A Shortage of Beer and Fries? Climate Change Hits Europe Where It Hurts

17.10.2018

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Climate change has fueled raging wildfires around the world, bleached coral reefs and intensified hurricanes—and now it’s coming for Europe’s fries.

A hot and dry summer has caused low potato yields in Belgium and across Europe, resulting in sad, stubby fries or “frites”—up to an entire inch shorter than the 3-inch norm. The news gets worse: If Europeans were planning to wash down those salty frites with a cold Belgian beer, then they need to think again. There might also be a shortage of the brew due to an expected decrease in barley yields.

The culprit behind these inconveniences: climate change. Europe has seen record high temperatures and droughts this summer because of climate change. Potato crop yields are down 25 percent from previous years, and barley (a primary ingredient in beer) yields are expected to fall up to 40 percent.

“The fact that climate change threatens the small things that make our daily life a happy one reminds us that we have a responsibility to tackle climate change and its impacts in the world,” said Herbert Lust, vice president of Conservation International Europe.

This problem is bigger than a hefty bar tab: Climate change is already reducing yields of wheat, rice, coffee and cocoa. Agriculture is dependent on weather patterns, and climate change is directly influencing them, resulting in droughts in already dry regions of the world and floods in regions that already receive enough rain.

Deforestation is one of the greatest contributors to climate change, and 80 percent of deforestation is due to agricultural expansion. In other words, the way food is produced and consumed contributes to a negative cycle that harms the environment and results in less food. Soy, palm oil, beef, coffee and cocoa products that are imported by major economies account for a large portion of this problem. Global demand for these products is booming, and this high demand threatens the very ecosystems that we need to protect to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change.

Conservation International is tackling these challenges by designing landscapes that are sustainable, which means they prevent deforestation and ecosystem degradation while also improving the livelihoods of local communities. Another important part of our work involves training farmers in more sustainable agricultural practices to improve productivity without further degrading the environment.

“Farming communities will be hit hardest by climate change, particularly in the poorest countries,” said Fanny Gauttier, manager of European Union Policy and Sustainable Production for Conservation International. “It is urgent that we recognize the significant impact our use of land has on the environment if we have any hope of adapting to and mitigating climate change.”

“The situation with frites and beer is just a taste of what’s to come.”

Source: Eco Watch

Israel to Ban Petrol and Diesel Car Sales After 2030

16.10.2018

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Israel has announced a plan to ban petrol and diesel car sales after 2030.

The government aims to replace them with electric cars and gas-powered trucks, funding more than 2,000 new charging stations around the country to help build a ‘critical mass’ of low carbon cars and move local industries away from fossil fuel-based engines,

The government plans to reduce taxation on electric cars to almost zero, with the aim of making them much cheaper.

In recent years Israel has discovered significant deposits of natural gas, a cleaner-burning fossil fuel – it is now converting its power stations accordingly. moving away from heavy oils, diesel and coal.

It expects to see around 177,000 electric cars on its roads by 2025, jumping to nearly 1.5 million by 2030.

Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said: “From 2030 we won’t allow anymore the import of diesel or gasoline cars to Israel. All new cars will be electric. Buses and trucks will be either electric or run on compressed natural gas.

“We are forcing companies to bring electric cars to Israel and for oil and gasoline companies to shift to charging stations in their gasoline or petrol stations.”

Source: Energy Live News

UK Scientists Turn Coffee Industry Waste into Electricity

16.10.2018

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Fuel cell could help Colombian farmers by using microbes to eat waste and develop energy.

Scientists have turned coffee waste into electricity for the first time, in research that could help farmers and curb pollution in the developing world.

The coffee industry generates a huge amount of liquid waste during the process of turning the raw material of the tree – the coffee cherries – into the 9.5m tons of coffee the world produces each year.

Wastewater is generated by farms during the washing of coffee seeds, or beans, and during the water-intensive process of making instant coffee. But now a UK-funded programme, working with Colombian researchers, has proven that it can not only remove the contaminants from the water but make electricity in the process.

