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More than 40% of Ukrainians need humanitarian help under horrendous war conditions, UN says

pcanetto@mines.edu — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 12:25:20 -0500

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russian strikes are inflicting unimaginable suffering on the people of Ukraine and more than 40% of them need humanitarian assistance, a senior U.N. official told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday.

Ramesh Rajasingham, director of coordination in the U.N. humanitarian office, said thousands of civilians have been killed in strikes on homes, schools, fields and markets since Russia’s invasion in February 20022. The U.N. human rights office has formally verified 9,900 civilians killed, but he said “the actual number is certainly higher.”

Ukrainian civilians are suffering “horrendous humanitarian consequences” and “unimaginable levels of suffering” from the Russian strikes, Rajasingham said. About 18 million Ukrainians — more than 40% of the population — need some form of humanitarian assistance, and as winter approaches “needs will be magnified,” he said.

Rajasingham said significant damage and destruction of critical infrastructure continues to severely impact civilian access to electricity, heating, water and telecommunications, “a particular concern as winter fast approaches,” which will put the elderly, disabled and displaced most at risk.

The Russian military methodically targeted Ukraine’s power stations and other critical infrastructure with missile and drone strikes during the last winter season, resulting in frequent power outages.

To prepare for the freezing temperatures this winter, the U.N. official said, the humanitarian community is helping people carrying out household repairs and ensuring that water and heating systems are functional.

“The aim is to ensure that every civilian has access to somewhere both safe and warm during the winter ahead,” Rajasingham said.

Ukrainians must also deal with diminished health care, he said.

Since the invasion, the U.N. World Health Organization has verified over 1,300 attacks on health care – more than 55% of all attacks worldwide during the same period, he said. And 111 health care workers and patients have been killed, with 13 health facilities impacted by attacks just since the beginning of September.

As the war continues, it has become more dangerous for humanitarian organizations to operate, with the number of aid workers killed more than tripling from four in 2022 to 14 so far in 2023, Rajasingham said.

Despite the risks, more than 500 humanitarian organizations – the majority of them local -- reached nine million people with aid in the first nine months of 2023, thanks to more than $2 billion contributed by donors to the U.N.’s $3.9 billion appeal for this year, he said. But over 40% of the appeal is still unfunded.

U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood told the council Russian attacks reduced Ukraine’s power generating capacity to roughly half its pre-war capacity, according to a U.N. estimate in June. And between October 2022 and March 2023, many civilians spent roughly 35 days without power.

He said Russian attacks on critical infrastructure have already resumed, “risking critical services and exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.”

Wood pointed to a single day in September when Russia launched 44 missiles at energy facilities in six regions, and a Ukrainian government report that from Oct. 11-12, Russia launched artillery, missiles and drones against the Kherson region “an estimated 100 times.”

From mid-July, when Russia pulled out of the initiative enabling Ukraine to ship critically needed wheat and other foodstuffs from Black Sea ports, until mid-October, Russian attacks destroyed nearly 300,000 tons of Ukrainian grain, he said.

“We call on the international community to continue providing essential humanitarian support to Ukraine, including supporting Ukraine’s efforts to restore its energy grid,” Wood said.

Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia claimed it is Ukrainian missiles – not Russian airstrikes – that hit “civilian objects.” And he accused the Kyiv government of making up “lies about Russia” and blaming Moscow for “high profile tragedies” in Ukraine in order to elicit Western support for more military assistance.

While Western diplomats speak out about casualties and destruction in Ukraine, Nebenzia added, they never mention anything about casualties and destruction in the eastern Donbas region, which Russia illegally annexed in October 2022.

Ukraine’s U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya expressed gratitude to the U.N. and donors for assisting the government in preparing for winter.

He said Russia shows no intention of abandoning the “terrorist” practice of targeting civilian infrastructure, saying that “makes it imperative to obtain additional air defense systems to safeguard these critical facilities during the winter.”

These numbers show the staggering toll of the Israel-Hamas war

pcanetto@mines.edu — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 11:58:27 -0500

JERUSALEM (AP) — The latest Israel-Hamas war has quickly become the deadliest and most destructive of the five wars fought between the sides since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007 from the Palestinian Authority.

The fighting erupted on Oct. 7 when Hamas carried out a surprise attack in southern Israel. Since then, Israel has relentlessly pounded the Gaza Strip with airstrikes that have wrought unprecedented destruction, flattening entire neighborhoods.

Here’s a look in numbers at the toll of the war as of Nov. 5, sourced from the Gaza Health Ministry and Israeli officials, as well as international observers and aid groups:

FILE - Photographs of over one thousand persons killed, missing or abducted in the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 are displayed on empty seats in an exhibit held under the motto “UNITED AGAINST TERRORISM” in the Smolarz Auditorium at Tel Aviv University on Oct. 22, 2023, in Tel Aviv. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, File)

9,770

The number of Palestinians killed in Gaza.

Destroyed furniture and charred walls are seen in a home that came under attack during a massive Hamas invasion into Kibbutz Nir Oz, Israel, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. The small farming community in the south of Israel was overrun by Hamas fighters from the nearby Gaza Strip who killed 1,400 Israelis and captured dozens of others on Oct. 7. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

153

The number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank.

1,400

The number of people killed in Israel.

Palestinians mourn relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah, Monday, Oct 30, 2023. ( AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

29

The number of Israeli soldiers killed since the start of the ground offensive.

24,808

The number of Palestinians injured in Gaza.

2,200

The number of Palestinians injured in the West Bank.

5,400

The number of Israelis injured.

