how tenuous the future of exports of key staple grains from war-torn Ukraine remains.
Russia halted its participation for “an indefinite period” over the weekend after blaming Ukraine — which has not confirmed its culpability — for using drones to bomb ships that Russia claims were transporting grain under the deal, set to expire on Nov. 19.
At YouTube: Scientists Warning Europe: “Warnings To Action: Mobilising Humanity”
In the run-up to COP26 in Glasgow last year, European scientists put out this 3-minute video warning to Europe.
At Bush Library: In History (1992): Statement on Signing the Instrument of Ratification
for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Today I (President George H. W. Bush) have signed the instrument of ratification for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which I submitted to the U.S. Senate for advice and consent on September 8, 1992. The Senate consented to ratification on October 7, 1992. With this action, the United States becomes the first industrialized nation (and the fourth overall) to ratify this historic treaty.
I signed this convention on June 12, 1992, in Rio de Janeiro at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The convention was also signed by 153 other nations and the European Community. Today I am calling on them to join us in ratifying the convention as soon as possible and making a prompt start in its implementation.
The Climate Convention is the first step in crucial long-term international efforts to address climate change. The international community moved with unprecedented speed in negotiating this convention and thereby beginning the response to climate change.
As proposed by the United States, the convention is comprehensive in scope and action-oriented. All parties must inventory all sources and sinks of greenhouse gases and establish national climate change programs. Industrialized countries must go further, outlining in detail the programs and measures they will undertake to limit greenhouse emissions and adapt to climate change and quantifying expected results. Parties will meet on a regular basis to review and update those plans in the light of evolving scientific and economic information.
Since UNCED, the United States has begun to refine its national action plan, based on the U.S. climate change strategy first announced in February 1991 and updated in April 1992. The United States was one of the first nations to lay out its action plan, which will reduce projected levels of net greenhouse gas emissions in the year 2000 by as much as 11 percent.
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SARS-CoV-2 & COVID-19 UPDATES |
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Globally, nationally and locally, the pandemic continues in many countries. However, information about prevalence and outcomes is increasingly hard to find, and many erroneously feel it's over. It is not. Covid is still a life threatening disease associated with many complications and infecting and killing many. Collective action, data reporting and leadership have all but disappeared.
Over the last week, cases are about 700,000/day (though reporting is under-reported, slightly down); deaths are at about 1400/day (down ~10%); and vaccinations are up about 25% to near 1.7 million/day - with way too many not getting their boosters, including children.
Vaccination, despite ongoing concerns about waning immunity and huge slander against it about deaths and vaccine ineffectiveness, along with other proven public health measures, remain the best ways to keep yourself and others safe from serious consequences. Get all the shots/boosters you can and practise other public health measures (like masking) especially indoors with crowds.
See below for a few global stats and current hotspots:
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"It is the plague in seemingly all sincerity." Bob Woodward |
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Credit: WHO
While COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective at preventing
severe outcomes such as hospitalization and death, vaccinated people can still
get infected if exposed. This means that even with high vaccine effectiveness,
some vaccinated people will get sick, be hospitalized or die.
Most people in
Canada have been vaccinated. Because they’re a larger group, there
will naturally be more cases among vaccinated people than among unvaccinated
people. However, despite their higher case counts, vaccinated
people are less likely to get very sick or die.
Case counts underestimate the total number of COVID-19 cases
because a rapid increase in cases starting in December 2021 led to changes in
COVID-19 testing policies and delays in data entry.
Case counts are likely to over-represent people at risk of
severe disease, because they have been prioritized for testing. Data should be
interpreted with caution.
Since the start of the vaccination campaign on December 14, 2020, PHAC received case-level vaccine history data for 73% (n=2,457,576) of COVID-19 cases aged 5 years or older.
Of these cases:
Read more at Health Info Database; CBC News
SEE ALSO:
At The Conversation Canada in Apple News: How COVID-19 Damages Lungs: The Virus Attacks Mitochondria, Continuing an Ancient Battle that Began in the Primordial Soup
COVID-19 causes lung injury and lowers oxygen levels in patients because the SARS-CoV-2 virus attacks cells’ mitochondria. This attack is a throwback to a primitive war between viruses and bacteria.
