Singapore targets net zero by 2050, eyes hydrogen power

SINGAPORE - Singapore announced Tuesday it aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, giving a firm date for the first time, and will look at using hydrogen as a major power source.

The city-state targets for carbon emissions to peak in 2030 at 60 million tonnes, a reduction of five million tonnes from the previous goal, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said.

The Southeast Asian nation also has plans to look at developing low carbon hydrogen as a major power supply in the long term.

"If technology continues to advance, we foresee that hydrogen can supply up to half of our power needs by 2050, alongside domestic renewable energy sources and electricity imports," Wong said at an industry conference.

He added that Singapore would experiment with key hydrogen technologies to see how it can be implemented on a large scale.

"We do not have the land for large solar or wind farms, or fast flowing rivers for hydro-electric power," said Wong, the country's prime minister in waiting.

Green hydrogen is in sharp focus as governments seek to slash carbon emissions amid global warming and to safeguard energy supplies hit by the invasion of Ukraine by oil and gas producer Russia.

But the "hydrogen economy" has not fully kicked into gear awaiting significant uptake from high-polluting sectors like steel and aviation.

"Many hydrogen technologies are still under development, and a global supply chain has yet to be established," the Singapore government said in a statement.

"Nevertheless, there has been strong interest internationally from the public and private sectors to accelerate the development," it added.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said the low-lying island nation is especially vulnerable to rising sea levels and defending it from the threat is "existential".

Agence France-Presse

Ethereum blockchain set for 'monumental' overhaul

PARIS - An army of computer programmers scattered across the globe is set to attempt one of the biggest software upgrades the crypto sector has ever seen this week to reduce its environmentally unfriendly energy consumption.

Developers have spent years working on a more energy-efficient version of the ethereum blockchain, a digital ledger that underpins a multibillion dollar ecosystem of cryptocurrencies, digital tokens (NFTs), games and apps.

Ethereum -- the second most important blockchain after bitcoin -- burns through more power each year than New Zealand.

Experts say the changeover, expected to take place between Tuesday and Thursday, would slash energy consumption by more than 99 percent.

Enthusiasts hope a greener ethereum will spur wider adoption, particularly as a way of enabling banks to automate transactions and other processes.

But so far the technology has been used largely to create speculative financial products.

The ING bank said in a recent note that the switchover might help ethereum gain acceptability among policymakers and regulators. 

"This in turn may provide a boost to traditional financial institutions' willingness to develop ethereum-based services," the bank said.

The switchover, dubbed "the merge", will change the way transactions are logged.

At the moment, so-called crypto miners use energy-guzzling rigs of computers to solve puzzles that reward them with new coins -- a system known as "proof of work".

The new system will get rid of those miners and their computer stacks overnight.

Instead, "validators" will have to put up 32 ether (worth $55,000) -- ethereum's cryptocurrency -- to participate in the new "proof of stake" system where they earn rewards for their work.

But the merge process will be risky.

Blockchain company Consensys called it a "monumental technological milestone" and the biggest update to ethereum since it was launched in 2015.

Critics have questioned whether such an upgrade will pass off without incident, given the sector's history of instability.

Ethereum went offline in May for three hours when a new NFT project sparked a surge in buyers that overwhelmed the network.

Several exchanges and crypto companies said they would halt transactions during the merge process.

The upgrade also faces a possible rebellion from crypto mining companies whose business will be severely damaged.

They can try to hijack the process or create a "fork", basically a smaller blockchain that would continue with the old mechanism.

And even if the "merge" is successful, ethereum will still face major hurdles before it can be more widely adopted.

For example, it is expensive to use and the update will not reduce fees.

And the wider crypto sector is beset by wildly fluctuating prices, security flaws and an array of scams.

Crypto lawyer Charles Kerrigan from the firm CMS told AFP that ethereum was "decentralized and complicated" and had not yet been tested enough for governments and banks to get onboard.