A team led by the University of Surrey developed a fuel cell that uses microbes instead of chemicals like a fuel cell in a hydrogen car, which eat the waste matter and generate a small amount of energy.

Dr Claudio Avignone Rossa, a systems microbiologist at the university, said: “You’re not going to light up London with these things, but you’re going to put a light where there was none.

“The farmer will be getting a little bit of energy coming from the waste they are throwing away. So the environment will be cleaner. The finances of the farm will be improved.”

While coffee waste has been used as biofuel before, and compacted to be sold as “biologs” to be burned, the project is believed to be the first to produce electricity from such waste.

Claire Perry, energy minister, hailed the work as an example of the UK’s expertise in the green economy. “Your morning latte could start its life on a remote Colombian coffee farm and now, thanks to UK-government funded research, those farms now have grounds to double up as producers of both coffee beans and electricity,” she said.

The microbes that convert the coffee waste were of the sort that occur in sludge from wastewater treatment plants, but Avignone Rossa said they could also be found on Colombian farms. “Supply is not a problem,” he added.

The microbial fuel cells made by the researchers are roughly the size of a fizzy drink can. While the lab versions were made of Perspex and stainless steel and cost £300-£500, the team also produced ones for less than £2 using materials like ceramics and disposable plastic boxes.

Avignone Rossa said he was waiting on responses from funding agencies for money to build a prototype in the field in Colombia.

Source: The Guardian

Volvo’s Low Emission Efforts Keep on Truckin’

15.10.2018

It autonomous ‘Vera’ vehicle aims to slash emissions and boost productivity in logistics operations.

Source: Energy Live News

EU Plan to Reduce Checks on Chickens ‘Will Increase Food Poisoning Risk’

15.10.2018

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Some experts say scaling down inspections is likely to lead to more consumers being infected with campylobacter.

Millions of chickens could soon be sold across the EU without being individually inspected for contamination or signs of disease after being killed, in a move some experts believe will put consumers at increased risk of food poisoning bugs.

Under current rules, every poultry carcass is individually, visually checked after slaughter and before being released for public consumption. But proposals being considered by the European Commission would see slaughter plants able to look at just a “representative sample” if they have a history of complying with the standards set by official veterinarians.

EU officials argue that increased microbiological screening of poultry flocks, improved food chain information and “risk-based” interventions are now more effective in preventing contaminated or sick birds from reaching consumers than postmortem inspections of individual birds.

But meat inspection bodies and consumer groups say the individual examinations are a vital tool for detecting faecal contamination, which can contain harmful bacteria, and indications of disease. Campylobacter is Europe’s biggest cause of food poisoning, with up to 9 million cases estimated to occur annually, although most are not reported. Rates of the disease – which can prove fatal – are known to be rising, with high levels found in chicken meat.

Ron Spellman, deputy secretary general of the European Association of Food and Meat Inspectors, said the EU proposals, if approved, would lead to an increase in the “already unacceptable” volume of food poisoning cases. “Poultry causes a high level of human food poisoning due to its contamination with campylobacter and, to a lesser extent, salmonella bacteria. These organisms are carried in the intestines of the birds which, during processing in the slaughterhouse, are sometimes ruptured causing the spread of visible faecal material onto the carcasses.”

Professor Chris Elliott, a food safety expert who led the official inquiry into the horsemeat scandal, told the Guardian he was concerned the proposed measures “will only serve to lessen the degree of scrutiny at poultry plants and will thus mean a higher risk of meat not fit for human consumption entering the food chain. The objective is clearly to reduce costs.”

But Professor Hugh Pennington, who investigated fatal E coli outbreaks in the UK, disagreed however, saying that he had “always been unconvinced that visual inspection in itself brings significant food safety benefits”.

“The current inspection regime still leaves campylobacter contamination of poultry at very high levels, so what is it delivering? Big salmonella reductions were due to things like immunisation [on farms], not more inspection,” he said.

The proposals follow a 2012 report from the European Food Safety Authority, which proposed that “postmortem visual inspection could be replaced by setting targets for the main hazards on the carcass, and by verification of the food business operator’s hygiene management, using process hygiene criteria”.

