ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE
A UN report published to mark the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction on October 13, confirms how extreme weather events have come to dominate the disaster landscape in the 21st century.
The report “The Human Cost of Disasters 2000-2019” registers a sharp increase of extreme weather events over the previous twenty years, with much of the difference explained by a rise in climate-related disasters.
Globally, there were around 6,700 climate-related disasters including severe floods and storms in the time-period 2000-2019 compared to 3,600 climate-related disasters compared to the time-frame 1980-1999.
Mami Mizutori, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, said: “Good disaster risk governance depends on political leadership and delivery on the promises made when the Paris Agreement and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction were adopted five years ago.”
The report is also reminder to UN Member States of their commitment to strengthen disaster risk governance and to have national and local strategies for disaster risk reduction in place by 2020.
Patricia Espinosa, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, cautioned: “While much progress has been made through the Paris Agreement, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the 2030 Agenda, the world is not moving quickly enough.
UN Climate Change and UNDRR Step up Cooperation
All National Adaptation Plans developed under the Paris Agreement on climate list disaster risk reduction as a top priority. Similarly, National Strategies for Disaster Risk Reduction list climate change as a key concern for disaster risk management now and in the future.
International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, October 13, has been marked by a public online conversation between Patricia Espinosa, head of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and…
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As Climate Impacts Increase, UN Agencies Step Up Cooperation on Disaster Risk Reduction
A UN report published to mark the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction on October
19 Years Old Cancer Survivor & Last Chance Alliance Launch Ad Campaign To Pressure Governor Newsom To Phase Out Oil Drilling in California
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Two 900-foot…
TIGER KING’s Animals at Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park Rescued and Rehomed
The Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma, featured in the Netflix docuseries, “Tiger King,” is now closed forever and the last of the animals formerly owned by Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, have been rescued and rehomed to The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado.
Working with…
Federal Signal Corporation Releases Inaugural Sustainability Report
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“I am delighted with the progress that we have made on our Environmental, Social, and…
Calls Increase to Use Carbon Pricing as an Effective Climate Action Tool
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The Wild Animal Sanctuary Rescues 17 Lions, Tigers and Hybrids and Two Brown Bears from Notorious Roadside Zoos
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Plan would create 19 workshops for local entrepreneurs, venue for community events, riverfront restoration, and permanent home for farmer's market
In response to a public Request for Proposals from the Town of Camden, entrepreneur and community organizer Michael Mullins of Rockland has submitted a proposal to build “Tannery Park,” a first-of-its-kind ‘affordable-industrial’ maker park at the site of the former Apollo Tannery.
The Apollo Tannery site, formerly home to the Camden Woolen Mill, is a town-owned 3.5 acre parcel. The Town of Camden took it for non-payment of taxes in 2003, and has since entertained a number of redevelopment proposals. One of the challenges to redevelopment of the parcel is environmental contamination, including volatile compounds and other soil contaminants, and solid waste from the operation of the tannery and woolen mill.
The Tannery Park is described as an industrial eco-village complete with 19 locally-sourced post-and-beam workshops and studios starting at just $300 per month for entrepreneurs who are just starting out or are in their growth phase.
Mullins’ plan also includes a large barn to serve as a venue for a year-round farmer’s market and event center.
If adopted, Mullins’ plan would include a large plaza built atop the foundation of the old mill building to house pushcart vendors for public markets, that can also be used for outdoor…
The largest open DC fast charging network in the U.S. will contribute $3 million to ongoing ZEV education and awareness efforts in the state
Electrify America is investing $3 million to provide education and awareness programs for low-income and disadvantaged communities throughout California on the benefits of driving zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) and available cash incentives.
Today’s announcement brings Electrify America’s total investment in California community-based programs to $5.7 million over the past two years, as part of the company’s ongoing efforts to promote ZEV adoption throughout the state. The investment will provide support for six California-based organizations as they raise awareness on the benefits of driving ZEVs, while working to get more drivers behind the wheel of electric vehicles.
Investment in California community-based organizations is just one component of the company’s broader commitment to low-income and disadvantaged communities. In 2019 Electrify America invested a total of $82.4 million in these California communities by providing education, access, charging infrastructure and services to promote ZEV driving, including $10 million in education and marketing.