"There have been questions about how easily it could deal with upgrades of the type that traditional software vendors provide to customers," he said. 

"A successful merge will answer those questions."

Agence France-Presse

New Zealand to boost electric car sales

WELLINGTON — New Zealanders who trade in their gas-guzzling car will get financial aid towards buying a cleaner alternative, in one of a raft of climate change initiatives announced by Jacinda Ardern's government Monday.

The country's first Emissions Reduction Plan, costing nearly 3 billion NZ dollars (1.88 billion US dollars), outlined spending for the next 4 years to help meet its goal of cutting carbon dioxide emissions to net-zero by 2050.

A "scrap and replace" pilot scheme will initially give 2,500 low-income families financial support towards an electric or hybrid vehicle if they replace their petrol- or diesel-powered car.

Transport Minister Michael Wood said the scheme's details were yet to be finalized but he envisaged it would expand rapidly to include "tens of thousands" of New Zealanders.

He said the government's ultimate goal was for less reliance on all cars by 2035 by getting people to switch to public transport or other alternatives.

The government also allocated 650 million NZ dollars to help cut fossil fuel use in the industrial sector over the next 4 years.

There will also be an investment in developing agricultural technology -- regarded as critical in an economy heavily reliant on farming exports.

Conservationists noted the timing of the investment, coming on the same day scientists announced they had recorded a mass bleaching of sea sponges in New Zealand waters for the first time ever.

An ocean heatwave damaged the sponges in the normally cold waters off Fiordland, in the country's southwest, raising concern about the impact climate change is having on marine ecosystems in the region.

Agence France-Presse

Filipino artist fights waste by using recycled trash in paintings

When Filipino artist Gilbert Angeles found out that his country was one of the world's biggest contributors of plastic trash in the ocean he felt compelled to take action.

Angeles decided the best way to show how discarded waste could be given a new life in a different medium was to incorporate materials ranging from shredded plastic to old paint and leftover construction wood in his paintings.

Since 2019, he has made over two dozen paintings of this kind.

"I make these artworks to raise awareness so we can fight against the trash in our area, to make us more responsible in how we dispose of our trash, and to make us aware of where our trash goes," said the 49-year-old.

The artist sources the materials from around his Manila neighborhood or through donations from contacts he has made since launching his environmental campaign.

Angeles remembers being spurred on to take up the project after seeing a news report about the Philippines being one of the top contributors of plastic waste.

The Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and China account for around 60 percent of the world's marine plastic, or 8 million tons annually, according to a 2017 report from the Ocean Conservancy and the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment.

Angeles' artwork has since been shown in galleries, with paintings selling for around $600 to $3,000, depending on the size. Part of the proceeds goes to his environmental group, Green Artz, which encourages artists to use recycled waste in their work.

"I love the fact that it gives us hope," said Linda Pecoraro, general manager of Conrad Hotel, where Angeles' work is being exhibited.

"It's got beautiful colors and recycled plastic, repurposing things that damage our environment and making them beautiful."

-reuters-

Burger King unveils 'Whopper' from cows on green diet

NEW YORK -- For those seeking to tackle climate change and get a fast food fix, Burger King has the answer -- a Whopper from cows that fart and burp less.

The fast-food giant announced Tuesday that select restaurants in five US cities -- New York, Miami, Portland, Los Angeles and Austin, Texas -- would be serving Whoppers made from "reduced methane emissions" beef.

The chain says that adding just 100 grams of lemongrass leaves to a cow's diet late in life could reduce their output of methane, a greenhouse gas responsible for global warming.

Initial study results revealed an up to 33 percent reduction in methane emissions from cows on the new diet in the last three to four months of their lives, Burger King said.

"At Burger King, we believe that delicious, affordable, and convenient meals can also be sustainable," said global chief marketing officer Fernando Machado.

But the company, which worked with two scientists on the project, said it hopes to inspire other groups to make similar moves by making their findings public.

