Coal making its way back to China

In early July of last year, China imported the most coal that it has imported in about 4.5 years. This comes as a shock to the rest of the world as efforts worldwide have gone to lower the use of harmful fossil fuels. That is fossil fuels most obviously like coal. Not only is this confusing but it seems to slowly bite away at the large scheme of making Earth a more sustainable planet for all: especially our future generations.

Coal is a hard rock that can be burned as a solid fossil fuel. It is mostly carbon but also contains hydrogen, sulphur, oxygen and nitrogen. Regardless of what it made up of, we know it best as a large contributor to the effects of climate change on our planet. This rock poses a large threat to the life of our planet. This is because upon its burning it reacts with the oxygen that is present in the air around us. When it does so, it produced carbon dioxide which a greenhouse gas that we know infamously traps heat in our atmosphere, and slowly contributes to the overall heating of planet Earth.

With China’s coal imports last year, the most populated country in the world is now responsible for a full quarter of the world’s carbon dioxide output. Now you may be thinking something I’m thinking: why is China still using coal knowing its production of GHGs is a common output? I’m just as puzzled as you may be but there must be explanations for such harmful actions towards our planet. Well, there really isn’t.

If we take a closer look at China’s relationship with coal the past couple of years, we can learn that China approved nearly $6.7 billion worth of new coal mining projects in 2018, and production increased 5.2% to 3.55 billion tonnes, according to Forbes. We are under the impression that China is reducing its dependence on coal but the nation hasn’t done anything to reduce these numbers, instead, these values have been constant for the past couple of years.

Now, with the rise of other more renewable forms of energy like natural gas and solar, China may be looking to invest in such sources come the next couple of years. What we don’t know is if they will decide to stick with these investments and if they decide to, then when.

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Water You Doing for Earth Day?

Are you going to turn off the lights in your house for an hour? Will you try to use fewer plastics, just for a day? Or will you get involved and start your own initiative to add to the contributions of millions worldwide? Do whatever you choose. But, if you feel that you are unable to take immediate or grand action towards some end, remember that just being mindful about your actions and those of the people around you is an excellent place to start.

Earth Day falls on April 22 this year, as it has for the past 49 years. If we take a look back to this day in 1970, millions of people marched in protest of the negative impacts of the fast and ongoing development of thousands of industries across the world. The official day was initiated by US Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin as he was disturbed by the neglect of important issues like the well-being of our planet and that they were not given as much coverage in the news media.

With some organization, he set out to mark April 22 as a day to dedicate bettering the condition of our planet which was and still is deteriorating at a pace much faster than we have expected (especially these past couple of years). To his surprise, some 20 million people signed up to participate in activities linked to ideas around improving the health of our planet. Not only did this bring change to citizens but it had a positive effect on the government as well. As global awareness increased rather exponentially, President Nixon at the time, was quick in picking up responses to such an issue and reciprocating necessary actions. Within the same year, many environmental laws such as the Clean Air and Water Act and Endangered Species Act were introduced. These new legislatures, that resulted from those meaningful protests, were just a hint of the power of collaborative efforts to make real changes.

Now, Earth Day is quite the global event. It is estimated that approximately 1 billion people partake in some sort of festivity. If you are interested this year, take the opportunity of being part of a march, cleaning up a town, road or nearby shoreline. Sounds a bit too much? As aforementioned, you could always set some personal goals: have it be to walk someplace instead of driving, minimizing your time in front of your TV for an hour or saving electricity some sort of way. It doesn’t have to be for long but just know that every effort does matter. I have had trouble believing that as well, and you may be feeling the same way despite the repetition, but it really does.

Next year Earth Day will be celebrating its 50th anniversary. What will you do? Besides sharing that “THIS VIDEO PRODUCES OXYGEN” post on Instagram, I’m hoping that you can maybe take some extra time to be reflective of some of your actions.

Our Battle With Climate Change Just Became More Real

When people come together to support a cause, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Lines and lines of people protesting for a cause? Marching up to a Town Hall to demand action? How about a giant inflatable Earth tossed around in the streets? Well, maybe not that last part.

In Australia, thousands and thousands of students did just that, with a giant inflatable Earth. To give you a better impression of the large scale nature of this event, around 25,000 students and parents marched through the streets of Sydney as part of Sydney’s Schools Strike 4 Climate protest. Almost all of these students had one vision in mind: to put up an indisputable fight for climate change with their government. They were able to accomplish just this by making a bold statement. Many of these students had skipped their classes to partake in an event that they felt affected them the most. With signs and banners targeted towards their current Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, students criticized his current actions towards helping our current climate change situation, with special regard to Australia.

One of the lead organizers is a 15-year old student, Jean Hinchliffe. She tells the media that she has always felt passionate about climate change and is especially troubled by current efforts to make real changes about our planet’s condition. She claims that the purpose of the protests was three-fold. Students participating in the rally are standing up for stopping the Adani mine in Queensland from progressing. Secondly, they want reassurance that there will be no new sources of fossil fuels in their country. Lastly, they are demanding 100 percent renewable energy by the year 2030. Students know that this is not much to ask for either considering they haven’t seen much effort from the administration’s side of things.

This attention to our climate has been a long time coming. It might even be late according to environmentalists. As a matter of fact, the world received word from the UN on yet another climate change report that reveals threatening statistics on the health of our planet. They state that we are entering a defining moment in our history and that much of the damage to the Arctic seems to be irreversible. It might not seem like much to those that have continuously heard coverage on this issue but this is a serious matter. At this point, if we as a society are unable to put our words into actions, there might not be a planet to give to the generation that tries to follow in our footsteps. In fact, there might not even be a planet in good enough condition in about a decade’s worth of time.

Besides the disastrous news, the report also touches upon a Climate Summit to take place in September 2019. It is set to address the accelerated action that needs to be initiated to see real changes. The protests in Sydney have already sparked discussion within the country. It is only about time that we spark discussions in other countries with powerful leaders capable of change. World leaders are to report the actions that they will or have already taken at this summit. While only world leaders will appear at the meeting, it is important to know that even in Canada, there are steps that any citizens can take to move towards a healthier planet. And, no I don’t mean to sound mainstream, we really need to take some sort of actions.

Now, over the past few months, I think it is fair to say that we have begun dealing with global affairs on a more recent basis. With the rise of extremist ideologies, it is somewhat comforting to hear that people are willing and motivated to fight for matters that will directly impact our lives. If we won’t stand up now, when will we? As the leaders of the generation, it is our responsibility to fight for our future, even if it means missing one day’s worth of classes. What purpose does a single day of classes serve in the larger picture of our battle with climate change anyway?

Evolution: the struggle against extinction

Charles Darwin is considered to be the “founding father of evolution,” and much of his work has enabled present-day scientists to study evolution. Darwin’s work offered insight into how cumulative selection pressures can lead to the natural selection of more useful traits over a given period of time. Being in the right place with the right subjects at the right time, gave way to a large step for humanity from a research standpoint.

Some of Darwin’s initial work has its roots in the Galapagos. There, he happened to have caught a glimpse of marine iguanas (lizards that scour the ocean for food). He also came across many similar species of finches which would soon result as the experimental subjects for much of his foundational work. Environmentalists report that with the subsistence of the new climate change era, these very islands that contributed to our existing knowledge are evolving in their own manner due to climate change. And the situation is only becoming direr. Most of this vulnerability to climate change has to do with their geographical location. Positioned at the conjunction of three ocean currents these islands find themselves at the mercy of strong and ferocious weather patterns such as El Niño himself. Some research done a couple of years ago outlines that continuing down the path of climate change will only cause more frequent and rapid heating of the ocean waters. No good could possibly result from the inconsistent temperature of ocean waters. As millions of organisms find and take shelter in the depths of oceans, including fish, populations of these organisms are threatened by even the slightest changes in environmental conditions.

An evolutionary biologist from a university in Germany spent some time on the Galapagos islands. Interestingly, he found that as the temperature of the seas rose, the sizes of iguanas started to decrease. This was due to the lack of abundance of algae which is the primary source of food for these iguanas. Put in simpler terms, the lack of food decreased the size of these iguanas causing them to resemble frogs much more than they resembled any iguana that had previously roamed the Galapagos Islands. This is just one shocking example of the kind of evolution that species are having to endure due to climate change. The land that was previously used to identify heritable characteristics as a cause of evolution is now a witness of the danger of some of these evolutionary features. The adaptive traits that have resulted are dangerous as they have the potential to impact our ecosystems and food chains.

Through a critical lens, it seems like all the fingers still point to us, humans. Some even argue to say that we are the perpetrators and initial cause of this potential widespread disaster. Other say that the Earth would have reached such conditions on its own. While there are plausible debates for both sides, the evolutionary aspect of the situation is much more exciting. With Darwin having uncovered species of finches for his experiments on natural selection, we find that nature itself is selecting certain traits, like body size for iguanas, to better adapt them to their environment. However, these adaptations are only better-equipping animals so they can merely avoid extinction which doesn’t sound so like much of a beneficial adaptation which should be a characteristic that gives one species an advantage over another. It is somewhat scary to think that soon enough, all animals will have to adapt just to avoid extinction. Who knows what other minor or drastic changes we can expect to see in the future. The Galapagos Islands have been targeted and defeated, I guess the real question is, who’s next?

Catching fires in California

While we might be on the tail end of this recent headliner, it is with no doubt that California (and the rest of the world) has witnessed one of the worst wildfires in its history. What started out as a rage of flames out on our West Coast in British Columbia was followed by a similar rage of flames in California to our southern neighbours. Although the two blazes are not directly related to each other, we find ourselves revolving around the one common thread in these scenarios: climate change.

Even though this is not a Canadian issue (thankfully!) it is important that we keep an eye out for the health of our planet. California’s 2018 wildfire season was the deadliest in its history. According to statistics, there has been a total of 7,983 fires burning an area of 1,824,505 acres so far. Very few fires are still ongoing and not 100 percent contained so this information is subject to change in the near future. However, the estimated cost due to damage has surpassed USD $2.975 billion. This monetary value accounts for the money spent on operations and costs due to fire suppression.

These fires first started out as small blazes in early August 2018. It wasn’t until a few months later, in November 2018, that fiercely strong winds caused another round of fires to suddenly break out in The Golden State. While residents claim that living in California means having fire “become a part of your life”, it goes without saying that in recent years, the wildfire seasons are growing longer and stronger. In addition, rainfall this year seems to be falling 50 to 70 percent short which doesn’t help this dire situation. On the other hand, temperatures have sky rocketed: with state temperatures reading some of the highest numbers on record.

With such a devastating wildfire season like this one the outbreak of multiple different fires is the ultimate contributor. Unfortunately, in this case the Carr Fire is one that is most memorable this 2018 wildfire season. Sparked by the mechanical failure of a vehicle the fire made its way up the highway as it crept close to residential areas. All it took was the rim of a trailer to scrape the hot asphalt after a tire failure, according to CNN. What followed was catastrophic. This fire alone is responsible for the deaths of seven individuals, three who’s heartfelt story was covered on national television. As a matter of fact, in just 10 days–from July 23 to August 2–the fire spread from a total area of 1,437 acres to a total area of 126,913 acres. Here is a link to an image of the spreading fire documented day by day with more information on the Carr Fire. While it was 100 percent contained on August 30, there is no way of certainly knowing whether it was the source for other outbursts as well.

In terms of the damage to our planet, the summation of the wildfires of this seasons’ carbon emissions is equivalent to that of a years worth of power pollution to the same state. Roughly 68 million tons of heat-trapping carbon dioxide has been released and environmentalists are growing increasingly concerned. While the almost all of the wildfires for this season are 100 contained there are worries for the outbreak of fires elsewhere, potentially capable of starting another terrifying season.

Although most of the fires have thankfully been dealt with, the prospective measures are the stages of rebuilding what has been lost. With homes that have been levelled by the fire this poses no simple task. Nevertheless, efforts are continuously being made to reclaim what once existed. To end, let’s just hope that these same homes just won’t have to go through the process of being rebuilt again next year.

Canada’s pipelines: praiseworthy or pitiful?

What’s up with Canada’s pipelines? Or should I be saying what’s been going down with the whole situation? In all seriousness, this battle is one that has divided Canadian people on so many different levels. Many beliefs and values have become evident and its quite nearly impossible to dismiss any one system of beliefs.

First, we need some background. The Trans Mountain Pipeline System is known to carry crude and other refined oil from Alberta to the West Coast of British Columbia. This started when large oil deposits had been newly discovered in Alberta in the late 1940s and everyone wanted to profit from this newfound natural resource. Put in use since 1953, it was the only pipeline to run between the two Canadian provinces at the time. It hasn’t been until recently that there have been various disputes over it and its wanted expansion.

In 2013, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, the company that had owned the pipeline, filed an application with the Canadian National Energy Board to add another pipeline. This one was to run parallel to the existing pipeline and it would carry other oils. It wasn’t until 2016 that BC did not agree with the proposed expansion project for Trans Mountain. They claimed that not enough information was given about specifics for the new undertaking from the Kinder Morgan company.

However, in November of 2016, the federal cabinet of Canada approved of the project and it wasn’t until a couple months after that that BC’s premier also gave her approval on behalf of her government. It should be noted that BC’s approval is not the only hindrance in the project’s completion. The project was a large one and with it came valid arguments for both sides of the debate.

It wasn’t until 2018 that many protests sparked peoples attention in BC as well as across the nation to the voices many chose to silence. While there were economical benefits of the operation, people has not paid much attention to the intrusion and destruction of land that belongs to our own people of the First Nations community. Disputes went on for weeks as expected and here there was no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer to the problem.

As 2018 went by, consultation with First Nations on the prevalent issue had not been carried out as claimed they would. This was upsetting for many people across Canada and was a wrongful act on the part of the Kinder Morgan company. Due to their lack of fulfilling the needs of such a discussion, the federal government drew in their own hands and addressed their intent of acquiring the privately owned pipeline at a ransom of $4.5 billion. Now it should be stated that the government will not operate in their own hands but by an appointed corporation with strict deadlines on other aspects of the project. In other words, I guess you could say that sacred land had been saved and the First Nations people had finally been heard.

Now that the project has been halted, many are upset over the fact that hundreds of potential jobs have been lost. The same party is also critical of the other methods of transporting the oils which would have been transported via the new extension of the project. While both sets of people and their demands can’t be agreed upon or given, I think that the outcome of the whole discussion was positive. After all, do you really want to give up land for more industrialization and destruction of land, sacred or not? I think not.

2040 is on its way and fast

Sometimes a step in the right direction is enough initiative to get the ball rolling. Other times it may be well regarded, but the part where words turn into actions might have come a little too late. This could very well be an excellent example of our climate change situation. Will our efforts ever be enough?

The short answer to that question seems to be ‘no’. This climate change issue is one that has taken many by surprise, and all kinds of statistics are starting to worry ordinary people like you and me as well as renowned environmentalists. At times, it seems like no matter what we do we won’t be able to mend the hole that we have sown. While this may stand to be true, it is essential that we continue to take the initiative and show how much we care about our planet.

Just yesterday, an interesting article came out in the New York Times that describes a rather severe crisis potentially visible as early as the year 2040. Scientists claim that vast portions of coral reefs could die by the time 2040 rolls around. Furthermore, people have found that at the continued use of greenhouse gases, the earth’s temperature could rise by 1.5˚C. Now, this may not seem like anything to you but you should note that considerable damage can be done should the earth warm by this temperature.

The Paris Climate Accord came about in such a time to give millions the thought that it was the light at the end of the tunnel. While it could be, it can’t unless it carries the support of large well sought after nations. We are aware that President Trump has expressed the lack of interest that he has in the matter, and this is worrisome as the US is the second largest greenhouse gas emitter behind the  Chinese powerhouse. However, the accord never fails to draw attention to urgent issues like our climate battle, a demon which seems so impossible to ward off.

The Nobel Prize in Economics is something that ties into this topic of climate change rather nicely. The prize was awarded today to two individuals in the US: William D. Nordhaus from Yale University and to Paul M. Romer from NYU Stern School of Business. Both of these men have designed methods to address issues on how we create “long-term sustained and sustainable economic growth”. However, Dr. Nordhaus’ work focuses a bit more on the aspect of climate change where he “integrates climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis”. This goes to show that work is being done, but it would be in everyone’s best interest to continue forward with a similar mindset and attitude.