At Research Gate: Levels and determinants of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among sub-Saharan African adolescents
The percentage of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among adolescents was 15% in rural Kersa, 24% in rural Ibadan, 31% in rural Nouna, 33% in urban Ouagadougou, 37% in urban Addis Ababa, 48% in rural Kintampo, 64% in urban Lagos, 76% in urban Dar es Salaam, and 88% in rural Dodoma. Perceived low necessity, concerns about vaccine safety, and concerns about vaccine effectiveness were the leading reasons for hesitancy. Healthcare workers, parents or family members, and schoolteachers had the greatest impacts on vaccine willingness. Perceived lack of safety (aPR: 3.61; 95% CI: 3.10, 4.22) and lack of effectiveness (aPR: 3.59; 95% CI: 3.09, 4.18) were associated with greater vaccine hesitancy. The levels of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among adolescents are alarmingly high across the five sub-Saharan African countries, especially in Tanzania. COVID-19 vaccination campaigns among sub-Saharan African adolescents should address their concerns and misconceptions about vaccine safety and effectiveness.
At New York Times: ‘This Is Our March 2020’: Children’s Hospitals Are Overwhelmed by R.S.V.
Pediatric units in hospitals across the United States are being overwhelmed by cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which can cause severe breathing problems in babies. The surge has several causes:
- Children have for some time been protected from RSV by health protections brought in to slow the spread of COVID-19.
- Hospitals are facing seasonal increases in colds and flu, plus the ongoing burden of COVID-19.
- Some hospitals have lost capacity after converting children’s wards to treat adults with COVID-19 instead.
The result is pressure on doctors’ ability to treat children with all kinds of injuries and illnesses. “It all has a very COVID-esque feel to it,” said pediatric intensive-care physician Meghan Bernier. “This is the pediatrician’s COVID. This is our March 2020.”
At The Washington Post: Experts slam Florida surgeon general’s warning on coronavirus vaccines
The guidance from the Florida Health Department came in a terse release at 6:12 on Friday evening, ahead of a three-day weekend: Joseph A. Ladapo, the state’s top health official, warned young adult men to stop taking coronavirus vaccines by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, citing an “abnormally high risk” of heart-related deaths.
But Ladapo’s recommendation — extrapolated from a short state analysis that has not been peer-reviewed, carries no authors and warns that its findings are “preliminary” and “should be interpreted with caution” — was swiftly condemned by medical and public health leaders, who said the Florida surgeon general’s announcement was politics masquerading as science and could lead Americans to forgo lifesaving interventions.
More than a dozen experts interviewed by The Washington Post — including specialists in vaccines, patient safety and study design — listed concerns with Florida’s analysis, saying it relies on information gleaned from frequently inaccurate death certificates rather than medical records, skews the results by trying to exclude anyone with covid-19 or a covid-related death, and draws conclusions from a total of 20 cardiac-related deaths in men 18 to 39 that occurred within four weeks of vaccination. Experts noted the deaths might have been caused by other factors, including underlying illnesses or undetected Covid.
At CBC News: 'Unreasonable' order lifting Alberta school mask mandate made by politicians not Hinshaw: judge
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Disbelief in Human Evolution Linked to Greater Prejudice and Racism |
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Credit: PsyPost
A disbelief in human evolution was associated with higher levels of prejudice, racist attitudes and support of discriminatory behavior against Blacks, immigrants and the LGBTQ community in the U.S., according to University of Massachusetts Amherst research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Similarly, across the globe -- in 19 Eastern European countries, 25 Muslim countries and in Israel -- low belief in evolution was linked to higher biases within a person's group, prejudicial attitudes toward people in different groups and less support for conflict resolution.
