Updates: polution; hunting; animal slaughter; climate change

[Anthea]

France Is the First Country to Ban
Plastic Cups, Plates, and Cutlery

The French government has passed a law that could revolutionize barbecues, picnics, and birthdays. Starting in 2020, most plastic cups, plates and cutlery will be totally banned

Introduced at the end of August (just as opportunities for al fresco dining began to fade away), the new policy outlaws disposable utensils in an attempt to build a more sustainable economy. The only exception will be for disposable items made from biodegradable substances.

The decision follows the country’s total ban on plastic bags last year, in accordance with the Energy Transition for Green Growth Act which aims to transform France into “an exemplary nation in terms of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, diversifying its energy model and increasing the deployment of renewable energy sources.”

Every year, 4.73 billion plastic cups are thrown away in France. Only 1% of these are recycled. The bold ban aims to drastically cut levels of plastic waste, and drive innovation in biodegradable products. The only disposable products that will survive the ban will be those that are made from at least 50% biodegradable material. By 2025, this threshold will rise to 60%.

Not everyone is happy about the decision

Pack2Go – described somewhat opaquely as a “European convenience foood packaging association” has spoken out against the decision, claiming it violates European law on the free movement of goods. The introduction of the law was delayed due to concerns that it would jeopardise poorer families, who may be more reliant on disposable utensils.

Still, if humans continue to dispose of plastic at the same rate, by 2050 there will more plastic in our oceans than fish, as 8 million tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean every year. Strong, decisive action is necessary to reverse this alarming trend.

Nine months on from hosting the historic COP21 summit, France is keen to play a pioneering role in building a more sustainable future. Judging by the nation's latest move, it appears they are stepping up to the (biodegradable, of course) plate.

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/conten ... xO819q1Nh0

[Anthea]

Hundreds of thousands
join Canada climate strikes

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg spoke in Montreal ahead of planned demonstrations

Hundreds of thousands of people have joined climate strike marches across Canada, with almost 100 events planned in cities and towns.

Protesters are taking part in the global climate strike movement, which has seen people around the world take to the streets.

The movement wants world leaders to adopt ambitious climate change policy.

Initial school strikes were inspired by Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg's "Fridays for Future" movement.

The 16-year-old - who on Monday chastised world leaders at the United Nations over their failure to do more - spoke in Montreal at the start of strikes in the city, which are expected to draw more than 300,000 people.

"It is very moving to see everyone, everyone who is so passionate to march and strike," she told reporters. "It is a very good day, I would say."

During her visit, Ms Thunberg will receive the key to the city from Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante.

Organisers say half a million people have gathered in the eastern city of Montreal alone. Officials told local media the number was closer to 315,000.

These figures place the Montreal event among some of the most attended environmental marches in history. The September 2014 People's Climate March in New York attracted at least 310,000.

Schools, colleges and universities suspended all or some classes for the day, and the city government and some businesses have encouraged staff to take the day off. City public transit is also free for the event.

The march was mostly peaceful, though a man was tackled by police and arrested after approaching Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Léa Ilardo, 21, a university student helping to organise the march, told the BBC she hopes it serves as a demonstration of how important it is to take climate action.

"Why should we study or work when the survival of humanity and the planet is called into question?" she said.

Friday's march attracted demonstrators of all ages.

Ron and Sue Alward, both in their 70s, activists for decades, said popular interest in environmental issues "waxes and wanes depending on some unsuspected event, like say, Greta [Thunberg]".

But Mrs Alward said that the real problem remains: "How do we get the politicians on board? The whole system needs to change".

The march takes place in the middle of Canada's federal election campaign - though many of the students expected to take part are not old enough to vote.

Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, Green Party leader Elizabeth May and Bloc Québécois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet are in attendance. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is to join a march in Victoria, British Columbia.

Conservative leader Andrew Scheer - who has a large base of support in Canada's oil and gas producing regions - is to be the only leader absent.

He avoided any of the country-wide marches but has said his party will "always support" people raising awareness on climate issues, and some Conservative candidates are expected to attend some events.

In the lead-up to Friday's marches, and amid a global discussion on climate change, all the campaigns have spent the past week laying out their environmental policies, from home energy retrofitting programmes to setting new climate targets.

Among the demands by Climate Strike Canada - the network overseeing the various activist and student groups organising the marches - is a call to reject all new fossil fuel extraction or transportation projects, and to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies.

That would include the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project, which is backed by both the Liberals and the Conservatives.

Climate Strike Canada is also calling for net greenhouse gas emissions to be cut 75% over 2005 levels by 2030 - higher than those currently being promised by any of the campaigns.

Canada's current target is to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% below 2005 levels by 2030.

Ms Ilardo said the students behind this march hope it will help create a "break from the status quo".

"The strike is not the final point," she said. "For us, it's just the beginning."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-49856860

[Anthea]

Orangutan with human rights
begins move to Florida

An orangutan which spent 20 years in an Argentine zoo is being moved to a US animal sanctuary after being granted the same legal rights as humans



Lawyers won a landmark appeal for Sandra in 2014, arguing she was being detained in Buenos Aires illegally.

The ruling found her to be Argentina's first "nonhuman person, with the right to liberty".

The 33-year-old arrived in Kansas on Friday and will undergo tests before moving to her new home in Florida.

Judge Elena Liberatori - who has a picture of Sandra in her office - told AP news agency she wanted her ruling to send a message: "That animals are sentient beings and that the first right they have is our obligation to respect them."

Sandra was born in an East German zoo and sold to Buenos Aires in 1995.

The orangutan spent much of her life in a solitary enclosure and regularly tried to avoid the public. She had a daughter in 1999, but the baby was taken away from her and sold to an animal park in China.

Her legal victory brought international fame to the orangutan, and set a precedent for apes to be legally deemed people rather than property.

Until this week - nearly five years later - Sandra remained at the site of the zoo, which closed in 2016 following reports of animal cruelty. The zoo is now being rebuilt as an "eco-park" with improved living standards for animals.

An Argentine court approved her transfer to Florida's Center for Great Apes in 2017, though her journey was delayed by applications for US permits.