Palestinians inspect the entrance to a tunnel under a damaged mosque in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, Wednesday, July 5, 2023, after the Israeli army withdrew its forces from the militant stronghold. The withdrawal of troops from the camp ended an intense two-day operation that killed at least 13 Palestinians, drove thousands of people from their homes and left a wide swath of damage in its wake. One Israeli soldier was also killed. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

250,000

The number of Israelis displaced.

More than 1.5 million

The number of Palestinians displaced in Gaza.

At least 241

The number of soldiers and civilians being held hostage in Gaza.

5

The number of hostages released or rescued.

451

The number of aid trucks let into Gaza.

FILE - Destruction from Israeli aerial bombardment is seen in Gaza City, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. The war between Israel and Hamas has brought carefully calibrated condemnations and warnings to both sides by Russia. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair, File)

200,000

The number of residential units destroyed in Gaza.

Green steel: a material ready for industrial decarbonisation and widening the horizons of electrification

pcanetto@mines.edu — Sun, 29 Oct 2023 15:40:09 -0500

The steel industry is responsible for 8 % of the CO₂ emissions caused by mankind worldwide. For this reason urgent action is needed to initiate a decarbonisation process which also has the potential to be a massive economic opportunity. Iberdrola is committed to creating a more sustainable world and is already working on projects designed to minimise its impact with major players in the steel sector.

Steel is one of the most commonly used materials in the world. With more than two million tonnes of this iron alloy manufactured every year, it is one of the main materials required to manufacture cars, buildings and everyday goods like cutlery and tools, among others. What's more, more than six million people are directly employed in its manufacture.

It is important to remember that this is one of the most polluting and energy-hungry industries on the planet. Steel is manufactured in blast furnaces that use fossil fuels - coal, oil and natural gas - to reach the high temperatures required to trigger the essential chemical reactions. This process accounts for approximately 8 % of all the CO₂ emissions produced by humankind worldwide.

Steel can be infinitely recycled without losing any of its properties in a fully electric process that gives off few emissions. This is one solution for reducing its environmental impact in the throes of the fight against climate change. In fact, recycling already covers 26 % of global demand and work is underway to increase that percentage. In Spain, more than 85% of steel is recycled, which puts the country in eighth place in the continent. The Netherlands ranks first with 97.3 %, while others such as Italy are still below 75 %.

Decarbonising steel

The pressing need for climate action is mobilising the whole of society, including, of course, the entire steel value chain. Major players in the industry are announcing commitments to decarbonisation: producers like ArcelorMittal and Tata Steel, consumers such as truck manufacturer Scania, and even financial groups. Iberdrola also has an active role in this effort as the leading company in decarbonising the economy, taking part in forums and exploring ways of collaborating with a number of actors in the value chain.

The first measures for reducing emissions from steel entail making more efficient use of this material and increasing recycling rates, but this alone is not enough. Future forecasts show it will be necessary to cover at least half of the demand for steel from iron ore, so it is essential we develop new technologies that are less harmful to the environment.

Two of the most promising processes revolve around renewable electricity. In Europe, there are already several projects — Hybrit and H₂ Greensteel, for example — that aim to replace fossil fuels with green hydrogen, while in the United States, Boston Metal, a company that emerged from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is developing direct electrolysis from iron ore, a process similar to that currently used for aluminium. In both cases, the electricity used would be from renewable sources, ensuring sustainability and no emissions during the process.

The first commercial plants based on these new carbon-neutral technologies are expected to be available from year 2030, at which date a large part of the European blast furnaces should start to be refurbished.

Iberdrola and green steel

Iberdrola is working on both lines and is analysing potential projects with industrial partners in different geographic areas. The group is also having conversations with start-up Boston Metal, in the Iberdrola professorship with MIT, and with the Scania spin-off, Hydrogen Green Steel (H2GS), through our participation in the CEO Alliance.

The decarbonisation of the sector is an excellent opportunity for growth for Iberdrola, which could mean an additional demand of around ~5.000 TWh/year, the equivalent of twice Europe's current electricity generation, as well as 40 million tonnes of green hydrogen, or the installation of more than 300 MW of electrolysers. That is why the company is working with Cummins to install an electrolyser plant in Spain to speed up the implantation of the entire hydrogen value chain.

Iberdrola also maintains its commitment to sustainable steel through its participation in the international SteelZero initiative, led by Climate Group in collaboration with Responsible Steel. The group has set an ambitious target of using 50 % low-emission steel by 2030, with the goal of reaching zero emissions by 2050.

With this project, SteelZero sends a strong demand signal to shift global markets and policies towards responsible steel production and sourcing. The companies that have joined this alliance ensure that the materials used in the production of renewable energy or automotive infrastructure are in line with a carbon-free world.

In short, it is possible to decarbonise steel making, because there are already some very promising alternatives through direct electrification or green hydrogen. In the future, thanks to the expected cost reductions in renewable energy and green hydrogen driven by Iberdrola, green steel could become more competitive, benefitting all consumers.

Cement warms the planet. This green version just got a key nod of approval.

pcanetto@mines.edu — Sat, 21 Oct 2023 21:51:56 -0500

Companies are finding more environmentally friendly ways to make cement, which accounts for about a twelfth of global carbon dioxide emissions, making it worse for the climate than flying.

Now they have to convince builders that their climate-friendly cement will hold just as well as the conventional stuff.

An Oakland-based company called Brimstone broke through that hurdle. On Wednesday, it announced it received third-party certification that its carbon-negative cement is structurally and chemically the same as regular cement. The company says it is the first carbon-neutral or carbon-negative cement to meet that building requirement.