Read more at Science Daily
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Ships, including those carrying grain from Ukraine and awaiting inspections, anchored off the Istanbul coastline on Oct. 14. Credit: Chris McGrath/Getty Images
Just as there was some positive news on global food prices — even as the most vulnerable had yet to benefit from the trickle down of cheaper staples — Russian President Vladimir Putin heightened fears of world hunger by pulling out of the recently inked grain deal on Saturday. Yesterday, Russia announced it would rejoin.
The hard-fought Black Sea Grain Initiative, reached in July, saw the export of nearly 10 million tons of “grain and food stuffs” out of Ukraine, somewhat alleviating a food crisis that put millions at risk of starvation worldwide. It’s extremely positive news that Russia intends to continue compliance, but shows how tenuous the future of exports of key staple grains from war-torn Ukraine remains.
Russia halted its participation for “an indefinite period” over the weekend after blaming Ukraine — which has not confirmed its culpability — for using drones to bomb ships that Russia claims were transporting grain under the deal, set to expire on Nov. 19.
Read more at Devex
See also at Reuters: Ukraine said 218 vessels blocked after Russia suspended grain deal
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The rise of throw away culture. Credit: as advertised in Life Magazine, 1 August 1955, vol. 39, issue 5, pp. 43–44. 1955.
Microplastics here, microplastics there, microplastics…everywhere? Research has recently shown that microplastics are found in our fish, beer, table salt, drinking water1, and most recently, in our own bodies.2
Microplastics are small pieces of plastic, less than 5mm in size, which come from a variety of sources. When large plastic debris such as a single-use coffee cup is thrown away, that cup exists forever. Plastic waste never fully biodegrades. Instead, it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces that accumulate in our environment. Once microplastics are in our environment, they are nearly impossible to remove because of their size.
In the early 1950s we began to see a rise in plastic dependency due to the convenience, availability, low cost, and durability of plastic products. This 1950s image from Life Magazine reads, “The objects flying through the air in this picture would take 40 hours to clean, except no household wife needs to bother.” With the widespread use of plastic, we started living in a convenience culture, where ease and instant gratification are prized above long-term benefits and sustainability. Although we have come a long way and are making strides towards a less plastic-centric environment, we still have significant work ahead of us.
Since the 1950s, humans have produced over 8 billion tons of plastic, most of which has already been disposed of and therefore still circulates in our environment today. When it comes to plastic pollution, out of sight is not the same as truly gone.
The most common type of plastics we dispose of are single-use food containers and textiles. The textile industry is the second most polluting industry in the world. Globally, there are 80 million new garments of clothing produced per year. Fast fashion and our overconsumption have drastically changed the way we view and purchase clothing, resulting in the average person buying more clothes and using them for less time.
Here are 10 ways you can prevent microfibre pollution:
- Use cold water. Research has shown that polyester sheds more fibres at higher temperatures. Washing with cold water helps to save on your utility bills and preserves your clothing as it will help to prevent fraying, shedding, and fading.
- Use front load washing machines. Hartline’s study shows that front load washing machines had seven times less microfibres shed than top load machines.
- 13Get a microfibre filter. Depending on the brand, an external filter can capture up to 89% of microfibres! There are many filters on the market for purchase, so be sure to do your research. If you live in the Collingwood, Wasaga Beach, or The Blue Mountains area, volunteer to have a filter installed for free!
- Avoid fast fashion. Reduce your purchases by buying used clothing from vintage or thrift stores, swap with friends, rent or borrow clothes, or purchase higher quality fabrics when possible.
- Reuse and repurpose clothing and plastic. Find ways to repair and repurpose textiles by turning them into cleaning rags or tote bags, or by donating them.
- Refuse to use plastic. Try to make it a habit to have reusable items on hand such as travel mugs and water bottles, cloth and mesh produce bags, reusable cutlery, and beeswax wraps. Not using plastic in the first place is more effective than recycling used plastics.
- Choose products and retailers with less packaging. Where possible, make a choice to buy from local brands that reduce plastic packaging or use recycled packaging.
- Research recycling. Ensure that the materials you are putting in the recycling can be recycled by your municipality and are not contaminated.
