The Estate of R. Buckminster Fuller has just launched a new website:
https://www.buckminsterfuller.net.
The Green New Deal Must Include Regenerative Agriculture and an End to Factory Farming
A millennial perspective on why the way we farm and how we consume food
must be part of the conversation when it comes to the climate crisis
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/07/18/green-new-deal-must-include-regenerative-agriculture-and-end-factory-farming
Environmentalism’s Next Frontier: Giving Nature Legal Rights
Ships and corporations have legal standing. Should ecosystems?
https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2019/07/a-new-wave-of-environmentalists-want-to-give-nature-legal-rights/
Montaigne – READY (Music video 4:30 min.)
https://smarturl.it/Montaigne.READY
Rebelling from a nonviolent heart
https://theecologist.org/2019/jul/12/rebelling-nonviolent-heart
Your next flight could be electric—in a good way
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/7/4/1867720/-Your-next-flight-could-be-electric-in-a-good-way
With An Eye Toward Lower Emissions, Clean Air Travel Gets Off The Ground
The World Needs a Water Treaty
The world has enough water for 7 billion people, but not if countries waste, hoard, or weaponize it.
https://fpif.org/the-world-needs-a-water-treaty/
29 July 2019: Earth Overshoot Day
We only have one planet, but we’re still using it up too fast
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/we-only-have-one-planet-but-we-re-still-using-it-up-too-fast-20190726-p52b4z.html
Earth Overshoot Day Shows We’re Tearing Through Resources Faster Than Ever
July 29 marks the point at which we start to consume more than the Earth can replenish.
And this date is getting earlier each year.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/earth-overshoot-day-natural-resources-july_n_5d39a020e4b004b6adbbd643
Biochar Market Estimated to Register Nearly 14% CAGR during 2019-2027
White House ‘undercutting evidence’ of climate crisis, says analyst who resigned
The Research Is In: Stop Fracking ASAP
Over 1,500 reports show there’s simply no safe way to do it — and it’s harming us all every day it goes on.
https://otherwords.org/the-research-is-in-stop-fracking-asap/
Enough of the climate nightmare. It’s time to paint the dream.
A new approach must connect the climate crisis with inequality
to offer a compelling and attractive way forward for society.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jul/04/enough-climate-nightmare-paint-dream-inequality
Why there’s more to ecological restoration than ecology.
Treaties to restore millions of hectares of degraded lands worldwide
upped the demand for experts in ecological restoration.
Do they have the right skill sets?
https://forestsnews.cifor.org/61480/why-theres-more-to-ecological-restoration-than-ecology
Searching for carbon-neutral heaven in a world hellbent on waste
We feel guilty about the environment while governments shamelessly ignore the signs
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/searching-for-carbon-neutral-heaven-in-a-world-hellbent-on-waste-1.3954080
The Air Really Was Cleaner Under Obama
Pollution is up nearly 14 percent under the Trump administration.
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/07/trumps-us-doesnt-have-cleanest-air-record/593500/?utm_source=feed
Sand Castle (ecological breakdown through the eyes of a 13 year old);
video 5 minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzyOSAUHvE4
The False Promise of Nuclear Power
We must free ourselves from the false hope that a technology designed for ultimate destruction could be transmogrified into ultimate life-enhancement.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2019/07/29/the-false-promise-nuclear-power/kS8rzs8f7MAONgXL1fWOGK/story.html
A tech revolution will help farmers harvest sunshine with their crops
Agrivoltaics will combine plants with power to make full use of scarce land – and give growers an extra income
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/energy-agrivoltaic-farms
After 10 Years of Rapid Growth, What Does Organic Mean Today?
