SPECIAL FOCUS - World Info

Source: https://news.un.org/en/story/2012/11/424842-cost-deforestation-kenya-far-exceeds-gains-forestry-and-logging-un-joint-study

The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting all parts of human society. According to the World Health Organization, bats are the most probable carrier of the COVID-19. Ebola, SARS, bird flu and now COVID-19 are all believed to have started as pathogens crossing from animals to humans.[1] The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about three-quarters of new human diseases originate in animals. Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people. Previous investigations found that the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome was transmitted from civet cats to humans, while the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome passed from dromedary camels to humans.[2]The frequency of disease outbreaks has been increasing steadily. Between 1980 and 2013 there were 12,012 recorded outbreaks, comprising 44 million individual cases and affecting every country in the world.[3]The global number of emerging infectious disease outbreaks of causal

The World Ecology Report is printed on recycled paper.

SPECIAL FOCUS:

“Education brings Choices. Choices bring

Power.”

Ssummer 2020, vol. XXXlll, No. 2

BIODIVERSITY AND HUMAN HEALTH

TABLE of CONTENTS 1 SPECIAL FOCUS Biodiversity and Human Health

5 FOOD FOR THOUGHT Sustainable last-mile logistics 9 GOOD NEWS

The EU to Plant 3 Billion Trees by 2030

Dutch Government Announced Emission Cuts

Algae Transplant could Protect Coral Reefs from Warming Seas

Earth School Launches in time for Covid19

11 DID YOU KNOWUnbearable Bouts of Heat and Humidity on the Rise

Deforestation of Amazon Rain Forest

Cold War Nukes Tests Changed Rainfall

13 VOICESWIT Virtual Voices Online

High-Level Meeting on Sustainable Ocean Business

UN World Environment Day

845th International Online Conference on Environment and Natural Science

11th Conference on Environmental Engineering and Application

8th World Congress and Expo on Green Energy

16 POINT OF VIEW

World Ecology ReportWorld Information Transfer

Summer 20202

diseases from 1980–2010 is shown in Fig.1(chart). Outbreak records are plotted with respect to (a) total global outbreaks (left axis, bars) and

total number of diseases causing outbreaks in each year (right axis, dots), (b) host type, (c) pathogen taxonomy and (d) transmission mode.

A number of trends have contributed to this rise, significant increase

in human population, including high levels of global travel, trade

and connectivity, and high-density living - but the links to climate

change and biodiversity are the most striking. It is important to

address the multiple and often interacting threats to ecosystems

and wildlife to prevent zoonoses from emerging, including habitat

loss and fragmentation, illegal trade, pollution, invasive species

and, increasingly, climate change. Our world is changing, and the

conservation community must be ready to respond.

What is BiodiversityThe word Biodiversity is a contraction of 'biological diversity'.

Biodiversity is the name we give to the variety of all life on Earth.

Biodiversity means the variability among living organisms from all

sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic

ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part.[4]

Fig 2: Biodiversity in forests/ Pixels

If only a small number of species die out, there can be a huge effect

on the whole ecosystem since there are often chain effects which

Fig: 1: Smith, K. F., (2014)Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4223919/figure/RSIF20140950F1/

3World Ecology ReportWorld Information Transfer

Summer 2020

affect many other species. With the preservation of Biodiversity, it can be assured that the

ecosystem stays in its natural balance.

However, many biologists agree that we are in the midst of a mass extinction. Biodiversity

loss can have significant direct human health impacts if the ecosystem is destroyed and can

no longer meet humanities need.

Fig 3: Burning rainforests on Borneo and Sumatra/ UNEP

How Biodiversity Loss Affects DiseaseBiodiversity loss is hurting our ability to combat pandemics. Bats are being pointed out as

the source of coronavirus; however, Bats are not to blame. Scientists claim that humans are

to blame for the spread of the disease. Diseases passed from animals to humans are on the

rise by proximity to human activity caused by deforestation and destruction of habitats. We

need to face the fundamental cause of why we have to go through the emergence of a new

virus like COVID-19.

The immune system of animals is challenged, being hunted, or having its habitat damaged by

deforestation. Deforestation has increased steadily over the past three decades and is linked

to 31% of outbreaks such as Ebola, Zika and Nipah viruses. Rainforests that once covered

over 14% of the land of the earth have now dwindled to just 6%, according to National

Geographic.[5] The loss of forest habitat, also, increases contact between humans and

nonhuman primates. A new study published in the Journal of Landscape Ecology points out

that the continued destruction of forest habitats, for agricultural use or human habitation,

causes this contact to become more frequent, as humans and nonhuman primates are forced

into closer proximity.[6] For example, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has surged to

its highest rate in more than a decade, according to new data from Brazil’s National Institute

for Space Research (INPE). The latest results show that deforestation increased nearly 30

percent from August 2018 to the present.

Also, the world population has experienced

exponential growth in the last 60 years, from

3 billion in 1960 to 7.8 billion currently. We

have added 800 million people every ten

years to this planet. It took 200 years to reach

7 billion from 1 billion.[7] We are forcing

the interaction with wild animals through

transformation of the land from forests to

farming.

According to Kate Jones, Chair of Ecology

and Biodiversity at University College

London, “When a bat is stressed from

being hunted or having its habitat damaged

by deforestation, its immune system is

challenged and it finds it difficult to manage

pathogens. It is like having a cold sore virus

when stressed, thus leading to a cold sore.

Furthermore, bats are the only mammals

that can fly. This ability allows them to

scatter over a large area, carrying with them

pathogens or diseases. Also, the pathogens

that have evolved in bats can adapt to peaks

of body temperature. Humans raise body

temperature to kill a virus, however, viruses

from a bat can withstand an increase in body

temperature.[8]

Prof. Eric Lambin, the School of Earth, Energy

& Environmental Sciences, says "Responding

to the underlying issues that force people and

livestock into increasingly close contact with

wild animals is crucial in preventing the next

pandemic." Animals are being transported

for medicine, pets, and food.