“It’s our goal to expand awareness of clean and sustainable transportation options that are accessible and affordable to Californians,” said Will Berry, social responsibility manager, Electrify America. “Low-income and disadvantaged communities have access to an incredibly complex set of incentives and resources, and we are proud to support trusted community groups that have a…
The Power of the Education Sector for Climate Action, Solutions, and Environmental Justice
As the nation faces some of the most intense consequences of climate change and the disruption of traditional school as a result of COVID-19, the Aspen Institute launched K12 Climate Action to create a comprehensive action plan to address climate change in the United States by leveraging the power…
Sustainability Platform AWorld Launches Mobile App in Support of UN ActNow Campaign
In an effort to mobilize individual action on climate change and sustainability, the AWorld platform is today launching a mobile app in support of the United Nations’ ActNow campaign.
The app incentivizes people to take sustainable action through everyday habits that users can log and track. It also provides impact…
Global Coalition Releases Liability Roadmap for Governments to Make Big Polluters Pay
This week, Corporate Accountability and a global coalition of climate organizations released a first of its kind liability roadmap: a tool outlining how local to global decisionmakers can hold polluting industries liable for the climate damage they knowingly cause, while unlocking climate finance needed to address the climate crisis…
Food and Beverage Leader PepsiCo Targets 100% Renewable Electricity Globally
PepsiCo Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) today announced a new target to source 100% renewable electricity across all of its company-owned and controlled operations globally by 2030 and across its entire franchise and third-party operations by 2040. With PepsiCo’s scale, the transition has the potential to reduce approximately 2.5 million metric tons…
Commvault Announces Climate Week Webinar With Forrester, Microsoft, WeTransfer
Commvault (NASDAQ: CVLT), a recognized global enterprise software leader in the management of data across cloud and on-premises environments, announced today that it is bringing together an esteemed panel of industry experts to participate in a webinar focused on the environmental impact of data and how business can work…
Taking care of the environment is nothing new for Washington’s dairy farmers, and now they are taking that commitment to the next level as the U.S. dairy industry commits to achieving carbon neutrality or better by 2050. October 12 is National Farmers Day, and Washington’s 300+ dairy farm families are highlighting their longstanding commitment to improving the soil, conserving water, and ensuring their farms continue to thrive for generations to come.
“Everything we do on the farm and in our processing facility revolves around sustainability and improving the environment around us,” said Jill Smith of Pure Eire Dairy in Othello. “We consider our dairy products from the ground up, which begins with building our soil quality to grow high-quality feed and pasture for our cows. Greater feed quality leads to greater milk quality and a healthier herd of dairy cows. It’s a closed loop system and we utilize everything we produce.”
In 2008, U.S. dairy was the first agricultural sector to commission a life cycle assessment on fluid milk, which showed that dairy accounts for 2% of total GHG emissions in the U.S.
These voluntary goals align with the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, and the dairy industry prioritized these focus areas of environmental sustainability as the foundation for the 2050 goals:
- Achieve carbon neutrality or better
- Optimize water usage while maximizing recycling
- Improve water quality by optimizing manure management and nutrients
“Dairy farmers have invested in technology and the implementation of best practices to reduce environmental impact for decades,” said Lynne Wheeler of Coldstream Farms in Deming….
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University of Illinois and Idaho National Laboratory join proposal to host ultra safe nuclear micro reactors under the Department of Energy's Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP)
Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC) is proposing to partner with Idaho National Laboratory (INL), the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and U.S. Industry to deploy Ultra Safe Nuclear Micro Modular Reactors (MMR™) in the U.S. for the purpose of demonstrating secure power, heat, and experimental capabilities leading to deployment and global export of USNC’s advanced U.S. nuclear energy technology. The USNC-led team seeks to demonstrate integrated energy systems (IES) with renewables and other clean energy technologies at INL, and to provide training and experimental capabilities and heat to UIUC.
- The University of Illinois plans to demonstrate a single MMR operated as a Training, Research and Test Reactor, and to partially re-power the coal-fired Abbott power station by providing carbon-free district heating and power to the UIUC campus. The University plans to develop the first generation of commercial micro-reactor operators and will be directly involved in MMR design and integration.
- Ultra Safe Nuclear also proposes placing a micro-reactor power plant (MMR Energy System) at the Idaho National Laboratory to support the demonstration of INL’s Integrated Energy Systems (IES), including the optimized carbon-free production of hydrogen by thermo-chemical processes and other zero-carbon energy applications well suited to the high temperature…
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