Century-Old Tree Transport Ignites Calls for Tasmanian Logging Reforms

A photo of a centuries-old tree on the back of a truck being driven through the centre of Hobart has prompted fresh calls for changing laws to protect Tasmania’s native forests from logging.

The image of the logging truck on Macquarie Street, the city’s main south-north thoroughfare, was posted online by the Bob Brown Foundation, an environment group. It is the latest in a series of destruction of large trees being hauled on the state’s roads in recent months.

Protesters have blocked logging in an area near Kermandie, south of Hobart, that scientists say has large trees that could be used for nesting by the critically endangered species that breeds in Tasmania. Read More

News Credit: The Guardian

Picture Credit: Bob Brown Foundation

South Korea Boosts Factory Rooftop Solar Power

South Korea is planning a massive expansion of solar panels mounted on industrial rooftops and parking lots to overcome land constraints slowing its clean energy transition.

The Asian nation seeks to add 4 GWs of solar power in industrial complexes in the city of Daegu and North Gyeongsang province, the energy ministry said in a statement. That would be almost quadruple the total of 1.1 GWs of solar power from factory areas around the country currently, according to the statement. Read more

Planet’s Health Alert: Scientists Declare Unprecedented Earth Crisis

The researchers said many climate records were broken by enormous margins in 2023, including global air temperature, ocean temperature and Antarctic sea ice extent. The highest monthly surface temperature ever recorded was in July and was probably the hottest the planet has been in 100,000 years.

“Earth’s “vital signs” are worse than at any time in human history”, declared an international team of scientists, cautioning that life on the planet is in peril.

The report found that 20 of the 35 planetary vital signs they use to track climate crises are at record extremes. As well as greenhouse gas emissions, global temperature and sea level rise, the indicators include human and livestock population numbers. Read more

News Credit: The Guardian

Picture Credit: Matthew Thayer/AP

Youth’s Bold Sacrifices: Driving Less, Parenting Fewer for the Planet

Across Europe, according to a seven-country survey, it seems young people are more willing than older generations to make significant lifestyle changes that would help combat the climate crisis – but are less convinced by smaller gestures.

The YouGov polling for the Guardian also showed the economic downturn was hitting young people’s hopes for the future, with more than half saying they were worried they would be unable to own a home in the next decade.

The survey carried out in August 2023 in Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Sweden also showed a significant minority of 18- to 24-year-olds felt economic concerns could dissuade them from starting a family within the same timeframe. Read more

News Credit: The Guardian

Picture Credit: Simon Turner/Alamy

“Plastic Tide: Earth’s Silent Struggle”

Over 1 million marine organisms are killed yearly due to ocean plastic pollution. It’s time to end plastic pollution. We have to act now, before it is too late.

#plasticpollution #marineecosystem #devastationhappening #savetheplanet #saveecosystem #actnow

Inferno’s Embrace: Earth’s Fiery Warning

Approximately 55 million+ people across the US were under air quality alerts and breathing harmful air. With severe wildfires, nearly 13 million hectares burned in Canada in 2023, i.e., 15 times more than normal.
Added to the above, almost 400 or more fires are still burning. The climate crisis is creating devastation like never seen or heard before… Let us act now as there is no time to wait… let us act now since we are facing the climate emergency.

#climateemergency #actonclimate #climatedevastation #climatechange #notimetowait

Climatic Debt: Staggering $16M Hourly Toll from Escalating Extreme Weather Catastrophes

The damage caused by the climate crisis through extreme weather has cost $16m (£13m) an hour for the past 20 years, according to a new estimate.

Storms, floods, heatwaves and droughts have taken many lives and destroyed swathes of property in recent decades, with global heating making the events more frequent and intense. The study is the first to calculate a global figure for the increased costs directly attributable to human-caused global heating.

It found average costs of $140bn (£115bn) a year from 2000 to 2019, although the figure varies significantly from year to year. The latest data shows $280bn in costs in 2022. The researchers said lack of data, particularly in low-income countries, meant the figures would likely be seriously underestimated. Additional climate costs, such as crop yield declines and sea level rise, were also not included. Read more

News Credit: The Guardian

Picture Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

EPA Bypasses ‘Inactive’ Pesticide Checks: Potential Hazards Lurk for Humans and Ecosystems

Ingredients labelled as “inactive” in pesticide formulas potentially poison the environment, crops and animals, but the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has rebuffed calls to examine their toxicity and risks.

Inactive ingredients are usually added as surfactants or penetrating agents that help disperse the active ingredients or make them more absorbable. About 4,000 inert ingredients are approved for use by the EPA, along with 1,000 active ingredients, and the industry is not required to disclose its formulas because they are considered trade secrets publicly. Read more

News Credit: The Guardian

Picture Credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images