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Category: International Affairs,
Canada plans to ban ‘harmful’ single-use plastics by 2021 – CNN
Canada will ban many single-use plastic items by 2021, including bags, straws, cutlery and stirring sticks.
…It comes after the European Parliament passed a similar ban on single-use plastic items in late March, including a target to recycle 90% of plastic beverage bottles by 2029.
…”Less than 10 per cent of plastic used in Canada [is sent to be] recycled. Without a change in course, Canadians will throw away an estimated $11 billion worth of plastic materials each year by 2030.”
…A report by the European Commission found that 80% of litter in the world’s oceans is plastic.
…Plastic has been found inside marine animals including [thing we eat seems like a reasonably conclusion but somehow is not listed in the animals the quote names.]
Canada plans to ban ‘harmful’ single-use plastics by 2021 – CNN
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Microplastics Have Invaded The Deep Ocean — And The Food Chain
“We found that most of the plastic is below the surface.” More, he says, than in the giant floating patches.
And also to their surprise, they found that submerged microplastics are widely distributed, from the surface to thousands of feet deep.
Moreover, the farther from shore they sampled, the more microplastics they found. That suggests it’s not just washing off the California coast. It’s coming from all over.
…The deep ocean is filled with sea creatures like larvaceans that filter tiny organisms out of the water. …”We found small plastic pieces in every single larvacean that we examined from different depths across the water column,” Choy says. Another filter feeder, the red crab, also contained plastic pieces — every one they caught.
…”Anything that humans introduce to that habitat is passing through these animals and being incorporated into the food web” — a web that leads up to marine animals people eat.
Microplastics Have Invaded The Deep Ocean — And The Food Chain : The Salt : NPR
yup
Why some countries are shipping back plastic waste
Many wealthy countries send their recyclable waste overseas because it’s cheap, helps meet recycling targets and reduces domestic landfill.
For developing countries taking in the rubbish, it’s a valuable source of income.
But contaminated plastic and rubbish that cannot be recycled often gets mixed in.
…Only a tiny fraction of all plastics ever produced has been recycled.
Often, materials that can’t be recycled end up being burned illegally, dumped in landfills or waterways, creating risks to the environment and public health.
….Until January 2018, China imported most of the world’s plastic waste.
But due to concerns about contamination and pollution, it declared it would no longer buy recycled plastic scrap that was not 99.5% pure.
…Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, South Korea, Turkey, India and Poland all took up the slack.
…But the rubbish arriving in these countries wasn’t sufficiently recyclable, and it has caused problems.
…”What the citizens of the UK believe they send for recycling is actually dumped in our country,” said Malaysian Minister Yeo Bee Yin.
…However, there is still an overwhelming demand for locations to send plastic and other waste to for recycling, and the challenge of how to dispose of it remains.
…In 2016, 235 million tonnes of plastic waste was generated globally.
On current trends, this could reach 417 million tonnes per year by 2030.
Why some countries are shipping back plastic waste – BBC News
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Here and Now Episode: Carbon Capture Plant In Switzerland Opens To Sell CO2 For Reuse
The first commercial facility that can extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and then sell it for reuse opened earlier this month in Switzerland. …But critics say the technology uses too much energy and is too expensive.
Carbon Capture Plant In Switzerland Opens To Sell CO2 For Reuse | Here & Now
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Native American Women Are Being Sold into the Sex Trade on Ships Along Lake Superior
Next month, Christine Stark—a student with the University of Minnesota-Duluth, who is completing her master’s degree in social work—will complete an examination of the sex trade in Minnesota, in which she compiles anecdotal, firsthand accounts of Native women, particularly from northern reservations, being trafficked across state, provincial, and international lines to be forced into servitude in the sex industry on both sides of the border.
…Through her independent research and work with the Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition, Stark interviewed hundreds of Native women who have been through the trauma of the Lake Superior sex trade. The stories she’s compiled are evidence of an underground industry that’s thriving on the suffering of First Nations women, which is seemingly going unchecked and underreported.
