How the U.S. power grid is evolving to handle solar and wind
As renewable energy sources move mainstream, electricity generation and distribution systems are getting an extreme makeover
https://ensia.com/features/us-power-grid-renewables-wind-solar/
Build a better battery for wind and solar storage, and the energy sector will beat a path to your door
As demand for renewable electricity surges, so too does demand for efficient, safe and sustainable storage
https://ensia.com/features/battery-innovations-renewable-energy/
Al Gore Is Opening a New Front In the War On Climate Change
Oceans are acidifying and the atmosphere is warming. But a critical part of the solution, the former vice president says, is underneath our feet.
I’m a Farmer and a Mother. Both Roles Should be Valued More
A sixth-generation dairy farmer reflects on the policies and practices that make caregiving and farming financially precarious.
https://civileats.com/2019/10/30/im-a-farmer-and-a-mother-both-roles-should-be-valued-more/
Big Food Is Ripe for a Revolution
The correlation between eco-friendly production, quality and prices extends to the rest of the food industry, possibly even more strongly since foods labelled “non-GMO”, for instance, don’t suffer from an image problem.
https://knowledge.insead.edu/blog/insead-blog/big-food-is-ripe-for-a-revolution-12656#3lr3we2R1HV2rgyZ.99
Keystone Pipeline Shut Down After Leaking Oil in North Dakota and Nobody’s Talking About It
An unknown amount of crude oil has been leaked across the state of North Dakota.
https://themindunleashed.com/2019/10/keystone-pipeline-shut-down.html
Keystone pipeline leaks oil in northeastern North Dakota
http://www.startribune.com/keystone-pipeline-leaks-oil-in-eastern-north-dakota/564114082/
THE PLASTICS INDUSTRY’S LONG FIGHT TO BLAME POLLUTION ON YOU
(video, 8 minutes)
https://theintercept.com/2019/10/03/plastics-industry-plastic-pollution/
Leaked Audio Reveals How Coca-Cola Undermines Plastic Recycling Efforts
https://theintercept.com/2019/10/18/coca-cola-recycling-plastics-pollution/
Dying Wildlife on a Warming Planet
If fish decline, so does a food source for humans and the water birds that feed on fish, and as insect pollinators decline, so do our crops and the plants around us.
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/10/06/dying-wildlife-warming-planet
We’re Just Starting to Learn How Fracking Harms Wildlife
https://www.ecowatch.com/how-fracking-harms-wildlife-2640821015.html
Food Production is a Major Cause of Climate Change, but Farmers Can be Part of the Solution
‘Once they’re gone, they’re gone’: the fight to save the giant sequoia
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/oct/06/california-giant-sequoia-grove-alder-grove
Coffee to become a rare resource because of climate change
Experts ask businesses to help Peru coffee farmers
https://www.mylondon.news/news/uk-world-news/coffee-become-rare-resource-because-17007890
Our diets must change to halt nature loss, says UN biodiversity chief
Congo Should Get Funding For Its Rainforests, President Says
White House Eliminates Marine Life Advisory Boards
https://www.ecowatch.com/advisory-board-for-marine-life-white-house-2640818782.html
Bipartisan Report Says Trump’s Abuse Has Pushed Federal Science to a ‘Crisis’
All presidents over the past two decades have nudged science to support their policies, but a report out of N.Y.U. said the Trump administration has driven federal science to a “crisis point.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/03/climate/trump-science-crisis.html
Turkish scientist gets 15-month sentence for publishing environmental study
A Turkish food engineer and human rights activist was sentenced yesterday to 15 months in jail after publishing the results of a study he and other scientists had done that linked toxic pollution to a high incidence of cancer in western Turkey.
As tick-borne illness spreads across the U.S., so does grassroots education to prevent it
After their own lives were disrupted by Lyme disease, two women devote themselves to protecting others from their fate
South American bishops call on governments to stop deforestation
Fewer Fires Burned the Amazon in September, But Deforestation Continues
https://earther.gizmodo.com/fewer-fires-burned-the-amazon-in-september-but-defores-1838701813
Nestle, P&G say they will miss 2020 deforestation goals
The world’s two largest consumer goods companies, Nestle SA (NESN.S) and Procter & Gamble Co (PG.N), have acknowledged they will fall short of goals to use only those ingredients that do not contribute to deforestation in their products by 2020.
The Path to a Profitable and Protected Amazon
Thousands of products can be sustainably harvested from the forest, and indigenous peoples are crucial in helping us find them
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/the-path-to-a-profitable-and-protected-amazon/
In Oregon Wine Country, One Farmer’s Battle to Save the Soil
Agriculture can play a leading role in combating climate change and reversing ecological damage. Mimi Casteel is showing one way to get it done.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/17/dining/drinks/climate-change-regenerative-agriculture-wine.html
‘Alarming’ loss of insects and spiders recorded
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-50226367
The US city preparing itself for the collapse of capitalism
Observed Impacts of Anthropogenic Climate Change on Wildfire in California
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2019EF001210
Gullah Geechee: distinct US culture risks losing island home to climate crisis
Queen Quet at the Hunting Island Nature Center in St Helena Island, South Carolina. ‘Our very existence is threatened by the rapid erosion of our Sea Islands.’