"If the whole industry, from farmers, meat suppliers, and other brands join us, we can increase scale and collectively help reduce methane emissions that affect climate change," Machado said.

Burger King had already moved to respond to changing tastes of environmentally conscious customers who limit their meat intake by offering a vegetarian Whopper last year. 

Agence France-Presse

Japan begins charging for plastic bags

TOKYO — Retailers in Japan began charging for plastic bags Wednesday, a move aimed at curbing Japanese consumers' love for packaging and finally bringing the country in line with other major economies.

Shops including the ubiquitous convenience stores can decide how much to charge customers for the bags, with a common price being 3 yen.

The new rule seemed to be having some effect, with one shopper telling public broadcaster NHK: "I buy things at a convenience store every morning. I knew the charge was starting so I brought my own bag."

Visitors to Japan are often surprised by the amount of packaging involved in even the most basic of transactions -- most convenience stores wrap individual bananas in plastic.

The country produces more plastic packaging waste per capita than any nation apart from the United States, according to the UN, with campaigners criticizing Tokyo for moving too slowly on reducing plastic consumption.

With the measure, Japan has vowed to "curb excessive use of plastic and think about how to use it wisely," according to its most recent policy document.

Introducing a nationwide fee "is aimed at prompting people to think twice if a bag is really necessary and helping people to review their lifestyles," the government said.

In 2018, Japan vowed to reduce its annual 9.4 million tonnes of plastic waste by a quarter by 2030.

And meeting in Osaka last year, leaders from the G20 major economies agreed to reduce marine plastic waste.

Japan touts an enviable waste-management system, and the government says more than 80 percent of its plastic waste is recycled.

But much of that "recycling" involves simply incinerating plastic, often to produce energy -- a process that generates carbon dioxide and contributes to climate change.

According to government data, bags account for 2 percent of the total amount of plastic waste.

Agence France-Presse

Lego's colourful plastic bricks to go green

BILLUND, Denmark — There may be a global revolt against plastic, but Danish toymaker Lego, famous for its multi-colored plastic building bricks, remains a raging success, even if it, too, aims to go green.

Once revolutionary, then a ubiquitous material, plastic is increasingly being shunned due to the lasting harm its chemical components do to the planet. 

As a result, Lego has vowed that its iconic bricks will be 100 percent sustainable by 2030.

With pieces that are virtually unbreakable and reusable for generations, Lego -- whose name is a contraction in Danish for "Leg Godt" or "Play Well" -- has always had sustainability as a leitmotiv, Tim Brooks, head of corporate responsibility, told AFP.

Now, the company just has to adapt to environmental and consumer demands.

A study by the NPD market research group showed that 47 percent of Christmas shoppers worldwide chose not to buy a toy due to sustainability concerns.

"Toy manufacturers are really embracing this topic... There's a lot of innovation in both packaging and material for toys," Frederique Tutt, a toy industry expert at NPD, told AFP.

Lego, based in the western Danish town of Billund, has no plans to abandon plastic. Rather, it aims to improve on the materials it uses.

Currently, most of its pieces are made of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), a petroleum-based substance also used to make household appliances.

"We want to use plastic in a responsible way, and particularly where it is in a high quality, durable and reusable application. And that's what Lego bricks are," said Brooks.

For now, 2 percent of its plastic pieces, or 80 of the around 3,600 construction pieces, are made of a bio-sourced material, a sugarcane-based polyethylene.

These pieces are mostly trees, leaves and bushes in the kits, which do not have to meet the same durability requirements as bricks, which have to stick together tightly.

It is a technical challenge, as Lego wants to ensure that customers do not notice any difference between the old plastic and any new materials.

"We don't want you to notice it," Brooks insisted.

New pieces must have the same physical properties as the old ones: strength, color fastness and sticking power, in order to remain compatible with older pieces.

PASSING THE TRICK 

Over the years, the Danish company has evolved from simple brick kits to complex designs, such as its Harry Potter or architecture themed kits, and has made a strong foray into video games, apps, movies, cartoons and amusement parks.