“Being able to fit into existing standards,” said Anu Khan, a carbon removal expert at the environmental nonprofit Carbon180 that is unaffiliated with the company, “is really powerful for commercialization.”

Why cement is so carbon-intensive

A worker walks near a cement plant in Bangladesh. (Sazzad Hossain/AP)

The vast majority of cement used in the United States is called Portland cement. It’s made by baking limestone in a kiln at incredibly high temperatures, a process that unbinds the minerals into calcium oxide and carbon dioxide. Mixed with stone, sand and water, that calcium oxide glues it all together again to form concrete.

The carbon locked in the limestone, meanwhile, drifts into the atmosphere as CO2, warming the planet. That means not only do the fossil fuels used to heat to kiln give off carbon dioxide, the chemical reaction at the heart of cement manufacturing releases the climate-warming gas, too.

Brimstone, a 35-person start-up, has developed a different method for making cement. Instead of baking limestone, it starts with carbon-free silicate rock. Chemically extracting calcium oxide from silicate does not release carbon dioxide. In fact, a byproduct of the process is magnesium that can actually absorb CO2 from the atmosphere.

The company says its product meets the same standards as regular cement. But it’s hard for it to compete with a tried-and-true building material.

Portland cement is old, making it trusted among builders. It’s been used since the 18th century, giving architects and engineers decades of knowledge on how it works. It gets its name from the British Isle of Portland, where the stone for the process was first quarried.

“The biggest barrier to entry in terms of either decarbonizing cement or steel, or coming up with an alternative product that can be swapped in for one of those structural material, is typically the testing,” said Stacy Smedley, executive director at Building Transparency, a nonprofit focused on decarbonizing construction.

Given the lives at stake if a building collapses, she added: “Construction is a risk-averse sector.”

Taking the test

A mortar cube composed of cement made through Brimstone’s process. (Jose Romero/Brimstone)

Brimstone commissioned Twining Consulting, an engineering firm, to help test its alternative cement — analyzing its air contents, measuring its setting time, compressing cubes of the stuff to test its strength. The result: Brimstone’s product met one of the most commonly used standards in the business, known as ASTM C150.

“Just to show that it can meet the same standards of the typical cement we use today, it’s a big day,” Smedley said.

Brimstone is still a ways from selling its cement. The company plans to build a pilot plant near Reno, Nev., before constructing a commercial-scale factory.

So far, the company has raised about $60 million, including $500,000 from the federal government’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy. Investors include Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.) The Bill Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy Ventures, which also counts Bezos as an investor, has also backed Brimstone.

Congress is trying to further speed up development of the alternative concrete sector with a pot of money in the Inflation Reduction Act for low-carbon construction materials.

But Brimstone chief executive Cody Finke said concrete is still a climate problem relatively little money is spent on compared to automobile or power plant emissions.

“It’s a huge climate problem that almost no one works on.”

Driving Cleaner

pcanetto@mines.edu — Sat, 14 Oct 2023 21:17:06 -0500

To reduce both climate-changing emissions and exposure to air pollution, the United States must greatly reduce tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks. This makes the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) vital to meeting targets for both climate and public health. Using fully electric vehicles in place of conventional gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles enables the complete elimination of tailpipe emissions.

While electric vehicles can eliminate tailpipe emissions, the total emissions from their use include emissions from two other sources: the electricity used to recharge EVs and the processes and materials used to manufacture them. Thus, the value of switching from gasoline and diesel cars and trucks to EVs will increase further as the electricity grid and manufacturing become cleaner.

Global Warming Emissions from Driving Electric Vehicles

To assess the total global warming emissions from charging electric vehicles, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) addresses all contributions from electricity production. These include:

Emissions that result from raw-material extraction, such as coal mining and natural gas drilling;
Emissions from delivering these fuels to power plants;
Emissions from burning those fuels in power plants to generate electricity;
Electricity losses that occur during distribution from power plants to the point where the electric vehicle is plugged in; and
The efficiency of the vehicle in recharging and using electricity.

Similarly, our assessment of the global warming emissions from comparable gasoline and diesel vehicles addresses emissions that result from:

Oil extraction at the well;
Transporting crude oil to refineries;
Refining oil into gasoline;
Delivering fuel to gas stations; and
Combusting fuel in the vehicle’s engine.

Because of differences in electricity generation across the United States, the emissions produced from driving the average EV vary depending on where the vehicle is driven (Figure ES-1). Considering the location of EV sales to date, the UCS assessment finds that:

Everywhere in the United States, driving the average EV results in lower emissions than the average new gasoline vehicle.
Over 90 percent of people in the United States live in regions where driving the average EV produces lower emissions than the most efficient gasoline vehicle on the market today (59 miles per gallon).
Driving the average EV in the United States produces global warming emissions equivalent to those emitted by a gasoline car getting 91 miles per gallon.
Driving the most efficient EV produces lower emissions than the most efficient gasoline car where 97 percent of the population lives—in other words, virtually everywhere in the United States.
Everywhere in the United States, the emissions from driving an EV pickup truck are lower than those for the average new gasoline or diesel pickup truck.

While driving the average EV yields significant emissions savings, the more efficient the EV, the greater the benefits of switching from gasoline to electricity. For example, the emissions from driving a 2021 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus in California equal those of a gasoline car getting 152 miles per gallon. The Tesla’s global warming emissions are a fifth of those of the average new gasoline car and over 60 percent less than even the most efficient gasoline car on the market.

