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Post by Yoda on Jul 7, 2021 11:51:35 GMT -8
New Zealand to Ban Most Single-Use Plastics by 2025
In its latest environmental commitment, New Zealand has announced a ban on the majority of single-use plastics by 2025.
The new measure builds on the country's 2019 decision to phase-out plastic bags and includes everything from disposable cutlery to ear buds and fruit labels, The Guardian reported.
"These types of plastics often end up as waste in landfills and cause pollution in our soils, waterways and the ocean. Reducing plastic waste will improve our environment and ensure we live up to our clean, green reputation," Environment Minister David Parker said in a statement reported by TVNZ on Sunday.
New Zealand has made a name for itself as an environmentally-conscious country in recent years. It has banned new oil and gas exploration off its coast and passed a bill pledging to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. However, when it comes to waste, the country still has work to do. It is within the top ten worldwide for the amount of landfill waste it produces per capita, according to The Guardian.
"Every day, New Zealanders throw away an estimated 159g of plastic waste per person, making us some of the highest waste generators in the world," Parker said, as The Guardian reported.
The new ban will come in three phases between late 2022 and July of 2025, according to Stuff. The plastics targeted by the ban include polystyrene and PVC food and drink packaging that is difficult to recycle. Items like food stirrers, plastic straws, cotton buds and plastic plates and cutlery will also be phased out.
Plastic cups, wet wipes and certain types of polystyrene used to transport cold goods will not be included in the ban for now, but the government will study possible replacements and announce a decision on these items by 2022.
In addition, Parker announced a $50 million Plastics Innovation Fund to find new ways to deal with plastic throughout its lifecycle, from production to disposal.
"The fund will help tap into our collective ingenuity to find ways to use less plastic, and make what we do use recyclable for the benefit of the environment – while also boosting jobs and supporting the economic recovery," Parker said, as TVNZ reported.
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Post by Yoda on Jul 7, 2021 16:54:47 GMT -8
Scientists Turn Food Waste into Construction Materials
TOKYO, JAPAN — Most people don't think much about the food scraps they throw away; however, investigators from the Institute of Industrial Science at the University of Tokyo have developed a new method to reduce food waste by recycling discarded fruit and vegetable scraps into robust construction materials.
Worldwide industrial and household food waste amounts to hundreds of billions of pounds per year, a large proportion of which comprises edible scraps, like fruit and vegetable peels. This unsustainable practice is both costly and environmentally unfriendly, so researchers have been searching for new ways to recycle these organic materials into useful products.
"Our goal was to use seaweed and common food scraps to construct materials that were at least as strong as concrete," explains Yuya Sakai, the senior author of the study. "But since we were using edible food waste, we were also interested in determining whether the recycling process impacted the flavor of the original materials."
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2021 6:30:18 GMT -8
Single use disposables are only part of the problem. Get rid of Planned Obsolescence, where things are made to have a limited life. Also don't buy so much stuff in the first place. Too many parents I've seen get their kid the newest shiny toy.
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Post by Yoda on Jul 8, 2021 10:07:40 GMT -8
I prefer glass over plastic for storage uses. For travelling around plastics are more durable. But the plastics I talk about are not the single use types.
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Post by linen on Aug 7, 2021 11:48:20 GMT -8
Here is a World Meter. It covers things like energy used today, water used today, undernourished people in the world, internet users in the world today, birth and deaths today. The list goes one. You can also click on the green coronavirus updates for worldwide corona statistics. You can even go into individual countries. I found the Israel one very interesting considering they are having a spike in delta corona right now. link |
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Post by Yoda on Aug 7, 2021 14:33:51 GMT -8
Here is a World Meter. It covers things like energy used today, water used today, undernourished people in the world, internet users in the world today, birth and deaths today. The list goes one. You can also click on the green coronavirus updates for worldwide corona statistics. You can even go into individual countries. I found the Israel one very interesting considering they are having a spike in delta corona right now. linkInteresting site found linen. What would be good to see is the break down by country of all this data. |
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Post by linen on Aug 8, 2021 3:38:13 GMT -8
Right.
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Post by linen on Aug 8, 2021 8:04:46 GMT -8
Climate crisis: Scientists spot warning signs of Gulf Stream collapseClimate scientists have detected warning signs of the collapse of the Gulf Stream, one of the planet’s main potential tipping points. The research found “an almost complete loss of stability over the last century” of the currents that researchers call the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). The currents are already at their slowest point in at least 1,600 years, but the new analysis shows they may be nearing a shutdown. Such an event would have catastrophic consequences around the world, severely disrupting the rains that billions of people depend on for food in India, South America and West Africa; increasing storms and lowering temperatures in Europe; and pushing up the sea level off eastern North America. It would also further endanger the Amazon rainforest and Antarctic ice sheets.The complexity of the AMOC system and uncertainty over levels of future global heating make it impossible to forecast the date of any collapse for now. It could be within a decade or two, or several centuries away. But the colossal impact it would have means it must never be allowed to happen, the scientists said. “The signs of destabilisation being visible already is something that I wouldn’t have expected and that I find scary,” said Niklas Boers, from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, who did the research. “It’s something you just can’t [allow to] happen.” It is not known what level of CO2 would trigger an AMOC collapse, he said. “So the only thing to do is keep emissions as low as possible. The likelihood of this extremely high-impact event happening increases with every gram of CO2 that we put into the atmosphere”. linkYa think maybe that is why they are setting the world on fire (raise CO2 levels) current fires worldwide
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Post by Yoda on Aug 8, 2021 10:45:44 GMT -8
Climate crisis: Scientists spot warning signs of Gulf Stream collapseClimate scientists have detected warning signs of the collapse of the Gulf Stream, one of the planet’s main potential tipping points. The research found “an almost complete loss of stability over the last century” of the currents that researchers call the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). The currents are already at their slowest point in at least 1,600 years, but the new analysis shows they may be nearing a shutdown. Such an event would have catastrophic consequences around the world, severely disrupting the rains that billions of people depend on for food in India, South America and West Africa; increasing storms and lowering temperatures in Europe; and pushing up the sea level off eastern North America. It would also further endanger the Amazon rainforest and Antarctic ice sheets.The complexity of the AMOC system and uncertainty over levels of future global heating make it impossible to forecast the date of any collapse for now. It could be within a decade or two, or several centuries away. But the colossal impact it would have means it must never be allowed to happen, the scientists said. “The signs of destabilisation being visible already is something that I wouldn’t have expected and that I find scary,” said Niklas Boers, from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, who did the research. “It’s something you just can’t [allow to] happen.” It is not known what level of CO2 would trigger an AMOC collapse, he said. “So the only thing to do is keep emissions as low as possible. The likelihood of this extremely high-impact event happening increases with every gram of CO2 that we put into the atmosphere”. linkYa think maybe that is why they are setting the world on fire (raise CO2 levels) current fires worldwide That doesn't surprise me one bit. HARRP fuck with the Earth's natural weather patterns and destroying other at the same time. This is what climate change is truly about. |
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Post by Yoda on Aug 13, 2021 17:25:16 GMT -8
Swedish Politician Who Called UN Climate Report ‘Scare Propaganda’ Forced to Resign from Party
A Swedish politician who suggested that the UN’s “code red” climate report was “scare propaganda” was subsequently forced to resign from her political party.
swedish politician who called un climate report 'scare propaganda' forced to resign from party.
Earlier this week, the United Nations released a hysterical report that enjoyed wall to wall media coverage warning of ecological apocalypse if ordinary people didn’t radically change their lifestyles.
Hundreds of the same individuals who amplified that message are preparing to board fleets of CO2-belching airliners to lecture the rest of us once again at an upcoming climate summit later this year in Scotland.
One woman who dared express a modicum of skepticism was Ingrid Vesterlund of the Centre Party.
In an interview with a local newspaper in Luleå, Vesterlund criticized alarmist media coverage of the IPCC report, commenting:
“It’s obviously a disaster whether it’s sun, rain, wind, wind, sea or water – everything is a catastrophic situation right now.”
After party colleagues distanced themselves from Vesterlund’s remarks, she immediately offered her resignation, saying that she didn’t want to “harm” the party.
Vesterlund even tried to walk part part of her remarks, but was booted from the party anyway.
“That’s right. It went wrong and I regret the interview to the extent that it did not appear what I really wanted to get out,” she said.
“I do not deny the content of the UN climate report, but wanted to highlight that there are other reports that show a different picture than the one that is usually painted in the media,” Vesterlund added.
An added irony to the story is the fact that Jim Kossin, one of the authors of the UN report, openly lauded the fact that people “starting to get scared” in reaction to fearmongering rhetoric was a benefit to the UN’s political agenda.
“I think more and more people are starting to get scared,” said Kossin, adding, “I think that’ll help to change people’s attitudes. And hopefully that’ll affect the way they vote.”
So in other words, Vesterlund was basically booted for agreeing with an actual member of the UN panel that produced the report.
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