That diversification has helped the group recover from its financial woes in the early 2000s. In 2019, it posted a 6-percent rise in sales.

Lego encourages customers to hand down their bricks to younger generations.

"The brick has been compatible since 1958. You can buy something from the shelves today that works with something from the late 1950s," Brooks said.

The company estimates that 96 percent of consumers either hold on to their Lego kits or pass them on, stressing the distinction between Lego's bricks and single-use plastics.

RECYCLING AND WIND FARMS 

In addition to developing bioplastics, Lego, which is leading a project in the US providing second-hand kits to disadvantaged children, is making cautious advances in the field of recycled plastic.

"Recycled materials is a very interesting area but you need to understand where that material comes from," Brooks said.

The company refuses to divulge its production secrets, but insists it reuses its own plastic waste products in its production.

In 2014, Lego vowed to reduce its carbon footprint, partnering with the environmental group WWF. It says it has relied solely on renewable energy sources since 2017.

"They made climate savings and shifted to more windcraft, now they're looking into alternatives to their plastic," said the head of WWF Denmark, Bo Oksnebjerg, of the company's efforts.

Kirkby, Lego's parent company, has meanwhile invested almost $1 billion in wind farms.

Lego is also working to improve its packaging, reducing the amount of plastic bags separating pieces and slashing the size of its boxes to reduce transport volumes.

It aims to use only recycled or renewable materials by 2025.

Antidia Citores, spokeswoman of the environmental group Surfrider Europe, stressed meanwhile that Lego needed to also look at the production end, as replacing one plastic with another would not reduce emissions. 

"Changing one plastic for another is not a revolution, not in terms of pollution or carbon emissions," she said.

Agence France-Presse 

Banned! New York sends plastic bags packing

NEW YORK, United States – Consumerist mecca New York targets its throwaway culture this weekend with a ban on single-use plastic bags that has been years in the making and is still rare in America.

New Yorkers like to see themselves at the forefront of efforts to save the environment but are used to receiving groceries in free plastic bags, often doubled up to ensure sturdiness.

On Sunday, that will change when New York becomes only the third US state to outlaw the non-biodegradable sacks blamed for choking rivers, littering neighborhoods and suffocating wildlife.

Environmental activists welcome the new law but caution that exemptions will weaken its effect, while some small businesses worry the ban might negatively impact their profits.

At the Westside Market in Manhattan, 66-year-old Janice Vrana, who says she has been shopping with a reusable cloth bag for a decade, is delighted "pervasive" plastic sacks are being banished.

"You could drive over them 500 times with a Mack Truck and they probably wouldn't break down. Whatever little I can do, I do," she told AFP.

Janine Franciosa, a 38-year-old who works in advertising, said it is great people are becoming more aware of how their "everyday purchases are affecting the environment."

But not everyone is happy.

Westside Market manager Ian Joskowitz, 52, told AFP some customers were "upset" because they use free plastic bags as garbage bags.

FINES

New York uses some 23 billion plastic bags every year, according to the state government.

About 85 percent are thrown away, ending up in landfills and on streets and beaches, it says.

After several failed attempts, lawmakers finally approved the ban in April 2019.

It bars all retailers who pay state taxes -- such as department stores, supermarkets, neighborhood corner stores and gas stations -- from providing plastic bags to customers.

Violators can expect fines of up to $500, although officials have said they would give stores time to adapt to the new rules.

The ban will "protect our natural resources for future generations," said Governor Andrew Cuomo when he announced the legislation last year.

The law allows New York city and counties to levy a five-cent tax on paper bags, with part of the resulting revenue going to an environmental protection fund.

Kate Kurera, deputy director of Environmental Advocates of New York, says the ban will cause "a tremendous reduction" in plastic waste pollution.

She laments, however, that food takeouts, beloved by the city's 8.6 million inhabitants, are exempt.