The 100-acre sanctuary is home to chimpanzees and orangutans which have been freed from circuses, labs, zoos and private collections. Michael Jackson's former pet chimpanzee, Bubbles, is among several famous residents.

Sandra will join 21 other orangutans, and will be free to move between 11 outdoor areas where the great apes live.

"We're eager to meet her, she's a lovely orangutan" said Patti Ragan, the Center's founder.

Speaking to the BBC, Ms Ragan said she was happy that Sandra's story was bringing public attention to orangutans, one of the world's most endangered animals.

But she added that the sanctuary was working to ensure this heightened publicity wouldn't impact on Sandra's transition into her new home.

"We don't want any distractions," said Ms Ragan. "We just want her to have peace when she gets here".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-49856859

[Anthea]

315 billion-tonne iceberg
breaks off Antarctica



The Amery Ice Shelf in Antarctica has just produced its biggest iceberg in more than 50 years

The calved block covers 1,636 sq km in area - a little smaller than Scotland's Isle of Skye - and is called D28.

The scale of the berg means it will have to be monitored and tracked because it could in future pose a hazard to shipping.

Not since the early 1960s has Amery calved a bigger iceberg. That was a whopping 9,000 sq km in area.

Amery is the third largest ice shelf in Antarctica, and is a key drainage channel for the east of the continent.

The shelf is essentially the floating extension of a number of glaciers that flow off the land into the sea. Losing bergs to the ocean is how these ice streams maintain equilibrium, balancing the input of snow upstream.

So, scientists knew this calving event was coming. What's interesting is that much attention in the area had actually been focussed just to the east of the section that's now broken away.

This is a segment of Amery that has affectionately become known as "Loose Tooth" because of its resemblance in satellite images to the dentition of a small child. Both ice areas had shared the same rift system.

But although wobbly, Loose tooth is still attached. It's D28 that's been extracted.

"It is the molar compared to a baby tooth," Prof Helen Fricker from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography told BBC News.

Prof Fricker had predicted back in 2002 that Loose Tooth would come off sometime between 2010 and 2015.

"I am excited to see this calving event after all these years. We knew it would happen eventually, but just to keep us all on our toes, it is not exactly where we expected it to be," she said.

The Scripps researcher stressed that there was no link between this event and climate change. Satellite data since the 1990s has shown that Amery is roughly in balance with its surroundings, despite experiencing strong surface melt in summer.

"While there is much to be concerned about in Antarctica, there is no cause for alarm yet for this particular ice shelf," Prof Fricker added.

The Australian Antarctic Division will however be watching Amery closely to see if it reacts at all. The division's scientists have instrumentation in the region.

It's possible the loss of such a big berg will change the stress geometry across the front of the ice shelf. This could influence the behaviour of cracks, and even the stability of Loose Tooth.

D28 is calculated to be about 210m thick and contains some 315 billion tonnes of ice.

The name comes from a classification system run by the US National Ice Center, which divides the Antarctic into quadrants.

The D quadrant covers the longitudes 90 degrees East to zero degrees, the Prime Meridian. This is roughly Amery to the Eastern Weddell Sea.

D28 is dwarfed by the mighty A68 berg, which broke away from the Larsen C Ice Shelf in 2017. It currently covers an area more than three times as big.

Nearshore currents and winds will carry D28 westwards. It's likely to take several years for it to break apart and melt completely.

[Anthea]

Link to:

Full Briefing FAQs International Rebellion: London

https://rebellion.earth/international-r ... CeERW3pNsg

[Anthea]

UK’s wildlife in serious decline

Populations of the UK’s most important wildlife have plummeted by an average of 60% since 1970, according to the most comprehensive analysis to date

The State of Nature report also found that the area inhabited by officially designated “priority species” has shrunk by 27%. The species are those deemed most important and threatened, and include hedgehogs, hares and bats, many birds such as the willow tit and the turtle dove, and insects such as the high brown fritillary butterfly.

The report finds the losses to all animals, plants and marine life show no sign of letting up, despite some successes in protecting individual species. It found that 41% of species have decreased in abundance, while just 26% have increased.

A quarter of UK mammals and nearly half of the birds assessed are at risk of extinction, according to the report, which was produced by a coalition of more than 70 wildlife organisations and government conservation agencies. When plants, insects and fungi are added, one in seven of the 8,400 UK species assessed are at risk of being completely lost, with 133 already gone since 1500.

The causes of the losses are the intensification of farming, pollution from fertiliser, manure and plastic, the destruction of habitats for houses, the climate crisis and invasive alien species. The State of Nature report shows no significant improvement since the last one in 2016, which said the UK was “among the most nature-depleted countries in the world”.

The losses mirror the global annihilation of wildlife, which scientists suggest is the start of the sixth mass extinction on Earth and is undermining the natural life-support systems that humanity relies on for air, water and food.

“We know more about the UK’s wildlife than any other country on the planet, and what it is telling us should make us sit up and listen,” said Daniel Hayhow of the RSPB, the lead author of the report. “We need to respond more urgently across the board.”

Sophie Pavelle, a young conservationist who contributed to the report’s foreword, said: “I have felt the loss of nature more acutely this year than any other. A dawn chorus less deafening; hedgerows less frantic; bizarre, worrying weather. It seems that in a more complex world, nature is tired, muted and confused.”

Paul de Zylva of Friends of the Earth said: “As we lose nature, we lose a huge part of what makes us happy and healthy. UK ministers and businesses persist in planning and funding disastrous projects and practices, often with public money.” Repeated declarations by the government to halt and reverse the decline of nature have not been followed by matching action, he said.

“We recognise that the continuing declines in biodiversity require urgent action from across society,” said Marcus Yeo, the chief executive of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, the UK’s official conservation advisers. Government funding for wildlife and nature has fallen by 42% since 2009, while an official report in March concluded the UK will miss almost all its 2020 nature targets.

In addition to the 214 priority species analysed in the report, a broader examination of almost 600 species also found a drop in population of 13% since 1970. But the report states: “Prior to 1970, the UK’s wildlife had already been depleted by centuries of persecution, pollution, habitat loss and degradation.”