The current proposals were drawn up by the EU’s Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed, which suggests that a “derogation” from individual inspections could be approved if meat plants “have a system in place to the satisfaction of the official veterinarian that allows the detection and the separation of birds with abnormalities, contamination or defects”.

If serious problems for human or animal health are found during earlier antemortem inspections (when birds arrive at the abattoir) then all birds would still require checking, the documents state.

EU spokeswoman Anca Paduraru told the Guardian: “The main hazards in poultry are salmonella and campylobacter. These pathogens will never be detected through the inspection of carcasses, but by bacteriological analysis [sampling]. This is why additional official controls for these two pathogens are now required in the proposed revision of the meat inspection [rules] with a view to strengthening the safety of poultry meat.”

She said the proposals, which are understood to be voted on later this year following a consultation, were optional and that individual countries would be left to make a decision on whether to adopt them.

Asked if it would rule out adopting the new system, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) said: “The UK will continue to comply with EU food and feed legislation while it remains a member of the EU. If any rule changes are considered after we leave, we will apply our usual rigorous risk assessment to those changes and ensure public safety remains at the heart of everything we do.”

In 2015 the FSA undertook a trial involving eight poultry processing plants in which inspections of individual poultry carcasses were reduced in favour of other official controls.

Richard Griffiths, chief executive of the British Poultry Council, signalled his support for the proposals, describing them as “a positive step towards a more risk-based approach to meat inspection”.

Source: The Guardian

Solar Power ‘Will Help Europe Avoid Blackouts’

14.10.2018

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Sun Investment Group says photovoltaic panels can prove highly effective in covering gaps in supply.

Solar power will prove an important technology in stopping power outages across Europe in coming years.

That’s the verdict from Sun Investment Group, which uses the island of Tilos as an example of how effective panels can prove in covering gaps in supply.

The Greek island of Tilos will soon be autonomously powered by 100% renewable energy, using an advanced battery system driven by an 800Kw wind turbine and a solar park – this will help it avoid frequent power outages, which often force the island’s residents and businesses to turn to diesel-powered generators for their electricity.

Sun Investment Group’s Chief Business Development Officer, Andrius Terskovas, believes solar power will become a widespread way of avoiding future power blackouts across Europe in the future, especially with experts predicting the price of lithium ion battery packs to fall below $100/kWh (£75.6/kWh) by 2025,

He said: “The decreasing prices of lithium ion batteries used to solar power farms will surely lead to the further adoption of solar energy as a way of avoiding power outages across Europe.

“As an organisation, Sun Investment Group looks forward to solar energy being used to alleviate problems that traditional energy sources still bring to many households and businesses across Europe.”

6 Things You Can Do to Avoid Climate Catastrophe

14.10.2018

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We’ve already warmed the world about 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times—with disastrous effects. Sea levels are rising, coral reefs are dying, species are going extinct and extreme weather is on the increase.

A new report by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reveals what life on Earth would look like if temperatures were to rise another 0.5 to 1.5 degrees Celsius. It also paints a picture of what a 2-degree warmer world would look like.

In the report, more than 90 scientists from 40 countries agree that it’s still possible to remain under 1.5 degrees of global warming—at least technologically—and outlined what we must do to make that happen. However, a lot of political will be required.

But there are also things that normal people can do to avoid climate catastrophe. Here are six concrete ways you can take action on climate change.

1. Change Your Energy Provider

The majority of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere come from burning coal, oil and natural gas.

In Germany, brown coal (or lignite) is responsible for a fifth of the country’s CO2 emissions.

So a major step toward reducing greenhouse gases is to replace fossil fuels with renewable energies.

In many countries, you can pick your energy provider. Consider switching to one that provides energy from renewables like wind, solar, hydropower or sustainable bioenergy—check to make sure the energy company and renewable sources are independently certified.

2. Eat Less Meat

What ends up on your plate makes another big difference.

In a 2013 report, the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) found that 14.5 percent of all human-induced greenhouse gas emissions came from the livestock sector.

That is more than all cars, ships, planes and other forms of transport throughout the world combined. Of those emissions, 41 percent are caused by beef production; milk production makes up another 19 percent.