A global wildlife trade worth billions of

dollars and deforestation are bringing people

closer to animals, exposing people to their

pathogens.[9] Wild animals have always had

viruses coursing through their bodies but


Summer 20204

the transport is suppressing their immune systems.

Fig 3: Animal transported in a cage/ Pixels

Prof Andrew Cunningham, of the Zoological Society of London, states that “The animals

have been transported over large distances and are crammed together into cages. They are

stressed and immunosuppressed and excreting whatever pathogens they have in them. With

people in large numbers in the market and in intimate contact with the body fluids of these

animals, you have an ideal mixing bowl for disease emergence.[10]

ConclusionThe past 20 years of disease outbreaks could be viewed as a series of near-miss catastrophes,

which have led to complacency rather than the increased vigilance necessary to control

outbreaks. Currently, the seriousness of the COVID-19 situation will prompt key

organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Coalition for Epidemic

Preparedness (CEPI) - set up by the World Economic Forum in 2017 - to put preparations

in place in order to prevent the current epidemic from becoming a pandemic. The links

between pandemics and biodiversity are becoming better understood and appreciated and

hopefully, solutions will be addressed before the next pandemic.[11]

In the movie 'Lion King', there is a statement "Everything you see exists together in a delicate

balance.” We are all connected in the great Circle of Life.

Author: SEHEE OH

Sources:1. https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-

media-briefing-on-covid-19---3-march-20202. unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/coronavirus-outbreak-highlights-need-ad-

dress-threats-ecosystems-and-wildlife3. Smith, K. F., Goldberg, M., Rosenthal, S., Carlson, L., Chen, J., Chen, C., & Ramachan-

dran, S. (2014). Global rise in human infectious disease outbreaks. Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 11(101), 20140950.

4. Walker, B. H. (1992). Biodiversity and ecological redundancy. Conservation biology, 6(1), 18-23.

5. 5.https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/blog/2020/applying-the-hard-lessons-of-coronavirus-to-the-biodiversity-cri.html

6. Geist, H. J., & Lambin, E. F. (2002). Proximate Causes and Underlying Driv-ing Forces of Tropical DeforestationTrop-ical forests are disappearing as the result of many pressures, both local and region-al, acting in various combinations in dif-ferent geographical locations. BioScience, 52(2), 143-150.

7. https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/

8. https://www.natureworldnews.com/arti-cles/43572/20200329/coronavirus-bats-zoonotic-spillover.htm

9. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sci-ence/2020/04/03/coronavirus-wildlife-environment/

10. h t t p s : / / w w w. t h e g u a r d i a n . c o m /world/2020/mar/25/coronavirus-na-ture-is-sending-us-a-message-says-un-environment-chief

11. https://www.greenbiz.com/article/biodi-versity-pandemics-and-circle-life

Impacts of the coronavirus pandemic

on biodiversity conservation

There have even been anecdotal reports of reduced human pressures on wild species. In protected areas, declines in visitor numbers caused by travel restrictions and park closures have reduced stresses on sensitive animals and trampling pressure on popular trails. Conservation derives much of its public support from the accessibility of wild nature in protected areas but reduced human pressures in the most popular parks will be good for sensitive species. We have also seen reports of wild species venturing into rural and urban areas, including parks and beaches, where they have not been seen for many years, as traffic and other human activity declines. In areas where travel is still possible and protected areas remain open, visitation has often greatly increased, reflecting a widespread feeling that activity in a natural setting is both a physical and a mental antidote to the stress of the pandemic. We predict it will increase in other areas too when restrictions are loosened.

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7139249/


Summer 2020

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: SUSTAINABLE LAST-MILE

LOGISTICSIn the past decade, the logistics industry has experienced substantial growth and its fair

share of technological disruption. Particularly in urban settings, consumer demand for

same-day has ballooned and companies have struggled to meet demand without incurring

substantial “last-mile” delivery costs. The “last-mile” can be loosely defined as the last stages

of a parcel's delivery chain process which usually happens in the congested neighborhoods

of today's megacities. Whilst shifting consumer expectations for two-hour or same-day

delivery play a pivotal role, a symbiosis of trends has driven immense growth in “last-mile”

delivery operations, including intensifying urbanization, increased purchasing power of the

global middle class, the rise of new digital business models, and advancements in delivery

vehicle and routing technologies [1]. For example, from 2014-2019, e-commerce sales nearly

tripled globally, translating to an expected growth in “last-mile’ delivery demand of 78% by

2030 [2]. But whilst this is a global phenomenon, the problem will be especially acute in

China and the United States in the coming decade

Figure 1: Current and projected e-commerce revenue by country. Data aggregated via Statista [3].

In today’s megacities, the face of urban

“last-mile” logistics has changed. What

used to be an accepted part of daily life has

become highly disruptive; delivery vehicles

double parked in city streets, their drivers up

against the clock to meet demanding two-

hour or same-day delivery commitments

and bicycles racing between congested

traffic to deliver a dinner before it gets cold.

This transformation is for the worse, but the

outcome is not inevitable. Whilst logistics

is an immense industry that incapsulates

a variety of stakeholders, business models

and mediums, this article assesses the

current state of sustainability in the “last-

mile” in the context of market, regulatory,

technological and operational factors that

drive advancements. It analyzes the key

elements at play within the field of urban

logistics and how will they impact our lives.

But before asserting that solutions exist, we

need to contextualize the problem.