The report uses assessments from the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list to assess the number of UK species at risk of extinction. As well as mammals and birds, it found 440 plants, 405 invertebrates and 232 fungi and lichen in danger

The mammals most at risk are the Scottish wildcat and the once-widespread black rat, but hedgehogs, rabbits and water voles are also falling in numbers. “I have never seen a hedgehog, although my parents used to see them all the time in this area,” said James Miller, another young conservationist featured in the report.

The destruction of nature extends offshore, the report found. The seafloor was scoured or disturbed by fishing gear in more than half of all UK waters between 2010 and 2015, while half of all commercial fisheries are overexploited. Plastic pollution is rising too, with 93% of beached northern fulmar seabirds having eaten plastic, and the average number of particles swallowed has tripled since the 1980s.

“But it is not all gloom and doom,” said Gary Powney, of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, a contributor to the report. “There are inspirational conservation success stories, where people have come together to protect and restore wildlife.”

The fen raft spider was threatened with extinction in the UK, he said, but the Wildlife Trusts worked with the EU to fund habitat restoration and the species was increasing. Other successes include the saving of corncrakes and bitterns, the large blue butterfly and the return of otters to less polluted waters.

The report uses many millions of data records from tens of thousands of expert volunteers. “We need even more people to get involved and record the biodiversity around them, so we can monitor the health of our countryside,” said Powney.

“We are in the midst of a nature and climate emergency right here at home,” said Mark Wright of WWF. “The new [post-Brexit] environment bill must be world-leading with bold legal targets and a strong watchdog that holds the government accountable for halting the losses.”

Rosie Hails of the National Trust said: “It’s not just government that needs to act; we can also all do our own bit, including nature-friendly planting in our backyards.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... since-1970

[Anthea]

Greta Thunberg is favourite to
win 2019 Nobel Peace Prize



Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg has become the bookies’ favourite to win this years Nobel Peace Prize

The Swedish girl, 16, rose up to lead a millions-strong youth movement demanding action on global warming.

As a result she could join the likes of Nelson Mandela, Jimmy Carter and Mikhail Gorbachev who have all won the trophy.

She was named as the frontrunner by a number of European bookmakers, with betmaker Ladbrokes putting her at 4/6, above potential rivals including the Pope and the U.N. refugee agency.

Ladbrokes spokesman Jessica O’Reilly said: ‘It’s hard to argue against the impact Thunberg’s actions have had globally, and that’s reflected in her odds as the favourite.’

How Greta rose from schoolgirl protester to global campaign leader:

August 20, 2018: Swedish student Thunberg, then aged 15, skips school to protest outside parliament for more action against climate change.

August 26, 2018: She is joined by fellow students, teachers and parents at another protest and begins attracting media attention for her climate campaign.

September 2018: Thunberg begins a regular ‘strike’ from classes every Friday to protest climate issues. She invites other students to join her weekly ‘Fridays for Future’ campaign by staging walkouts at their own schools.

November 2018: More than 17,000 students in 24 countries take part in Friday school strikes. Thunberg begins speaking at high-profile events across Europe, including U.N. climate talks in Poland.

February 2019: Protests directly inspired by Thunberg take place across more than 30 countries, from Sweden to Brazil, India and the United States.

Greta tells UN 'you have stolen my dreams and childhood'

March 2019: Thunberg is nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. The number of students taking part in school strikes hits more than 2 million people across 135 countries.

May 2019: Thunberg is named one of the world’s most influential people by Time magazine, appearing on its cover. ‘Now I am speaking to the whole world,’ she wrote on Twitter.

July 2019: Conservative and far-right lawmakers urge a boycott of Thunberg’s appearance in the French parliament, mocking her as a ‘guru of the apocalypse’ and a ‘Nobel prize of fear’.

August 1, 2019: Thunberg hits back at ‘hate and conspiracy campaigns’ after by conservative Australian commentator Andrew Bolt described her as a ‘deeply disturbed messiah’.

August 5, 2019: Some 450 young climate activists from 37 European countries gather in Switzerland to discuss the movement’s development.

August 14, 2019: Thunberg sets sail from Britain for the United States to take part in a U.N. climate summit. Meanwhile, the total number of climate strikers reaches 3.6 million people across 169 countries.

August 28, 2019: Thunberg arrives at New York Harbor in a zero-carbon emissions vessel, completing a nearly 14-day journey from England to take part in a U.N. climate summit.

September 13, 2019: Thunberg takes her mission to U.S. President Donald Trump’s doorstep with a protest outside the White House.

September 18, 2019: Thunberg is one of four students invited to a U.S. congressional hearing to provide the next generation’s views on climate change.

September 23, 2019: Thunberg delivers a blistering speech to leaders at the U.N. summit, accusing them of having ‘stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words’.

September 24, 2019: The teenager hits back at mockery from the U.S. President Donald Trump, changing her Twitter biography to quote his comments.

September 25, 2019: Thunberg is named as one of four winners of the 2019 Right Livelihood Award, known as Sweden’s alternative Nobel Prize.

Link to Article - Photos - Video:

https://metro.co.uk/2019/10/04/greta-th ... -10859038/

[Anthea]

UK wildlife populations plummeting
this is what you can do to help



In a year where global appetite for environmental activism has boomed, the time has come for British nature to take centre stage

The 2019 State of Nature report is possibly the fiercest, most passionate collaboration of over 70 conservation organisations and they have proved that nature’s cries for help across the UK are oh so real, and worse than we thought.

The report is devastating. Since the 1970s 41 per cent of British species alone have decreased in abundance – meaning that per species measured, there are significantly fewer individuals in each population.

Despite a pleasing 26 per cent of species increasing in population size during the same period, we are still faced with the sobering reality of wildlife disappearing before our very eyes – and not recovering.

The report details that such losses have been most acutely measured within the last decade and that it has been a relentless struggle for our treasured wildlife, with 20 per cent of species showing ‘little change’. Change is what we so desperately need.