Avoiding meat and dairy products is the single simplest way to reduce your environmental impact on the planet, suggested a study released this year in the journal Science.

Getting your protein from beef instead of plants produces at least six times more greenhouse gases and uses 36 times more land.

The study also revealed the importance of how the food is produced. For example, beef raised on deforested land results in 12 times more greenhouse gases than those grazing on existing pasture.

So if you do eat meat, get it from local organic farms if possible.

3. Waste Less Food

Agriculture accounts for a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions, but about a third of all food grown on this planet never actually gets eaten.

Of course, not all of this goes into the waste bin—the European Parliament reckons about half of EU food waste takes place at home, the rest is lost along the supply chain or never harvested from the fields—but home is a simple starting point.

Food waste translates into a carbon footprint of a whopping 3.3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), according to the United Nations—amounting to more than India’s annual emissions.

An easy solution: Buy less and make sure eat it all.

4. Take a Train Instead of Flying

Flying harms the climate in several ways.

Many estimates put aviation’s share of global CO2 emissions at just above 2 percent—but other aviation emissions such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), water vapor, particulates, contrails and cirrus changes contribute to additional warming effects.

Cut out a single roundtrip and you could save anywhere from 700 to 2,800 kilograms of CO2, depending on the distance traveled, fuel efficiency of the aircraft and weather conditions.

To put that into perspective: According to Eurostat, the average European emits about 900 kilograms of CO2 per year.

If you do fly, consider offsetting your carbon emissions—through a reliable, certified offsetting scheme.

5. Just Consume Less

Natural resources are limited.

We deplete local resource stocks through overfishing and overharvesting forests, and harm the climate by emitting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than ecosystems can absorb.

Most countries use more natural resources than the planet can regenerate within a year. In Germany, we would need 1.7 planets per year to support our consumption levels as they are today.

But not all countries are equally to blame for overshooting our natural budget. Higher-income countries use far more resources per year than lower-income countries.

Worldwide, fossil fuels are the main culprit of our resource overshoot—and responsible for high CO2 emissions. In order to live within the means of our planet, we need to radically rethink our consumption patterns.

Do you really need that new smartphone, or discounted dress?

Reducing our environmental footprint means buying fewer products, buying products that last longer, recycling whenever possible and—best of all—reusing as much as we can. Circular economy, baby!

6. Take Collective Action

Many believe the most important thing individuals can do is form groups and take collective action. Bill McKibben, a veteran climate activist and a leading voice for civil society movements to protect the planet, is very vocal on this point.

While individual actions like changing behavior feed into the bigger fight against global warming, that’s no longer enough considering how climate change has taken on such worrying dimensions, McKibben says.

So to really make a difference, people should join together with others in movements that are big and broad enough to actually change government policy.

Source: Eco Watch

Invasion of the Ladybirds! Why Are These Sti-Infected Insects Taking over Our Homes?

13.10.2018

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If you believe the red-tops, these colourful creatures are heading for our bedrooms. But, can they be all bad? Here’s why we should try and live peacefully with them.

While native ladybirds survive the winter months by hiding in leaf litter outdoors, the harlequin prefers our houses. It is drawn to pale colours – ceilings, for instance – which probably remind it of ancestral rock mountainsides.

As to whether they really carry sexually transmitted infections, “ladybirds have an unfortunate number of STIs”, says Roy, “but they pass them only within themselves”. Scientists get excited about this stuff. Look out for tiny yellow fruiting bodies on a harlequin’s back. “It’s an amazing fungus,” says Roy.

These diseases are not spread to native ladybirds and evidence suggests that native species flee predatory harlequins. The harlequin’s full impact on invertebrate ecosystems is not yet known. In the meantime, the best thing we can do is help scientists log harlequins via the iRecord app or the online ladybird survey and try to live peacefully alongside this vibrant new species.

Source: The Guardian

Low-Emission Cows: Farming Responds to Climate Warning

13.10.2018

Farmers are ‘up for radical thought’ following bad harvests due to extreme weather, NFU says.

From low-emission cows to robotic soil management, the farming industry will have to explore new approaches in the wake of a UN warning that the world needs to cut meat consumption or face worsening climate chaos.

That was the message from Guy Smith, vice-president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), this week as policymakers began to discuss how Britain can address the challenges posed by the recent global warming report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Farming and land use are set to move to a more central position in the climate debate in the wake of that report, which urged countries to widen their emissions-cutting efforts beyond the energy industry to agriculture and transport.

“If consumers want to reduce red meat consumption, farmers will respond accordingly,” Smith told a meeting of politicians and climate experts in parliament on Wednesday, noting that farmers could diversify into other stock and use technology to reduce the carbon footprint of the agricultural sector.

Among the possible tech fixes he mentioned were greater uses of satellites and robotics to increase the amount of carbon-absorbing organic matter in the soil and breeding new livestock that emit less methane.

Cow farts are a major source of greenhouse gas, but researchers – who collect the gases in bags fitted to cows – have found there is considerable natural variation from animal to animal. If the low-emission cows could be bred with each other, this could bring down these emissions, they say. Researchers in other countries are also looking at changing feed to make cattle less gaseous.

British agriculture, which already faces dramatic change as a result of Brexit, is likely to come under greater scrutiny next year when both the IPCC and the UK’s Climate Change Commission (CCC) produce reports on the role of land use in reduce emissions. This touches on several politically fraught issues, including whether to use land for carbon-sink forests, food-producing farms, housing or industry.

Smith said he was opposed to any reduction in the productive land of British agriculture. He warned that cuts here could mean an expansion in Argentina or Brazil, where crops and beef are produced in far more environmentally destructive conditions and shipping leads to a much higher carbon footprint. Better, he said, to reduce waste in farms, processing, supermarkets and home.

Climate scientists said action on meat was important. “The clear message from the IPCC is that diet matters,” said Prof Jim Skea, who chaired one of the working groups on the new UN report. “If we eat healthy meat, we’ll live longer and by the way reduce our carbon footprint.”

In light of the IPCC report, Baroness Brown, a member of the CCC, said her group is likely to advise the government to step up its efforts to meet current climate targets, which are currently off course, and to add “an element of more ambition when it is formally asked for policy recommendations.

These limitations were criticised by the Green party MP Caroline Lucas. “It’s not good enough for the government to attempt to simply add a green tinge to business as usual,” she said.

“This week’s IPCC report couldn’t have been clearer: we need an urgent and complete overhaul of our economic system to avoid disaster – and to create a fairer, healthier, safer society.”

Source: The Guardian

ABB and Nobel Media announce international partnership

13.10.2018

ABB and Nobel Media today announced an international partnership, bringing together two respected organizations committed to the development of innovation, education and scientific research, making ABB one of a select group of Nobel International Partners.

Nobel Media, an entity within the Nobel Foundation, extends the reach of the Nobel Prize to millions of people around the world through inspirational events, digital media and special exhibitions and activities related to the legacy of Alfred Nobel and the achievements of the Nobel Laureates. Through these activities and events – including global Nobel Prize Dialogue gatherings – Nobel Media reaches and engages students, decision makers and a curious general public around the world.

The ABB-Nobel Media partnership aims to share knowledge broadly, inspire people to engage in science and shed light on our time’s greatest challenges. As a pioneering technology leader, ABB will bring deep scientific and innovation experience and commitment into the partnership.

ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer commented, “We are delighted to become a Nobel International Partner to celebrate the visionaries who are shaping the world and writing the future. Nobel and ABB share a deep commitment to innovation and the power of ideas, and we are inspired by this opportunity to spotlight the groundbreaking work of Nobel Laureates, to celebrate science and discovery and to inspire the next generation of extraordinary pioneers. We look forward to working closely with Nobel and to involving our customers, employees and communities around the world in this exciting endeavor.”

Managing Director, ABB Sweden, Johan Söderström added, “Partnering with one of our country’s most important institutions is a privilege for all of us at ABB. We are excited to explore the events, activities and engagements together with the best scientists in the world. This partnership also strengthens our commitment to younger generations.”