- Take Action with Nature Canada’s 30×30 Defend Nature campaign to demand Canada’s leaders to meet their goal to protect 30% of land, freshwater and oceans by 2030.
- Write your local MPP to demand support for Ontario Bill 102 to get filters on future washing machines at the manufacturer level. Georgian Bay Forever has designed a template form to guide you in the process here.
Read more at Nature Canada
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Credit: Stand.earth
SAFE (Stand Against Fossil Fuel Expansion) Cities is a movement of neighbours, local groups, and elected officials working to keep their communities SAFE from fossil fuels. The fossil fuel industry’s harmful practices and reckless plans for expansion threaten the well-being of communities and people around the world.
That’s why the SAFE Cities campaign is connecting local efforts to limit fossil fuels into a global call for action and supporting community leaders to adopt SAFE policies that phase out fossil fuels and fast track clean, more efficient energy solutions for all.
Fighting fossil fuel threats one at a time can feel like playing the world’s most exhausting and unfun game of whack-a-mole. One with no end in sight. If you’re in a community on the frontline of the fossil fuel industry you already know this well – no sooner have you defeated a massive coal terminal proposal then a tar sands pipeline pops up. Or you’re already fighting a refinery expansion or an oil-by- rail plan when industry comes again with plans to build a giant, explosive LNG facility. The SAFE Cities movement wants to end all that by blocking fossil fuel infrastructure projects before they’re even proposed – it’s time to stop playing defence, and go on the offensive.
Read more at Stand.earth
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Credit: Maneesh Agnihotri/shutterstock.com
Modhera in Gujarat state became India’s first solar-powered village,
setting a precedent for what UN Secretary-General António Guterres called a
“reconciliation between humanity and the planet,” according to Euronews.
UN
News reports that the solar project provides residents
of Modhera with an abundance of renewable energy at a cost of $9.7 million. The
cost of the solar project was split between the Indian government and the
Gujarati government. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared Modhera
to be the country’s first village to be powered by solar 24 hours a day, seven
days a week. According to the Gujarati government, residents can save
60 to 100 percent on their power bills as a result of this.
“Earlier, when solar was not there, I had to pay huge amount for
the electricity bill — close to 2,000 rupees. However, with the installation of
the solar, my electricity bill is now zero. Everything from the refrigerator to
washing machine now runs on solar in my house. I am not paying even 1 rupee
electricity bill now,” affirms village resident Gadvi Kailashben, who
supports her family through farming.
Nearly
30 acres of Modhera now have solar and rooftop panels that
provide more kilowatts of energy than the village’s residents use each day. “There
are three major components to this entire project. One is our ground-mounted
6-megawatt project. The second is the 15-megawatt battery storage system and
the third is the one-kilowatt rooftops installed on 1,300 houses,” explained
Rajendra Mistry, the chief project officer of Gujarat Power Corporation
Limited.
Watch the 3 minute video at Optimist Daily
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Ferry between Skarberget and Bognes under the Midnight sun. Creidt: Thomas Nilsen
Norway’s successful transition to zero-emission transport sector continues. By the end of 2022, the last remaining ferry connection along European route E6, Bognes-Skarberget, will operate on batteries.
“This makes it possible to drive without emission from Lindesnes to North Cape,” the Norwegian Public Roads Administration informs. Lindesnes is the country’s southernmost point.
Norway has for years encouraged people to buy electric vehicles by introducing a series of incentives, like no purchase taxes, cheaper or free drive-through toll roads, and reduced ticket prices on ferries.
Also, the ferries themselves are now turning to battery-power. The world’s first electric car and passenger ferry went into commercial operation in 2015 across a 6 kilometers wide fjord in Western Norway.
Now, time has come to introduce battery-powered car ferries in Northern Norway. The route Bognes-Skarberget is some 200 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle, a region with polar night and harsh cold-climate conditions during winter.
“This makes it possible to drive without emission from Lindesnes to North Cape,” the Norwegian Public Roads Administration informs. Lindesnes is the country’s southernmost point.