Four experts weigh in on how booming interest in organic food has changed
the industry, and what it means for farmers, policymakers, and eaters.
https://civileats.com/2019/07/08/after-10-years-of-rapid-growth-what-does-organic-mean-today/
Bonterra Study Shows Potential of Organic Farming for Climate Health
http://calclimateag.org/bonterra-study-shows-potential-of-organic-farming-for-climate-health/
Dear Trump: CO2 is Polluting our Atmosphere and Acidifying our Water: They aren’t “the Cleanest”
https://www.juancole.com/2019/06/polluting-atmosphere-acidifying.html
How Republicans killed Oregon’s climate crisis bill – by fleeing the state
Agriculture Department buries studies showing dangers of climate change
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/23/agriculture-department-climate-change-1376413
Biogas From Factory Farm Waste Has No Place in a Clean Energy Future
As the threats of global climate change and fossil fuel dependence are increasingly being felt worldwide, countries are turning to biogas as a part of a transition to
renewable energy. Biogas is being boasted as a “renewable” energy
solution, designed to help mitigate climate change. It couldn’t be
further from the truth, and here’s why.
https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/insight/biogas-factory-farm-waste-has-no-place-clean-energy-future
The Devastation of Farm Country Is Biting Us All on the Butt
Chinese air pollution dimmed sunlight enough to impact solar panels
Pollution from coal and biomass burning blocks 13% of solar electricity.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/07/air-pollution-costs-china-1-9-billion-in-solar-electricity-each-year/
June was hottest ever recorded on Earth, European satellite agency announces
June Hottest Month on Record, As Antarctica Melts:
Top 3 Signs We are Cooking the Planet . . . and Ourselves
https://www.juancole.com/2019/07/hottest-antarctica-ourselves.html
Working on a WARMER planet.
The impact of heat stress on labour productivity and decent work.
https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—dgreports/—dcomm/—publ/documents/publication/wcms_711919.pdf
Poisoned for Profit: We Are Not the Agrochemical Industry’s Guinea Pigs.
The call for sanity by Dr Rosemary Mason.
https://dissidentvoice.org/2019/07/poisoned-for-profit-we-are-not-the-agrochemical-industrys-guinea-pigs/
Mason has sent a 24-page fully referenced document with her letter in support of her claims.
It can be accessed in full here.
http://rinf.com/alt-news/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Open-Letter-to-HSE-Defra-and-CRD-about-Roundup-poisoning-people-and-the-environment.pdf
Radically rural.
Farmers use regenerative practices to reverse climate change.
https://www.telluridenews.com/news/article_af80b4aa-b0de-11e9-aff0-ff76e51c8145.html
Activists Join to Ban Single-Use Plastics in California
New Proposed Laws Will ‘Attack the Trash Crisis at Both Ends’
https://www.independent.com/2019/07/27/activists-join-to-ban-single-use-plastics-in-california/
David Suzuki: Our waste is our own problem
https://www.timescolonist.com/islander/david-suzuki-our-waste-is-our-own-problem-1.23898653
‘Biggest compliment yet’: Greta Thunberg welcomes oil chief’s ‘greatest threat’ label
Activists say comments by Opec head prove world opinion is turning against fossil fuels
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jul/05/biggest-compliment-yet-greta-thunberg-welcomes-oil-chiefs-greatest-threat-label
Moody’s Analytics says climate change could cost $69 trillion by 2100
The rating agency Moody’s just purchased a climate data firm, raising the possibility that companies and countries that don’t take climate-related threats seriously could see their credit ratings downgraded
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/24/climate/moodys-ratings-climate-change-data.html
Climate Crisis: Running Dry
‘People are dying’: how the climate crisis has sparked an exodus to the US
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jul/29/guatemala-climate-crisis-migration-drought-famine
For climate-smart farmers, carbon solution is in the soil
https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060681577
Little Attention for Ag in Democratic Debates
https://www.newsdakota.com/2019/07/01/little-attention-for-ag-in-democratic-debates/
Feds must stop “kicking farmers” – Greenpeace
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/07/30/feds-must-stop-kicking-farmers-greenpeace/
Junk Debt Investors Welcome Rare Green Bond With Strong Demand
UK government tells banks to go green in anti-carbon push
https://sports.yahoo.com/climate-change-green-finance-strategy-uk-john-glen-banks-230100586.html
US produces far more waste and recycles far less of it than other developed countries
US represents 4% of the world’s population but produces 12% of municipal solid waste, a stark contrast with China and India
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/02/us-plastic-waste-recycling
Biochar could boost US crops
https://physicsworld.com/a/biochar-could-boost-us-crops/
Tree planting ‘has mind-blowing potential’ to tackle climate crisis
Research shows a trillion trees could be planted to capture huge amount of carbon dioxide
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jul/04/planting-billions-trees-best-tackle-climate-crisis-scientists-canopy-emissions
8 Essential Steps to Radically Transform Our Economy
An economic system that serves everyone and the planet is
necessary for our survival. Here are some guiding principles to get us
there.
https://www.yesmagazine.org/new-economy/how-to-radical-economy-20190702
Yes, We Can Resolve the Climate Crisis by David Suzuki We’re at a pivotal point.
