Global CO2 Initiative at University of Michigan

University of Michigan Engineering

Aug 22, 2018

The Global CO2 Initiative aims to remove carbon dioxide from the air and turn it into useful products. “It’s the exact kind of ambition we need on the climate issue,” Katharine Mach, a research scientist at Stanford told Bloomberg. https://news.bloombergenvironment.com…

Baldwin-Buckley race debate still resonates 55 years on

PBS NewsHour  
Published on Feb 16, 2020

It has been 55 years since civil-rights activist, James Baldwin, and founder of the conservative National Review, William F. Buckley, Jr., met for a debate on race in America. That discussion and the lives of the two cultural giants are subjects of a new book, “The Fire is Upon Us.” Zachary Green spoke with author and political scientist Nicholas Buccola about how the debate’s still resonating.

This debate took place in Cambridge, England on 18 February 1965.

Three days later, on 21 February 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated.

 

 

UN chief on Sustainable Development and Climate Change (Islamabad, Pakistan)

United Nations

Feb 16, 2020

Remarks by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on the issue of Sustainable Development and Climate Change. “I’m launching an urgent global call for #ClimateAction in Pakistan, one of the world’s most climate vulnerable countries” said Secretary-General Guterres. “We need far more ambition. Major emitting countries must lead the way. We are in a battle for our lives.” Remarks: http://bit.ly/3bIvnJy

Swarm Of Locusts DEVOUR Everything In Their Path | Planet Earth | BBC Earth

BBC Earth

Apr 10, 2017

Stunning footage of one of Planet Earth’s greatest spectacles, the swarm of the Desert Locust – Eggs that have remained in the ground for twenty years now begin to hatch. Considering that an adult Locust can eat its entire body weight everyday, it’s hardly surprising that a huge plague measuring 40 miles wide will devour everything in its path.

Food-matters,

 

Moscow sees warmest winter in 130 years

CGTN

Feb 16, 2020

It’s been an unusually mild winter in Moscow, which had its warmest December in more than 130 years. The New Year was snowless in the Russian capital, leading the government to truck in artificial snow over the holidays. In previous winters, the city would normally spend millions of dollars to remove snow.

Kenya suffers worst locust infestation in 70 years

CGTN Africa

Feb 8, 2020

Kenya is reeling from a locust invasion described as the worst in 70 years. And it appears there’s no end in sight. The government has deployed chemical spraying aircraft, but the locusts continue to devastate vegetation and farmland. The UN is appealing for 70 million dollars to tackle the problem but, as CGTN’s Robert Nagila reports, more challenges lie ahead.

Food-matters,

 

ECOWAS health ministers meet over potential coronavirus spread

CGTN Africa

Feb 16, 2020
Ministers from the Economic Community of West African States have been holding a meeting in the Malian capital, Bamako, to discuss the potential spread of the coronavirus in the region. The ministers from the 15 ECOWAS members states also expressed appreciation and support for China over the steps taken to combat the COVID-19 virus. Chinese Ambassador to Mali Zhu Liying who addressed the meeting, pledged China’s support for the African continent in case of an outbreak.

What exactly is the West ‘winning’? I Inside Story

Al Jazeera English

Feb 16, 2020

Transatlantic relations are not what they were.
Neither is the relationship between France and Germany.
European leaders are concerned by U.S. president Donald Trump’s America First policy.
They’ve differed with him in several areas, from Iran to China.
This was reflected during the annual Munich Security Conference.
Divisions arose between leaders as they discussed whether the West is losing influence — to other global powers.
The answer from the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, was ‘everything is just fine’.
Pompeo boasted the ‘West is winning’ and the transatlantic alliance is not dead.
He rejected remarks by Germany’s President who warned that the United States is putting its own interests first, at the expense of its allies.
But is the U.S. stance on global politics really that positive for western powers?
Or is it undermining their alliance?

Presenter: Peter Dobbie

Guests
Glenn Diesen, Professor of International Relations at the Higher School of Economics, and author of ‘The Decay of Western Civilization and Resurgence of Russia’.
Theresa Fallon, Director of the Centre for Russia, Europe, Asia Studies and Former Member of the Strategic Advisors Group to NATO.
Roderic Wye, Associate Fellow at Asia-Pacific Programme at Chatham House and Former Counsellor and Head of Research on Asia in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

See related BBC News Reporting:

 

The World Just Hit Dangerous Climate Change Milestone And No One Cared

The Ring of Fire

Feb 16, 2020

Earlier this month, the planet hit a dangerous milestone of 416ppm of carbon dioxide. It has been nearly a million years since atmospheric CO2 levels hit this high, and the news in the United States didn’t even cover this event. Climate Change is getting worse, and as a planet we are doing very little to solve this problem. Time is running out, and we have to get the deniers out of office to reverse these trends. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins discusses this.

RELEASE: International Military Council Issues “World Climate and Security Report 2020” at Munich Security Conference – The Center for Climate & Security

Munich, Germany, February 13, 2020 — This year climate change is more central than ever at the Munich Security Conference (MSC), the leading international forum for senior military, security and foreign policy leaders, with the release of the inaugural “World Climate and Security Report 2020” by the Expert Group of the International Military Council on Climate and Security (IMCCS). The release will be announced by General (Ret) Tom Middendorp, Chair of the IMCCS, at the conference’s “Apocalypse Now? – Climate and Security” opening event at 16:15pm CET on February 13 (open to the public), followed by an MSC event on the report at 16:00pm CET on February 15 (open to registered MSC participants). The IMCCS is a group of senior military leaders, security experts, and security institutions across the globe – currently from 32 countries in every hemisphere – dedicated to anticipating, analyzing, and addressing the security risks of a changing climate.

The report finds that security and military experts are increasingly concerned about the security implications of climate change, with many perceiving the risks to global security to be significant or higher in the next two decades, and recommends “climate-proofing” international security – including infrastructure, institutions and policies – as well as major emissions reductions to avoid significant-to-catastrophic security threats.

….(read more).

See related:

• “World Climate and Security Report 2020”
• “Apocalypse Now? Climate and Security,” Munich Security Conference 2020, Feb 13, 2020
  and
• To an Uncertain Degree: Climate and Security, Munich Security Conference 2020, Feb 13, 2020

Consider as well the state of U.S. global relations at the Munich Security Conference: