Wassup World! Today is July Eleventh Two Thousand Eighteen and this is Wassup World News coming to you not so live with the Weekly Wednesday Wrap Up where we rebreak stories that impact our planets flora and fauna. Today, and every Wednesday moving forward we will be rebreaking news regarding Water, Air, Soil, Urban Spaces, Power and People.
Since Thursday, parts of western Japan have received three times the typical rainfall for the whole of July. 93 cities reported the highest rainfall measures recorded since records have been kept. Two million people were ordered to evacuate as rivers burst their banks. Roughly 200 people are thought to be dead due to the flooding, with over 100 more passing due to landslide. [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44762110]
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has issued an emergency order to help counties affected by an algae bloom in Lake Okeechobee that’s sending the toxic, green slime to sensitive estuaries downstream. The order Scott signed Monday will give the state environmental and tourism agencies more resources to respond to the problem. [https://apnews.com/638f8888d7ea41c4b50a0f9c28f9ee11/Florida-governor-signs-emergency-order-on-toxic-algae]
In the final hours of Scott Pruitt’s tenure, the Environmental Protection Agency moved on Friday to effectively grant a loophole that will allow a major increase in the manufacturing of a diesel freight truck called a glider truck, that produces as much as 55 times the air pollution as trucks that have modern emissions controls. The move by the E.P.A. came after intense lobbying by a small set of manufacturers that sell glider trucks, which use old engines built before new technologies significantly reduced emissions of particulates and nitrogen oxide that are blamed for asthma, lung cancer and other ailments. [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/06/us/glider-trucks-loophole-pruitt.html]
Five German cities plan to emulate an Austrian scheme to radically cut the cost of public transport in a bid to combat pollution. In Vienna, where cheaper ticket were introduced in 2012, the number of people using public transport doubled. [https://global.handelsblatt.com/politics/german-cities-slash-public-transport-fares-fight-pollution-939592]
A new study funded by the US Department of Veterans affairs has found that around 3.2 million cases of diabetes can be attributed to air pollution globally. The study surveyed over 1,700,000 participants and also found that over 200,000 diabetes related deaths could also be attributed to air pollution. [https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpla/article/PIIS2542-5196(18)30140-2/fulltext]
Colombia’s Serrania del Chiribiquete has been declared the world’s largest tropical rainforest national park following decades of efforts by environmental experts and conservationists. The park, which is home to nearly 3,000 animal and plant species, has been expanded by more than 50 per cent – an area equivalent to the size of Northern Ireland. [https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/colombia-rainforest-national-park-world-heritage-site-serrania-del-chiribiquete-a8428371.html?utm_source=reddit.com]
Chile's constitutional court has ratified a bill to ban the use of plastic bags in business, paving the way for it to become the first South American country to do so. The law was passed by Congress on June 1 but last week the Association of Industrial Plastics (Asipla) filed an appeal claiming the move was unconstitutional, which the constitutional court rejected. [http://www.france24.com/en/20180704-chilean-court-ratifies-plastic-bag-ban-after-appeal]
The combined stress of gradual climate change and extreme weather events are overwhelming ecosystems’ natural resilience in Australia, where the average temperature (both air and sea) has increased by about 1°C since the start of the 19th century. a recent study details a number of undisturbed ecosystems that have experienced catastrophic changes after a single extreme weather event. [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0187-9.epdf?author_access_token=iAnWdzF8nglwSjS6WZjIQtRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0M0c_-6ZvaWXrnL2jFBT7Yw34Qy4vTMk1Pz3OongvDmduy-kjSa2n8SMnX3uTMrFZ8UO-y8wwKdoknAdWQUEMFydUOf9govlSST8gxKn6agFw%3D%3D]
The northen hemisphere has been experiencing some of the hottest weather its seen in recorded history. Cities in Canada, the United States, Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Georgia, Armenia, Russia, and Oman all reported historically hot weather. [https://www.adn.com/nation-world/2018/07/05/red-hot-planet-all-time-heat-records-have-been-set-all-over-the-world-during-the-past-week/]
Twelve days after the state of Matahastra's state government enforced a ban on the manufacture, sale and use of a variety of plastic goods, 355 plastic and thermocol (styrofoam) manufacturing units have closed down voluntarily in the state. [https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/plastic-ban-355-plastic-making-factories-shut-shop-in-maharashtra-says-mpcb/story-m5C84BfX7tpE05iOOKhv2M.html]
American Airlines and Starbucks, in seperate announcements, have commited to stopping their use of plastic straws.
On Friday, Ireland banned fracking. Ireland becomes the fourth country to ban the controversial method behind France, Germany and Bulgaria. [https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/bills/bill/2016/37/] [https://www.ecowatch.com/ireland-ban-fracking-2450255362.html]
Last week, Costa Rica's President Carlos Alvarado announced the country would be banning fossil based fuels. This makes Costa Rica the first country in the world to completely decarbonize. [https://sputniknews.com/environment/201807081066149020-costa-rica-eliminate-fossil-fuels/]
A new poll released by Morning Consult has found that 63% of Americans support mandatating that solar power be installed on new homes in their state. [https://morningconsult.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Solar-Crosstabs-2.pdf]
Swedish utilities and power generators have already installed so many wind turbines that the Nordic nation is on course to reach its 2030 renewable energy target late this year. By December, Sweden will have 3,681 wind turbines installed and will have more than enough capacity to meet a target to add 18 terawatt-hours of new, renewable energy output. [https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/world/europe/2018-07-04-sweden-to-reach-its-2030-renewable-energy-target-this-year/]
Rhode Island's Democratic Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin announced on Monday that the state has filed a lawsuit against 21 major oil companies—including BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Shell—"for knowingly contributing to climate change, and causing catastrophic consequences to Rhode Island, our economy, our communities, our residents, our ecosystems [https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/07/02/watershed-moment-climate-liability-rhode-island-files-historic-lawsuit-against-21]
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt resigned on Thursday after allegations of workplace retaliation, wasteful spending and self-dealing mounted over several months. The resignation comes only a few days after a woman holding her child publicly confronted Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt while he was eating lunch on Monday and urged him to resign. The EPA's new boss, Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist, is likely to keep in line with Trump administration policies. [https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/08/trump-spoke-to-scott-pruitt-amid-reports-of-white-house-probe-into-epa-chief.html] [https://apnews.com/b10531b6ab554cea9a84aa6c54f35e0f/EPA's-new-boss-unlikely-to-change-Trump-environmental-policy]
In naming Brett Kavanaugh as his pick for the Supreme Court’s open seat, President Donald Trump is advancing a judge widely seen as unfriendly to environmental regulation. On the environment, Kavanaugh is likely to be hostile to regulation of pollution, climate, and endangered animals, conservation groups say.
Pope Francis urged governments on Friday to make good on their commitments to curb global warming. “There is a real danger that we will leave future generations only rubble, deserts and refuse,” he warned. [https://apnews.com/2dc33645a7e140ffa63e9f5f3b8d2504]
That's it for this Wednesday Weekly Wrap Up! Follow, subscribe, or do what you do so you can hear next weeks wrap up. This has been a podcast by Wassup World News. Things may have changed by the time you've listened to this.
I'm John Brindley, and Until next time, Peace Out World.