Realizing the implications for sustainability

The “last-mile” in a delivery chain is vitally

important to firms because it constitutes a

disproportionately large share of the parcel

delivery cost to a customer, approximately a

third [4]. From the public perspective, it is

also a significant contributor to the negative

sustainability externalities of urban logistics

more broadly, be it economic, social or

environmental degeneration. But the cause

and effect relationship between urban

logistics and environmental degradation is

not a one-way street; the recent worldwide

surge in urbanization undoubtedly


Summer 20206

engenders poor urban logistics as well. Today, over half the world’s population resides in

urban environments. By 2025, China alone will harbor 221 cities with populations exceeding

10 million. In comparison, Europe has 35 such cities today. With the number of urban settlers

expected to exceed 70% by 2050, cities are set to face unprecedented sustainability challenges

in the future, urban logistics being just one of them. As Figure 2 shows, urbanization a global

trend, and the rates at which citizens are flocking towards cities is unprecedented. Whilst

this does not mean every country will experience “last-mile” logistics challenges to the

same degree, we can expect urban logistics policy to play a more central role in municipal

congestion planning.

Figure 2: Urban population percentage of total last 500 years [5].

According to John Wilmoth, Director of the United Nations Department of Economic

and Social Affairs (UNDESA) Population Division, “Our success or failure in building sus-

tainable cities will be a major factor in the success of the post-2015 UN development agen-

da.” [6] Decisions around “last-mile” logistics will play a crucial role in any municipality’s

efforts to comprehensively address the challenges of urbanization. The biggest challenges

that the “last-mile” poses for cities is pressure on infrastructure and livability. This can be

summed up in two words: congestion and pollution. Whilst these issues are not uniquely

caused by urban logistics, they are undoubtedly intertwined. The logistics industry is not

typically at the forefront of public concern, political interest or technological disruption and

in addressing these problems, cities have mainly focused on traditional supply-side solutions

and personal mobility concepts: think promoting bike-based commuting habits, investing in

real-time public transit and mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) operations. Whilst the movement

of goods and services serves as the lifeblood of a city, it is often overlooked as part of the

solution.

A white paper published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) modelled the future

outlook of congestion and pollution in today’s megacities if no action was taken to temper

unsustainable practices in urban logistics

[1]. There were three key findings. First,

the number of delivery vehicles on the road

would increase by 36% by 2030 in today’s

largest 100 cities. Second, an additional

6 million tons of CO2 would be emitted.

Third, average commute times could

increase by approximately 21% by 2030. The

results of this model reflect the effects of a

burgeoning e-commerce industry coupled

with mass urbanization. Whilst this study

does not make a precise distinction between

personal and delivery vehicle usage, it is

clear that urban logistics left unchecked

will put immense pressures on cities around

the world. Cities would have to plow much

more capital into supply-side infrastructure

projects or achieve immense efficiency gains

in other mobility sectors to make room for

these future delivery vehicles. Not only would

increased CO2 emissions put pressure on

national emissions targets, it simply may not

be publicly palatable in 2030. But improving

urban logistics cannot be done overnight

to suit public opinion – it requires a long-

term strategy of private sector investment, a

robust public sector regulatory framework

and a great deal of collaboration.

The private sector perspective

Logistics firms have a keen interest in

improving the state of “last-mile” logistics,

mainly to improve their bottom line. “Last-

mile” costs are typically driven by labor costs

which are, in turn, driven by the precise

consequence of inefficient urban logistics,

namely congestion. It is a self-perpetuating

loop unwelcome by both cities and logistics

firms alike. Whilst investing in advanced

vehicle technologies and novel operational


Summer 2020

models could prove more sustainable, one way or another, the end

goal is to minimize “last-mile” costs by removing the human element

and avoiding traffic delays. This section discusses ways firms are

approaching this problem.

Emerging technologiesWhilst technology is important throughout the delivery supply chain,

this article will specifically focus on how new vehicle technologies

are being deployed. For instance, bicycles or cargo tricycles (both

electrified and conventional) are being rapidly deployed by logistics

players since they offer a valuable alternative to delivery vehicles in

today’s most congested cities. Stringent traffic regulations in urban

centers, from congestion pricing to emissions requirements, mean

that bicycles are often the only cargo-capable vehicle that logistics

firms can use to serve their customer base whilst meeting their

commit times and cost targets.

Another exciting emerging technology is the delivery drone.

Whilst they come in many configurations to serve a variety of

needs, drones are immensely valuable to logistics firms for three

reasons. First, they avoid ground-based traffic congestion. Second,

if operated autonomously, they are a versatile asset with low fixed

and operating costs. Finally, they can reach hard-to-serve customers

that could otherwise not be visited through the road network. This

is particularly valuable in emergency situations and in developing

countries where the road network is sparse. But drones are highly

limited in their cargo capacity and flight range. Furthermore, they

face the herculean task of overcoming many regulatory barriers. Not

only are commercial drone operations illegal is most countries, but

they also face a host of variety of legal, privacy, insurance, security

and operational hurdles.

Autonomous sidewalk delivery bots have also made headlines.

These are loosely defined as small autonomous cargo-loaded vehicles

that traverse sidewalks to their destinations. Software limitations

in computer vision paired with safety and privacy regulations will

limit these bots to low speeds and potential human supervision,

at least in the short term. Autonomy is not without its limitations,

however. The question around the “last-ten-feet” still remains… i.e.

how does an autonomous bot deliver the package to the customer’s

front porch or up ten flights of stairs to an apartment? Broad-based

vehicle electrification is more likely, from drones to bicycles, for two

reasons: 1) electric vehicle range constraints will not be an issue for

logistics vehicles that perform repeated single-day trips and 2) these

delivery vehicles remain idle for a large portion of the night when

loading parcels, nicely aligning with their charging times. Whilst a

variety of vehicle technologies lie on the horizon, it remains unclear

how firms will adopt them over the next decade. Furthermore, there

exists little academic literature that quantifies the sustainability gains

that each technology offers.

A final technology that is unlike the others but equally interesting

is additive manufacturing, often referred to as 3D printing. The

logistics effort of transporting goods into cities could be significantly

reduced if they were simply printed closer to the customer’s location.

