The Skylark

30/10/2020

In 2011, a report by UNEP on oil pollution in Ogoniland highlighted the devastating impact of the oil industry in the Niger Delta and made concrete recommendations for immediate action on drinking water and health protection.

However, nearly 10 years after a clean-up was demanded, most areas remain heavily contaminated and no site has been entirely cleaned up, according to an investigation by four NGOs. Furthermore, there are still communities without access to clean water supplies.

https://bit.ly/31cBP84

10 years after a clean-up was demanded, most areas remain heavily contaminated.

30/10/2020

“You can’t stay hopeful and cheerful by ignoring the science and it doesn’t serve any purpose if people just default to despair as if it’s too late to do anything about it.”

Sir Jonathon Porritt on why it’s down to you and me to compel politicians to act now on the climate and ecological emergency.

Simon & Schuster Books UK

https://bit.ly/33OcZgk

30/10/2020

Laboratory experiments have previously indicated that painting one of three rotor blades black minimises so-called motion smear, where birds don’t see the turbines moving. But the new study, conducted over a 10 year period, proved the concept in reality.
https://bit.ly/352LbUP

This is the first time the idea had been tested and proved in a real environment.

29/10/2020

Public campaign finance records for the current election cycle spanning 2019 and 2020 show Chevron has given at least $529,500 through its political action committee to US Congressmembers with failing civil rights grades, as scored by the NAACP. This compares to $124,000 given to politicians with passing grades.

https://bit.ly/2H75Df0

The oil giant has given over four times more campaign funding to US politicians upholding racial injustice.

29/10/2020

Wild tiger populations in five countries are rising thanks to a combination of initiatives that include focusing on protecting the landscapes where tigers thrive, restoring wildlife corridors and ensuring the communities that live among tigers are supported and included in the conservation process.

The increase has been recorded in Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and Russia, five of 13 countries that came together in 2010 – when the tiger population had dipped to 3,200. The aim is to double the number of tigers in the wild by 2022, the next Chinese Year of the Tiger.

https://bit.ly/3j1RXzl

But the species is still on the brink of extinction in many countries.

29/10/2020

Climate change is here.

“In my country, Chad, from 1991 to now we have had a rise of 1.5°C already. For the next ten years, if nothing changes, it’s going to rise to over 3°C or even 4°C. Now, during the dry season, we have 50°C in the day. So, when we have a temperature rise of 3°C or 4°C, we simply won’t survive there.”

Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim lays bare to The Skylark the fatal consequences of inaction on climate change.



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29/10/2020

Big agri, logging, oil, gas and mining industries murdered 212 environmental activists in 2019; the highest number to date that have been murdered in a single year.

https://bit.ly/2IoRD0K

This is the highest number to date that have been murdered in a single year.

28/10/2020

Evidence that microplastics can reach our organs is coming to light. Human bodies could contain as much as 52,000 microplastic particles.

https://bit.ly/3lDdKPw

Human bodies could contain as much as 52,000 microplastic particles.

28/10/2020

Developments in electric vehicles and battery storage are rapidly helping the transport and energy markets move away from climate damaging fossil fuels.

But these technologies currently rely, for the most part, on a rare and expensive metal called lithium. It is a key component in energy storage and in recent years, demand has skyrocketed.

However, a cheaper and resource-saving alternative to lithium-ion cells is needed and could be on the horizon.

https://bit.ly/3lLqrHW

Could sodium ever overtake lithium as the key component in batteries?

28/10/2020

“If there’s one thing my friends and family in the UK know about Australia, apart from Neighbours and the sporting rivalry, it’s the sunshine! We have all that sunshine, all that wind, all these resources, a highly-educated population. There’s nothing holding us back except, I hate to say it, the dead hand of the coal industry on our democracy.”

CEO of Greenpeace Australia Pacific, David Ritter on how Australia can unleash itself as a clean energy superpower.

https://bit.ly/3dd5TVY

28/10/2020

Covid has shown that successfully tackling something this colossal depends on everybody, from individuals to governments, playing their part. And climate change, according to Dr Tara Shine, is no different.

https://theskylark.org/2020/10/28/dr-tara-shine-covid-proves-climate-change-is-a-battle-to-be-fought-by-all-sides/

Scientist, explorer, author and presenter Dr Tara Shine explains how Covid-19 has shown that action on climate change involves all of us.

28/10/2020

A group of US scientists may have made a major breakthrough which could pave the way for fossil-fuel free plastic production.

The researchers at Ohio State University stumbled across the discovery by mistake while they were growing and observing different types of bacteria in a lab to understand what would happen if they did not have access to sulphur, which they need to live.

https://bit.ly/34QfyxO

Could bacteria starved of sulphur help make a vital plastic building block?

27/10/2020

Printable solar cells so light that they can be rest on soap bubbles...



https://bit.ly/3lzkeyS

They’re so lightweight the team was able to rest them on the surface of soap bubbles.

27/10/2020

Over 4.2 million cigarette butts were recovered during the worldwide initiative, though the item was pushed to second place for the first time in 34 years as over 4.7 million food wrappers were collected.

Items collected included 1.8 million plastic bottles, 740,000 shopping bags and just shy of 1 million straws and stirrers. Other finds included 21 garden gnomes and 15 fire hydrants. More deadly was the finding of over 430,000 pieces of glass.

In an ironic twist, both Coca-Cola and Starbucks were supporting partners of the global event despite their continued reputation as being among the world’s worse ocean plastic polluters. Coca-Cola is currently being sued for knowingly polluting the oceans with waste plastic.

https://bit.ly/3lJcuum

Ci******es pushed to second place for the first time in 34 years

27/10/2020

“BAFTA did a survey last year that showed climate change is mentioned less than cats in TV dramas. Then you look at cartoons and programming for young people and there are very few educational or entertainment shows surrounding climate change and the environment.

News and culture is so important at influencing our ability to affect this issue. We as a society need to stand up and say it’s not OK that we don’t discuss these things. It’s not OK that our kids don’t learn about this enough, whether that’s through school or TV. And it’s not OK that actually we as adults don’t know that much either.”

Juliet Davenport, CEO and founder of the UK’s first 100% renewable energy provider, Good Energy, in conversation with The Skylark.

https://bit.ly/3d3HqSS

Juliet Davenport OBE, CEO of Good Energy

27/10/2020

Trade loopholes are allowing the UK and other EU countries to export banned toxic pesticides to countries with less stringent regulations.

By far the biggest exporter by volume was the UK, responsible for shipments of 32,188 tonnes of hazardous chemicals. But the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain and Belgium were all found to be major exporters.

Among the other significant exports by weight were the soil fumigant and suspected carcinogen 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D), and the banned weedkillers atrazine and acetochlor.

Acetochlor was banned from EU use in 2011 because of concerns about “potential human exposure above the acceptable daily intake”, “high risk of groundwater contamination”, a “high risk for aquatic organisms” and a “high long term risk for herbivorous birds”. The chemical is suspected by EU authorities of causing cancer and damaging fertility.

https://bit.ly/2FrFc3i

The UK is the largest exporter of chemicals destined for countries with lax regulation

26/10/2020

Wangan and Jagalingou people serve an eviction notice in fight to protect their sacred lands from Adani coal mine

https://bit.ly/34JN9cI

Wangan and Jagalingou people serve an eviction notice in fight to protect their sacred lands from Adani coal mine

26/10/2020

Soil erosion across the world is putting us on a course to global starvation. We have between 30 and 50 harvests left to fix it. Here, ongoing regenerative work Haiti has lessons for the rest of the planet.

Our guest writer, Brendon Anthony explains more.

https://bit.ly/3nK4Ktw

The loss of soil is not just an environmental issue, but a social one. How do we protect the most vulnerable societies?