Norway has for years encouraged people to buy electric vehicles by introducing a series of incentives, like no purchase taxes, cheaper or free drive-through toll roads, and reduced ticket prices on ferries.
Also, the ferries themselves are now turning to battery-power. The world’s first electric car and passenger ferry went into commercial operation in 2015 across a 6 kilometers wide fjord in Western Norway.
Now, time has come to introduce battery-powered car ferries in Northern Norway. The route Bognes-Skarberget is some 200 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle, a region with polar night and harsh cold-climate conditions during winter.
Read more at The Barents Observer
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A gold-leaf prime beef rib-eye, inspired by a dish by the chef Nusret Gokce (a.k.a. Salt Bae), next to a golden egg. Credit: Anthony Cotsifas. Styled by Victoria Petro-Conroy
…We support mobility as a social good, and so our taxes fund public transportation, however inefficient. One could argue that food is the same: Some feast on ortolans — songbirds drowned in Armagnac and eaten whole with all their tiny crunching bones — while others must content themselves with gruel. The government steps in as needed, providing assistance in the form of food stamps, pantries and soup kitchens, each with its own rules and limitations.
Except that food is of a different order. It’s a necessity, and recognized as such in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states in Article 25, “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food.” Humanity made it to the end of the 19th century without gas-powered automobiles and, as of 2015, while 88 percent of American households owned a car, in China, the world’s second-biggest economy, only 17 percent could say the same. Not having a car is a hindrance; not having food can be fatal, in the short or long term. Lack of it impairs cognitive development in children. Access to only inexpensive processed food, low in nutrients, has been shown to contribute to chronic disease.
According to United Nations estimates, in 2020, 2.37 billion people, close to a third of the world’s population, experienced periods of going without food or were unable to consistently access nutrients, and 22 percent of all children under the age of 5 exhibited stunted growth. To think of food as just another product, then, whose price is set by the market, buoyed by the whims of demand, not need, to accept that some people will go without, and will sicken or starve. To permit it.
SO THERE IS a crime: People are starving or undernourished. But we still have not established a correlation between one person’s indulgence and another’s suffering. The Times restaurant critic Pete Wells has noted “a small pit of shame in my gut” when he eats exorbitantly expensive meals. It feels wrong to spend freely on something so ephemeral as a fancy dinner while others languish in hunger, but is it? And if so, why, beyond a sense of common decency and solidarity with those less fortunate?
Read Ligaya Mishan's piece at New York Times
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FIGHTING FOR A SHOT (PART 1): |
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The shipment of AstraZeneca vaccines that arrived in Angola in early November was donated mostly by Canada. Health Minister Dr. Silvia Lutucuta pledged the doses would be at vaccination centres the next day. Credit: ALEX BOYD/TORONTO STAR
If there was a global race for COVID-19 vaccine, wealthy nations won it, and countries like Angola lost. The rollout left Canada awash in doses. In Africa, meanwhile, every drop is precious.
LUANDA, ANGOLA The sun is high in the sky as the plane’s wheels make gentle contact with the runway, an expanse of faded tarmac that gives way to red earth in the distance.
A crowd has assembled, but they’re not here to greet the tired-looking human arrivals descending the stairs to the runway.
Airport workers swing open the cargo hold of the white-and-gold Emirates jet to reveal crates protecting what has become the most sought-after liquid on Earth — COVID-19 vaccine.
This particular batch landing in Angola, almost half a million doses of AstraZeneca, has been mostly paid for by Canada, as part of its pledge to help vaccinate the world.
In Canada, three out of four people on the street are already fully vaccinated. The frenzy for shots cooled months ago, with some clinics now resorting to throwing extra shots away. But here in Angola, a nation on the western coast of Africa, this sole shipment of vaccine is met by a delegation that would normally befit a visiting dignitary. Photographers snap pictures as the health minister strides onto the tarmac.
The doses are here to feed a hungry distribution system in a country at a time when just five per cent of people are fully vaccinated.
