Summary

Paraguay’s drought hits biodiversity, Indigenous communities the hardest

The drought that is currently plaguing Paraguay is hindering the country's economy. For the last three years, a lack of water has been straining farmers and preventing crops from growing to their fullest extent. It is also threatening the ecosystem and causing detrimental natural disasters. Just last month, it was reported that there were an increased amount of fires which are eliminating many important ecosystems. Local communities are feeling the pressure as well, as their homes and cultures are suffering. Government aid has been slow, though, frustrating many citizens. Citizens are hoping that the government can properly intervene soon.

Key Takeaways:

Due to new record breaking heatwaves, there have been record forest fires in Paraguay
Due to these fires and heatwaves, the wetlands are drying up.
Many mammals and insects are going to lose their home because of the heatwaves and forest fires.

“Record-breaking heat waves in the South American nation have lasted longer than expected, resulting in water shortages and forest fires that threaten local biodiversity and many of the Indigenous communities who steward it.”

Polluting with impunity: Palm oil companies flout regulations in Ecuador

Big companies skirting environmental laws and polluting environment in distant countries is nothing new in this world and something that environmentalists have been fighting for many decades now. Plants extracting oil from palms in Ecuador are not exception, despite the laws passed in this country in 2020, that aim to regulate the production while protecting watersheds and areas that have sensitive ecological balance. Critics point out that laws are hardly implementable and fines are negligent and unenforceable. The production increase comes at an environmental cost.

Key Takeaways:

Palm oil companies are taking advantage of a loophole to put down plantations.
The community has said that the water and land in the surround area has been polluted.
The community is trying to slow down the efforts of the companies by blocking the roads.

“However, as in many other parts of the tropical world where oil palm is grown, palm oil production in Ecuador is coming at a cost.”

Community in Ecuador punished for trying to stop alleged palm oil pollution

Due to a loophole that is actually a legal one, there are companies that are establishing their own plantations on ancestral lands, or smaller communities in Ecuador. Because of this the surrounding communities have come together to tell the companies that they are polluting the water and the ground in the surrounding areas. As retaliation, the community staged protests on the roads to the plantations to either slow down their production line or get them to leave.

Key Takeaways:

A loophole let companies in Ecuador make plantations on ancestral lands.
The community states that there is waste that is polluting the land and water
The residents have been occupying the road in hopes to slow down or stop the companies.

“San Javier de Cachaví is a small village of some 120 families in Ecuador near the Colombian border.”

Living without ‘machines’

The machines that Mark Boyle advocates for one to live without may be more metaphorical than physical, as are what we stand to gain if we leave them behind. Because he still uses pencil, paper, bicycle, and van, but capitalism and a reliance on other people providing for him are no longer conscionable. A follow up to his book detailing the year he existed without money, ‘The Way Home' depicts the daily life of trying to live as completely off the grid as possible.

Key Takeaways:

Technologies covers anything powered by electricity or anything that is powered by petrol.
It is important to remember how nature works with technology and how much we depend on a global production system.
Since anti-depressants are being used more frequently, we may be seeing an issue with logistics.

“He has, earlier, built from the ground up the cabin where they are both living.”

Where should China practice forestry in a warming world?

Forestation provides a cost-effective, nature-based solution to combating environmental degradation. China is acknowledged as the global leader in forestation. Its mega-forestation programs have been successful, but are not without their negative effects from planting maladapted tree species. Our ensemble-learning machine has predicted where potential forestation lands should be located. This is mostly in eastern China, east of the Hu Line. Converting shrub and grassland to forests will increase potential forestation lands by 33 million hectares through the 2070s. Our prediction map further shows that the optimal vegetation restoration strategy west of the Hu Line is grassland rehabilitation.

Key Takeaways:

China is the global leader in forestation, but still has issues with planting maladapted tree species.
Our ensemble-learning machine shows potential forestation lands are primarily located east of the Hu Line.
Conversions from shrub and grassland will increase forestation lands by 33 million hectares through the 2070s.

“Under future climate change, forests will shift substantially in the latitudinal, longitudinal, and elevational distribution.”

Coimbatore-based entrepreneur’s innovative machines make eco-friendly food containers

A recent video posted on Twitter showed a man, Kalyan Kumar, who made eco-friendly containers out of rice bran. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor retweeted the video and encouraged the Government to scale up production of such products. Kalyan says his multi-biodegradable machine can work on wheat bran, tamarind seeds, peanut shells, and many other forms of organic waste. One of his machines is being sent to Belgium where it will repurpose waste from beer into wine glasses and tea cups. Kalyan says a paper cup remains the same for three years, but bio-degradable products degrade within eight hours after contact with water.

Key Takeaways:

Kalyan has a machine that can recycle up to 15 raw materials such as rice bran and wheat bran.
These machines have been sent to Tamil Nadu as well as Australia and Saudi Arabia.
He also has a machine that repurposes beer waste into wine glasses and cups in a ratio of 700 grams of waste to 300 grams of food solution.

“Along with rice bran and areca leaf plates stacked on his table, there are air-tight food boxes made using saw dust from teak wood.”

State of the climate: How the world warmed in 2021

2021 was the warmest year on record when considering the heat content of the world's oceans. There are many different greenhouse gases that are trapping extra heat in the atmosphere. Most of the greenhouse gases get emitted into the ocean. One of the best ways to measure climate change is global ocean heat content. This statistic is even better than global average surface temperature. Finally, the changes in the amount of warming are easier to see in OHC than they are on the surface.

Key Takeaways:

Last year was the warmest the world's oceans have ever been and they increased in 2021 from 2020.
There are many greenhouse gases that trap extra heat in the atmosphere that come from humans.
Ocean heat content is one of the better ways to measure climate change, even better than global average surface temperature.

“Just about every year since 1991 has set a new OHC record, showing that heat has continued to accumulate in the Earth system as concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases have increased.”

The US military is polluting Hawaii’s water supply – and denying it

The U.S. Navy built the Red Hill Fuel Storage Facility in the island of Oahu in Hawaii, but the subterranean eighteen million liter oil storage system is leaking petroleum into the water supply. Marti Townsend and over one thousand other Hawaiians are demanding that the Honolulu City Council do something to protect the water supply. This water is drinkable and is used by over four hundred thousand Hawaiians, but the Navy has failed to acknowledge the poisoning of the water even though some Navy staff shut down their water taps due to evidence of petroleum poisoning. The U.S. Navy, President Biden, and other officials have yet to resolve the issue.

Key Takeaways:

Navy officials are not acknowledging the issues with the Hawaii water supply and think it's not a big deal.
The Governor of Hawaii has given an emergency order to defuel the Red Hill Facility as soon as possible.
President Joe Biden has also ignored this issue and hasn't commented or acknowledged anything that is happening to the water at all.

“Frankenstein’s monster is the US Navy’s Red Hill Fuel Storage Facility: a massive underground “farm” of 18-million liter fuel tanks and pipes just 100 feet above metropolitan O’ahu.”

Getting African grasslands right, for people and wildlife alike: Q&A with Susanne Vetter

Grassland is everywhere in Africa and this type of ecosystem allows for many different environmental services to take place. For example, these types of lands store up to 30% of all the worlds soil carbon and they also help to harbor biodiversity. There are some issues though due to the increase of both human and animal population in these areas. The grasslands have become segmented through various different means including fencing, development projects and property privatization as well.

Key Takeaways:

It is estimating that land that is grazed stores up to 30% of all the worlds soil carbon.
278 million pastoralists live in Africa an they help contribute nearly 50% of the GDP of African nations.
Grasslands have become more segmented due to various factors such as fencing and property privatization as well.

“All across the arid and semi-arid landscapes of Africa, grasslands meet the eye.”

Why the climate-wrecking craze for crypto art really is beyond satire

There is something supremely ironic when it comes to the craze of the crypto world and everything related to it. Many players in these markets cannot even explain what they are trading or investing in, but that does not stop them from spending the money. At first sight, there isn’t anything in common between this craze and the topic of the movie dealing with obsession with an asteroid heading our way. However, look closely and you will see amazing similarities centered around irrationality and obsessive behavior.

Key Takeaways:

Adam McKay's film Don’t Look Up was met with critical disapproval, much like Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal.
In the current frenzy for NFTs, an artist named Beeple sold a digital artwork for $69m.
The problem is NFTs are tied to blockchains, which consume massive amounts of electricity and have a severely negative carbon footprint.

“It just so happens that a distinctly over-the-top satire published in 1729 attracted comparable reactions.”

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