“The Nobel Prize stands for the power of ideas and the making of a better world through knowledge and science. Committing to these values is more important than ever, a responsibility we share with ABB,” said Mattias Fyrenius, Chief Executive Officer of Nobel Media. “In order to handle our time’s greatest challenges, strengthening the ties between the business community, policy makers and academia is key, which makes me proud to announce the partnership with ABB”.

Nobel Media’s events and activations include thought-provoking conferences, lectures and exhibitions globally as well as engaging content through broad-reaching digital channels. The next Nobel Prize Dialogue – which brings together Nobel Laureates, world-leading scientists, policy makers and thought leaders from around the world – will be held in Santiago, Chile in mid-January 2019.

Nobel Media spreads knowledge about Nobel Prize-awarded achievements and stimulates interest in science, literature and peace in line with Alfred Nobel’s vision and legacy. The company reaches a global audience of millions through its high-quality productions: The official digital channels of the Nobel Prize, the Nobel Prize Concert, as well as a series of intercontinental, inspirational lecture events featuring Nobel Laureates. The company also manages a portfolio of publishing licenses, footage sales, and live broadcast rights to the Nobel Prize Award Ceremonies.

Nobel Media®, Nobel Prize® and Nobelprize.org® are registered trademarks of the Nobel Foundation.

Scotland ‘Must Lift Thousands out of Fuel Poverty’

12.10.2018

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Citizens Advice Scotland have called for a consumer helpline to be set up to help solve the problem

It says many consumers are in desperate need of advice and support
Electric heating is the most expensive form of domestic fuel
Almost 27% of all Scottish spend more than 10% of their income on energy

The Scottish Government must set up a consumer helpline to lift thousands of its citizens out of fuel poverty.

That’s the verdict from a new Citizens Advice Scotland report, which says many consumers are in desperate need of advice and support following a period of receiving inconsistent and confusing information from a variety of sources.

The organisation warns more than a tenth of households across the nation use electric heating to keep their house warm – it stresses this is the most expensive form of domestic fuel, costing around three times as much as a similar gas system.

The report finds those using electric heating are nearly twice as likely to suffer from fuel poverty, with many of these households on low incomes and unlikely to engage with existing support or switching services.

Almost 27% of all Scottish spend more than 10% of their income on energy, meaning they can be classed as fuel poor. More than half of all electric heat users were classed as fuel poor in 2016, with only 23% of gas users fitting into the category.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: “Over the lifetime of this parliament we are investing over half a billion pounds to tackle energy efficiency and fuel poverty and we are taking forward landmark legislation to eradicate fuel poverty for good.

“We want to see a Scotland where everyone lives in a warm, energy efficient home, and has access to affordable, low carbon energy.”

Source: Energy Live News

EU Invests in Two Additional Car Emissions Testing Facilities

12.10.2018

They will monitor and check compliance of vehicles with the type-approval regulation and the new emissions limits.

Two additional facilities that will carry out vehicle emissions testing before they are rolled out on the roads are to be built in Italy.

The European Commission is investing in the Vehicle Emissions Laboratories (VELA), which will monitor and check compliance of vehicles with the type-approval regulation and the new emissions limits, whether in the laboratory or on the road.

VELA 10 and VELA 11 will be located at the Joint Research Centre in Ispra, which will carry out the checks under the new European Type Approval framework on behalf of the Commission.

On-board fuel and energy consumption monitoring devices are being introduced, allowing the comparison of laboratory results for CO2 emissions with average real driving situations for the first time.

he checks will also focus on some safety issues such as brakes and the protection of passengers.

The new facilities, in addition to the current four, are scheduled to start testing cars in 2020 when new type-approval rules for safer and cleaner cars will enter into force.

Under the regulations, the Commission will carry out market checks independently from member states and includes the possibility for it to initiate EU-wide recalls and impose fines of up to €30,000 (£26,223) per car.

The new rules are expected to raise the quality level and independence of vehicle type approval and testing and increase checks of cars that are already on the EU market.