Fierce storms and rising seas are causing existential angst for communities in Alaska, Arizona and other states on the front line of the climate crisis
Fighting climate change is vital to our national security, but we need to convene the world to do it
Extinction Rebellion: We Need To Talk About The Future
https://medium.com/@sam.j.knights/extinction-rebellion-we-need-to-talk-about-the-future-95459aa4d4e0
Here’s how a circular economy could change the world by 2030
https://europeansting.com/2019/10/30/heres-how-a-circular-economy-could-change-the-world-by-2030/
‘We really need to wake up quickly’: Al Gore warns of a looming food crisis caused by climate change
BRANDED Vol. II: Identifying the World’s Top Corporate Plastic Polluters
https://www.breakfreefromplastic.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/branded-2019-web-FINAL-v2-1.pdf
Climate Change Will Cost Us Even More Than We Think
Economists greatly underestimate the price tag on harsher weather and higher seas. Why is that?
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/23/opinion/climate-change-costs.html
The missing economic risks in assessments of climate change impacts
http://www.lse.ac.uk/GranthamInstitute/publication/the-missing-economic-risks-in-assessments-of-climate-change-impacts/
ExxonMobil Is Still Bankrolling Climate Science Deniers
The world’s largest oil company says climate change is real, yet continues to finance climate denier groups.
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/10/23/exxonmobil-still-bankrolling-climate-science-deniers
Stanford study casts doubt on carbon capture
Current approaches to carbon capture can increase air pollution and are not efficient at reducing carbon in the atmosphere, according to research from Mark Z. Jacobson.
https://news.stanford.edu/2019/10/25/study-casts-doubt-carbon-capture/
Trump administration opens up drilling on federal land in California
‘There are no excuses left’: why climate science deniers are running out of rope.
Guardian environment correspondent Fiona Harvey recalls being heckled
at the House of Commons and explains how attitudes to climate have
shifted in 10 years.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/17/climate-science-deniers-environment-warning
Meat industry sues California for animal protection ‘overreach’
Radical warming in Siberia leaves millions on unstable ground
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/national/climate-environment/climate-change-siberia/
Revealed: the 20 firms behind a third of all carbon emissions
New data shows how fossil fuel companies have driven climate crisis despite industry knowing dangers
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/09/revealed-20-firms-third-carbon-emissions
{BTW this also correlates to plastics and pesticides/herbicides production . . .most likely in an even higher market percentage.}
# # #
Conservation finance: It’s time to revisit carbon markets
https://www.euromoney.com/article/b1hh34rtrryj9l/conservation-finance-it39s-time-to-revisit-carbon-markets
COMPLETING THE PICTURE
H O W T H E C I R C U L A R E C O N O M Y
TACKLES CLIMATE CHANGE
Proposing a Rights of Nature Amendment to the Constitution of Sweden
Industrial food system is at the heart of biodiversity degradation and climate change
Finance for a farming revolution.
To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, clean up water supplies, prevent the loss of biodiversity, mitigate fire and flood risk and meet the nutritional requirements of a growing population the world must improve its regenerative and sustainable agricultural practices – new tools and support from the financial services industry are needed to fund that transition.
https://www.euromoney.com/article/b1hh4gj49rglv9/finance-for-a-farming-revolution
This Is Not a Drill: 700+ Arrested as Extinction Rebellion Fights Climate Crisis with Direct Action
https://www.democracynow.org/2019/10/8/extinction_rebellion_global_actions_climate_crisis#transcript
Already Burning for a Month, Fracked Gas Blowout in Louisiana Could Last Two More Months
https://www.desmogblog.com/2019/10/04/burning-fracked-gas-blowout-louisiana-health-impacts
South America’s second-largest forest is also burning –
and ‘environmentally friendly’ charcoal is subsidizing its destruction
A Decolonial Education Takes Shape at Mauna Kea’s Ecological University
As Climate Activists March, Water Protectors Are Locked Up
https://www.leftvoice.org/as-climate-activists-march-water-protectors-are-locked-up
Drought and Border Wall Endanger Arizona’s Wildlife
The public has long supported a state program to provide water for wildlife, but now human threats, including border-wall construction and climate change, are making a bad situation worse.
https://therevelator.org/water-wildlife-arizona/
Trump Doubles Down on His Assault on Alaska’s Old-Growth Forests
US Forest Service’s multiple plans to log vast swathes of
Tongass National Forest faces stiff opposition
Why cows are part of the climate solution
Inside Copenhagen’s race to be the first carbon-neutral city
Ex-chef wants to sell US on “carbon-friendly” chickens
https://www.sightmagazine.com.au/news/13602-ex-chef-wants-to-sell-us-on-carbon-friendly-chickens
Crop leftovers can store huge amounts of carbon: insights from Uganda
‘The smell will knock you off your feet’: mass mussel die-offs baffle scientists
Dominion buys pipeline support at Supreme Court through GOP Attorneys General
With a key Atlantic Coast Pipeline appeal before the Supreme Court, US Attorney General Barrand Republican state Attorneys General have intervened in Dominion’s favor – while sharing close financial ties to the utility.