This is due to a complex cocktail of persistent misguided agricultural management, urbanisation, pollution, invasive species, climate change, hydrological change and – in my opinion one of the most important reasons – a continued resistance to the urgent change required among those in charge.

It shines a much needed spotlight on our behaviour, habits and desire for societal progression – whilst at the mercy of the very things that sustain us.

Of every three species you see outside now, one of them has decreased in number. Butterflies, moths and animals with specialised habitat needs, have been particularly hard hit.

Once upon a time, the hedgerows buzzed like freshers queuing outside their first nightclub. Grasshoppers and crickets leaped ahead of you on an afternoon stroll – all that was normal. We didn’t realise what we would miss.

Now, I only seem to see a grasshopper leaping ahead of me if I visit a sensitively managed nature reserve, or specialist organic farm. And the only deafening dawn chorus I hear is via the Calm app on my top three ‘Nature Soundscapes’. That is not normal. I don’t want it.

But for all the gloom – for all the bitterness I feel that 26 per cent of UK mammals are at risk of disappearing – reading the report gave me hope

Many of the contributing factors to nature’s current ‘state’ are reversible. While much of the burden remains in the way the UK farms the land, there is much that we can do in our houses, at work and on our social media to be a voice for the voiceless.

Public support for helping nature has blossomed over the past 18 months thanks to huge campaigns on social media, TV shows like Blue Planet and phenomenal uproar by young people with a future to protect.

Successful conservation thrives on teamwork, passion and communication, and the report demonstrates how this has enabled species like the booming bittern and spectacular large blue butterfly to bounce back from the brink.

If every single one of us planted a window box of wildflowers for pollinators, saw manicured lawns as a thing of the past, left autumn’s carpet where it fell, saw ‘insect markets’ instead of ‘weeds’ – essentially giving ourselves permission to be ‘lazy’ at home! – then we might just have a chance in letting the wild reach our doorstep once again.

I can’t remember what drew me to conservation and loving nature. It’s just always been there. I’ve always had this emotional urge to love animals and to view them as beings with myriad emotions, intelligence and an intense purpose for ‘life’ that I often envy.

I see nature as an essential part of life and a fundamental and unique romance that we are in danger of divorcing from. I also see it as a huge form of entertainment – wildlife is the most hilarious soap opera if you just take the time to look.

Friendships, break-ups, make-ups, cheaters, comedians, epic fails – it’s all there! And the best thing? Once you start looking, discovering, sharing – it’s addictive

I adore hiking and I am amazed at how the path sucks you in. It makes you feel good. It helps your anxieties fade into nothing. Nature is the most wonderful constant, humming away in the background, drowning out the noise.

I worry that if we continue with ‘business as usual’ that the ‘hum’ will fade away; that future generations won’t know nature as it deserves to be known and that society will become even more disjointed, confused and unhappy.

Humans are meant to let nature in

People protect what they love. If we can communicate the findings of this year’s report appropriately, in a way that instills the average Brit with a joyous love of nature, only then can we find real hope for a brighter future for our natural world.

Link To Article - Photos:

https://metro.co.uk/2019/10/04/wildlife ... -10862300/

[Anthea]

The sad tale of Charlie the Chick

[Anthea]

How every part of the
world has warmed

Mapped: How every part of the world has warmed – and could continue to warm

Climate change is often communicated by looking at the global average temperature. But a global average might not mean much to the average person. How the climate is likely to change specifically where people live is, in most cases, a much more important consideration.

Carbon Brief has combined observed temperature changes with future climate model projections to show how the climate has changed up to present day, but also how it might change in the future for every different part of the world.

To do this, the world has been broken up into “grid cells” representing every degree latitude and every degree longitude. This results in 64,800 grid cells, which are typically about 100 kilometers wide. (In reality, they are a bit larger at the equator and smaller close to the poles.)

The map overlay on the interactive shows the amount of warming to expect in each grid cell based on future Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios developed by climate scientists. These four scenarios represent different possible future emission trajectories. They range from the low-warming RCP2.6 scenario, which keeps global warming from the pre-industrial era to below 2C, up to a high-warming RCP8.5 scenario that would likely see global temperatures rise to above 4C.

How to use this map
Follow Link Below

Clicking on any grid cell brings up a sidebar showing the historical temperature record for that location between 1850 and 2017, both by year (in white) and with a smoothed average using 10 years of data (in red). An additional plot shows the future warming projected for that location under the four different RCP scenarios from 2000 through to 2100 – in purple, red, orange and yellow. Both historical and future temperatures are shown relative to a 1951-1980 baseline period.

The sidebar indicates both how much warming has been experienced between the first 30 years of the record and the past decade. Additionally, it shows how much warming is expected by 2100, relative to the baseline period.

Specific locations can also be typed into the search bar in the upper left corner. The past observed and future projected temperatures for each location can be downloaded by clicking on the “download csv” link. Clicking on the “home” symbol on the left will reset the interactive back to its default starting point. (Note: Users with laptops or other small screens may want to zoom out on their browsers for a better view of the map.)
Methodology and data sources

Observed temperatures

Temperatures based on land and ocean observations were obtained from the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature Project’s one-degree latitude by one-degree longitude gridded monthly average temperature fields (note: large file download). These were converted into annual average temperature anomalies relative to a 1951-1980 baseline period.

These temperature estimates use observations from around 30,000 land monitoring stations, as well as thousands of ships, buoys and other monitoring systems over the ocean. Berkeley Earth uses the UK Met Office’s HadSST3 ocean temperature record as the basis for its ocean temperatures.

Observational data is available back to 1850, though for any given location data may not go back that far. Data is available from at least 1900 for most locations except Antarctica, where data is only available starting in 1950 when measurements on that continent began.

Berkeley Earth land data is homogenised – adjusted to correct for station moves, instrument changes, time of observation changes and other disruptions that stations have experienced over the past 150 years. Ocean temperature records are similarly adjusted to account for changes in the way ocean temperatures are measured, from buckets thrown over the side of ships through to engine-room intake valves and automated buoys in modern times.

These adjustments have a relatively small impact on temperatures after 1950, as discussed in the Carbon Brief explainer on temperature adjustments. The overall effect of adjustments is to increase temperatures globally prior to 1950, reducing the amount of long-term warming in the record compared to the raw readings.