Source: Enegy Live News

Historic Climate Ruling Upheld by Dutch Appeals Court

11.10.2018

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A Dutch appeals court upheld a historic climate liability ruling Tuesday, affirming that the Dutch government has to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020 compared with 1990 levels, The Associated Press reported.

The original ruling, decided in June 2015, was the first time a court found that governments had a legal obligation to their citizens to protect them from climate change, The Guardian reported at the time.

The appeal ruling comes as a new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has emphasized the need for urgent action to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

“Considering the great dangers that are likely to occur, more ambitious measures have to be taken in the short term to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to protect the life and family life of citizens in the Netherlands,” the court said in a statement reported by The Associated Press.

The original case was brought by the environmental group Urgenda, representing 900 Dutch citizens. The Netherlands’ liberal government, lead by Mark Rutte, plans to reduce emissions 17 percent by 2020, The Guardian reported, but now two courts have agreed with Urgenda that that is not enough.

“The special report of the IPCC emphasizes that we need to reduce emissions with much greater urgency. The Dutch government knows that as a low-lying country, we are on the frontline of climate change. Our own government agencies recently concluded that in the worst case scenario sea levels might rise by 2.5 to three meters (approximately eight to 10 feet) by the end of the century. The court of appeal’s decision puts all governments on notice. They must act now, or they will be held to account,” Urgenda Director Marjan Minnesma told The Guardian.

The ruling could have consequences for similar cases around the world, in countries as widely distributed as New Zealand, Norway, Uganda and the UK.

“Governments can no longer make promises they don’t fulfill. Countries have an obligation to protect their citizens against climate change. That makes this trial relevant for all other countries,” Dutch Green leader Jesse Klaver told The Guardian.

In the U.S., the Trump administration is attempting to stall the climate liability case Juliana v. United States, being brought by Our Children’s Trust on behalf of 21 young people who assert their constitutional rights have been violated by the federal government, which is aware of the dangers of climate change but continues to promote the use of fossil fuels.

The case is scheduled to go to trial Oct. 29, but the federal government filed a motion requesting a stay Friday until the Supreme Court can review the case, The Register-Guard reported.

Both the 9th Circuit and Supreme Court ruled in July the case could proceed to trial, so lawyers for the plaintiffs think it is unlikely the government’s delays will succeed, despite this weekend’s confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

Attorney Philip Gregory told the Register-Guard Monday that a different decision was “doubtful” “given the fact that Justice (Anthony) Kennedy and the rest of the court, less than three months ago, determined the case should proceed forward to trial.”

Back in the Netherlands, the Dutch government issued a statement Tuesday saying it would review the ruling for grounds for a further appeal, but also said that it would comply with the court’s order and that a 25 percent emissions reduction by 2020 was “within reach,” The Associated Press reported.

Minnesma recommended the government shut down coal-fired plants and reduce maximum speeds on some highways.

Source: Eco Watch

Air Pollution Linked to Greater Risk of Mouth Cancer, Finds Study

11.10.2018

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Research in Taiwan has show a link between very high levels of air pollution and oral cancer.

High levels of air pollution are linked to an increased risk of mouth cancer, new research has revealed.

Scientists have previously linked high air pollution to a host of health problems, from an increased risk of dementia to asthma and even changes in the structure of the heart, with recent research suggesting there is no “safe level” of air pollution.

Now researchers say that at very high levels of air pollution, the risk of developing mouth cancer appears to rise.

Writing in the Journal of Investigative Medicine, researchers in Taiwan describe how they discovered the association by looking at air pollution data from 66 air quality monitoring stations around the country collected in 2009, and combing this with data from the health records of more than 480,000 men aged 40 and over from 2012/13. In total, there were 1,1617 cases of mouth cancer among participants.

The team focused on tiny particulates of pollution known as PM2.5s, and took the men’s exposure to this air pollution as being based on where they lived. They then sorted the participants into four groups, from lowest to highest levels of exposure.

After taking into account factors including age, exposure to ozone, levels of other particulates, age, smoking status and whether the men chewed betel quid – a mixture of ingredients that includes areca nut and betel leaf and is known to increase the risk of mouth cancer – the researchers found that men exposed to the highest levels of PM2.5s had an increased risk of mouth cancer.

