GM News Dec ‘21
a more optimistic future
Mission Economy by Mariana Mazzucato: ‘One of the most influential economists in the world’ – Wired.
Even before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, capitalism was stuck. It had no answers to a host of problems, including disease, inequality, the digital divide and, perhaps most blatantly, the environmental crisis. Taking her inspiration from the ‘moonshot’ programmes which successfully co-ordinated public and private sectors on a massive scale, Mariana Mazzucato calls for the same level of boldness and experimentation to be applied to the biggest problems of our time.
We must, she argues, rethink the capacities and role of government within the economy and society, and above all recover a sense of public purpose. Mission Economy, whose ideas are already being adopted around the world, offers a way out of our impasse to a more optimistic future.
https://marianamazzucato.com/books/mission-economy
Indiana Recycling Coalition Rebrands
https://www.insideindianabusiness.com/articles/indiana-recycling-coalition-rebrands
How does Germany’s bottle deposit scheme work?
German consumers religiously return their bottles under the bottle deposit scheme.
But how exactly does it work? And is it a model other countries could follow?
https://www.dw.com/en/how-does-germanys-bottle-deposit-scheme-work/a-50923039
Waste Management’s Five-year Recycling Investments Expected to Exceed $700 Million By 2022
WM Plans $200 Million in New Recycling Investments Next Year
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211115005164/en/Waste-Management’s-Five-year-Recycling-Investments-Expected-to-Exceed-700-Million-By-2022
Nissan to Spend $18 Billion Developing a Cheaper, More Powerful EV Battery
https://e360.yale.edu/digest/nissan-to-spend-18-billion-developing-cheaper-more-powerful-ev-battery
America Recycles Day Alert: California takes on the recycling slump with upgrades that fight trash pollution
https://yubanet.com/california/america-recycles-day-alert-california-takes-on-the-recycling-slump-with-upgrades-that-fight-trash-pollution/
7 ways to get proactive about climate change instead of feeling helpless: Lessons from a leadership expert.
https://theconversation.com/7-ways-to-get-proactive-about-climate-change-instead-of-feeling-helpless-lessons-from-a-leadership-expert-166144
Blowing Up a Few Myths About Inflation
https://www.yesmagazine.org/opinion/2021/11/22/inflation-myths-politicized
How Danish agriculture can become a driving force for the green transition
Trees and Crops Don’t Have to Compete. Climate Crisis Calls for Agroforestry.
New Study Shows Which Places Must Be Protected to Stave Off Catastrophic Climate Change
Study Shows Climate-Driven Forest Fires on the Rise
https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/study-shows-climate-driven-forest-fires-rise
Only two out of 11 herbicide studies given to EU regulators deemed ‘reliable’.
Review of safety studies shows vast majority do not meet international standards for scientific validity.
The Problem With “Net Zero”
How a perfectly decent phrase is used and abused at COP26
https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/problem-net-zero-cop26-climate-talks
It will take more than electric cars to drive down emissions.
https://davidsuzuki.org/story/it-will-take-more-than-electric-cars-to-drive-down-emissions/
New Study Shows Which Places Must Be Protected to Stave Off Catastrophic Climate Change.
https://e360.yale.edu/digest/new-study-shows-which-places-must-be-protected-to-stave-off-catastrophic-climate-change
Carbon inequality in 2030
Per capita consumption emissions and the 1.5⁰C goal
‘Over the past 25 years, the richest 10% of the global population has been responsible for more than half of all
carbon emissions… Rank injustice and inequality on this scale is a cancer. If we don’t act now, this century may
be our last.’
Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General1
‘[The world’s rich] consume and consume and consume with no thought.’
Patricia Espinosa, UN Executive Secretary, UNFCCC2
The world’s richest 1% are set to have per capita consumption emissions in 2030 that are still 30 times higher than the global per capita level compatible with the 1.5⁰C goal of the Paris Agreement, while the footprints of the poorest half of the world population are set to remain several times below that level. By 2030, the richest 1% are on course for an even greater share of total global emissions than when the Paris Agreement was signed. Tackling extreme inequality and targeting the excessive emissions linked to the consumption and investments of the world’s richest people is vital to keeping the 1.5⁰C Paris goal alive.
https://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/bitstream/handle/10546/621305/bn-carbon-inequality-2030-051121-en.pdf
Indigenous leaders’ green state vision.
https://theecologist.org/2021/nov/08/indigenous-leaders-green-state-vision
REDEFINING CLIMATE LEADERSHIP: THE SCIENCE IS CLEAR
Avoiding dangerous levels of climate change and delivering on the Paris Agreement require a dramatic shift in the way that we produce and use energy. Phasing out oil and gas production is a critical part of that challenge.
That is why we, Costa Rica and Denmark, created the Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance (BOGA).
BOGA is an international coalition of governments and stakeholders working together to facilitate the managed phase-out of oil and gas production. The coalition aims to elevate the issue of oil and gas production phase-out in international climate dialogues, mobilize action and commitments, and create an international community of practice on this issue.
https://beyondoilandgasalliance.com/
Bridges, bike lanes, electric car chargers and more: 5 essential reads on the infrastructure bill.
https://theconversation.com/bridges-bike-lanes-electric-car-chargers-and-more-5-essential-reads-on-the-infrastructure-bill-171338
New report cites Sheffield researchers in call for government to improve agricultural transition | Institute for Sustainable Food
https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/sustainable-food/news/new-report-cites-sheffield-researchers-call-government-improve-agricultural-transition
The cow in the room: why is no one talking about farming at Cop26?
Sustainable food systems are a cornerstone to cutting emissions but have been largely absent from the agenda in Glasgow.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/09/the-cow-in-the-room-why-is-no-one-talking-about-farming-at-cop26-aoe
A recent UN report concluded that almost 90% of the $540bn of global agricultural subsidies given to farmers destroy nature and fuel the climate crisis.