…“The Duluth harbor is notorious among Native people as a site for the trafficking of Native women from northern reservations.” She continues, “in an ongoing project focused on the trafficking of Native women on ships in Duluth, it was found that the activity includes international transport of Native women and teens, including First Nations women and girls brought down from Thunder Bay, Ontario, to be sold on the ships… Native women, teen girls and boys, and even babies have been sold for sex on the ships.”
Native American Women Are Being Sold into the Sex Trade on Ships Along Lake Superior – VICE
Jeezus!
Iran will get the blame, but the Gulf of Oman truth is likely a lot murkier
Inevitably, similarities have been drawn between Thursday’s attacks and events a month ago, when four ships were targeted near the Emirati port of Furajah. For that, officials in Washington and beyond pointed the finger at Iran.
But Thursday’s incident is significantly more blatant. Yet the same officials will doubtless blame Tehran again. If and when that happens, we should remember US national security advisor John Bolton promised to present evidence to the UN Security Council backing up those previous claims, but has yet to do so.
…There are few easy facts here, as there are few easy culprits. But the sense of uncertainty stokes rather than dampens the fears of mismanagement and conflict.
Iran will get the blame, but the Gulf of Oman truth is likely a lot murkier – CNN
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Pope says indigenous people must have final say about their land | Environment | The Guardian
In the 15th century papal bulls promoted and provided legal justification for the conquest and theft of indigenous peoples’ lands and resources worldwide – the consequences of which are still being felt today. The right to conquest in one such bull, the Romanus Pontifex, issued in the 1450s when Nicholas V was the Pope, was granted in perpetuity.
How times have changed. [Pope Francis] said publicly that indigenous peoples have the right to “prior and informed consent.” In other words, nothing should happen on – or impact – their land, territories and resources unless they agree to it.
…The UN’s Declaration – non-legally-binding – was adopted 10 years ago. Article 32 says “states shall consult and cooperate in good faith with the indigenous peoples concerned through their own representative institutions in order to obtain their free and informed consent prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other resources, particularly in connection with the development, utilization or exploitation of mineral, water or other resources.”
Pope says indigenous people must have final say about their land | Environment | The Guardian
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Japanese Tanker Owner Says U.S. Is Wrong About Gulf Attack
Yutaka Katada, the owner of one of the stricken fuel tankers crippled in explosions in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday, says the U.S. is wrong about the way the attack was carried out.
…“It seems there was a high chance they were attacked by a flying object. The impact was well above the water. I don’t think it was a torpedo.”
Japanese Tanker Owner Says U.S. Is Wrong About Gulf Attack
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TBT: Israel demolishes Palestinian schools, citing lack of permits
The brand-new building, paid for by the European Union, was constructed just three weeks ago. Now, little more than the concrete floor and an outhouse remain.
…Now [the student have] been left with only a tent to shelter from the searing heat of the August sun — and no tables to sit and study at.
…According to the NRC, three educational facilities for Palestinian children in the West Bank have been demolished or damaged by Israeli authorities in the past two weeks.
…A kindergarten for the Bedouin community of Jabal Al Baba was torn down, and a primary school in Abu Nuwar had its solar panels — the only source of power at the school — dismantled and taken away, the NRC says.
…The European Union says about 100 structures — homes, shelters, water networks, as well as schools — in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, for which the EU or EU member states have provided funding, have been demolished or seized over the past year.
…”What threat do these schools pose to the Israeli authorities? What are they planning to achieve by denying thousands of children their fundamental right to education?”
Israel demolishes Palestinian schools, citing lack of permits – CNN
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‘Free Willy’ bill bans dolphin and whale captivity in Canada
Exceptions to the measure includes animals being rescued or rehabilitated, or those cleared for scientific research.
The bill reads, “A person may move a live cetacean from its immediate vicinity when the cetacean is injured or in distress and is in need of assistance.”
‘Free Willy’ bill bans dolphin and whale captivity in Canada
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