Borneo (Kalimantan): A Frontline For Survival Of Our Planet

by Andre Vltchek

Countercurrents.org | August 11, 2017

INVESTIG’ACTION interview with ANDRE VLTCHEK

Q1:You are preparing a new documentary film about a big island, Borneo, which is shared by three Asian countries. Which was the triggering
factor for making this film now?

AV: The triggering factor was a simple shock. I’m not what you’d call an environmentalist. Of course I care about our planet, about our wonderful creatures, plants, oceans, rivers and deserts. I don’t want them to suffer, to disappear. I wrote an entire book about the plight of South Pacific island nations, called “Oceania”, but that was all – I never made one single film about the environmental destruction.

Plastic made since 1950s weigh equivalent of one billion elephants, finds alarming study

A Journal of People report

Source: Internet

Plastic weighing the equivalent of one billion elephants has been created since the 1950s and most of it has ended up in landfill, an alarming new study has shown. The research report – Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made – was published in the journal Science Advances (July 19, 2017, Vol. 3, no. 7, e1700782
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1700782)

Recent figures from Recycle Now show that Britain bins around 16 million plastic bottles a day and if a year’s worth of the UK’s unrecycled plastic bottles were placed end to end, they’d reach around the world 31 times, covering  just over 780,000 miles.

The End of Being: Abrupt Climate Change One of Many Ecological Crises Threatening to Collapse the Biosphere

by DR. GLEN BARRY

EcoInternet | June 18, 2017

At least 10 planetary boundaries exist that threaten to make the biosphere uninhabitable

Human industrial growth is systematically dismantling the natural ecosystems which constitute our life support system. Rightly so, there has been an enormous amount of attention given to climate change (though action to rapidly reduce emissions still lags far beyond what is required). Climate change  is becoming abrupt and runaway; and threatens just by itself to collapse societies, economies, and ultimately the biosphere.

Yet climate change is only one of at least ten global ecological catastrophes which threaten to destroy the global ecological system and portend an end to human beings, and perhaps all life. Ranging from nitrogen deposition to ocean acidification, and including such basics as soil, water, and air; virtually every ecological system upon which life depends is failing. Gaia is dying.

UN Ocean Conference: a roadmap for sustainable use of oceans

by Vibha Varshney

Down To Earth | 04 June, 2017

SDG 14 targets to end overfishing and conserve the marine ecosystem (Credit: Derek Keats/Flickr)

The United Nation’s Ocean Conference is set to commence at the body’s headquarters in New York on June 5, world environment day. The meeting is a step ahead in achieving the world’s 14th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 14)—conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. It will see participation from over 5,000 delegates and continue till June 9.

The UN plans to finalise the text for its zero draft “Call for Action” by the end of the conference, along with reports of seven partnership dialogues planned during the meeting. In addition, stakeholders have been invited to give voluntary commitments to ensure that the oceans remain clean and provide a robust blue economy.

Which Countries Live Within Their (Ecological) Means?

by MR Online Editors

MR Online | May 08, 2017

In 1970, people first used more environmental resources than the world could produce.

The gap between demand and nature’s ability to meet that demand has grown steadily since then. Each year we live in ecological deficit–taking more than can be replenished–we draw down the world’s reserves of natural resources. Ensuring we don’t use up the world’s resources is a global effort, though some countries use up more resources than others.

Coal in ‘Freefall’ Worldwide, Report Finds

by Nika Knight, staff writer

Common Dreams | 22 March, 2017

The coal industry is in “freefall” worldwide, the latest annual survey from environmental groups Sierra Club, Greenpeace, and CoalSwarm finds.

“The staggering uptick in clean energy and reduction in the new coal plant pipeline is even more proof that coal isn’t just bad for public health and the environment—it’s bad for the bottom line,” said Nicole Ghio, senior campaigner for the Sierra Club’s International Climate and Energy Campaign, in a statement. “Markets are demanding clean energy, and no amount of rhetoric from [President] Donald Trump will be able to stop the fall of coal in the U.S. and across the globe.”

Extremely high levels of toxic pollutants in the deepest parts of the world’s oceans

A Journal of People report

Source: Internet

Scientists have detected “extremely high levels” of organic chemicals in the fatty tissue of amphipods, a type of crustacean, living in Mariana trench ― the deepest part of the world’s oceans.
“We still think of the deep ocean as being this remote and pristine realm, safe from human impact, but our research shows that, sadly, this could not be further from the truth,” study author Alan Jamieson, a marine ecologist at Newcastle University in Britain, said in a statement.

Alliance of 600,000 British Doctors Calls for ‘Imperative’ Coal Phase-Out

by Nadia Prupis, staff writer

Common Dreams | 19 October, 2016

Although the U.K. government promised to phase out coal by 2025, the groups raised concerns over the seeming lack of preparation to do so. (Photo: Nikon Ranger/flickr/cc)

A coalition representing Britain’s 600,000 doctors and health workers on Wednesday called for a rapid phase-out of coal, saying it was an “imperative” measure and that climate change and air pollution were both “major health threats.”

Fall of the Wild: Study Documents ‘Catastrophic Decline’ in World’s Untouched Places

by Lauren McCauley, staff writer

Common Dreams | 08 September, 2016

Spider Meadows in the central Cascade mountains’ Glacier Peak Wilderness. (Photo: Andy Porter/cc/flickr)

Wilderness, though remote by nature, is not immune to the ravages of humanity. In fact, according to a new study in the journal Current Biology, the world’s wild places are undergoing “catastrophic decline” and could be facing elimination within decades if monumental policy shifts are not implemented.

Humanity Just Ate Through Planet’s Annual Resource Budget Faster Than Ever

…and it’s only August. That’s the fastest pace yet

by Nadia Prupis, staff writer

Common Dreams | 08 August, 2016

“Our economy is built very heavily on fossil fuels, and that’s the challenge we face.” (Photo: Bill Dickinson/flickr/cc)

Earth Overshoot Day—the day on which people worldwide have officially used up more natural resources like air, food, and water than the planet can regenerate in a year—has come early.The 2016 threshold was hit on Monday, making it the fastest pace yet, according to a new report by the Global Footprint Network, which measures the dubious milestone every year.