See Part 2 next week
Part 2: South Africa's recipe for success
Part 3: Canada's failure to deliver
Read more of Part 1 at: The (Toronto) Star
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SPOTLIGHT ON INDIGENOUS WELLNESS |
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When Canada Banned Indigenous People from Seeking Justice |
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When First Nations began fighting for their rights in the courts, the federal government amended the Indian Act to deny them access. Credit: Justin Tang, the Canadian Press
Recent years have seen Indigenous land rights protests and
assertions of sovereignty across Canada. In the wake of these events, many
people have been learning about and coming to terms with Canada’s treatment of
Indigenous peoples.
However, many remain unaware of a significantly
damaging period in Canada’s history. The “blackout” period in Aboriginal law in
Canada was a time when the Canadian government in effect banned lawyers from
representing Indigenous peoples.
In 1927, the federal government introduced Section 141 into
the Indian Act. It banned the solicitation or collection of funds to pursue a
legal claim on behalf of an Indigenous person or group without the permission
of the Department of Indian Affairs.
As former prime minister John Diefenbaker explained, the provision provided “that
Indians can have no recourse to the courts unless they have the permission of
the minister to proceed.” The blackout period lasted almost 25 years until
1951, when Section 141 was finally repealed.
While the racist and unjust nature of Section 141 is now
recognized, the specific impacts of the ban have not been studied. There is
still a need to shine light on this dark period of Canadian legal history,
including what it meant for Indigenous peoples and for the development of
Indigenous rights.
Read more at The Tyee
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William Shatner: My Trip to Space Filled Me With “Overwhelming Sadness” |
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Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images
"So, I went to space.
Our group, consisting of me, tech mogul Glen de Vries, Blue Origin Vice President and former NASA International Space Station flight controller Audrey Powers, and former NASA engineer Dr. Chris Boshuizen, had done various simulations and training courses to prepare, but you can only prepare so much for a trip out of Earth’s atmosphere! As if sensing that feeling in our group, the ground crew kept reassuring us along the way. “Everything’s going to be fine. Don’t worry about anything. It’s all okay.” Sure, easy for them to say, I thought. They get to stay here on the ground.
So, I went to space.
Our group, consisting of me, tech mogul Glen de Vries, Blue Origin Vice President and former NASA International Space Station flight controller Audrey Powers, and former NASA engineer Dr. Chris Boshuizen, had done various simulations and training courses to prepare, but you can only prepare so much for a trip out of Earth’s atmosphere! As if sensing that feeling in our group, the ground crew kept reassuring us along the way. “Everything’s going to be fine. Don’t worry about anything. It’s all okay.” Sure, easy for them to say, I thought. They get to stay here on the ground.
Everything I had thought was wrong. Everything I had expected to see was wrong.
I had thought that going into space would be the ultimate catharsis of that connection I had been looking for between all living things—that being up there would be the next beautiful step to understanding the harmony of the universe. In the film “Contact,” when Jodie Foster’s character goes to space and looks out into the heavens, she lets out an astonished whisper, “They should’ve sent a poet.” I had a different experience, because I discovered that the beauty isn’t out there, it’s down here, with all of us. Leaving that behind made my connection to our tiny planet even more profound.
It was among the strongest feelings of grief I have ever encountered.
My trip to space was supposed to be a celebration; instead, it felt like a funeral."
William Shatner
Read more of this exclusive excerpt from William Shatner’s new book, “Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder,” in which the “Star Trek” actor reflects on his voyage into space on Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space shuttle on Oct. 13, 2021. Then 90 years old, Shatner became the oldest living person to travel into space, but as the actor and author details above, he was surprised by his own reaction to the experience, at: Variety
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- On-going until December 31: International Health Trends and Perspectives (IHTP, a new journal based at Toronto Metropolitan University, (formerly Ryerson University, Toronto) is dedicating a special issue to the topic of Planetary Health to highlight research, theoretical and community based contributions of scientists, scholars and activists globally. It is inviting manuscripts that are solutions and equity-focused. See the call for papers and details here: https://bit.ly/3tDixHT
- October 31 - November 4, 2022: 7th Global Symposium on Health Systems Research (Bogotá, Colombia)
- November 6-18, 2022: COP 27 UN Climate Change Conference (Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt)
- November 15-17, 2022: Smart City Expo World Congress, 15-17 November 2022 (Barcelona, Spain)
- November 24-25, 2022: Circularity: Driving Circular Innovation (Sydney, Australia)
- November 21-23, 2022: Canadian Conference on Global Health Join us in Toronto for the 28th Canadian Conference on Global Health (CCGH). This year's hybrid event will explore the theme of: "Inclusive Global Health in Uncertain Times: Research and Practice".
- December 7-8, 2022: The 4th International Conference on Rare Diseases (Vienna, Austria)
- December 7-19, 2022: COP15 UN Biodiversity Conference (Montreal, Canada)
- April 14-16, 2023: CUGH's Annual Global Health Conference - Global Health at a Crossroads: Equity, Climate Change and Microbial Threats
- May 23-25, 2023: The Battery Show Europe (Stuggart, Germany).
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FYI#1 SPOTLIGHT ON MEDIA |
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Season 2 of AFRICA FORWARD |
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Credit: African Wildlife Foundation
The African Wildlife Foundation is proud to bring you Season 2 of Africa Forward, a podcast hosted by Carol Pineau and produced by FP Studios. The second season, out now, explores green infrastructure, Africa’s tremendous biodiversity, and how African-led conservation may not only help save endangered species but also the planet. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Credit: Carnegie Science
Trees and other plants help keep the planet cool, but rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are turning down this global air conditioner. According to a new study by researchers at the Carnegie Institution for Science, in some regions more than a quarter of the warming from increased carbon dioxide is due to its direct impact on vegetation. This warming is in addition to carbon dioxide’s better-known effect as a heat-trapping greenhouse gas. For scientists trying to predict global climate change in the coming century, the study underscores the importance of including plants in their climate models.
“Plants have a very complex and diverse influence on the climate system,” says study co-author Ken Caldeira of Carnegie’s Department of Global Ecology. “Plants take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, but they also have other effects, such as changing the amount of evaporation from the land surface. It’s impossible to make good climate predictions without taking all of these factors into account.”
Plants give off water through tiny pores in their leaves, a process called evapotranspiration that cools the plant, just as perspiration cools our bodies. On a hot day, a tree can release tens of gallons of water into the air, acting as a natural air conditioner for its surroundings. The plants absorb carbon dioxide for photosynthesis through the same pores (called stomata). But when carbon dioxide levels are high, the leaf pores shrink. This causes less water to be released, diminishing the tree’s cooling power.
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FYI #3 |
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An Interview with Alberta Rockson with PHW Production Manager Julia Chalmers |
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Credit: Resurge Africa
Alberta has a BSc in Physiotherapy and an MSc in Disability, Rehabilitation and Development and 15 years of clinical practice. She is an expert in burns rehabilitation care and hand therapy. Alberta is Rehabilitation Lead of Interburns and recently joined the steering committee for the WHO’s World Rehabilitation Alliance whose “mission is to support the implementation of the Rehabilitation 2030 Initiative through advocacy activities”.
Throughout this discussion we talk about Alberta’s involvement in Resurge Africa, Interburns and the WHO. We dive into the cultural, structural and political challenges to physiotherapy care in SubSaharan Africa and discuss the global burden of disease.
Alberta also shares her hope for the future of physiotherapy, and outlines what is required on the community and policy levels to achieve these goals. Listen at ResurgeAfrica to the 27 minute interview.
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FYI #4 |
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How NGOs Bolster Democracy |
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A person organizes piles of items for distribution from an international nongovernmental organization to internally displaced people fleeing violence in western Ethiopia in Chagni, Ethiopia, on Jan. 28, 2021. Credit: EDUARDO SOTERAS/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Nongovernmental organizations have the potential to
undermine authoritarian governance, which must be why they face widespread
crackdowns around the world.