Subsidies have generally encouraged farmers to produce as much food as possible, but this has been at the expense of wildlife.
https://www.un.org/en/food-systems-summit
Montana Lake Study Reveals How Invasive Species Affect Native Food Webs
https://www.umt.edu/news/2021/11/1103221flbs.php
Loss of tree species has cumulative impact on biodiversity
www.britishecologicalsociety.org/loss-of-tree-species-has-cumulative-impact-on-biodiversity/
COP26: Climate Justice Begins with the Human Right to Water
http://www.ipsnews.net/2021/11/cop26-climate-justice-begins-human-right-water/
Organized crime is a top driver of global deforestation – along with beef, soy, palm oil and wood products.
https://theconversation.com/organized-crime-is-a-top-driver-of-global-deforestation-along-with-beef-soy-palm-oil-and-wood-products-170906
Exxon’s Secret Assist From the World’s Top PR Firm.
A new report says that Edelman, the world’s largest independent PR company, has been working on an Exxon ad campaign to oppose climate regulations.
https://gizmodo.com/exxon-s-secret-assist-from-the-world-s-top-pr-firm-1847721598
Clean Creatives Issues “THE F-LIST 2021” Report Detailing 90 Ad
and PR Companies Working for the Fossil Fuel Industry
https://cleancreatives.org/news/clean-creatives-issues-the-f-list-2021-report-detailing-90-ad-and-pr-companies-working-for-the-fossil-fuel-industry
On Twitter, fossil fuel companies’ climate misinformation is subtle – here’s what I’m seeing during COP26.
https://theconversation.com/on-twitter-fossil-fuel-companies-climate-misinformation-is-subtle-heres-what-im-seeing-during-cop26-170196
Why the oil industry’s pivot to carbon capture and storage – while it keeps on drilling – isn’t a climate change solution
REPORT ON THE FEDERAL OIL
AND GAS LEASING PROGRAM
Prepared in Response to Executive Order 14008
U.S. Department of the Interior
November 2021
Drilling Report Reveals Biden’s Fracking Deception
White House backs away from campaign promises to stop fracking on public lands
https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2021/11/26/drilling-report-reveals-bidens-fracking-deception
“COP26 Is a Failure”: Greta Thunberg Condemns U.N. Climate Summit as a “Greenwash Festival”
https://www.democracynow.org/2021/11/8/greta_thunberg_speaks_at_cop26#transcript
COP26 leaves too many loopholes for the fossil fuel industry. Here are 5 of them.
https://theconversation.com/cop26-leaves-too-many-loopholes-for-the-fossil-fuel-industry-here-are-5-of-them-171398
U.S.-China Joint Glasgow Declaration on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s
https://www.state.gov/u-s-china-joint-glasgow-declaration-on-enhancing-climate-action-in-the-2020s/
Biden’s Infrastructure Bill Includes Money for Recycling, But the Debate Over Plastics Rages On
The industry sees bipartisan support for “sustainable” plastics, while environmentalists call that an oxymoron and say the funding will have limited impact.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/24112021/biden-infrastructure-bill-plastics-recycling/
Decolonizing Regenerative Agriculture: An Indigenous Perspective
https://bioneers.org/decolonizing-regenerative-agriculture-indigenous-perspective/
In China, agroforestry serves up tea with a spoonful of sustainability
https://news.mongabay.com/2021/11/in-china-agroforestry-serves-up-tea-with-a-spoonful-of-sustainability/
Study Shows Climate-Driven Forest Fires on the Rise
https://news.ucmerced.edu/news/2021/study-shows-climate-driven-forest-fires-rise
Deforestation harms vulnerable communities
https://theecologist.org/2021/nov/12/deforestation-harms-vulnerable-communities
Climate change is a justice issue – these 6 charts show why.
https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-a-justice-issue-these-6-charts-show-why-170072
Why Putting Solar Canopies on Parking Lots Is a Smart Green Move
https://e360.yale.edu/features/putting-solar-panels-atop-parking-lots-a-green-energy-solution
How does Germany’s bottle deposit scheme work?
German consumers religiously return their bottles under the bottle deposit scheme.
But how exactly does it work? And is it a model other countries could follow?
https://www.dw.com/en/how-does-germanys-bottle-deposit-scheme-work/a-50923039
Allison Levine, Please the Palate: A regenerative farming case study: Robert Hall Winery looks ahead to the next 20 years
In This Season of Feasting, Let’s Celebrate AgriCULTURE, Not AgriBUSINESS
Two critical success factors for sustainable cities
Leading Cities’ CEO, Michael Lake, and Andrew McCue, an economy consultant at Metabolic, urge leadership in two key areas that provide hope in cities’ battle against climate change and their shift towards sustainability.
https://www.smartcitiesworld.net/opinions/two-critical-success-factors-for-sustainable-cities
Towards a sustainable future: Power back-up in building infrastructure
Food packaging: Organic recycling hailed ‘the most sustainable solution’ for the future
How can industry achieve a circular bioeconomy in food packaging? The solution lies in valorising waste into packaging products that can later be biodegraded back into soil, according to Professor Jose Lagaron from the Spanish Council for Scientific Research.
Geospatial Infrastructure & Digital Twin: Empowering Circular Economy
Red tape around CCTV helping illegal dumpers
https://clarechampion.ie/red-tape-around-cctv-helping-illegal-dumpers/
Nurdles: the worst toxic waste you’ve probably never heard of
Billions of these tiny plastic pellets are floating in the ocean, causing as much damage as oil spills, yet they are still not classified as hazardous
Global use of ‘virgin plastic’ is set to fall by a fifth by 2025, study reveals