Future models

Future temperature projections are taken from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 (CMIP5) multi-model average surface air temperature for each RCP scenario. CMIP5 features around 38 different climate models, though some of these represent variations of the same underlying model with different aspects included. One run from each model was used in calculating the multi-model average, with the model temperature fields obtained from KNMI Climate Explorer.

These multi-model average values are downscaled – increased in spatial resolution – to a one-degree latitude by one-degree longitude resolution to be comparable to the observations. They are converted into anomalies with respect to a 1951-1980 baseline, then aligned to the observations over the 20-year period from 1999-2018 to show the changes expected from present. Model data is shown between 2000 and 2100 in the sidebar for each grid cell.

Understanding uncertainty

Both observational temperature estimates and future projected temperature changes are subject to uncertainty. Observational uncertainties in historical temperature records from Berkeley Earth are shown in the sidebar.

Observational uncertainties can arise from a number of different factors. Incomplete coverage of observations across the Earth’s surface means that sometimes temperature anomalies in a location have to be estimates from nearby land stations or ocean measurements. The Berkeley Earth dataset uses a technique called “kriging” to create globally complete estimates of both temperature and uncertainty from observations at specific locations.

Future climate model projections also include significant uncertainties, chief among them the sensitivity of the climate to increased CO2. The CMIP5 models featured in the most recent IPCC report estimates climate sensitivity at between 2.1C and 4.7C per doubling of atmospheric CO2 levels, with an average sensitivity of 3.1C. The multi-model average projections shown in the sidebar only reflect this 3.1C value; users interested in the results of individual models with higher or lower sensitivity will have to use a tool such as KNMI Climate Explorer to view those results.

Individual models also show a lot more year-to-year variability than the multi-model average shown in the sidebar. Individual models have short-term variability driven by factors including El Niño and La Niña events that result in some years warmer or cooler than others. However, this short-term variability occurs at different times in different models and is largely averaged out in the multi-model average.

Technical details

The code used to calculate past observed and future projected temperatures for each of the 64,800 grid cells is available on GitHub and free for reuse or modification.

Temperature observations from the Berkeley Earth gridded one-degree latitude by one-degree longitude netCDF file are imported and converted into annual anomalies with respect to a 1951-1980 baseline period. A smoothed average is produced using a local regression (LOWESS) approach that uses a 10-year period for calculation.

Future temperature projections from the CMIP5 multi-model mean are obtained from KNMI Climate Explorer. These are statistically downscaled from their native 2.5-degree latitude by 2.5-degree longitude resolution to a one-degree latitude by one-degree longitude using bilinear interpolation – an average of nearby values. Model data is then converted into temperature anomalies with respect to a 1951-1980 baseline period. Finally, models are aligned with observations over the prior 20-year period (1999-2018) to better represent the expected change from present values.

A location name is assigned to each grid cell through a multi-step process. First, grid cell locations are geolocated using the reverse_geocoder python library. This provides information on the city, state and country closest to the grid cell’s centre. An additional “countries.geojson” file is used to identify areas over the ocean or in unpopulated areas, such as Antarctica and the high Arctic.

Finally, the centres of the grid cells are referenced against a list of all cities with a population exceeding 20,000. The name of the largest city in the grid cell is selected when multiple are present. This avoids assigning grid cell names to the settlement that happens to be closest to the geographic center of the grid cell irrespective of population.

Link to Article and Hopefully Map:

https://www.carbonbrief.org/mapped-how- ... ue-to-warm

[Anthea]

Extinction Rebellion protests:
Global demonstrations begin

Environmental campaigners are threatening to block government departments during two weeks of protests

More than 20 people have been arrested in London at the start of two weeks of protests by environmental campaigners.

Extinction Rebellion activists are protesting in cities around the world, including Berlin, Amsterdam and Sydney.

Organisers have planned to shut down key sites in central London, in addition to demonstrating outside government departments

Extinction Rebellion says protests in the capital will be five times bigger than similar events in April.

The protests are calling for urgent action on global climate and wildlife emergencies.

Activists barricaded themselves to vehicles in Westminster early on Monday as the demonstrations got under way.

Police were seen cutting two protesters from a car that had blocked Victoria Embankment, while campaigners also locked themselves to a mock Trident missile outside the Ministry of Defence.

Meanwhile, hundreds of campaigners have filled Trafalgar Square and blocked Lambeth and Westminster bridges. They plan to block roads around Parliament Square and Whitehall.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said there were 21 arrests in connection with the protests by 8am.

Extinction Rebellion said this included Sarah Lasenby, 81, a Quaker and retired social worker from Oxford.

Ms Lasenby, who the group says was part of efforts to block Embankment, said: "It is imperative that the government should take serious actions and put pressure on other states and global powers to radically reduce the use of fossil fuels."

Extinction Rebellion organisers are expecting thousands of people to take part in the fortnight-long demonstrations in the capital, which form part of an "international rebellion".

Similar protests in the UK earlier this year brought major disruption to London and resulted in more than 1,100 arrests.

Up to 60 other cities around the world may also be disrupted in simultaneous events from Monday, according to a spokesperson for the group.

Campaigners are expected to block sites around Westminster including government departments, roads and bridges, and hold a sit-in at London City Airport.

The Houses of Parliament are also expected to be targeted, alongside processions and marches.

Activists will call on government departments to detail their plans to tackle the climate emergency.

Police in Australia and New Zealand have already arrested dozens of Extinction Rebellion activists on Monday.

Some 30 campaigners in Sydney were charged with committing offences after hundreds of protesters blocked a busy road.

The latest arrests in London come after the Met police arrested 11 people during the weekend.

A spokesperson for the force said eight people were arrested on Saturday after previously reporting 10. They have all been released under investigation.

One woman and two men were arrested on Sunday on suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance. The men remain in custody while the woman has been released under investigation.

More than 1,000 people attended an "opening ceremony" at Marble Arch on Sunday night, which featured meditation and dancing.

What is Extinction Rebellion?

Extinction Rebellion (XR for short) wants governments to declare a "climate and ecological emergency" and take immediate action to address climate change.

It describes itself as an international "non-violent civil disobedience activist movement".

Extinction Rebellion was launched in 2018 and organisers say it now has groups willing to take action in dozens of countries.

In April, the group held a large demonstration in London that brought major routes in the city to a standstill.

Link to Photos - Articles:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-49957521

[Anthea]

Extinction Rebellion protests begin



Extinction Rebellion activists have begun two weeks of protests in London

Police have arrested 280 people in London at the start of two weeks of protests by environmental campaigners.

Extinction Rebellion activists are protesting in cities around the world, including Berlin, Amsterdam and Sydney.

Organisers have blockaded key sites in central London, in addition to demonstrating outside government departments.

Some have glued and chained themselves to roads and vehicles, while others were planning to camp overnight.

Extinction Rebellion claims protests in the capital will be five times bigger than similar events in April.

The protests are calling for urgent action on global climate and wildlife emergencies.

Activists barricaded themselves to vehicles in Westminster early on Monday as the demonstrations got under way.

Meanwhile, hundreds of campaigners filled Trafalgar Square and blocked Lambeth and Westminster bridges.

A hearse containing a coffin with the plaque Our Future was parked in Trafalgar Square, with the driver attaching himself to the steering wheel with a bicycle lock.

Extinction Rebellion said a police officer later gave the hearse a parking ticket.

Earlier, church leaders helped to create a "faith bridge" on Lambeth Bridge, with services and prayer vigils planned.

Rev Jon Swales, 41, Mission Priest at the Church of England's Lighthouse Church in Leeds and Associate Faculty at St Hild Theological Centre, said: "The science is clear.

"Unless we radically change the way we live in the world we will face the full force of climate catastrophe."

Protesters dubbed the Red Rebels wore red robes and white face paint as they gathered outside the Cabinet Office in Whitehall.

The singer Declan McKenna performed an impromptu free gig on the Mall in the evening, as people gathered in the rain to listen.

The roads behind Downing Street were blocked throughout the day by protesters, some of whom had erected tents in the street and were sitting down and singing songs together.

Among the group were two girls, Esme, 11, and Rafi, nine, who had taken the day off school to attend the protests.

Their mother Laurie, 41, told PA: "They've already done a spelling test this morning, sat down in the street, so we're not wasting time.

"We've talked about the protests at home and the school knows where they are."

"We're here because we want the world to still be alive when we die," said Rafi.

Protesters who had glued and chained themselves outside Westminster Abbey were removed by police.

A staggered police cordon was later set up along Millbank, near Parliament, before officers attempted to move demonstrators from Lambeth Bridge.

Extinction Rebellion organisers told protesters to sit down and "be arrested" as police continued to try to remove them - and a police cordon later closed off the bridge.

Police were seen cutting two protesters from a car that had blocked Victoria Embankment, while campaigners also locked themselves to a mock Trident missile outside the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall.

Activists were also pictured on a barge on the Thames.

Police wearing abseiling gear and equipped with acetone syringes were seen removing protesters who had glued themselves to scaffolding in Trafalgar Square.

A protester wearing a gasmask and boiler suit was taken away by police

A string of celebrities including fashion model Daisy Lowe, actress Juliet Stevenson and comedian Ruby Wax joined campaigners in Trafalgar Square.

Stevenson said the protests were "a very wonderful action", revealing her son was attending them as a worker for Extinction Rebellion.

She told the Press Association: "We can't any longer allow governments to do this, so we have to make it clear that there is no more time."

On Saturday, Lowe, 30, hosted a dinner to "celebrate and be educated" by Extinction Rebellion activists, and encouraged followers to join the protests.

She wrote on Instagram: "It is a terrifying reality we live in, but we have the power to change the course of history and save our planet."

Sir Mark Rylance, the Oscar-winning actor, joined a blockade on the Mall before addressing protesters at St James' Park.

He said: "People have been saying to me, it doesn't make a difference having a celebrity joining the protests.

"I am confident these protests are going to lead to a solid change. Extinction Rebellion isn't going to go away."

In June, Sir Mark resigned as an associate artist at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) over its partnership with BP, which the theatre company has since vowed to end.

He told the crowds Greta Thunberg, the teenage climate change activist, had inspired his decision to quit the RSC when he did.

Meanwhile, activists from Animal Rebellion, a movement allied to Extinction Rebellion, marched from Russell Square to Smithfield Meat Market.

Organisers say they planned to remain overnight at the market to share their "vision of a future plant-based food system".

On arriving at the market, protesters said they held a minute's silence for "animals whose lives are lost" at Smithfield, and then went on to set up stalls selling plant-based products inside one of the world's most famous meat-trading spaces.

In an update posted shortly after 17:00 BST, organisers said 11 sites remained occupied across Westminster, as groups of protesters prepared to camp out for the night.

Emily, an activist from Wales, said on Twitter she planned to stay overnight.

Extinction Rebellion said many activists were preparing to go on hunger strike to illustrate "that our just-in-time food system is too fragile to repeatedly withstand the shocks of extreme weather".

There had been 280 arrests in connection with the protests as of 21.30 BST, according to the Metropolitan Police.

Extinction Rebellion said this included Sarah Lasenby, 81, a Quaker and retired social worker from Oxford.

Ms Lasenby, who the group says was part of efforts to block Embankment, said: "It is imperative that the government should take serious actions and put pressure on other states and global powers to radically reduce the use of fossil fuels."

What is Extinction Rebellion?

Extinction Rebellion facts:

2025 group's aims for zero carbon emissions

298,000 followers on Facebook

1,130 people arrested over April's London protests

2018 is the year the group was founded

Extinction Rebellion (XR for short) wants governments to declare a "climate and ecological emergency" and take immediate action to address climate change.

It describes itself as an international "non-violent civil disobedience activist movement".

Extinction Rebellion was launched in 2018 and organisers say it now has groups willing to take action in dozens of countries.

In April, the group held a large demonstration in London that brought major routes in the city to a standstill.

