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Wassup world? Today is Thursday, November 8th, 2018 and this is the Weekly Environmental Wrap Up, coming to you with the most important happenings regarding Water, Air, Soil, Urban Spaces, Power and People.
Floridians Tuesday banned offshore oil and gas drilling in Florida’s state waters with the apparent passage of Amendment 9. The constitutional amendment prohibits oil and gas exploration activities three miles into the Atlantic Ocean and nine miles into the Gulf of Mexico. Amendment 9 also includes a ban on vaping within indoor spaces.
Florida Voters Pass Constitutional Amendment Banning Oil, Gas Drilling in State Waters Odd Florida offshore drilling amendment passes — along with a ban on indoor vaping – ThinkProgress
Further offshore, the ocean floor is melting… According to a study published this week in PNAS , this sets off a feedback loop that acidifies the ocean even more quickly, a process that is already killing off foundational marine life species such as coral and threatening the balance of all ocean ecosystems on which we depend. In the northwest Atlantic Ocean, adjacent to Europe, 40 to 100 percent of the seafloor has been dissolved at the most severe locations.
The Seafloor Is Dissolving Because of Climate Change - Motherboard
While the ocean floor is dissolving, In Russia 12 Killer Whales and 90 Beluga were captured from the wild this summer. Due to the demand from Marine Parks around the world, the price of a single untrained Killer Whale is over a million dollar. Most of the whales will likely be sold to Chinese marine parks which are becoming increasingly popular as of late.
100 Wild Whales Captured by Russia to be Sent to Marine Parks
On the other side of the arctic, Just a week after voting to ban keeping dolphins & whales in captivity, the Canadian government announced on Oct 31st that it will be committing $61.5 million dollars to the protection of the Southern Resident Killer Whales. The specie is facing serious threats to their survival in the wild.
Canada Commits $61 Million Dollars To Protecting Killer Whales
Toward the equator, Palau will ban reef toxic sunscreen by 2020 in an effort to protect its coral reefs after the president of the country signed a bill into law. Hawaii passed a similar ban earlier this year. Oxybenzone and octinoxate, which are used in sunscreen, have been found to harm the development of coral, fish and other animals and can be heavily concentrated in swimming, snorkeling and diving areas popular with visitors, the findings state.
Palau bans sunscreen to protect coral reefs
World Health 09 found that India was home to 11 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world. India said at the first Global Air Pollution and Health Conference by the World Health Organisation in Geneva that it would bring down pollution levels, particularly particulate matter pollution, in “definite percentage terms by 2024”. The target, which will be officially announced soon, is expected to be around 30% from current levels over the next 3 years and 50% over 5 years.
India Promises to Cut Pollution in ‘Definite Percentage Terms’ | The Weather Channel
a federal judge in North Carolina ripped the Interior Department’s management of the last red wolf population in the wild, saying that an agency sworn to uphold a congressional mandate to preserve the animals violated it over and over, and even gave private landowners the right to shoot them. Chief Judge Terrence W. Boyle ruled that a temporary injunction issued against Fish and Wildlife’s shoot-to-kill authorization in 2016 during the Obama administration is permanent. The agency must prove that a wolf is a threat to humans or livestock before it can make a decision to take its life.
Portugal has decided to ban wild animals in circus performances by 2024, according to a law passed by parliament Tuesday night and welcomed Wednesday by animal rights groups.
Portugal Bans Wild Animals in Circuses
Voters failed to pass a historic ballot initiative in Washington state to create the first-ever carbon tax in the United States. They rejected a ballot measure to increase renewable energy in Arizona, and to limit fracking in Colorado. The campaign against Washington’s carbon fee “raised $20 million, 99 percent of which has come from oil and gas,” according to Vox. Arizona Public Service Co. spent $21.8 million fighting the renewable energy mandate, and in Colorado, the oil and gas industry clearly spent nearly $40 million opposing fracking.
America Voted. The Climate Lost. | The New Republic Arizona ballot measure Prop. 127 most expensive in state’s history
Jared Polis, a Democratic congressman from Colorado who was elected governor in Tuesday’s midterms, has promised the state will run only on renewable power by 2040. That would phase out fossil fuel generation in Colorado even faster than in California and Hawaii, which both recently introduced a 2045 goal. Polis said on his campaign website. “In the absence of national leadership from the White House, it is up to states like Colorado to chart our course for energy freedom,”
Colorado governor-elect has US’ most ambitious renewable goal
The Trump administration endorsed burning trees and other biomass to produce energy on Thursday, vowing to promote a practice some scientists have declared more environmentally devastating than coal-fired power. The Environmental Protection Agency joined the departments of Energy and Agriculture in a letter to congressional leaders committing to “encourage the use of biomass as an energy solution.”
Trump Backs Wood Power Scientists Call Dirtier Than Coal - Bloomberg
China has installed a total of 34.5 gigawatts (GW) worth of new solar PV capacity in the first nine months of the year, according to figures published last week, with expectations that figure will hit 40 GW by the end of the year, despite significant cutbacks to the country’s solar plans.
China To Install 40 Gigawatts Of New Solar By The End Of 2018 Despite Cutbacks | CleanTechnica
The capacity of renewable energy has overtaken that of fossil fuels in the UK for the first time, in a milestone that experts said would have been unthinkable a few years ago. The result is that between July and September, the capacity of wind, solar, biomass and hydropower reached 41.9 gigawatts, exceeding the 41.2GW capacity of coal, gas and oil-fired power plants. Across the Pond, The U.S. is on track this year to “easily exceed” a previous annual record of 14.7 gigawatts in coal retirements, dropping 15.4 gigawatts of capacity, according to a recent report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
UK renewable energy capacity surpasses fossil fuels for first time | Environment | The Guardian Report: US on Track for Record Coal Retirements in 2018, With More on the Way | Greentech Media
The Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s request Friday to stop Juliana v. US, a lawsuit brought by youths who are seeking to hold the government accountable for failing to do enough to fight climate change. It’s not yet clear if the case will go to trial, but attorneys on both sides will meet. today with Oregon District Court Judge Ann Aiken to decide if and when the trial will begin.
Supreme Court won’t block children’s climate change lawsuit - CNNPolitics Children’s climate lawsuit: The Supreme Court has allowed Juliana v. US to proceed - Vox
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex and sixth in line to the British throne, is calling for immediate action against climate change. “It is going to take every single one of us to stop the clock on the destruction of our planet… and realise what a privilege it is for us to live alongside nature.”
Prince Harry Says There ‘Cannot Be Any More Excuses’ When It Comes to Taking Climate Action
That’s it for this Weekly Environmental Wrap Up. This has been a podcast by Wassup World News. Things may have changed by the time you’re listening to this. Tune in Next Week to hear more about the flora, fauna, and planet you care oh so much about. I’m John Brindley. Peace out world!