Dominion buys pipeline support at Supreme Court through GOP Attorneys General
Extinction Rebellion activists arrested at Bank of England protest
Dozens detained on ‘day of disruption’ targeting City firms profiting from climate crisis
Trump Administration ‘Relentless’ in Push to Keep Pesticide Linked to Brain Damage in Children Available, Says Scientist
The Executive Branch Must Stop Suppressing Science – Just about everything we do in society depends in part on research by the federal government.
Congress can and must protect scientific integrity with legislation
A new study has shown that microplastics in soil can be harmful to worms, causing them to lose weight. Earthworms are an important part of
farming as they help boost the nutrients found in the soil – so this
latest form of plastic pollution is particularly bad news for farmers.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/49935723
Germany Is Closing 84 Coal Plants to Save the Planet
https://www.livekindly.co/germany-closing-84-coal-plants-save-planet/
More than 500 million bees were found dead in Brazil over a three-month
period earlier in 2019. Now, scientists are linking these mass die-offs
to an increase pesticides use, fueled by the weakening of chemical
regulations by the Bolsonaro administration
https://e360.yale.edu/digest/pesticides-linked-to-deaths-of-millions-of-bees-in-brazil
British armed forces supplied by Brazilian meat firm linked to Amazon deforestation, corruption: Report
Five Radical Climate Policies That Most Americans Actually Like
Most registered voters are in favor of spending trillions on weatherized buildings and renewable-energy infrastructure.
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/10/5-most-popular-radical-climate-policies/599272/
Why Blue Carbon needs to be on the climate agenda
Blue carbon: how coastal ecosystems can play a role in climate
https://forestsnews.cifor.org/62318/why-blue-carbon-needs-to-be-on-the-climate-agenda
In the age of farm-to-table, only a small fraction of US farmers are profitable
https://qz.com/1714519/in-the-age-of-farm-to-table-farmers-are-barely-profitable/
Fibershed Offers an Alternative Vision for the Future of the Fashion Industry
For those more interested in preserving life on Earth than in setting up camp in a new corner of the galaxy.
https://fashionista.com/2019/10/fibershed-carbon-farming
Planting Native Prairie Could Be a Secret Weapon for Farmers
In Iowa, researchers and farmers are discovering that planting strips of native prairie amidst farmland benefits soil, water, biodiversity, and more.
https://civileats.com/2019/10/15/planting-native-prairie-could-be-a-secret-weapon-for-farmers/
Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard talks about the sustainability myth,
the problem with Amazon—and why it’s not too late to save the planet
Patagonia’s Yvon Chouinard set the standard for how a business can mitigate the ravages of capitalism on earth’s environment. At 81 years old, he’s just getting started.
Can’t Let the Taps Run Dry: Managing Water in an Unpredictable Climate
From southern Nevada to New York City, the climate crisis is causing ongoing water problems.
The Water Utility Climate Alliance is working hard to ensure cities are prepared.
https://www.yesmagazine.org/planet/water-climate-change-city-local-20191009
Germany’s New Climate Action Includes Taxes on Flights
Meanwhile, riding the railways will get cheaper
Rocky Mountain Fens: Little-known ecosystems vital to biodiversity, water and climate
Regenerative Agriculture Could Help Stop Climate Change — Can Tech Help Us Get There?
Comment on “The global tree restoration potential”
Bastin et al.’s estimate (Reports, 5 July 2019, p. 76) that
tree planting for climate change mitigation could sequester 205
gigatonnes of carbon is approximately five times too large. Their
analysis inflated soil organic carbon gains, failed to safeguard against warming from trees at high latitudes and elevations, and considered afforestation of savannas, grasslands, and shrublands to be restoration.
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/366/6463/eaay7976.full
How Wildfires Are Polluting Rivers and Threatening Water Supplies.
As wildfires become more frequent and destructive in a warming world,
they are increasingly leaving in their wake debris and toxic runoff that are polluting rivers and fouling water supplies. Some municipalities are having to upgrade their water treatment methods to counter the new danger.
https://e360.yale.edu/features/how-wildfires-are-polluting-rivers-and-threatening-water-supplies
Our Tax System Rewards Polluters
Last year, the biggest fossil fuel companies paid zero dollars in taxes
— and actually received billions in rebates.
https://otherwords.org/our-tax-system-rewards-polluters/
Bank of England boss says global finance is funding 4C temperature rise
Mark Carney says capital markets are financing projects likely to fuel a catastrophic rise in global heating
Natural Gas vs. Renewable Energy: Beware the Latest Gas Industry Talking Points
Study finds massive reorganization of life across Earth’s ecosystems
https://news.mongabay.com/2019/10/study-finds-massive-reorganization-of-life-across-earths-ecosystems/
AND
The geography of biodiversity change in marine and terrestrial assemblages
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/366/6463/339
The following excerpt is from Farming on the Wild Side: The Evolution of a Regenerative Organic Farm and Nursery
https://www.resilience.org/stories/2019-10-21/pathways-to-resilience/