“Why
do Middle Eastern leaders loathe NGOs?” asked Foreign Policy’s
Steven A. Cook in 2018. “The answer,” he wrote, “is more complicated than
Westerners tend to think.” According to Cook, it’s not just that NGOs have the
potential to undermine authoritarian governance; they also threaten a nation’s
sovereignty and, sometimes, are seen as a form of neocolonialism.
Over the years, there have been many critiques of NGOs. Journalist
Michael Hobbes has written about
how NGOs, among other entities, have “turned the language of human rights into
meaningless babble.” But, as Ronald R. Krebs and James Ron have argued, NGOs
can also be a powerful force for democracy.
This collection of essays from the FP archives explores the
promise of NGOs, the problems they can create, and the issues they face amid
widespread crackdowns around the world.
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FYI #5: FIRST NOVEMBER READING |
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Global Health - Ethical Challenges (2nd Edition) Edited by: Solomon Benatar and Gillian Brock |
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Credit: Book Cover
Addressing global health is one of the largest challenges facing humanity in the 21st century, however, this task is becoming even more formidable with the accelerated destruction of the planet. Building on the success of the previous edition, the book outlines how progress towards improving global health relies on understanding its core social, economic, political, environmental and ideological aspects. A multi-disciplinary group of authors suggest not only theoretically compelling arguments for what we must do, but also provide practical recommendations as to how we can promote global health despite contemporary constraints. The importance of cross-cultural dialogue and utilization of ethical tools in tackling global health problems is emphasized. Thoroughly updated, new or expanded topics include: mass displacement of people; novel threats, including new infectious diseases; global justice; and ecological ethics and planetary sustainability. Offering a diverse range of perspectives, this volume is essential for bioethicists, public health practitioners and philosophers.
The book covers an enormous amount of ground relevant to global and planetary health. See the Introduction which provides a synoptic overview of the rationale for the book and of each of the 38 highly informative chapters.
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FYI#6: SPOTLIGHT ON EDUCATION |
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Delivery of Climate Services to Last Mile Users: Challenges and Opportunities for Scaling |
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Laotian farmers. Credit: FAO
Weather and climate information plays an important role in the farming decisions made by smallholder farmers in Lao People's Democratic Republic. Timely, adequate, and reliable weather and climate information can help farmers make better informed decisions and thus minimize the adverse impacts of climate variability. This survey aims to collect information on farmers’ access to weather information from loudspeakers, its use in farm activities, the challenges in accessing it, and the potential use of the internet and social media in disseminating it.
During the years 2019 to 2020, the Department of Agricultural Land Management (DALAM), of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has been operating in various provinces to test the implementation and use of climate services for farmers. Innovative climate services that are specific for agricultural production are provided mostly by the Laos Climate Services for Agriculture (LaCSA), a near-real tool that is operated and maintained by the Department of Meteorology with inputs by the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI), and the Plant Protection Center. The LaCSA is available at www.lacsa.net and in the Apple and Android app stores.
The results show that loudspeakers have a wide reach and are valued by farmers. Farmers who have heard of accessing weather information from speakers use the resource when choosing crop variety. Those who have access to both farmer field schools and loudspeakers are more likely to adjust their planting schedule, while farmers who get their information only from loudspeakers often change their water management practices. More localized weather information is the main recommendation when it comes to improving weather services.
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LINGERING AUTUMN BEAUTY DESPITE DESPONDENCY |
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HIGHWAY 518, WHITEFISH LAKE and HAWKRIGG LANE
SEGUIN, ONTARIO
October 28 - November 3, 2022
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Photo Credits: David Zakus |
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THANKS FOR READING THE FREE
PLANETARY HEALTH WEEKLY
Current News on Ecological Wellness and Global Health
To Subscribe and access Archives of all Past Issues & Yearly Indexes GO TO: planetaryhealthweekly.com
AND PLEASE PASS IT ON TO FAMILY & FRIENDS
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