Extinction Rebellion organisers say they are expecting up to 30,000 people to take part in the fortnight-long demonstrations in the capital, which form part of an "international rebellion".

Similar protests in the UK earlier this year brought major disruption to London and resulted in more than 1,100 arrests.

Up to 60 other cities around the world may also be disrupted in simultaneous events, according to a spokesperson for the group.

Activists will call on government departments to detail their plans to tackle the climate emergency.

Police in Australia and New Zealand have already arrested dozens of Extinction Rebellion activists on Monday.

Some 30 campaigners in Sydney were charged with committing offences after hundreds of protesters blocked a busy road.

More than 100 people were arrested in Amsterdam after they erected a tent camp on the main road outside the Rijksmuseum, the Dutch national museum

The latest arrests in London come after the Met police arrested 11 people during the weekend.

A spokesperson for the force said eight people were arrested on Saturday after previously reporting 10. They have all been released under investigation.

One woman and two men were arrested on Sunday on suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance. The men remain in custody while the woman has been released under investigation.

Link to Article - Photos:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-49957521

[Anthea]

Climate protesters arrested

Nearly 300 people have been arrested in London during mass protests by Extinction Rebellion which demand much more urgent action against climate change

The group, also known as XR, took to the streets in the capital today as part of a fresh "international rebellion".

As of 9.30pm on the first day of demonstrations, which XR said will go on for two weeks, Met Police said it had made 280 arrests.

More than 1,000 people were arrested at protests across the capital in April - and XR has suggested the fresh wave of action could be five times bigger.
Celebrities at XR protests - In pictures

Scotland Yard previously said it had been preparing for the latest demonstrations "for several weeks".

In a statement this afternoon, XR said its actions would continue on Tuesday and added: "After decades of petitions and inaction, this is the only way we can get the government to take notice and act."

Activists gathered en masse in Westminster (Jeremy Selwyn)

A spokesman for the group said there would be "major reforestation action" on the second day of protests, with activists hoping to plant "1,000 one-meter-high potted native trees outside the Houses of Parliament".

XR Youth also has action planned tomorrow at the Department of Education.

Extinction Rebellion blocking off Marsham Street opposite the Home Office (Nigel Howard)

Camps were being set up on Monday and activists said they had held 11 sites in Westminster.

Protesters had succeeded in bringing sections of London to a standstill with roadblocks on Westminster and Lambeth Bridges, Victoria Street, Whitehall, Horse Guards Road and the Mall.

Crowds gather at Lambeth Bridge Lambeth Bridge (Nigel Howard)

Extinction Rebellion in the UK is calling on the Government to:

Declare a climate and ecological emergency.

Act immediately to halt wildlife loss and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2025.

Create and be led by the decisions of a Citizens' Assembly on climate and ecological justice.

A number of celebrities also joined the protests in London, including actor Sir Mark Rylance, actress Juliet Stevenson, comedian and author Ruby Wax, and model Daisy Lowe also took part in the demonstrations.

Crowds gathered in Trafalgar Square

Sir Mark told Extinction Rebellion protesters at St James' Park: "People have been saying to me, it doesn't make a difference having a celebrity joining the protests.

"But I want people to know climate change protesters aren't hippies. I am confident these protests are going to lead to a solid change."

While Ms Stevenson said she was delighted to see so many involved.

Speaking to PA, the Truly Madly Deeply star said: "It's a very wonderful action today. We can't any longer allow governments to do this so we have to make it clear that there is no more time.

"There's a long tradition in this country of people saying governments are not acting, we have to make them realise how urgent this is."

A dancer entertains crowds in Marsham Street opposite the Home Office.

Amid the protests, one couple even had a wedding on Westminster Bridge in front of crowds of fellow protesters and hundreds of activists staged a sit in at the famous Smithfield meat market, in protest at the carbon footprint of the meat industry.

Those gathered held signs aloft calling for action and many shared the motto "love and rage" over social media.

Demonstrators stopped traffic in other cities including Berlin, Paris and Amsterdam.

In New York, activists smeared themselves and emblems of Wall Street in fake blood and lay in the street.

Link to Article - Photos:

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/e ... 56271.html

[Anthea]

UK fast food linked to
Brazilian forest fires

Some of the UK's largest fast-food chains have been selling meat from animals fed on soya beans linked to Brazil's forest fires, campaigners say

Some £240m of its soya was shipped to the UK in 2018, EU trade figures show.

Greenpeace said it wanted the companies to stop using soya from Brazil in their supply chains until the environment was better protected.

Brazil's environment minister told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme any boycott could make the situation worse.

Brazil's highly biodiverse Cerrado is being destroyed for soybean production, conservationists say

Some 2.5 million tonnes of soya beans are imported into the UK each year, with a large proportion used to feed farm animals.

In 2018, about a third of these - 761,739 tonnes - came from Brazil, BBC News analysis of the EU figures showed.

And just 14% of total soya imports are certified "deforestation free," according to the Sustainable Trade Initiative - one of the lowest rates in the EU.

Greenpeace head of forests Richard George said: "All of the big fast-food companies use soya in animal feed, none of them know where it comes from and soya is one of the biggest drivers of deforestation worldwide."

Traders have agreed not to buy from farms linked to recent deforestation

Environmental campaigners claim ongoing fires in both the Amazon and Cerrado regions of Brazil are being lit deliberately to clear land for raising animals and growing crops.

In 2019, the total number of fires surpassed 144,000, a 50% rise on the same period in 2018 - but far fewer than in 2010.

In 2006, Greenpeace and other environmental groups negotiated landmark restrictions on new soya cultivation in the Amazon, with huge agricultural traders agreeing not to buy from farms linked to recent deforestation.

But campaigners say that has pushed much of the problem south to the Cerrado, a vast tropical savanna where the natural habitat is less well protected.

Brazil's National Institute for Space Research recorded 19,925 fires there in September, significantly higher than the number in the Amazon.

In October 2017, 23 brands, including McDonald's, Tesco and Marks & Spencer, signed the Cerrado Manifesto, which recognised the need to prevent further deforestation.

