Category: Climate, Environment & Pollution (Page 1 of 10)

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.

In April, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in favour of a group of seniors who alleged that the Swiss government’s failure to meet climate change mitigation targets is having an adverse impact on their health, well-being and quality of life.
This landmark decision by the highest human rights court in Europe confirms not only that climate change is intimately linked to human rights, but effectively holds all European governments accountable to adopt more rigorous measures to combat climate change. »

Daytime temperatures in Pakistan above 52° Celsius — 125.6 degrees Fahrenheit

2024-05-28 / Downshift

Akhtar Soomro and Ariba Shahid, writing for Reuters »

Temperatures rose above 52 degrees Celsius (125.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in Pakistan’s southern province of Sindh, the highest reading of the summer and close to the country’s record high amid an ongoing heatwave, the met office said on Monday.

Also » A weather station in New Delhi, India recorded (NDTV) record temperature at 52.3℃ (126℉). India also reported an all-time high in power demand.

Women Peace Security Index for 2023

2023-10-25 / Downshift

Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS) seeks to promote a more stable, peaceful, and just world by focusing on the important role women play in preventing conflict and building peace, growing economies, and addressing global threats like climate change and violent extremism.

This fourth edition of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Index ranks and scores 177 countries on women’s status. The results show that countries where women are doing well are also more peaceful, democratic, prosperous, and better
prepared to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

This year, nine of the top ten best countries to be women are European, with Scandinavian countries leading the rankings. Denmark leads the 2023 rankings, scoring more than three times higher than Afghanistan.

1 Denmark
2 Switzerland
3 Sweden
4 Finland
4 Iceland
4 Luxembourg
7 Norway
8 Austria
9 Netherlands
10 New Zealand

Driver will soon be charged a hefty toll to drive into downtown Manhattan

2023-10-08 / Downshift

The new toll beginning in spring 2024, is expected to be between US$9 and $23 per day for passenger vehicles. Commercial vehicles will be charged upon each entry and exit to the zone.

Regional planners believe the toll will nudge some drivers onto transit. The MTA plans to use the proceeds from congestion pricing to shore up its aging infrastructure.

Why New York Will Charge $23/Day To Drive Into Manhattan

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Venice is charging a €5 entry fee due to overtourism

2023-10-01 / Downshift

BBC »

Over the past three decades, Venice has become one of the most notable victims of overtourism. The city currently welcomes an estimated 30 million visitors per year, far above the 50,000 residents that actually call it home. And more than two thirds of visitors come just for the day.
This month, Venice’s municipal authorities announced plans to fight these issues with a controversial move: charging day trippers a €5 entrance fee. This will make Venice the first city in the world to charge visitors to enter its premises. News of the entry fee has sparked controversies, and with travellers eager to understand how the new measure will affect them, BBC Travel talks to authorities and locals to understand when it starts, who will have to pay and how people can visit the city in a more sustainable way.

Austria, France, Germany, Poland and Switzerland announced their hottest Septembers on record

2023-09-29 / Downshift

2023 is expected to be the warmest in human history as climate change accelerates.

France 24 | Channel News Asia | »

Swiss Academy of Sciences is reporting a dramatic acceleration of its glacier ice melt

2023-09-28 / Downshift

» The Guardian | DW | CBC

Brand loyalty declining among new-car buyers

2023-09-27 / Downshift

An unexpected side effect of the chip shortage is that drivers who kept their car for longer than they’re used to are going to the competition to try something new, reports Autoblog.

The mayor of Pontevedra, Spain is placing pedestrians first

2023-09-27 / Downshift

For decades, throngs of cars clogged the cobblestone streets of Pontevedra’s downtown, making this seaside city on Spain’s northwestern tip a hard place to live. Smog, loud noise and narrow walkways drove young families away from a region struggling with a shrinking and aging population.

Family physician turned mayor Miguel Fernandez Lores managed to halt the bleeding by closing many streets to car traffic. Now Pontevedra is a model of success in a growing global movement that’s trying to reclaim streets for pedestrians.

Bloomberg »

This Spanish Mayor Is Putting Pedestrians First

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Russian oil accounts for about 40% of India’s crude imports

2023-09-24 / Downshift

International Energy Agency (IEA) »
https://www.iea.org/reports/oil-market-report-september-2023

Russian oil export revenues surged by US$1.8 billion to US$17.1 billion in August, as higher prices more than offset lower shipments. Led by a decline in product shipments, total Russian oil exports eased by 150 kb/d last month, to 7.2 mb/d, 570 kb/d below a year-ago.
Shipments to China and India slumped to 3.9 mb/d from 4.7 mb/d in April and May but accounted for more than half the total volumes.

