How Skeptics Become Murderers
Skepticism came first and it was intellectually acceptable. Denial came second and it was tolerated as a political perspective. Nihilism always existed as some of the major contributors to global warming were also among the first to recognize its potential. But, to now continue the behaviors knowing that they will cause irreparable harm to humanity, that is climate murder. We need to call them out for what they are.
Perhaps a decade or two ago, one could accept that there might be climate skeptics, who honestly questioned the science of climate change and whether it was happening at all. Then you got climate deniers, who in the face of all evidence said 'it's orbital mechanics or sunspots or this always happens.'
It is hard to believe that today anyone still believes that nothing is happening or that it is sunspots. What we have now are people who just don't care, or have other interests that take priority.
This is why climate denier is no longer strong enough. I like climate arsonist, and it was coined by a friend, but climate nihilist is actually a better term. These people know the consequences of their actions, have decided that it is in their own interest, and the interest of a large enough number of voters, not to care. And inevitably, at some point, I will be calling them climate murderers.
Premeditated Murder
Today Brazil’s Trumpian president, Jair Bolsonaro, suggested that the massive outbreak of fires in the Amazon rainforest were being cause by NGO to embarrass his administration. Sounds like he and Trump are using the same playbook. The cause of the fires is the agricultural land rush that Bolsonaro has allowed to take place. At the same time more land is coming under cultivation, the foundations of any agricultural future are crumbling. Case in point, pollinators.
Pointing to the deaths of more than half a billion bees in Brazil over a period of just four months, beekeepers, experts and activists are raising concerns about the soaring number of new pesticides greenlighted for use by the Brazilian government since far-right President Jair Bolsonaro took office in January — and the threat that it poses to pollinators, people and the planet.
Indigenous and green groups have expressed alarm about the dangers of Bolsonaro's anti-environment policies — especially for the Amazon rainforest — since even before Bolsonaro's inauguration. Recent reports highlighting that the Bolsonaro government has approved a record 290 pesticides so far this year have further heightened worries about his environmental agenda and its consequences.
"Between December 2018 and March 2019, more than 500 million bees were found dead by beekeepers in four Brazilian states," SciDev.net reported Friday, citing figures revealed earlier this year. "Beekeepers' associations and agriculture authorities suspect this was caused by the widespread use of two classes of pesticides — fipronil and neonicotinoids — on flowering crops."
Accessories to the Crime
When you knowingly sell a product that is dangerous and that will result in the loss of life. Even if you don’t pull the trigger does that make you an accessory to murder? Japanese companies are facilitating the sale of coal fired power plants in some of the poorest countries in the world. That in itself should be a crime, but to sell them without the most advanced emission control technologies makes the crime even greater.
Over three million people from South and Southeast Asia, including Bangladesh, will be exposed to air pollution and face health hazards as the Japanese public finance agencies are funding 17 coal-fired power plants in the region, says a Greenpeace report.
It is estimated that the Japanese investment would cause a total of 148,000 to 410,000 avoidable premature deaths over the typical 30-year operation period of those plants, said the joint Greenpeace Southeast Asia and Greenpeace Japan report released yesterday in Singapore.
Most of those power plants located in South and Southeast Asian countries were financed by Japanese public finance agencies JBIC, JICA and NEXI. They have invested $16.7 billion in coal plants between January 2013 to May 2019, of which Indonesia is the major recipient with 42 percent, Vietnam 20 percent and Bangladesh 18 percent.
Japan has developed technology to reduce emissions and is using that in their own coal-fired plants, but they are financing far inferior technologies in other countries, the report said, adding that the Japanese government was “exporting air pollution overseas”.
Japan has a stricter guideline than WHO set recommendations for air pollution for their own country. But the power plants Japan is financing would breach the WHO guidelines, the report mentioned.
Rooftop Farms of Paris
Currently under construction in the south-west of the city, this urban oasis will span approximately 14,000 sq metres (150695 sq feet) – also making it the largest urban farm in Europe. With the plan to grow more than 30 different plant species, the site will produce around 1,000kg of fruit and vegetables every day in high season. Tended by around 20 gardeners, they will also be using entirely organic methods.
The goal is to make the farm a globally-recognised model for sustainable production,” says Pascal Hardy, founder of Agripolis, the urban-farming company at the centre of the project. “We’ll be using quality products, grown in rhythm with nature’s cycles, all in the heart of Paris.”
Located on the top of a major exhibition complex currently under redevelopment in the 15th arrondissement, the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, the farm will also have its own on-site restaurant and bar with capacity for around 300 people. Run by Paris’s renowned chain of rooftop venues, Le Perchoir, this aerial eatery will offer panoramic views over the capital – and, needless to say, the menu will feature seasonal produce grown on the site.
High Tech Ohio "Farm"
80 Acres Farms harvested its first crop of tomatoes in recent weeks in a space designed to be far more productive that its 12,000-square-foot Cincinnati location, something that was proof of concept, but isn’t at the scale it needs to be to “make a dent” in demand, according to Rebecca Haders, 80 Acres Farms’ vice president of creative and marketing. While the Cincinnati location has room for one “grow zone” for tomatoes, the downtown Hamilton location has room for 15 such areas. That, Haders said, means the ability to grow and harvest thousands of pounds of tomatoes each week.
Head grower Robert Norris walks through rows of tomato plants at 80 Acres Farms that is now operating in downtown Hamilton. They purchased the former Miami Motor Car Co. building on S. 2nd Street in February 2017 and have renovated it to create an indoor farm facility. The special pink colored lighting is controlled by a timer for optimal growing conditions.
“This is really our foray into commercialization,” Haders said during an exclusive first-look tour around the facility provided to this news outlet. “We could service a larger retailer at this point.”
Also found at Just Save One.