For the millenniums reading this, consequences that could possibly be visible by 2040 are within our lifetime. Do you want to be a witness to something so awful? I hope you don’t and that you will take actions to prevent such a disaster. Every contribution matters in the same manner as every degree matters.

Interested in knowing how much hotter your hometown is that it was when you were born? Here is a cool link if you are interested.

Hurricane ‘Flo’ on the go

We aren’t talking about Florence, Italy are we? Nope, Hurricane Florence is what’s on everyone’s minds, at least it has been for the past couple of weeks. Even though now we may be seeing the tail-end of the catastrophic storm, there’s no saying that the violent winds and surging water levels didn’t leave a lasting indent to nearby residents.

It has been reported that Florence started out from West Africa at the end of August and slowly acquired the wind speed to become categorized as a Category 4 hurricane by the beginning few days of September. As days passed by, the storm lost its almost 140-mph (miles per hour) wind speeds to shift into a Category 1 hurricane. Despite this slow transition, the regard for this storm continued.

As the storm neared the Carolina coastline, it stalled for a short period before slowing more as it moved inwards. By this time, two weeks into September, Florence starts making its first contact with homes and neighborhoods being deemed as a tropical storm. Now moving at a slower pace, this allows the winds to essentially ‘dump’ large amounts of water continuously in certain areas.

Putting millions out of their homes and businesses, federal officials ordered an immediate evacuation. This was a quick consideration in hopes of a minimal death toll due to all the inherent flooding that was to occur in the coming days. Shortly after, the speed of the storm moved to 2-3 mph making it impossible to withstand the pressure of the weather system for the risk-takers that wanted to ‘wait it out’.

With all the accustomed rainfall, many places received record-breaking amounts of rain. So much so, that some primary highways out of the Carolina’s were impassible for several days after the passing of Florence. Additionally, when the water levels started to recede, countless dead fish were found lying over the highways: just one of the many indications of the severity of this storm.

When ranked on a scale of the costliest Atlantic hurricanes in history, Hurricane Florence slides in comfortably to take the sixth spot. Among the top spots are unforgettable hurricanes like Katrina, Sandy, and Harvey to name a few. Damages that have risen due to freshwater flooding have maxed out at a little less than $38 billion USD. Majority of the costs are associated with damaged homes and businesses in the nearby Carolina areas that endured massive flooding.

Looking back now, Hurricane Florence may seem over to us because it has passed, but, it adds itself to the growing list of 2018 Atlantic hurricane season storms. This period supposedly started in June 2018 and is called to end in late November of 2018. Now more than ever, we are beginning to see all sorts of natural disasters. Here, many argue that the human alteration of the atmosphere and overall global climate could very well be a significant contributor to such an increase over the last couple of years.

Since the start of the season, there have been a total of 12 recorded storms. The reason you aren’t hearing about them on national television is that they aren’t quite destructive as you might imagine. Some storms dissipate before they get a chance to reach land; however, they are still essential to record and study in the massive scheme of environmental sciences. With many aspects of nature and the environment to explore and analyze, small details add to the larger picture of our understanding of the world in which we live.

Look no further than water for plastic fibres

Now we find ourselves facing a new issue at hand. Polluted waters are one crucial issue, but it becomes even more detrimental for our lives when we could see and be living proof of the effects of it. Not only will it affect our lives but it could introduce all sorts of new diseases spearheaded by residues of plastic fibres. That’s right.

Over the last few years, there has been a build-up of talk about such large amounts of plastic uncovered in our waters. However, we have never paid much attention to the introduced factor of its residues. Many environmentalists are pointing out the new threat that humans and other living organisms face when it comes to these little threads. It can reportedly be ingested and inhaled by humans alike. The worst part of this seems to be that we as a society are unsure of the causes of these strands if they are to enter into our systems.

About a year ago, an article was written by an author for The Guardian put out an interesting article outlining the dangers that we are starting to experience with special regards to our water. They stated to have found 83% of samples contaminated with some fibres. What seems to be more profound is that this percentage is not linked to a specific region of the world but is instead a collective change that we are seeing and experiencing around the world.