Compared with men exposed to average annual PM2.5 levels of 26.74 micrograms (μg) per cubic metre (m³) of air, those exposed to concentrations of 40.37 μg/m³ or higher had 43% greater odds of developing the disease.

“The mechanism through which this occurs is not clearly understood, hence further investigations are required,” the researchers write.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has previously said average annual levels of PM2.5s should not exceed 10 μg/m³. While in central London the average annual figures have been found to be double this, they are still far lower than the highest levels seen in the Taiwanese study.

However, many other cities around the world have extremely high levels of air pollution. According to figures from the WHO, the average annual level of PM2.5s in Kabul is 86 μg/m³, while in Beijing it is 85 μg/m³ and in Delhi it has been recorded at 122 μg/m³.

But the study has limitations, including that it is does not consider the men’s previous exposure to air pollution over their lifetime – which may have been higher or lower than their recent exposure.

Prof Frank Kelly, chair in environmental health at King’s College London, who was not involved in the study, said it would be useful to explore whether a link between mouth cancer and air pollution is seen in other countries.

“Air pollution has previously been linked with several types of cancer, including breast, liver, lung and pancreatic cancer. It is therefore not surprising that this new study in Taiwan has made a possible link with mouth cancer,” he said. “However, given that air pollution concentrations and smoking incidence are much lower in the UK and we don’t chew betel all suggest that the increased risk of developing mouth cancer may be unique to Taiwan.”

Source: The Guardian

When Chucks Meet Solar Power Plant

10.10.2018

In case you have bought your pair of Chucks in Serbia or a country in the region, there are high chances that they had found their way to your feet with the help of Triple Jump, the exclusive distributor of Converse, one of the world’s oldest sports brands. As a result of the knowledge and work of the company’s employees, some other renowned brands came to the market of South-Eastern Europe, such as Escada, Mexx, Nike, and Zara.

The founder of the company is Milan Spasojevic, former Yugoslavian Olympian, and successful triple jump athlete. Triple Jump’s main activity is the trade of products in the field of sports and fashion.

In an effort to reduce electricity bills in their offices in Belgrade and to reorient themselves on the production of electricity from renewable sources, the management of this company hired MT-KOMEX. Triple Jump entrusted the task of building a small solar power plant on the roof of its office building to the experts of this company.

Moving a step forward along with modern trends, the Belgrade-based company MT-KOMEX enriched their several decades-long experiences in the field of mechanical engineering and welding with the areas of clean energy sources, energy efficiency and sustainable development. It is therefore not surprising that triple jump athletes have chosen it to achieve their goals.

MT-KOMEX engineers have been trained and certified to install photovoltaic modules with the corresponding equipment, as well as voltage and inverter converters. Their skills were once again proven on the roof of a multi-story building in Novi Beograd, where Triple Jump is located.

They set up a total of 108 photovoltaic panels of polycrystalline type and high efficiency, produced by the Canadian-Chinese company Canadian Solar, on the aluminium substructure, made by K2 Systems.

The power plant with a capacity of 30 kW was put into operation on June 1, 2018. The engineers installed Fronius inverters. The generated electricity will be used for Triple Jump’s own consumption without a possibility of handover to the electric grid. It will mostly be used for the purposes of air-conditioning, heating, and lighting.

Users of a small solar power plant, thanks to a smart meter, can monitor the energy “exhaustion” of the building and indirectly improve its energy efficiency.

The decision that, among numerous sustainable alternatives for obtaining energy, the choice falls onto the sun is sparked by the fact that the territory of our country gets a quantity of horizontal radiation of the sun that is higher than average.

Although solar panels are standard in Germany, and a rarity in Serbia, the Serbian soil is richer in sunshine compared to German. In Germany, global horizontal radiation goes up to 900 kWh/m2 and in our capital up to 1250 kWh/m2.

This article was published in the eleventh issue of the Energy Portal Magazine SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE, in July 2018.

Prepared by: Jelena Kozbasic

Find more information at:

www.elektropunjaci.com

info@mt-komex.co.rs

011 77 04 566

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