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/07/05/yes-we-can-resolve-climate-crisis
US agriculture needs a 21st-century New Deal
https://theconversation.com/amp/us-agriculture-needs-a-21st-century-new-deal-112757
High-value opportunities exist to restore tropical rainforests around the world – here’s how we mapped them
Amazon REDD+ scheme side-steps land rights to reward small forest producers
Sociological study finds pros and cons in a REDD+ carbon credit scheme in the Brazilian Amazon that rewards small-scale ecosystem service providers in local communities.
https://news.mongabay.com/2019/07/amazon-redd-scheme-side-steps-land-rights-to-reward-small-forest-producers/
Paraguay is investing in silvopastoral systems to raise livestock, which proponents argue will help meet the global demand for food while protecting forest
http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/07/paraguay-moves-towards-sustainable-commodities/
We Have the Money to Fix Our Food System
Imagine supporting farmers markets, child nutrition, and local agriculture with money we spend on factory farms.
https://otherwords.org/we-have-the-money-to-fix-our-food-system/
Why We Can’t Ignore U.S. Military Emissions
The U.S. military’s carbon footprint is bigger than 140
countries combined. To seriously address climate catastrophe, we must
dismantle its vast infrastructure.
https://www.yesmagazine.org/planet/climate-change-military-pollution-20190705
Dairy Farming at Sea
In the Netherlands, an experimental floating farm promises to reduce emissions and increase food security.
https://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/dairy-farming-at-sea/
Raised in Rice Fields: Threatened salmon in California may benefit from access to flooded fields.
California’s Chinook salmon have been losing habitat to agriculture for decades.
Now, they’re getting a much-needed boost from strategically flooded
fields.
https://www.biographic.com/posts/sto/raised-in-rice-fields
Grow Your Own Iced Tea This Summer
https://modernfarmer.com/2019/07/grow-your-own-iced-tea-this-summer/
Analysis finds US ecosystems shifting hundreds of miles north
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/07/190701144652.htm
Jem Bendell – Deep Adaptation: A Map for Navigating Climate Tragedy
(video; 14 mins.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAZJtFZZYmM
‘We Must Act Quickly’: British Music Biz Declares Climate Emergency
Listen to nature, not labs with their fake meat
https://durangoherald.com/articles/285320
Organic cocoa farmers receive production premium
Fundamentals: The economic opportunity in a lower-carbon world
Shaking Off Capitalism for Ecological Civilization
https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/07/12/shaking-off-capitalism-for-ecological-civilization/
The 9% Lie: Industrial Food and Climate Change
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/07/28/9-lie-industrial-food-and-climate-change
The global tree restoration potential
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/365/6448/76
Solar future shines ever more brightly
Progress in China, the US and elsewhere shows an increasingly positive solar future as fuel from the sun grows cheaper and more abundant.
https://climatenewsnetwork.net/solar-future-shines-ever-more-brightly/
Revealed: How the global beef trade is destroying the Amazon
https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2019-07-02/global-beef-trade-amazon-deforestation
Climate Adaptation Needs to Put Human Rights Above Property Values
https://truthout.org/articles/climate-adaptation-needs-to-put-human-rights-above-property-values/
The ‘biggest change in oil market history’ is less than six months away
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/15/oil-imo-2020-marks-the-biggest-change-in-oil-market-history.html
Killer Heat in the United States: Climate Choices and the Future of Dangerously Hot Days (2019) | Union of Concerned Scientists
https://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/global-warming-impacts/killer-heat-in-united-states
‘Climate Grief’: Fears About The Planet’s Future Weigh On Americans’ Mental Health
https://khn.org/news/climate-grief-fears-about-the-planets-future-weigh-on-americans-mental-health/
Recycling is broken, so we have to fix our disposable culture
Are bioplastics better for the environment than conventional plastics?