Global Warming Emissions from Manufacturing Electric Vehicles

Manufacturing an EV results in more global warming emissions than manufacturing a comparable gasoline vehicle. This is chiefly due to the energy and materials required to produce an EV’s battery. However, most of the global warming emissions over the lifespan of a vehicle occur during its use, so the reductions from driving an EV more than offset the higher manufacturing emissions. When comparing the average gasoline sedan (32 mpg) to the average-efficiency EV with a 300-mile-range battery, the EV reduces total lifetime emissions 52 percent. An EV pickup truck reduces lifetime emissions 57 percent compared with the average gasoline pickup (Figure ES-2).

Another way to understand how emissions savings from driving an EV offset additional manufacturing emissions is to consider the breakeven point: how far (or how long) an EV needs to drive for the savings to match the initial emissions “debt.” This breakeven point varies depending on regional electricity emissions. Based on where the US population lives, the mean breakeven point for an electric car with a 300-mile range compared with the average new gasoline sedan is 21,300 miles of driving, or 22 months based on average annual driving. Breakeven occurs more quickly, after about 17,500 miles (17 months), when comparing an electric truck (300-mile range) with the average new gasoline pickup truck.

Both EV cars and trucks are much cleaner than their gasoline counterparts, but electric trucks are responsible for more global warming emissions than electric cars simply because trucks are larger and heavier. Choosing the most efficient EV that meets mobility needs will minimize overall pollution. If a sedan meets a driver’s needs, that would be a better choice for the environment than a full-size SUV or a pickup.

The impacts of manufacturing EVs, including their batteries, extend beyond global warming emissions. Manufacturing processes and the sourcing of battery and other materials also affect water and air quality. Also, processes and sourcing can raise concerns over human rights and the ethical issues involved in mining and refining raw materials. This makes it essential to reduce the amount of raw materials needed to make EVs. In particular, reuse, remanufacturing, and recovery of materials from used batteries will help reduce these impacts.

Recommendations

To maximize emissions reductions and minimize negative manufacturing impacts, UCS recommends accelerating the transition to lower-emissions transportation through cleaner sources of electricity, improved vehicle manufacturing, and more efficient vehicles.

Policymakers at all levels of government should adopt and strengthen policies and programs for increasing energy efficiency and deploying renewable energy. Reducing the emissions from generating electricity can reduce the emissions from driving and manufacturing EVs. Policy options include establishing renewable electricity standards, energy-efficiency resource standards, and incentives or mandates to improve grid operation, transmission, and resource planning.
Governments and the private sector should invest more in research on both decreasing the global warming emissions associated with making EV batteries and improving the processes for recycling or reusing batteries.
Policies should promote material circularity, in which materials reenter the supply chain when their use in the original product ends. Circularity includes encouraging materials recovery when a battery reaches the end of its life and using recovered materials in manufacturing. Offsetting the use of virgin materials can decrease the environmental and social impacts associated with mining.
EV manufacturers should be responsible for sourcing materials ethically and sustainably throughout all steps in the supply chain. This means that their emissions and material sourcing must be transparent to the public and regulators.
Public policies should ensure that manufacturers produce energy-efficient EVs. Policies also should encourage vehicle buyers to purchase the most efficient EVs that meet their mobility needs. The more efficient an EV, the smaller battery it needs to achieve a desired range capability, thereby reducing emissions from both driving and manufacturing.
Policies, including funding, should support transportation options—including transit, shared mobility, and walking and biking infrastructure—that decrease the need for individual car ownership and limit the overall emissions from vehicle manufacturing and use.
Vehicle incentives and infrastructure deployment should enable drivers across incomes and geographies to access EVs. To maximize the benefits of EVs, all drivers should be able to switch from gasoline and diesel vehicles.

Switching from conventional vehicles to electric vehicles reduces carbon emissions and smog-forming air pollution. To maximize these reductions, we must accelerate the adoption of EVs and transition to renewable electricity as quickly as possible. These dual transitions are a necessary part of putting the United States on a trajectory toward net-zero climate emissions by midcentury.

Driving Cleaner Electric Cars and Pickups Beat Gasoline on Lifetime Global Warming Emissions

Central African Republic Can Lift Millions Out of Poverty by Revitalizing its Agricultural Sector: World Bank Report

pcanetto@mines.edu — Sat, 14 Oct 2023 16:56:53 -0500

BANGUI, March 10, 2023 – The Central African Republic can lift millions of people out of poverty by transforming its vital agriculture sector as a key driver of economic growth, says the World Bank in its latest Economic Update report on the country.

About 75% of Central Africans, particularly women, depend on agriculture for their livelihood, mostly informal jobs. However, the sector has been hampered in recent years by lack of investment and modernization, as well as poor infrastructure, says the report, titled Weathering Growing Risks: Addressing Macro-Fiscal Challenges and Unlocking the Potential of the Agriculture Sector.

Bold and sustained reforms to revitalize agriculture, as a significant contributor to poverty reduction, are urgent, as CAR’s economy faces overlapping crises. Higher food and fuel prices, disruption in supply chains, political turmoil following the adoption of the cryptocurrency law, and the impact of the war in Ukraine, are slowing economic growth in CAR, with risks tilted to the downside.

“CAR has abundant arable land and a favorable climate for agriculture and livestock,” said Guido Rurangwa, World Bank’s Country Manager for the Central African Republic. “A comprehensive strategy, underpinned by concrete reforms, can unlock the potential of the agriculture sector, protect livelihoods, accelerate growth, create jobs, and improve the living conditions of Central Africans.”

