When the world went into lockdown, the global demand for electricity dropped 20%. By the end of March, 50% of the traffic disappeared from city streets. The demand for fossil fuels evaporated. Coal fired generation has suffered its’ largest drop since World War II. A new International Energy Agency (IEA) report suggests the post COVID energy world could be far more carbon free.
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Noam Chomsky: What Kind Of World Do We Want To Live In?
Will the post COVID 19 world be more socially, environmentally and economically stable? Or will humanity’s plight continue in a downward spiral? Noam Chomsky asks, “What kind of world do we want to live in?”
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What Did COP 25 Achieve?
The World’s 25th Conference of the Parties (COP 25) concluded in Madrid at 1:55 PM, Sunday, December 15, 2019, having accomplished enough to merit the pile of horse manure left at its doorstep. Nearly 27,000 international delegates participated. One of the resulting press releases proclaims, “Heads of UN agencies met for a high-level Leadership Dialogue on how to turn the tide on deforestation and committed to the common goal of helping countries reduce deforestation and improve forest management.” Another states “Italy and Mexico committed to stepped-up climate and environmental education.” There is no indication that these, or any other measures, will be implemented. In her final address in the main plenary hall, Greta Thunberg described COP 25 as “some kind of opportunity for countries to negotiate loopholes.” Elizabeth May issued a press release calling the negotiations “brutal” and adding that any real progress was “blocked at this meeting by the negotiators representing Donald Trump’s America, Bolsonaro’s Brazil and Morrison’s Australia.”
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The World's Most Sustainable Nations
If one accepts the findings of the 2019 Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index, the age of colonial states and super powers is over. The World’s two largest economies, the United States and China, are ranked 34 and 37, respectively. Germany leads the G7 nations, but only places 15 overall. Only two non-European nations, New Zealand (12) and Canada (19) are in the top ten. The World’s most sustainable nations are Scandinavian.
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The Next 18 Months May Be Critical
By Roy L Hales
The heat wave that toppled European temperature records last month, reduced half of Greenland’s ice sheet to slush. Though wildfires are common in northern regions, there is no record of anything corresponding to what is transpiring today. Close to 5.5 million hectares are ablaze in northern Russia, and another million in Alaska. As a BBC environmental correspondent recently stated, the next 18 months may be critical if we hope to halt the rise of global temperatures at 1.5 degrees.
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