Confusion among terms like bioplastics, bio-based and biodegradable plastics makes it hard to discern — and make — the environmentally responsible choice.
https://ensia.com/features/bioplastics-bio-based-biodegradable-environment/
In Indonesia, a court victory for Bali’s ban on single-use plastics
https://news.mongabay.com/2019/07/in-indonesia-a-court-victory-for-balis-ban-on-single-use-plastics/
A clear-cut case for business action on deforestation
https://www.greenbiz.com/article/clear-cut-case-business-action-deforestation
California Signs Mileage Deal With Automakers
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/in-snub-to-trump-california-signs-mileage-deal-with-automakers/
Climate change: 12 years to save the planet? Make that 18 months
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-48964736
Greenhouse-gas emissions are increasing the frequency of heatwaves
And it will get worse in future
https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2019/07/25/greenhouse-gas-emissions-are-increasing-the-frequency-of-heatwaves
To meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement, energy systems across the world must transform rapidly.
This profound challenge requires significant, sustained investment in the energy sector over the coming decades. The European Investment Bank is the EU bank and one of the world’s largest multilateral financiers of climate action. It can help to foster this investment.
EIB energy lending policy. Supporting the energy transformation.
https://www.eib.org/attachments/draft-energy-lending-policy-26-07-19-en.pdf
With the world heating up, who needs an event such as Burning Man?
https://www.greenbiz.com/article/world-heating-who-needs-event-such-burning-man
We Must Wake the World From Slumber to Tackle the Existential Crises of Our Days. The classroom of life has no graduation..
(Graduation address by Nnimmo Bassey)
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/07/26/we-must-wake-world-slumber-tackle-existential-crises-our-days
Greta Thunberg: It Is Time to Rebel. (5 minutes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq4eCQCgQw8
“We are right now in the beginning of a climate and ecological crisis.
And we need to call it what it is. An emergency.
We must acknowledge that we do not
have the situation under control and that we don’t have all the
solutions yet. Unless those solutions mean that we simply stop doing
certain things.
We admit that we are losing this battle.
We have to acknowledge that the older generations have failed. All political movements in their present form have failed.
But homo sapiens have not yet failed.
Yes, we are failing, but there is
still time to turn everything around. We can still fix this. We still
have everything in our own hands.
But unless we recognise the overall failures of our current systems, we most probably don’t stand a chance.
We are facing a disaster of unspoken
sufferings for enormous amounts of people. And now is not the time for
speaking politely or focusing on what we can or cannot say. Now is the
time to speak clearly.
Solving the climate crisis is the
greatest and most complex challenge that homo sapiens have ever faced.
The main solution, however, is so simple that even a small child can
understand it. We have to stop our emissions of greenhouse gases.
And either we do that, or we don’t.
You say that nothing in life is black or white.
But that is a lie. A very dangerous lie.
Either we prevent a 1.5 degree of warming, or we don’t.
Either we avoid setting off that irreversible chain reaction beyond human control, or we don’t.
Either we choose to go on as a civilization or we don’t.
That is as black or white as it gets.
Because there are no grey areas when it comes to survival.
Now we all have a choice.
We can create transformational action that will safeguard the living conditions for future generations.
Or we can continue with our business as usual and fail.
That is up to you and me.
And yes, we need a system change rather than individual change. But you cannot have one without the other.
If you look through history, all the
big changes in society have been started by people at the grassroots
level. People like you and me.
So, I ask you to please wake up and
make the changes required possible. To do your best is no longer good
enough. We must all do the seemingly impossible.
Today, we use about 100 million
barrels of oil every single day. There are no politics to change that.
There are no rules to keep that oil in the ground.
So, we can no longer save the world by playing by the rules. Because the rules have to be changed.
Everything needs to change. And it has to start today.
So, everyone out there, it is now time for civil disobedience. It is time to rebel.”