A cycle of political instability in the 2000s and 2010s have contributed to the sector’s diminishing share in GDP growth from 55% in 2011 to 32% in 2020, as the production of crops, livestock, forestry, and fishery have all declined. Over the past decade, public investments in agriculture have averaged less than 3% of total public sector spending, well below the 10% target set under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program, a continent-wide initiative of the African Union.

In order to transform the agriculture sector as a key driver of growth and prosperity in CAR, the report identifies five priority areas:

Institutional Framework: Decades of conflict, instability, and uneven progress on the structural reform agenda have badly damaged the agricultural institutional framework. Establishing a regulatory framework for rural finance, a national farmers database with groups classification and adopting the agropastoral land code could help strengthen the capacity of farmers and herders.

Access to Finance: Access to basic capital for farming activities is a major bottleneck. A rural finance regulatory framework and low-interest loans from microfinance institutions and expansion of mobile banking services could help transition farmers from the informal to the formal credit market and from subsistence to commercial agriculture.
Access to Markets: Poor road conditions severely hamper farmers’ access to markets. The need to improve the quality of roads and transportation is vital for the movement of agricultural products from rural farms.
Land Rights and Ownership: Outdated land laws do not favor agricultural development and there is no legal instrument for managing and securing agricultural land. An agro-pastoral code, set up by the Ministry of Agriculture, to guide the acquisition and securing of agricultural land is a step in the right direction to enable the efficient allocation of land for pasture and crop farming.
Farming Inputs and Equipment: Manual farming is the norm in CAR, with less than 1% of farmers able to afford the use of tractors and tillers. Similarly, farmers are likely to use cheaper alternative fertilizers to grow their crops. Efforts are needed to not only to enhance availability of agricultural machinery but its use by farmers.

The report highlights the importance of agriculture to women, who represent more than 78% of agricultural labor in CAR. Empowering them is essential for the well-being of families and rural communities and overall economic productivity, as well as for improving food security and reducing poverty.

Surprising Creatures Lurk in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

pcanetto@mines.edu — Sat, 07 Oct 2023 14:41:54 -0500

Plastics floating in a massive “garbage patch” in the Pacific Ocean are home to strange new mixes of coastal and marine species that might increase the odds of biological invasions wreaking havoc on nearby ecosystems.

Scientists have long known that critters such as worms, crustaceans and mollusks could make their home on plastic debris. Animals have even crossed the Pacific Ocean on these makeshift rafts after a devastating tsunami struck Japan in 2011. But new research published on April 17 in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution adds two details that could be concerning for existing ecosystems. First, it finds that plastic is providing a home for coastal species to thrive in the open ocean thousands of miles from shore. Second, some of these species are reproducing despite the alien environment.

“It’s probably one of the least-known environments, the sea surface,” says Martin Thiel, a marine biologist at Catholic University of the North in Chile, who was not involved in the new research. “It’s a very, very particular community that we are disturbing now at a massive scale.”

For the new study, researchers identified species living on just more than 100 pieces of plastic that were fished out of the so-called Great Pacific Garbage Patch—a region in the northern Pacific Ocean where currents converge to deposit an estimated 79,000 metric tons of plastic debris. The scientists identified 484 invertebrates from a surprising range of species on the plastic. Many of these animals were species that are more commonly found near coastlines of the western Pacific. These coastal species included “moss animals” or bryozoans, jellyfish, sponges, worms and other organisms.

“I just remember the first time [study co-author] Jim [Carlton of Williams College and Mystic Seaport Museum] and I pulled out a piece of plastic and saw the level of coastal species present, we were just blown away,” says Linsey Haram, lead author of the study. Haram, who was a research associate with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center during the study, specializes in marine ecology.

Nearly all the debris hosted pelagic, or open-ocean, species—which makes sense considering that weathering on much of the plastic suggested it had spent several years at sea. But all told, about 70 percent of the debris the researchers analyzed carried at least one species usually found in coastal waters—a much higher tally than Haram and her colleagues expected going into the work, she says.

And as they looked closer, the scientists found that some two thirds of the debris pieces were home to coastal and open-ocean species living side by side. Plastic isn’t just carrying coastal species out to sea; it’s also creating unnatural neighborhoods that the researchers call “neopelagic communities.”

“What’s new, the ‘neo’ part of that, is that we now—likely because of plastics—are seeing coastal species and these native pelagic species together, interacting quite frequently on debris,” Haram says. “We’re essentially creating new communities in the open ocean.”

And these unnatural communities may come at a cost for traditional open-ocean residents that are used to living on natural debris, she adds, because coastal creatures could be competing for space and food or could even be eating their neighbors.

Haram and her colleagues found signs that these coastal species were reproducing. For instance, they found insectlike arthropods tending to clutches of eggs and anemones sprouting little clones of themselves—indicators that suggest the relocations aided by plastic aren’t necessarily temporary. And the plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch doesn’t necessarily stay there but can instead wash up on foreign beaches, where transplanted species might take root.

“If you can reproduce, then you can spread. And if you can spread, you can invade,” says Linda Amaral-Zettler, a marine microbiologist at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, who was not involved in the new study. “You’re not just a dead end; you’re not just hitchhiking and then perishing at the end of it.” She hopes the research serves as a warning that plastic may be facilitating species invasions, particularly between widespread coastal ecosystems.

Because all the study debris came from the northern Pacific Ocean, it’s unclear whether coastal species are making similar journeys in other oceans. Amaral-Zettler particularly wonders what might be happening in the northern Atlantic, where floating Sargassum seaweed offers a natural foothold in the open ocean—one that might be vulnerable to invasion by species traveling on plastic debris. (Haram’s colleagues are working to determine whether the animals found in the study can relocate to additional debris rafts or are trapped on their original piece of plastic, she says.)