Raw materials would still need to be supplied, but the homogeneity

of these deliveries would enable bulk dropoffs and more efficient

distribution networks. Quality control issues and high engineering

costs mean that not many goods can be produced economically

with additive manufacturing, but the list is growing. It remains

unclear whether logistics firms will buy into the idea of offering

additive manufacturing services since the expertise required are

fundamentally different. Nonetheless, the technology could prove

a competition for these firms and, thus, will remain on their radar.

Figure 3: Emerging technologies, disruptive systems and novel operational models cen-

tral to R&D efforts.

Operational modelsBeyond new technologies, firms are also looking to rethink how

they utilize their distribution network. Traditionally, packages are

dispatched from large suburban distribution centers and taken

directly to the customer. As cities become more crowded, this kind

of delivery is becoming less economically and environmentally


Summer 20208

sustainable since these larger vehicles are less suited to dense urban streets. Instead, firms are

trying to adopt multi-tiered distribution networks where the largest vehicles are only used to

transport parcels to specific urban drop points. From there, a fleet of nimbler vehicles such

as bicycles or drones complete the “last-mile” of the delivery. This promises to be a more

sustainable approach since it integrates smaller, eco-friendly vehicles solution whilst avoiding

their natural cargo capacity limitation. Fewer large delivery vans will need to enter urban

areas and, collectively, spend less time in the city centers. Another operational innovation

is the concept of delivery and pickup lockers which we have already seen being offered by

Amazon and UPS. By aggregating demand, vehicles spend less time on the road and have

make fewer stops. And by removing the need to leave packages unattended on doorsteps,

less cardboard packaging and plastic bubble wrap will be needed in each parcel. From the

perspective of the logistics firm, the combination of new technologies and operational

models will underpin the next decade in sustainable logistics.

The public sector perspectiveNot only does poor urban logistics have serious environmental repercussions, it also directly

affects a city’s economic output and efficiency. Constrained by inching traffic and poor

livability standards, businesses will find it harder to attract labor and access other goods and

services. Cities are already experiencing the strain. Of the companies surveyed by UPS in

2016, 58% identified air quality and 53% noted traffic congestion as their top two concerns

regarding the future of the business environments they are situated in [7]. But without

deliberate municipal logistics regulation in place, a patchwork of regulatory strategies will

slow down the advancements towards sustainable “last-mile” operations. City organizations

like C40, a network of the world’s megacities committed to addressing climate change, can

achieve a certain level of harmonization which will empower private logistics firms to roll

out sustainable solutions at scale. Consistent municipal policy spanning multiple election

cycles is equally vital.

Figure 4: Greater New York City Annual Averaged Vehicle Traffic Data, 2016. Localized traffic phenomena [8].

Cities should understand how poor urban

logistics manifests itself across districts.

As the Figure 4 shows, traffic is a highly

local phenomenon, with certain districts

exhibiting much higher traffic throughput.

It is tied, although not exclusively to,

the population, economic activity,

infrastructure capacity and public transit

availability of that locality. Urban logistics

is the same. Municipalities should closely

monitor district-specific needs and their

urban logistics woes since a solution in

one neighborhood may not applicable to

the next. Cities will need to bare this in

mind when drafting policies that seek to

incentivize sustainable logistics as it could

inform both the regulatory structure and

concomitant public investments. Moreover,

with varying regulation, infrastructure, and

landscapes, each city is unique and will have

need to design its own “last-mile” strategy.

In this way, building municipal competency

for urban logistics that survive a single

election cycle is vital to achieve long-term

logistics success. This inherently means that

the “last-mile” issue is highly decentralized

and local in regulatory scope, posing its own

legislative challenges. Nonetheless, cities,

being independent, can quickly adapt and

become beacons of innovation and success.

Future outlookTo achieve sustainable urban logistics, “last-

mile” stakeholders will need to evaluate

the economic and environmental value

of each innovation, invest in sustainable

technologies and operational models, and

lay down the correct regulatory frameworks

for public and private sector. Each party has

an interest in improving the state of the “last-

mile”. Until now, societies have fully enabled

the e-commerce industry to flourish but


Summer 2020

we have yet to face its repercussions on our

cities and societies in full force. Not only will

we see our current woes of congestion and

poor livability standards further deteriorate,

but the economic and social knock-on

effects will become more serious. Logistics

firms have offered a variety of innovative

solutions. Cities should capitalize on them.

By first taking the threat of unrestrained

“last-mile” logistics more seriously, cities

will be in a strong position to lay down the

right mix of policy guidelines and incentive

schemes that enable firms to deploy their

solutions but also encourage citizens to

adopt sustainable consumption practices.

Poor leadership could sap investment

budgets and set cities behind innovation

curves, maybe perpetually. If done right,

logistics firms, cities and the public can reap

the benefits sooner rather than never.

Author: FARRI GABAWIT Youth Representative

Sources:1. "The Future of the Last-Mile Ecosystem,"

World Economic Forum, 2020.2. J. Clement, "Retail e-commerce sales

worldwide from 2014 to 2023," Statis-ta, 19 March 2020. [Online]. Avail-able: https://www.statista.com/statistics/379046/worldwide-retail-e-commerce-sales/. [Accessed April 2020].

3. "Statista," Statista, 16 05 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/.

4. [4] "Average last-mile delivery cost worldwide in 2018, by type of costs," Statista, 26 August 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/sta-tistics/973182/last-mile-delivery-aver-age-cost/. [Accessed April 2020].

5. M. R. Hannah Ritchie, "Urbanization," Our World In Data, 16 05 2020. [On-line]. Available: https://ourworldindata.org/urbanization.

6. "World’s population increasingly urban with more than half living in urban ar-eas," United Nations, 10 July 2014. [On-line]. Available: https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/news/population/world-urbanization-prospects-2014.html. [Accessed April 2020].

7. "The Road to Sustainable Urban Logis-tics," United Parcel Service of America, 2017.

8. "Traffic Data Viewer," Department of Transportation, 2016. [Online]. Avail-able: https://www.dot.ny.gov/tdv. [Ac-cessed April 2020].

THE EUROPEAN UNION IS GOING TO

PLANT 3 BILLION TREES BY 2030.

The European Union is planning to plant

3 billion trees, over the next decade in one

piece of a larger commitment to protect

nature on the continent. This comes at a

time when a million species, globally, are

now at risk of extinction, and biodiversity

loss also threatens future pandemics. In

a new strategy document, the European

Commission says it now aims to protect

30% of the region’s land and oceans, based

on science that suggests that amount is

necessary to preserve biodiversity.

According to Brian O’Donnell, director of

the nonprofit Campaign for Nature, “this is

the first truly serious, continent-wide, all-

of-government biodiversity strategy that

we’ve seen. It addresses both conserving and

protecting the best of nature that remains

and restoring new areas. Brian further

stated that the tree-planting component is

something that will get a number of people’s

attention. But it’s only one part of what he

thinks is a comprehensive biodiversity

strategy for Europe.”

Other parts of the plan include limiting

pesticide pollution and new approaches to

agriculture. But forests play an important

role—in Ireland, for example, around 90%

of forested areas have been lost. A 2018

study suggests that at least half of Europe’s

forests have disappeared over the last 6,000

years. “There’s a huge opportunity to do

reforestation and to bring back some of the

original function of the ecosystems there.

Tree planting and reforestation will also be

essential in Europe as areas heat up—this

will be a strategy not just for biodiversity but

in helping cities stay cooler.” Some cities, like

Madrid, are already beginning to add more

greenery to prepare. Tree planting can also

help fight climate change, another major

reason that species are threatened.

Bringing back more trees, along with

protecting the forests that still exist, could

also help wildlife rebound. “If you look

at the areas around Chernobyl that were

abandoned and forest were able to regrow,

it’s incredible the diversity of wildlife that has

quickly returned to that area,” he says. “So

there is hope that some areas of Europe that

have been devoid of significant biodiversity,

with some major restoration work, can see

a new abundance of wildlife—of birds, of

insects, of mammals—that will help make

it a much healthier system in terms of its

natural biodiversity.” The next step, he says,

is for Europe to create a formal strategy

and each country to make plans for where

restoration and protection of natural areas

will happen.

SOURCES: https://www.fastcompany.com/90506965/the-eu-is-going-to-plant-3-billion-trees-by-2030


Summer 202010

DUTCH GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED EMISSIONS CUTS

The Dutch government announced a bold set of climate policies

designed to reduce annual carbon emissions by nearly 10 megatons.

In 2013, the non-profit Dutch environmental foundation Urgenda,

on behalf of around 900 citizens, sued the state for the government's

failure to take responsibility for the Netherlands' contribution to the

climate crisis.

Markus Distelrath, pixels

After a seven-year legal battle, the Supreme Court in the Netherlands

ruled in December that current climate Dutch policies were

inadequate - forcing the government to act to reduce emissions to

25% below 1990 levels by the end of 2020 at the latest.

The Netherlands is now a proving ground for environmental lawsuits.

A similar case to cap nitrogen pollution was won in 2018, and one of

the lawyers from the Urgenda case has partnered with Friends of the

Earth to sue Shell, which is headquartered in The Hague.

There are more than 1,500 climate lawsuits either complete or

ongoing in the world, including similar cases in Ireland and Norway,

but this is by far the most successful to date. Michael Gerrard, the

director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia

University, says the Dutch case is the “strongest climate change

decision ever issued by a court” and the only one that has forced

government policy.

According to UN Environment’s latest emissions gap report, this

will require unprecedented global greenhouse gas cuts of 7.6% a

year over the next decade. World emissions have risen in most of

the recent years.

At 12 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per person in 2017, Dutch emissions

per capita are one of the highest in the EU and have barely fallen

over the past decade. The Dutch government announced on 24 April

the adoption of 30 measures out of Urgenda's '54 climate solutions'

- which were developed in collaboration with 800 organizations and

civil society groups. The crucial change is the 75 percent reduction

in the capacity of the country's three coal-fired power station, which

are all due to close by 2030. Additionally, the government proposes

to lower the maximum speed on highways during daytime hours

and set up several subsidy schemes for renewable energy and energy

efficiency measures.

In total, the government is expected to invest more than €3bn,

including €2bn for mostly roof-top solar projects, €300m for

household energy-saving measures such as double glazing, €360m

to compensate farmers for livestock reductions, and €30m for LED

lighting.

Paul van der Zanden, a spokesperson for the economics and climate

ministry, says “Finding social support was important for these 2020

climate goals. Urgenda gave a great help in the search for climate

measures that citizens can take themselves.”

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/04/climate-action-under-duress-how-dutch-were-forced-into-emissions-cuts

WALES TO PLANT A HUGE NATIONAL FOREST

Wales announced the government-led, $5.9 million project to create a National Forest in order to preserve nature, improve biodiversity, and sequester carbon from the atmosphere. Other goals include their "commitment to tackling climate change." The plan is set to plant on 5,000 acres of land each year to eventually increasing to 10,000 acres per year in order to hopefully meet their mark of reducing carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. Source: https://www.greenmatters.com/p/wales-build-ing-national-forest


Summer 2020

ALGAE TRANSPLANT COULD PROTECT CORAL REEFS FROM

WARMING SEAS

It may be possible to protect coral reefs from the warming oceans

by colonizing them with heat-resistant algae. Patrick Buerger at

CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, and his colleagues have

developed ‘heat-tolerant’ corals, in a breakthrough that could prove

a lifeline for the world’s coral reefs. They heated Symbiodiniaceae

algae to 31°C in a laboratory for four years to train it to tolerate more

heat than it is used to. The algae eventually evolved genetic changes

that hinted at greater heat resistance. The adapted coral can survive

temperatures similar to those seen in ocean heatwaves which have

caused mass bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef in recent years. The

world is on track to blow past the climate thresholds that would keep

corals alive, making the Australian discovery potentially crucial for

the future of the world’s corals.

Source: https://inews.co.uk/news/environment/heat-resistant-coral-reefs-climate-change-australia-2852519

EARTH SCHOOL’ LAUNCHES IN TIME OF COVID-19

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, an unprecedented coalition has

come together to launch “Earth School,” which provides free, high-

quality educational content to help students, parents and teachers

around the world who are currently at home. Initiated by the United

Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and TED-Ed, Earth

School takes students on a 30-day “Adventure” through the natural

world.

The curated Earth School content features videos, reading materials

and activities — which will be translated into 10 languages — to

help students gain an understanding of the environment while

considering their role within it. This is the biggest online learning

initiative in UNEP’s history and is available for free on TED-Ed’s

website.

Built for children and youth ages 5-18, it spans 30 school days that

run between Earth Day and World Environment Day on June 5,

which this year will take place under the banner of Time for Nature.

“Billions of children are currently out of school because of CO-

VID-19. But learning cannot stop. COVID-19 has revealed how

deeply interconnected all life on this planet is,” said UNEP’s Exec-

utive Director, Inger Andersen. “I am delighted that UNEP, along

with TED-Ed and other collaborators, are launching Earth School.

Learning about the natural world will be critical to building a better

and sustainable future for all.”

Despite being confined to their homes, this project shows that

students, parents and teachers throughout the world can still engage

in science-based learning and adventures together. Earth School is

a collaboration between so many talented educators and incredible

partners from around the world, which is why we’re proud and

thrilled to see the initiative feeding the global curiosity of home-

bound students, all of whom are the future environmental stewards

of our planet. This platform is a gateway to some of the most inspiring

lessons on nature and the environment, and each lesson comes with

practical and fun activities that students can engage with and share,”

said Logan Smalley, founding director of TED’s youth and education

initiative, TED-Ed.

The lessons were curated by a team of environmental education

experts including Kathleen Usher Ph.D, Jessie Oliver and Juliane

Voss, who worked with over 100 contributors in creating Earth

School. The initiative is in support of SDG 4.7 and the Decade of

Delivery and will contribute towards the Global Education Coalition

launched by UNESCO in the past months to convene governments,

technology partners and leaders in the education field to keep pupils

learning. As part of this coalition, UNEP will be exploring how this

content can be adapted and shared with children who aren’t able to

access the Internet.

Source: https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/press-release/earth-school-launches-keep-students-connected-nature-time-covid-19


Summer 202012

DEFORESTATION OF AMAZON RAINFOREST

ACCELERATESIn the midst of the pandemic, the Brazilian

government is again advancing controversial

legislation regarding indigenous

lands, potentially compounding tribes’

vulnerability to invasion and infection. In

April, Bolsonaro’s indigenous affairs agency,

FUNAI, passed the controversial law IN 09.

The new rule prevents long-held indigenous

lands waiting for official demarcation from

being labelled as “indigenous” in the land

registry as they wait. Environmental groups

allege the new law provides a route for those

who illegally occupy indigenous lands to

claim the land is not indigenous. According

to Greenpeace, the seemingly obscure rule

change will have drastic consequences for

the nearly one third of indigenous lands

still awaiting official designation by the

government. Deforestation in the Brazilian

Amazon rose more than 50% in the first

three months of 2020 compared to the same

three-month period last year, according

to preliminary satellite data released by

the Brazilian Space Agency’s deforestation

monitoring system.

Source: https://abcnews.go.com/Interna-tional/deforestation-amazon-rainforest-accelerates-amid-covid-19-pandemic/story?id=70526188

COLD WAR NUKE TESTS CHANGED

RAINFALL

Nuclear bomb tests during the Cold War may

have changed rainfall patterns thousands

of miles from the detonation sites, new

research has revealed. The study, which

was published in Physical Review Letters,

used records from 1962 to 1964 compiled

by a research station in Scotland. Scientists

studied days with high and low radioactively

generated charge and found that clouds were

visibly thicker.

They also discovered that there was, on

average, 24 percent more rain on the days

with more radioactivity. “By studying

the radioactivity released from Cold War

weapons tests, scientists at the time learnt

about atmospheric circulation patterns,”

said Prof. Giles Harrison of the U.K.’s

University of Reading and the study’s lead

author, in a statement. The race to develop

nuclear weapons was a key feature of the

Cold War, as the world’s superpowers sought

to demonstrate their military capabilities

during heightened tensions following the

Second World War

Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/re-leases/2020/05/200513111415.htm

UNBEARABLE BOUTS OF HEAT AND HUMIDITY

ON THE RISEIntolerable bouts of extreme humidity and

heat that could threaten human survival are

on the rise across the world. The number of

potentially fatal humidity and heat events

doubled between 1979 and 2017, and are

increasing in both frequency and intensity,

according to the study published in Science

Advances. In dry conditions, the body

sweats out excess heat through the skin,

where it then evaporates away. Humidity

impedes evaporation and can even halt it

completely in extreme conditions. In theory,

humans cannot survive above 35C on the

wet bulb scale.

If the body’s core overheats, organs can

quickly begin to fail and lead to death within

hours. “Previous studies projected that this

would happen several decades from now,

but this shows it’s happening right now,”

said lead author Colin Raymond from

Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty

Earth Observatory.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/08/climate-change-global-heating-extreme-heat-humidity


Summer 2020

WIT VIRTUAL VOICESWIT Virtual Voices is our digital programme sharing knowledge and information about pertinent topics - especially the link between degrading environments and diminished human health. We have organized a series of webinars to host thematic discussions with external and internal speakers from WIT’s network.

Scheduled Programs: 10 am EST

Ambassador Yuriy Sergeyev - May 22Dr. Bernard Goldstein - June 3Ms. Irena Zubcevic - June 5Dr. William Rom - June 9Mr. Richard Whiteford - June 12Dr. Brian R. Landsberg - June 26 Dr. Igor Spiniov - TBAApurv Gupta - TBA Farri Gaba - TBAPlease register.

together with UN partners, will convene. a High-Level Meeting on Sustainable Ocean

Business and the 2030 Agenda. Senior executives from business, academia, civil society,

the United Nations and Governments will be invited to participate in a multi-stakeholder

dialogue on the role of businesses and governments to ensure a more healthy and productive

ocean by 2030

Source: https://www.unglobalcompact.org/take-action/events/1746-online-high-level-meet-ing-on-sustainable-ocean-business

UN WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY’ 5 JUNEWorld Environment Day 2020 would be celebrated on Friday, 5th June, 2020 in Colombia.

World Environment Day 2020: theme will be on “Biodiversity.” UN Environment

Programme (UNEP) announced that Colombia will be hosting World Environment Day

2020 in partnership with Germany. The main focus of World Environment Day 2020 would

be on Biodiversity.

ONLINE HIGH-LEVEL MEETING ON SUSTAINABLE

OCEAN BUSINESSDate: 2nd June, 2020 from 09:00-10:45 amET

Organizer email address: ocean@unglobal-

compact.org

Organizer: the UN Global Compact

As a stepping stone towards the UN Ocean

Conference, the UN Global Compact,

World Environment Day

2020 is widely celebrated in

more than 143 countries. It is

popularly being called “People’s

Day” to show their care and

support for the Earth and their

environment. Knowing the ways to protect the environment is important, look in detail

about the objectives, themes, and history of World Environment Day.

Source: https://www.worldenvironmentday.global/

845th INTERNATIONAL ONLINE CONFERENCE ON ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL SCIENCE (ICENS)

Date: 3rd - 4th June, 2020

Organizer email address: [email protected]

Organizer: International Conference on Environment and Natural Science

845th International Conference on Environment and Natural Science (ICENS) will be held

on 3rd - 4th June, 2020. ICENS is to bring together innovative academics and industrial

experts in the field of Environment and Natural Science to a common forum.

The primary goal of the conference is to promote research and developmental activities

in Environment and Natural Science. Another goal is to promote scientific information

interchange between researchers, developers, engineers, students, and practitioners working

in and around the world. The conference will be held every year to make it an ideal platform

for people to share views and experiences in Environment and Natural Science related areas.

Source: http://iastem.org/Conference2020/Norway/1/ICENS/


Summer 202014

8th WORLD CONGRESS AND EXPO ON GREEN ENERGY

Date:15th-16th June, 2020

Organizer: Conference Series LLC LTD

Resister: https://greenenergy.environmentalconferences.org/

The 8th World Congress and Expo on Green Energy Webinar during

June 15-16, 2020 is held. The relative novel nature of the conference is

to bring advancement in the field of utilization of natural resources.

Green Energy Webinar 2020 is the integration of new technologies

in the field of environmental science to help Environmental

Professionals harness the full potential of their practice.

11th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING AND APPLICATION

(ICEEA 2020) Date: 28th - 30th June 2020

Organizer email address: [email protected]

Organizer: International Conference on Environmental

Engineering and Applications. 2020 11th International Conference

on Environmental Engineering and Applications (ICEEA 2020)

is the premier forum for the presentation of new advances and

research results in the fields of theoretical, experimental, and applied

Environmental Engineering and Applications. The conference will

bring together leading researchers, engineers, and scientists in the

domain of interest from around the world.

Source: http://www.iceea.org/

These events are staring our leaders right in the face, but our monot-

onous drone of warnings present them with such an inconvenient

truth that they prefer to ignore it. It doesn’t have to be this way.

A giant first step would be to divert government fossil industry

investments into clean energy technologies. An IEA analysis

report shows that governments drive around 70% of global energy

investments.

The climate crisis dictates that governments divert those investments

into sustainable energy. Yet, according to information compiled

by Bloomberg, since the Paris Climate Change Agreement banks

financed over $700 billion in fossil industry projects. It’s no wonder

renewable energy businesses can’t thrive when the finances are

biased toward the fossil industry creating such an enormous unfair

playing field!

Considering that governments hold the power to drive investments,

they are also the only ones with the power to fund and support large

research projects and infrastructure changes like retooling power

grids and converting energy resources from fossil to renewables on

large regional or national scales. They need to be driving investments

toward solar, wind, nuclear, hydrogen, new battery technologies, and

carbon capture technologies and energy efficient buildings.

The Coronavirus isolation proves to us how efficient working at

home can be for certain sectors of the economy. Jobs that can be

done via telecommuting reduces the time and money needed to

commute to and from the workplace. Corporations would save

millions of dollars and valuable work time by not traveling to offsite

meetings and conferences by holding webinars instead. If this were

to become permanent, it would reduce city traffic, the need for so

many parking lots, the strain on public transportation and reduce

the CO2 and pollution emissions associated with it. Universities

worldwide should use their talents and resources to provide research

and technical innovations that will move us into the new energy

paradigm. Creating a new clean energy economy can create a better

job market for thousands of people.

The billionaire leaders of the free market system and our

governments are making it quite clear that nothing is going to

change as long as the money keeps rolling in. Greta ‘s parting words

in a rally in Stockholm, Sweden said it well, “It shouldn’t be up to us

children and teenagers to make people wake up around the world.

The ones in charge should be ashamed.”

Author: RICHARD WHITEFORDWIT Board of Directors

Point of View (from Page 16)


Summer 2020

World Information Transfer, Inc., (WIT) is a not-for-profit, non-govern-mental organization in General Consultative Status with the United Na-tions, promoting environmental health and literacy. In 1987, inspired by the Chornobyl (Ukrainian spelling) nuclear tragedy, in Ukraine, WIT was formed in recognition of the pressing need to provide accurate actionable information about our deteriorating global environment and its effect on human health. WIT exercises its mandate through:

• World Ecology Report (WER). Published since 1989, the World Ecology Report is a quarterly digest of critical issues in health and environment, produced in four languages and distributed to thousands of citizens throughout the developing and developed world.

• Health and Environment Conferences: Since 1992, WIT has convened annual conferences, held at United Nations headquarters on the growing clinical evidence supporting the link between environmental degradation and its effect on human health. The Conferences have been co-sponsored by UN member states and its agencies.

• Internship: World Information Transfer (WIT) offers intern-ships at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. Our goal is to assist future leaders understand what the world needs to be sustainable, and to learn about issues in health and environment. Our interns spend the majority of their time at the United Nations Headquarters. There are 3 sessions, spring, winter and summer - all require applications.

• Humanitarian Aid. In conjunction with the K.Kovshevych Foundation, WIT provides humanitarian aid to schools, and or-phanages in areas devastated by environmental degradation.

• Scholarship Program. WIT assists the K.Kovshevych Foun-dation, in finding intellectually gifted university students in need of financial assistance to continue their studies in areas related to health and environment.

• www.worldinfo.org WIT provides, through its website, scien-tific presentations from our annual conferences held at the United Nations, the archived World Ecology Reports, and the Speaker’s Se-ries.

World Information Transfer is a Non-Profit, 501(c)3,Non-Governmental Organization in General Consultative Status with the United Nations, Promoting Health and Environmental Literacy.

Board of DirectorsDr. Christine K. Durbak, CHAIR & CEO

Roland DeSilvaEXECUTIVE VICE CHAIRDr. Claudia Strauss VICE CHAIRApurv GuptaSECRETARYArnaud LaFlecheTREASURER

Fred YonghabiADMINISTRATOR

Mariam AzarmHon. Carolyn T. Comitta Cary GranatDr. Bernard D.GoldsteinDr. Brian LandzbergDr. Patricia MyskowskiDr. Scott RatzanDr. Mark RobsonDr. William N. RomAmb. Yuriy SergeyevRichard Whiteford

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Summer 202016

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POINT OF VIEW In spite of all the Earth Day celebrations, all the environmental

protest rallies, all the political lobbying over decades, all the

newspaper articles and all the United Nations Conferences of the

Parties (COP) trying to bring the attention of the urgency of climate

change to the world, it took a young lady from Sweden, Greta

Thunberg, to get the world’s attention.

Realizing that if we keep burning fossil fuels, she won’t have a future

by the time she’s in her mid-forties, she felt it was imperative to speak

up. She asked herself, what good is school if I won’t survive anyway,

so she started by skipping school on Fridays. She began by sitting in

front of the Swedish parliament building in protest. This evolved into

a movement called “#FridaysForFuture that grew to over 1.6 million

youth in 133 countries. They call out governments, corporations and

their parents to stop burning fossil fuels immediately to protect their

futures.

Greta participated in the United Nations Climate Action Summit

in 2019 and emphatically appealed to attending world leaders, “Can

you hear me?” She admonished them, “Shame on you,” for doing

nothing to cut carbon emissions to save humanity’s future. The GAP

analysis Report of 2019 states, “Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions

have risen at a rate of 1.5 percent per year in the last decade. Total

GHG emissions, including from land-use change, reached a record

high of 55.3 GtCO2e in 2018. Fossil CO2 emissions from energy

use and industry, which dominate total GHG emissions, grew 2.0

percent in 2018, reaching a record 37.5 GtCo2 per year. As IPCC

scientist Katherine Hayhoe points out, CO2 in the atmosphere is

now higher than anytime in the last 15 million years. Nationally

Determined Contributions (NDCs) must be increased fivefold

in 2020 to achieve the 1.5° C goal of emission cuts by 2050. Not

one member of the G20 countries have committed to a timeline to

achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

According to the OECD-IEA’s estimates, there is around 53 years of

oil, 54 years of natural gas and 110 years of coal left to burn before we

run out. Easily more than enough to cook the planet. The U.S. Energy

Information Administration (EIA) projects a 28% increase in world

energy use by 2040. Fossil fuels are projected to comprise 75% of that

based on a business-as-usual trend, global carbon dioxide emissions

are forecast to increase to some 43.08 billion metric tons in 2050, in

comparison to 35.3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2018.

Since COVID-19 brought world industries to their knees, dropping

CO2 emissions abruptly by as much as 25% particularly in China.

For one thing, this, proves that burning carbon is causing climate

change, not a natural cycle. Don’t think that we’re off the hook with

climate change because of the temporary decrease, we’ve pumped so

much carbon into the atmosphere that NOAA recorded carbon levels

at 414.50 parts per million (PPM) in March 2020. That carbon will

remain up there for a century or two heating up the planet. Surely, as

soon as the pandemic is gone industry will slam back into gear and

run at breakneck capacity to regain its losses and CO2 emissions will

increase exponentially.

The insanity of free market capitalism is exposed by their continuing

pursuit of a fossil-based economy while seemingly blind to the blatant

evidence that’s staring them right in the face. Evidence like NOAA’s,

shows that January 2020 was the 44th consecutive January and the

421st consecutive month with temperatures above the 20th century

average and between Greenland and Antarctica 6.4 trillion tons of

ice melted since the 1990s. In Australia over a billion animals were

burned and wildfires ravished California and many other parts of

the world. Droughts and sea level rise is forcing populations to flee

into unwanted territories and a recent study shows that if we fail

to cut CO2 enough to limit the temperature rise to 1.5 C climate

damage disruption will cost the world $36 trillion.

Continues on Page. 14

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