Temporary ban

But the agricultural trader Cargill, which acts as a middleman between farmers and food companies, has yet to sign up.

It is the largest importer to the UK, shipping 78% of the soya from Brazil in 2017, according to data from Trase.Earth, a partnership of non-governmental organisations. Although, Cargill told BBC News that figure was "not accurate and significantly inflated".

In July, Cargill told its Brazilian suppliers it would not support a temporary ban on soya grown on newly deforested land in the Cerrado - which has left environmental groups fuming.

"We remain committed to the soy moratorium in the Amazon but we believe that is not the right solution for the Cerrado," a spokeswoman said.

"Asking companies to exit won't solve the problem - it will simply move it. By pushing farmers to other buyers, the same practices will continue."

It has pledged $30m (£24m) to fund new ideas for ending deforestation.

A new analysis of satellite data by the Rapid Response project, seen by BBC News, suggests Cargill has been buying soya directly from farms in the region of the Cerrado responsible for forest fires. The project is a partnership between three groups, Aidenvironment, MapHubs and Mighty Earth.

On one farm, it says, 837 hectares (3.2 sq miles) of wooded savannah was cleared between April and June 2019 and fires were detected by the satellite imagery on 23 August.

It is impossible to say if crop from that specific farm was exported but trade data shows 7,103 tonnes of soya beans were shipped from the same municipality, Formosa Do Rio Preto, to the UK in 2017, the majority by Cargill.

Cargill accepts it does buy soya from the farm in question but says the farm met all compliance criteria and was not on the Brazilian government's embargoed list.

"As soon as we received an inquiry regarding potential non-compliance... we initiated our grievance process and an investigation is currently under way," a spokeswoman for the company told BBC News.

"We will take immediate action if illegal activity is found."
Retailers' pledge

Environmental groups have been trying to increase the pressure on western retailers.

Tesco, Sainsbury and M&S have all pledged to achieve zero deforestation in their supply chains by 2020, although it is accepted that target is almost certain to be missed.

Environmental groups say the fast food sector is a particular concern - Burger King and KFC source some chicken directly from Brazil.

Along with chains such as McDonald's, Nando's, Pret a Manger and Five Guys they also sell British meat reared, at least in part, on soya shipped from the regions.

The proportion of animal feed made up of soya can vary dramatically between suppliers and farms in the UK, with some using a diet of grass and grain instead.

McDonald's says it is working to determine the level of deforestation risk in specific parts of the Cerrado and assessing whether fires are being lit at an individual farm level.

Other retailers and fast-food outlets, including Waitrose and Nando's, buy financial credits designed to offset the deforestation risk.

Mr George said: "This may sound persuasive but the actual soya they use may still come from farms that are destroying forests."

Burger King has been particularly criticised after pledging to end deforestation in its supply chains by 2030, a target criticised as "embarrassingly weak".

The company told BBC News it had written to its meat suppliers to remind them of its policy of not accepting products raised on former rainforest land. It says its beef suppliers in the UK use soya as a minor food additive only.

A spokeswoman said: "We are aware that in some of our beef, there are trace amounts of soya in the feed. We are also aware that there is no traceability programme in place anywhere in the world that can currently track all soy beans to a single farm in a single country."

The Brazilian government has faced intense criticism for policies environmentalists believe have encouraged the fires.

But Environment Minister Ricardo Salles told the Victoria Derbyshire programme pressure to shun Brazilian soya would be counterproductive.

"We need sustainable economic development... and boycotts or behaviours like this will only make things even worse," he said.

Follow the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme on Facebook and Twitter - and see more of our stories here.

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[Anthea]

Police arrest activists
in London protests

The Met Police has arrested 800 activists involved in Extinction Rebellion's climate change protests

It comes after protesters were told they must go to Trafalgar Square or face arrest should they be involved in actions elsewhere.

MPS Events released the new figure shortly before 6pm, after Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor previously said more than 600 people had been arrested.

Hundreds of people are continuing to demonstrate in central London in a bid to force the Government into taking much more urgent action on climate change.

It comes as around 80 tonnes of equipment used by Extinction Rebellion protesters to set up camps in central London was seized by police on the third day of the demonstrations.

Officers have been clearing any sites outside the pedestrian area of Trafalgar Square after restrictions were put in place to stop the ongoing disruption in the capital.

Equipment seized includes tents, portable toilets and generators, police said.

Two weeks of protest action has seen XR occupy 12 sites in and around Westminster.

Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, Mr Taylor said six of the sites had already been cleared.

Frontline officers across London have been put on a 12-hour shift pattern to allow colleagues to be moved to cover the protests

Another 500 officers have been brought in from forces across England and Wales as part of the established mutual aid system for major events.

Mr Taylor said: "We've got a very robust policing response to the Extinction Rebellion protests.

"The Met is a very large organisation. We will cope. But there is no doubt it is having an impact on our policing operation more widely.

"We've brought in a significant number of officers from communities across London to police central London, and they're officers who should be working in their local neighbourhoods."

It can take hours to move activists who have trapped themselves with bike locks or glue, and a minimum of four officers is needed to move demonstrators who refuse to stand up when arrested.

Mr Taylor said: "This is a really complex policing operation and it takes an awful lot of time to move even a small number of people, let alone the numbers that we are experiencing in London.

"It takes seconds to glue yourself on to something; it can take an hour or more to unglue that person. Where people are locked around their necks with bicycle D-locks, it can take hours to remove those. All of this contributes to the length of time it takes us to clear streets.

"We've recovered eight 10-tonne lorries' worth of equipment from the protest groups. That is an enormous amount of property that we've seized."

Seems the police are more interested in stealing equipment from harmless protestors than they are in taking drugs and weapons from violent drug gangs

The protesters are planning to target City Airport on Thursday, but Mr Taylor said: "We have got plans in place should they go and target the airport so that we can intervene and we can deal proactively with anybody with that intention."

The State Opening of Parliament is also due to take place on Monday.

Asked if the force has any specific plans in place to avoid disruption, Mr Taylor said: "It's a security operation as well as a public order operation and we have a number of plans in place to ensure that will take place."

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/e ... 58001.html