Other exemptions include bags for prescription drugs, plastic wrapping for newspapers delivered to subscribers, and bags used solely for non-prepackaged food such as meat and fish.

Kurera wishes the government would make the paper bag fee mandatory to force customers to bring their own carriers, noting that producing paper bags is intensive in terms of oil, fossil fuels and trees used.

'Live with it!'

"Ideally neither bag is preferable," she told AFP. "Behavior is slower to change when people know they can get a free paper bag."

Greg Biryla, New York state director at the National Federation of Independent Business, says alternatives can cost up to seven times more than plastic bags.

"They are proportionally more burdensome on small businesses who aren't ordering in as big a quantity as their big business counterparts," he told AFP.

California and Oregon have statewide bans of plastic bags while Hawaii has a de facto ban.

Four other states have bans starting soon while Texas has prevented its cities from outlawing plastic bags.

New York is viewed as one of the most innovative cities in the world, but on the issue of plastic it has some catching up to do internationally.

Ubiquitous across the Big Apple are single-use plastic utensils such as cutlery, straws and stirrers, which European Union countries have voted to outlaw by next year.

New York's older residents note that plastic bags only became available in US grocery stores in 1979, signaling how quickly habits can change.

"When I was growing up we brought our own bags," shopper Denise Shaleaon told AFP, adding of the ban: "The New Yorker will have to live with it!"

source: news.abs-cbn.com

PepsiCo adopts stricter, greener rules for palm oil in products

KUALA LUMPUR - US food and drink giant PepsiCo Inc said on Tuesday it would introduce stricter rules for the palm oil used in its goods - including a retrospective ban on working with firms linked to deforestation - and enforce them for its business partners.

In a first for the consumer goods industry, the tighter policies would apply to companies in joint ventures with PepsiCo like Indonesian food maker Indofood, forest experts said.

Palm oil is the world's most widely used edible oil, found in everything from margarine to breakfast cereals and soap.

But its production has faced scrutiny in recent years from green activists and consumers who have blamed it for forest loss, fires and worker exploitation.

Under PepsiCo's new policy, the major international buyer of palm oil has strengthened its commitments to protect, restore and monitor forests and peatlands.

It has pledged not to purchase palm oil from any direct or indirect supplier involved in deforestation over the last four years.

The multinational will also launch initiatives to stop human rights abuses among plantation workers on the ground.

A 2019 investigation by green group Rainforest Action Network (RAN) revealed palm oil from an illegal plantation in an Indonesian rainforest home to endangered orangutans had found its way into the supply chains of major brands including PepsiCo.

Besides nurturing biodiversity, forests are regarded as key to efforts to curb climate change as they store planet-warming carbon.

RAN, which has highlighted issues with palm oil sourcing by major snack food companies since 2013, was involved in shaping PepsiCo's new policy.

While other consumer goods firms have applied similar pledges to their palm oil suppliers, PepsiCo is the first major brand to extend the policy to its business partners and all other firms in its partners' groups, said Robin Averbeck, RAN's agribusiness campaign director.

This means any company that makes PepsiCo products using palm oil, as well as plantation firms in the same group -anywhere in the world - must also comply, she said.

PepsiCo's new policy positions it as a "front-runner in the industry", said Averbeck.

PepsiCo said in an emailed statement its goal was to ensure that "all our palm oil is free from deforestation, new development on peatlands, and exploitation of people".

"These updates to our policy and approach reflect our ongoing determination to have a positive impact through additional actions that contribute to a sustainable palm oil system by working with peers, suppliers, civil society and others," it added.

Indofood did not respond to requests for comment.

After becoming a target of high-profile campaigns against tropical forest loss, global household brands that buy and use palm oil agreed in 2010 to ensure their supplies did not contribute to deforestation within a decade.

But backers of the non-binding commitment, which include PepsiCo, have struggled to meet it, as it left implementation to individual companies and lacked a clear reporting process, said a consumer goods body grouping those firms.