The new work highlights a different way that the flood of plastic is interfering with the natural environment, one beyond the well-publicized harm it does to species such as fish, turtles and seabirds. “We know a lot at this point about entanglement and ingestion, the huge negative impacts that result from that,” Haram says. “The research that we’re doing here adds a very different type of effect that plastics have that previously wasn’t really being considered.”

Thiel agrees and adds that the research should also remind us that we know more than enough about the damage of plastic pollution to respond seriously. “To me, it’s another warning call for us that we definitely need to take dramatic, drastic steps to reduce the amount of plastic litter that goes into the ocean,” Thiel says. “When it’s in the open ocean, it’s too late.”

NASA Clocks July 2023 as Hottest Month on Record Ever Since 1880

pcanetto@mines.edu — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 17:35:21 -0500

According to scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York, July 2023 was hotter than any other month in the global temperature record.

“Since day one, President Biden has treated the climate crisis as the existential threat of our time,” said Ali Zaidi, White House National Climate Advisor. Against the backdrop of record high temperatures, wildfires, and floods, NASA’s analysis puts into context the urgency of President Biden’s unprecedented climate leadership. From securing the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate investment in history, to invoking the Defense Production Act to supercharge domestic clean energy manufacturing, to strengthening climate resilience in communities nationwide, President Biden is delivering on the most ambitious climate agenda in history.”

Overall, July 2023 was 0.43 degrees Fahrenheit (F) (0.24 degrees Celsius (C)) warmer than any other July in NASA’s record, and it was 2.1 F (1.18 C) warmer than the average July between 1951 and 1980. The primary focus of the GISS analysis are long-term temperature changes over many decades and centuries, and a fixed base period yields anomalies that are consistent over time. Temperature "normals" are defined by several decades or more - typically 30 years.

“NASA data confirms what billions around the world literally felt: temperatures in July 2023 made it the hottest month on record. In every corner of the country, Americans are right now experiencing firsthand the effects of the climate crisis, underscoring the urgency of President Biden’s historic climate agenda,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “The science is clear. We must act now to protect our communities and planet; it’s the only one we have.”

Parts of South America, North Africa, North America, and the Antarctic Peninsula were especially hot, experiencing temperatures increases around 7.2 F (4 C) above average. Overall, extreme heat this summer put tens of millions of people under heat warnings and was linked to hundreds of heat-related illnesses and deaths. The record-breaking July continues a long-term trend of human-driven warming driven primarily by greenhouse gas emissions that has become evident over the past four decades. According to NASA data, the five hottest Julys since 1880 have all happened in the past five years.

“Climate change is impacting people and ecosystems around the world, and we expect many of these impacts to escalate with continued warming,” said Katherine Calvin, chief scientist and senior climate advisor at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Our agency observes climate change, its impacts, and its drivers, like greenhouse gases, and we are committed providing this information to help people plan for the future.”

NASA assembles its temperature record from surface air temperature data from tens of thousands of metrological stations, as well as sea surface temperature data acquired by ship- and buoy-based instruments. This raw data is analyzed using methods that account for the varied spacing of temperature stations around the globe and for urban heating effects that could skew the calculations.

“This July was not just warmer than any previous July – it was the warmest month in our record, which goes back to 1880,” said GISS Director Gavin Schmidt. “The science is clear this isn’t normal. Alarming warming around the world is driven primarily by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. And that rise in average temperatures is fueling dangerous extreme heat that people are experiencing here at home and worldwide.”

High sea surface temperatures contributed to July’s record warmth. NASA’s analysis shows especially warm ocean temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific, evidence of the El Niño that began developing in May 2023. Phenomena such as El Niño or La Niña, which warm or cool the tropical Pacific Ocean, can contribute a small amount of year-to-year variability in global temperatures. But these contributions are not typically felt when El Niño starts developing in Northern Hemisphere summer. NASA expects to see the biggest impacts of El Niño in February, March, and April 2024.

For more information on NASA’s global temperature record, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/2023/climate-media-resources

The UN Voted On Whether Or Not Food Is A Human Right — The U.S. Was The Only Country To Vote 'No'

pcanetto@mines.edu — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 16:19:07 -0500

If you ask people if eating a meal is a privilege or a basic human right for survival, most would agree on the latter option. We would perish between eight to 21 days without adequate sources of food or water. It is fundamental to our survival and health.

However, a vote at the United Nations resolution makes it appear that United States representatives believe otherwise.

The United States voted against food as a human right, as per a UN committee’s draft resolution.

On November 9, 2021, nations in the UN voted on whether or not food is a human right. Over 180 countries participated in the vote, with an overwhelming majority voting in favor of food as a human right.

The United States was the only country to vote against it, with Isreal providing no vote at all.

The vote was especially alarming and not only concerned U.S. citizens but also people around the globe, considering that world hunger is a grave issue that affects millions of people.

The UN issued a statement in 2020, expressing concern about the lack of food and water, sharing that “the number of people lacking access to adequate food rose by 320 million ‑ to 2.4 billion ‑ amounting to nearly a third of the world’s population, and that between 720 million and 811 million people faced hunger.”

Delegates of other nations criticized the US due to its failure to recognize the severity of the situation. “Hunger is a violation of human dignity,” Cuba’s delegate stated while addressing the UN Committee meeting, noting that the US had blocked consensus on the draft for four years in a row.

U.S. representatives issued an explanation of the vote.