With an issue similar to the problem of mercury poisoning in seafood, people are shocked by this predicament and are unsure of what to do. Since a dilemma like this one has not been out on the forefront, it is difficult to jump to any conclusions. Novel studies in developed European countries like Germany are trying to find the extent to which this battle with fibres has gone. To their surprise, traces found in sweeteners like honey and sugar as well as all beer brands tested support the never-ending race between humanity and evidence of plastics. However, it doesn’t seem to be solely the plastics that can be put to blame here.

An article published by Evening Standard a couple of months ago introduced the concept of clothing being another factor in the fight for human health and well being. Since small plastics fabricate most of our clothing, this too is another contributory constituent. Not to seriously scare any of you in any manner, but fibres have been located in pulmonary tissue which means that they are capable of penetrating through even specific kinds of lung tissue: quite a scary thought. Due to their little composure, it would be tough to have them removed at water treatment plants as the threads would float in the water and not be separated.

Now the most obvious solution to a large scale issue like this one would be to set up generously funded projects to rid of all this unnecessary plastic. Unfortunately, it seems like no matter how much of our time we devote to a possible cleanup pilot project, the roots will be untouchable. Only because it seems like this damage has been ongoing for years rather than something that has recently shown up. But, we should mention that efforts are being made, with Canada pushing for more talks about the issue of microplastics and the plastic clean up; however, it still seems like we will need more. But will filters ever be enough? I guess only time will tell.

Say hello to a tax and goodbye to greenhouse gases

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) have people of recent generations worried about the health of our planet. Almost every week, we hear about contributions that political leaders of countries try to make to address the daunting elephant in the room. But as our world continues along its current path, the thought of operating without any emissions seems quite challenging.

What if we had a system that could penalize those emitting more than others? Well, you’re on the right track because some individuals in Australia had the thought of creating this intriguing concept of a carbon tax. A carbon tax is to appeal to big companies as a financial incentive to reduce large-scale emissions by imposing a cost based on carbon-based fuel output. This new concept made its way into the Clean Energy Act 2011 which was administered in July 2012 by the Gillard Government in Australia.

With the implementation of the carbon tax, Australia began to see reductions in gas emissions from various sectors: quite a success story. It wasn’t until other nations saw the benefit and wanted to jump on the bandwagon and implement it themselves. Focusing in on Canada, talks about introducing a carbon tax have sprung up resolute debates in the last couple of years. The primary goal of country’s is to rid of GHGs as efficiently as possible. This is, so the threat of climate change and global warming doesn’t present peril to humanity and all possible life on Earth.

With such a large scale and controversial issue like this one, there are often two sides of a coin, both with valid arguments. Firstly, we should note that some items that we use on a day-to-day basis have most possibly originated from a facility that emits GHGs on a mass scale. For consumers, this means that increases in prices of food items and coveted items could very well be observed. If we talk a closer look on the flip side to this issue, we see the incentive of improving the health of our planet which holds value in the long term. Not only are we to preserve the wellbeing of Earth but it is for the betterment of future generations that we acknowledge and do our best to take care of our shortcomings.

In Canada, there are many forms of this carbon policy that are in play for this overall desired outcome. For those provinces that are dominated by people (e.g., Ontario and Quebec) a cap and trade system has been put into effect. Others like B.C. and Alberta have varying proclamations of their own.

The cap and trade system is one that is fair in its policy. As interpreted by the name, a cap is meant to set a limit to the emission of GHGs. The ‘cap’ is reduced every year, as expected, to ease into the reduction of cumulative emissions.

Now, another part of this system is the trade aspect of the agreement. Companies can choose to purchase “units” or “credits” to cover the overages in emissions if they exist. However, as per the say of companies, these units can be purchased by other companies if one has successfully lowered its GHGs emissions.

Within the last month, it would be fair to say that discussions have taken place to address this critical concept, especially in this day and age. And this isn’t only in Canada but also all over the world. Furthermore, this carbon policy and carbon tax notion isn’t the sole idea to change lifestyles that have become the norm. But, it would also be fair to say that it may be time to change the norm.