Who is financing the Russian invasion of Ukraine?

Russia is one of the world’s top three crude oil producers, vying for the top spot with Saudi Arabia and the United States. Russia relies heavily on revenues from oil and natural gas, which in 2021 made up 45% of Russia’s federal budget.

Russia was the world’s largest fossil fuels exporter in 2021.

Meanwhile, energy demand in India (and China) is growing rapidly with major implications for the global energy market and world security.

Reference »

Reuters » India’s Russian oil buying scales new highs in May
- https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/indias-russian-oil-buying-scales-new-highs-may-trade-2023-06-21/

The Hindu Business Line » Russian crude accounted for 40% of India’s oil imports in February
- https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/russian-crude-accounted-for-40-of-indias-oil-imports-in-february/article66623297.ece

98% of Europeans breathing highly damaging polluted air linked to 400,000 deaths a year

2023-09-20 / Downshift

The Guardian »

Analysis of data gathered using cutting-edge methodology – including detailed satellite images and measurements from more than 1,400 ground monitoring stations – reveals a dire picture of dirty air, with 98% of people living in areas with highly damaging fine particulate pollution that exceed World Health Organization guidelines. Almost two-thirds live in areas where air quality is more than double the WHO’s guidelines.
The worst hit country in Europe is North Macedonia. Almost two-thirds of people across the country live in areas with more than four times the WHO guidelines for PM2.5, while four areas were found to have air pollution almost six times the figure, including in its capital, Skopje.
…
Traffic, industry, domestic heating and agriculture are the main sources of PM2.5 and the impact is often felt disproportionately by the poorest communities. »

With democracy at stake, the mainstream press must change its ways

2023-09-20 / Downshift

The Guardian »

“We have to be truthful, not neutral,” she urged. “I would make sure that you don’t just give a platform … to those who want to crash down the constitution and democracy.”
It’s an important call to action. But so far, the American press is failing to meet its responsibility to adequately emphasize the stakes of the coming election.

Meat is the new coal. Is it time for a meat tax?

2023-09-20 / Downshift

Livestock farming takes a heavy toll on the environment and excessive meat consumption can carry health risks. The Financial Times asks if governments should introduce a meat tax.

Could a tax curb meat’s health and environmental problems? | FT Food Revolution

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August 2023 was Earth’s hottest August in 174 years of climate record keeping

2023-09-15 / Downshift

“Global marine heat waves and a growing El Niño are driving additional warming this year, but as long as emissions continue driving a steady march of background warming, we expect further records to be broken in the years to come,” NOAA chief scientist Sarah Kapnick said in a statement.

Conditions on Earth moving outside the ‘safe operating space’ for humanity

2023-09-15 / Downshift

CNN »

Human activities have breached safe levels for six of these boundaries and are pushing the world outside a “safe operating space” for humanity, according to the report, published on Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.
The nine boundaries, first set out in a 2009 paper, aim to establish a set of defined “limits” on changes humans are making to the planet – from pumping out planet-heating pollution to clearing forests for farming. Beyond these limits, the theory goes, the risk of destabilizing conditions on Earth increases dramatically.
The limits are designed to be conservative, to enable society to solve the problems before reaching a “very high risk zone,” said Katherine Richardson, a professor in biological oceanography at the University of Copenhagen and a co-author on the report.
She pointed to the unprecedented summer of extreme weather the world has just experienced at 1.2 degrees Celsius of global warming. “We didn’t think it was going to be like this at 1 degree [Celsius]” she said. “No human has experienced the conditions that we’re experiencing right now,” she added. »

» Science.org » Earth beyond six of nine planetary boundaries

Patagonia HQ’s Café Sous Chef

2023-09-13 / Downshift

Food is a big deal. At the cafés on Patagonia campuses, sometimes the lines form out the door—especially when there’s a surprise berry crumble in the afternoon. They’re where we talk about the surf, put brussels sprouts on a friend’s plate when they can’t reach the tongs on the opposite side and gobble down a gourmet menu. In this short, Sous Chef Mel tells us about feeding people at Patagonia, creating things that never last long and working with local farmers who provide fresh ingredients.

What We Do: Patagonia HQ's Café Sous Chef | Patagonia

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The Fairphone 5 is another big step forward in addressing the waste of the smartphone industry, with the Dutch outfit showing other manufacturers that long-term support is possible.
Up to 10 years of software updates is simply unheard of, gaining it an extra star. And the Fairphone is simple enough to repair that the hardware should be able to last just as long with an occasional quick and cheap battery swap. It also comes with a five-year warranty and is made with as many recycled and ethically sourced materials as possible. Other than a slightly bulkier design and plastic back, it doesn’t look out of the ordinary.