Brands and major buyers have also been criticized by industry officials and environmental activists for not buying larger amounts of palm oil certified as green and ethical.

PepsiCo's stipulation that its palm oil suppliers and business partners should have no link to deforestation since the end of 2015 could be retrospectively checked through satellite monitoring, Averbeck said.

She urged PepsiCo to disclose publicly all grievances linked to its agricultural supply chain, adding that the roll-out of the new rules should be verified independently.

"If they are implemented and it brings other actors along with them, it could have an enormous impact on the industry," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. 

(Reporting by Michael Taylor @MickSTaylor; Editing by Megan Rowling. Thomson Reuters Foundation)

Storm Dennis wreaks havoc across UK, parts of France

Britain on Monday grappled with the fallout from Storm Dennis, with several major incidents declared due to flooding and hundreds of warnings still in place after it battered the country over the weekend.

The second severe storm in a week to hit Britain brought high winds of more than 90 miles (140 kilometres) an hour and more than a month's worth of rain in 48 hours in some places, leading officials to issue rare "danger to life" warnings.

The storm also pummelled much of France, with some 20,000 people still without electricity on Monday after suffering power cuts in the northwest of the country and rail traffic disrupted.

"This is not yet over," warned James Bevan, chief executive of the Environment Agency, which is responsible for flood protection in England.

"We still have many flood warnings in force and we may still see significant flooding in the middle of this week from larger rivers," he told BBC radio.

Bevan said more than 400 homes in England had been flooded while at least 1,000 agency staff were working around the clock alongside emergency officials "to protect and support those communities which have been hit".

- Major incidents declared -
More than 600 warnings and alerts -- a record number -- were issued on Sunday, extending from the River Tweed on the border of England and Scotland, to Cornwall in southwest England.

After a day of torrential rain, major flooding incidents were later declared in south Wales and parts of western England.

Some five "severe" warnings -- denoting lives could be endangered by the flooding -- remained active Monday on two rivers in Worcestershire and Herefordshire in west central England.

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue service on Sunday airlifted to hospital one man pulled from the River Teme, who was in a stable condition on Monday.

But emergency responders suspended the search overnight for a missing woman also swept away by the floodwater near the town of flood-prone town of Tenbury, according to police.

"The search has continued this morning, including the use of the police helicopter," said Chief Superintendent Tom Harding, from West Mercia Police.

"Sadly, however, due to the circumstances of the length of time in the water and other conditions we believe that this will now be a recovery rather than rescue operation."

Two rivers in south Wales burst their banks, prompting rescue workers to launch operations in several places to evacuate people and their pets trapped in their homes.

Police said a man in his 60s died after entering the River Tawe, north of the Welsh city of Swansea but later clarified that the death was not "linked to the adverse weather".

On Saturday, the coastguard said the bodies of two men were pulled from rough seas off the south coast of England as the storm barrelled in.

One is thought to have been the subject of a search triggered when a tanker reported that one of its crew was unaccounted for.

- 'More extreme' -
In northern England, the defence ministry deployed troops in West Yorkshire, which suffered badly from flooding caused by last weekend's Storm Ciara.

There are fears rivers there could burst their banks later on Monday.

Newly appointed environment secretary George Eustice said the government had done "everything that we can do with a significant sum of money" to combat increased flooding.

"We'll never be able to protect every single household just because of the nature of climate change and the fact that these weather events are becoming more extreme."

France was also affected by the storm, especially northwestern Brittany where the Finistere and Morbihan regions were temporarily placed on orange alert for rain and flooding, according to the national weather service Meteo-France.

Electricity provider Enedis said it had deployed 450 staff to restore power to 30,000 homes in Brittany. Power cuts also hit parts of northern and central France.

The storm interrupted two high-speed TGV train services, one stopped by a fallen tree and the other by a power failure, the national rail company SNCF said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Adidas bets on recycled material 'to combat ocean plastic'

FRANKFURT AM MAIN - German sportswear giant Adidas said Tuesday more than half of the polyester used in its products this year would come from recycled material, including millions of shoes made from plastic waste.