After acknowledging that hunger is a significant issue that has been on the rise, U.S. representatives believe that the resolution proposed by the UN “contains many unbalanced, inaccurate, and unwise provisions the United States cannot support.”

“This resolution does not articulate meaningful solutions for preventing hunger and malnutrition or avoiding their devastating consequences,” they added.

The U.S. representatives also stated that food security depends on “appropriate domestic action by governments, including regulatory and market reforms, that is consistent with international commitments.”

However, hunger and lack of adequate food sources are not just an international crisis.

They are issues that directly impact American citizens as well. According to the USDA, over 34 million Americans, including 9 million children, experience food insecurity. Although, many of them do not qualify for federal nutrition programs that combat hunger. Therefore, many of them rely on local food banks in order to obtain meals.

After the pandemic, it has become increasingly difficult for Americans to access food. Supply chain issues have resulted in skyrocketing food prices as well as food transportation disruptions.

Many people are left with no choice but to limit and ration their food intake, even if it means they will go to bed hungry each night.

The U.S.’s decision to turn a blind eye to recognizing food as a basic human right is not only a threat to communities around the globe battling hunger but communities right here in our own country.

The inequity of food sources can lead to a multitude of issues that many of us may not even realize before it is too late. Social unrest, the increase in public health costs due to the malnourishment of those struggling to provide meals for their families, and the decrease in development and economic productivity are only a few that will run rampant in the U.S. if families continue to starve.

All human beings are born with inherent rights, simply by virtue of being human. Having access to food and water that keeps humans alive is one of those rights.

Food is also more than just a substance to keep humans sustained. It is an integral part of a community’s cultural identity and traditions and bridges the gap between the rich and the poor.

Even if U.S. representatives do not believe that access to food is a human right, that does not mean that U.S. citizens can not look out for each other and ensure that we are all adequately fed.

We can volunteer with food banks, host a food drive, and support bills that impact access to nutritious meals for those in need of meals for their families.

Something as vital as food should not be a privilege that is exclusive to the wealthy. It is a basic human necessity and right that should be granted to all.

UN Global Sustainable Development Report 2023 Key Messages

pcanetto@mines.edu — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 21:21:57 -0500

Context at the half-way point to 2030

At the half-way point toward 2030 the SDGs are far off track. Of 36 targets reviewed in the report, only 2 are on track to be achieved, while progress on eight is deteriorating. Implementation was too slow, and even regressing in some areas like climate action, biodiversity loss and inequality before the pandemic and has now suffered significant setbacks including in poverty eradication, gender equality, education and eliminating hunger. Humanity risks prolonged periods of crisis and uncertainty triggered by and reinforcing poverty, inequality, hunger, disease, conflict and disaster without urgent course correction and acceleration toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The crises that have wiped out years of SDG progress are interrelated, fueling intensities, but connections could be turned into opportunities. A spate of shocks - the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts in many regions including the war in Ukraine, a cost-of-living and debt crisis, and climate related disasters – are entwined through environmental, economic and social systems that create intensifying SDG backslides. The same interconnections amplifying the crises offer opportunities for integrated recovery strategies and for addressing systemic risks.
Leaders must address medium- and long-term trends that are having systemic effects across the SDGs while dealing with immediate crises. Addressing climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, demographic change, digitalization, economic inequalities, and violent conflict will avoid undermining advances made in the short term and build resilience.
There is rising awareness and commitments to the SDGs, but this needs to translate into action. The SDGs have taken root across sectors and levels of government improving prospects for achievement. But aspirations and commitments have not yet translated into action and implementation at a scale visible in SDG progress often due to lack of financial resources. Goal attainment will depend on all actors integrating the SDGs into core decision-making processes, financing mechanisms prioritizing SDG attainment, and strong mechanisms for accountability.

Evidence to inform the way forward

The SDGs are interlinked and must be approached holistically based on context specific analysis. Decision-makers can rely on a growing body of evidence on SDG interlinkages, international spillovers, and scenario modelling to manage trade-offs and maximize synergies between SDGs and across borders. Science tools and decision-making need to reflect unique synergies and trade-offs, which have been shown to vary across contexts, groups and time.
- In studies on SDG interlinkages, seven SDGs come across as particularly synergistic: SDG 1 (no poverty), SDG 3 (good health and well-being), SDG 4 (quality education), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 6 (water and sanitation), SDG 7 (clean and affordable energy), and SDG 17 (partnerships).
- Business-as-usual strategies to promote targets belonging to SDGs 2 (zero hunger) and 8 (decent work and economic growth) carry high risks of trade-offs and undermining SDG progress in other areas. Literature on SDG interlinkages shows that SDGs 14 (life below water) and 15 (life on land) seem to be most negatively affected by progress in other areas.
- Synergies are found to be higher for female, younger, and rural populations for whom trade-offs are more negligible - ie progress on a given SDG indicator for these groups will generally foster progress for the group on other SDG indicators. Removing barriers for these frequently marginalized groups is an important step for leveraging synergies.
- OECD and EU countries on average have the highest SDG achievements, but also impose more costs on other countries that are not internalized in their national measures of SDG progress. On average, more negative spillovers are generated by high-income countries, to the detriment of low-income countries.
New scenario studies point to actions for transformation that if applied together through the six entry points put forward in the 2019 GSDR could significantly accelerate SDG achievement. Global scenario projections show that business-as-usual strategies will not deliver the SDGs by 2030 or even 2050 but working through key entry points to leverage interlinkages in line with national circumstances and priorities could unleash rapid progress.
- Scenario studies also point to a range of impediments that can hamper both the feasibility and efficacy of these solutions so institutional reforms are required for transformation. For example, deficits in governance and institutional capacities for prioritising policies, mobilizing resources, delivering services, and coordinating efforts must be addressed.
Capacity building in all countries is needed to support decisive and transformative action through any entry point. Capacity building needs to be applied cohesively with and in support of other levers including governance, business and finance, individual and collective action, and science and technology.
- More specifically, capacity building is needed in the areas of strategic direction and foresight; innovation and the generation of new alternatives; orchestration, engagement and negotiation; identifying and overcoming impediments; and in learning and resilience.
Strategies for the SDGs must identify and minimize impediments and support promising solutions specific to different phases of transformation – emergence, acceleration and stabilization. This requires applying levers strategically and changing approaches over time to encourage the ‘emergence’ of new technologies, practices and initiatives through experimentation and learning; to support their ‘acceleration’ and scale-up with just transitions, collective action and political momentum; and to ultimately enable ‘stabilization’ of a new normal anchored in regulations, behavior change and new infrastructures.
- In the emergence phase, governments, multilateral development banks, private finance, philanthropists and others will need to support innovation and the piloting, prototyping and implementation of new knowledge.
- In the acceleration phase, proactive and decisive governments can shape markets by stimulating research and innovation, investing in public infrastructure, setting targets, standardisation, and regulating businesses. Individual and collective action through social movements and coalitions, changing narratives and norms, maturing technologies, and crisis events can provide impetus for
  action to accelerate transitions.
- During the stabilisation phase, reforms must be institutionalized with a strong tax and revenue base, commitment of human and financial resources, political support, and institutional capacities for implementation.
Actions must simultaneously be taken to destabilize, break-down, and phase out unsustainable practices. Transformation often meets resistance by those whose economic interests and ways of life are tied to phased-out systems and business-as-usual. This raises the imperative of compensation, just transitions and new social contracts in response to losses of livelihoods, jobs, and industries to avoid social and political backlash against change.
- Governments and the private sector can support a managed decline and phase-out of unsustainable technologies and practices. Unintended consequences such as job losses or the decline in regional industries and economies can be mitigated through government support for affected workers such as compensation, social safety nets, reskilling and training, and alternative employment opportunities.
Transformation to sustainable pathways should be rooted in science. Addressing context specific challenges to the SDGs, taking a holistic approach and enabling large scale and rapid change calls for science that is multidisciplinary, equitably and inclusively produced, openly shared, widely trusted and embraced, and ‘socially robust’ – relevant to society. Increasing support for scientific activity in low- and middle- income countries can build capacity for context specific SDG solutions based in science.

Calls to action for transformations

Transformation is possible, and inevitable. Science driven transformations are urgently needed to enable progress toward the SDGs. This means identifying key interventions that have systemic effects across the SDGs, scaling up investment, mobilising the knowledge of scientists, practitioners and communities at all levels, and building the capacity needed in all countries and institutions, all while enhancing policy learning and accountability and closely monitoring the impacts of interventions.
United Nations Member States are urged to establish an SDG Transformation Framework for Accelerated Action. This framework would consist of 6 elements: 1) National Plans for Transformative Accelerated Action grounded in science and inclusive processes to identify and harness SDG synergies and reduce negative transboundary spillovers; 2) local and industry-specific planning to feed into national plans; 3) initiatives through the Addis Ababa Action Agenda or otherwise to increase fiscal space, including tax reforms, debt restructuring and relief and increased engagement from international financial institutions for SDG implementation; 4) investing in SDG related data, science-based tools and policy learning with attention to closing SDG data and research and development spending gaps; 5) establishing partnerships to strengthen the science-policysociety interface and 6) investing in measures to improve accountability of governments and other stakeholders.
All countries need to build capacities essential for transformation at individual, institutional and network levels. National transformation plans should invest in the capacities to strategize, innovate, manage conflicts, identify and overcome impediments and cope with crises and risks. Leveraging synergies between SDGs and minimizing tradeoffs calls for horizontal coordination between departments, and vertical coordination across levels of government as well as capacities to integrate policies from multiple fields and goals – for example, between agriculture, environment, water, social and labour policies, in line with the interlinked nature of the SDGs. Building these capacities is very different from what development cooperation has undertaken in the last decades; building capacity needs to happen in the North and the South, and the role of the HLPF in building capacity should be sharpened.
Governments and other actors need to steer transformations by activating synergies in each of the six entry-points - human well-being and capabilities, sustainable and just economies, food systems and nutrition patterns, energy decarbonization and universal access, urban and peri-urban development, and the global environmental commons. Drawing on global scenario studies and other evidence, interventions should be taken with systemic effects in each entry-point while addressing impediments at different phases of transformation. Locally relevant, synergistic and
integrated implementation processes will be needed that break down the silos of public service and policymaking.
The international community needs to coordinate to improve critical underlying conditions for SDG implementation. Disruptive trends in climate change, rising inequality, biodiversity loss, demographic change and digitalization need to be countered and shaped with actions at all levels in solidarity. Coordinated action should especially focus on: 1) preventing and avoiding violent conflict; 2) opening the necessary fiscal space for action; 3) ensuring meaningful inclusion and engagement of marginalized groups; 4) making digital transformation work for the SDGs; and 5) achieving gender equality through legislation, banning harmful practices, education, and reproductive health.
The full benefits of science as a public good should be harnessed for the SDGs. This involves increasing investment in science and innovation systems, especially in low- and middle-income countries; funding and rewarding science that enables the SDGs; as well as promoting open access to scientific research, publications and data and strengthening mechanisms for knowledge sharing including with support for the GSDR.