Tag Archives: globally

Senators finally agreed on a deal to fund disaster relief. Is it too little, too late?

by LatashiaEdler3 Posted on February 8, 2018

Which, by the way, is melting.

“This discovery is a game-changer,” said Paul Schuster, lead author of a new study that quantified the total mercury in the Arctic’s frozen permafrost.

And it’s a lot of mercury! To be precise, 793 gigagrams — more than 15 million gallons — of the stuff is currently locked up in frozen northern soils. That’s by far the biggest reservoir of mercury on the planet — almost twice the amount held by the rest of the world’s earth, oceans, and atmosphere combined.

This wouldn’t be a problem if the permafrost stayed, well, permanently frosty. But, as previous research has outlined, it’s not.

Mercury is a toxin that can cause birth defects and neurological damage in animals, including humans. And mercury levels accumulate as you go up the food chain, which is why king-of-the-jungle species like tuna and whale can be unsafe to eat in large quantities.

As thawing permafrost releases more mercury into the atmosphere and oceans, the implications for human health are troubling. Locally, many northern communities rely on subsistence hunting and fishing, two sources of possible mercury contamination. Globally, the toxin could travel great distances and collect in distant ecosystems.

As if we didn’t already have enough reasons to want permafrost to stay frozen.

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Senators finally agreed on a deal to fund disaster relief. Is it too little, too late?

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Surprise! Looks like 2016 is going to be the hottest year in history.

by GretaBligh Posted on January 6, 2017

The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service has announced that 2016 will be the warmest year in recorded history — by a lot.

The Arctic had an especially warm year, and experienced the sharpest rise in temperatures, while Africa and Asia also felt unusually high temps. Globally, surface temperatures climbed to an average 58.6 degrees F, 2.3 degrees F higher than before the Industrial Revolution, when humans got serious about burning fossil fuels.

The warming temps continue a well-established trend: Last year was also the hottest year on record at the time, and 2014 was the hottest year on record before that. In fact, 10 of the hottest years on record have occurred since 1998.

This warming trend has name — it’s called climate change, if you weren’t aware — and these rapidly accelerating temperatures come with severe consequences, including worsening storms, wildfires, droughts, and other extreme weather events. And climate change isn’t just scary — it’s expensive.

Despite all the evidence, the incoming president and much of the GOP-controlled Congress either ignore climate change or thinks it’s a giant ruse created by Al Gore. As for how they explain another hottest year of record — well, maybe it’s the just heat from the burning dumpster fire that was 2016.

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Surprise! Looks like 2016 is going to be the hottest year in history.

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There’s hope for you yet, coffee fiends.

by DessieL48qe Posted on October 24, 2016

According to a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), renewable energy, mostly solar and wind, accounted for more than half of all new electric capacity added in the world last year, a 15 percent jump from 2014. Globally, there is now more renewable power capacity than coal power capacity.

Clean energy growth was especially high in China, which was responsible for about 40 percent of all new clean energy capacity. Get this: In China in 2015, two wind turbines were installed every hour.

This surge in renewables, according to the IEA, can be attributed to policy changes, lowered costs, and improvements in technology.

So renewable energy hit some big milestones last year, but it’s still just the beginning: The IEA — which has been accused of underestimating the growth of renewables — expects 28 percent of electricity to come from renewables by 2021, up from 23 percent today.

“I am pleased to see that last year was one of records for renewables and that our projections for growth over the next five years are more optimistic,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. “However, even these higher expectations remain modest compared with the huge untapped potential of renewables.”

So let’s keep this moving, folks.

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There’s hope for you yet, coffee fiends.

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Walmart wants to sell you ugly fruits and veggies — and that’s a good thing

by MichaleMargarot Posted on July 21, 2016

FUGLY

Walmart wants to sell you ugly fruits and veggies — and that’s a good thing

By on Jul 21, 2016Share

Walmart may be best known for low prices — and low wages — but now the company is vying for a new reputation: the nation’s largest seller of ugly food.

Earlier this year, the retail giant started selling “Spuglies,” or ugly potatoes, as part of an effort to cut down on food waste. This week it announced that it will begin selling a line of cosmetically challenged Washington state apples called “I’m Perfect” (a play on imperfect — get it?). The apples will start rolling out in 300 Walmart stores in Florida this week, where they will sell for lower prices than their sightlier sisters.

“One of the challenges growers have is that Mother Nature can throw a curveball such as a hailstorm, high winds, or even a string of very hot sunny days, which can damage the exterior finish of fruits,” wrote Walmart Senior Vice President Shawn Baldwin in a blog post. “While the texture and flavor remain perfect, the exterior damage usually renders these fruits unsellable in the fresh market because they fail to meet traditional grade standards. We’re proud to be the first retailer to bring these apples to you.”

Walmart is also trying to curb food waste by requiring some of its suppliers to standardize their date labels: Instead of the confusing “best by,” “use by,” or “sell by” wording, they’ll be using more understandable “best if used by” language.

Food waste is a huge problem worldwide. Americans throw away an estimated $29 billion worth of food annually. Globally, 40 percent of the food we produce is never consumed. That’s not just wasteful, it’s hugely costly for the planet, squandering water, land, and other resources.

Now, if only Walmart would do something about those slave wages.

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Walmart wants to sell you ugly fruits and veggies — and that’s a good thing

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