In 2020, the share of recycled polyester in Adidas products will "exceed 50 percent for the first time", the company said in a statement.

By 2024, Adidas "is committed to using only recycled polyester" across its entire range of shoes, clothing and other items like bags and shin guards.

The Bavarian company also said it aimed to churn out 15 to 20 million pairs of shoes in 2020 using recycled plastic waste collected "from beaches and coastal regions".

The group already sold more than 11 million such pairs last year -- still just a fraction of the more than 400 million pairs of shoes it makes annually.

Adidas said it was committed to battling the scourge of plastic waste "to stop the pollution of the world's oceans".

The firm's first running shoe made entirely from recycled materials, the "Futurecraft Loop", is set to hit stores in 2021.

Since 2015, it has collaborated with environmental organisation Parley for the Oceans on a range of products, including football shirts for major clubs such as Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. 

Agence France-Presse

'They told people not to come': Australia's bushfires ravage tourism industry

SYDNEY - Pillars of fire and smoke from bushfires are tarnishing Australia's reputation for pristine vistas abounding in wildlife and wreaking havoc on tourism, operators said, as authorities are forced to cancel concerts, close parks and evacuate towns.

The smoke has shrouded entire cities and driven air quality to unhealthy levels, with at least 10 people dying in the fires in the past week, while colonies of animals such as koalas and flying foxes have been destroyed.

"Seeing all the images of fires on television and social media is not going to help, it puts a dent in Australia's reputation as a safe tourist destination," said Shane Oliver, chief economist at AMP Capital.

"It's come at a time when the economy was already fragile," he added, ranking tourism as Australia's fourth biggest export whose strength officials had been counting on to help offset a domestic reluctance to spend.

Bushfires burning for weeks near the world heritage site of the Blue Mountains west of Sydney in the southeastern state of New South Wales have driven away tourists.

As visitors take to social media to warn others to steer clear, the number of busloads of tourists each day has fallen to about 4 from 15 or 20, said Stacey Reynolds, a receptionist at the Blue Mountains Backpacker Hostel in Katoomba.

"They told people not to come in and it's affected everything, from restaurants to motels to backpackers to cafes," she added. "The streets are empty."

Although there is no published nationwide data on tourism since the fires took hold in late spring, Australia attracted 2.71 million holiday makers last summer, up 3.2 percent from the previous year, as many fled the northern hemisphere winter.

Hotels in the largest city of Sydney saw a fall of 10 percent in guest numbers in December, the Accommodation Association of Australia said.

"The fires and the smoke have had a real brand and reputational damage in Sydney," added its chief executive, Dean Long.

The train and cable network of Scenic World in the Blue Mountains had 50,000 fewer visitors in December, down 50 percent from last year, Chief Experience Officer Amanda Byrne said.

Scenic World was open, but the hotels around the area are having more cancellations than bookings, she said.

Government agency Tourism Australia, which released a new advertisement last month to lure Britons to beautiful beaches and stunning scenery, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The scorching temperatures and bushfires, which have also burnt vineyards in South Australia and warmed the usually cool island state of Tasmania, will hit the sector hard, said Judith Mair, who studies tourism, environment and consumer behavior.

"It will be in stages - immediately with evacuations, dislocations and cancellations, but also in the longer term, because tourists buy holidays based on the image of a destination and Australia's is being badly affected," said Mair, a professor at the University of Queensland Business School.

Hundreds of national parks in the southeastern states of New South Wales and Victoria, thronged by 100 million visitors a year, have closed.

With fires burning nearby, Christopher Warren, co-proprietor of a bed and breakfast in Kangaroo Valley in New South Wales, said he had to evacuate his guests.

"The worst-case scenario is that we would be hit by a fire and our business would be destroyed," said Warren, who saw the best case as a loss of income exceeding A$80,000 ($56,048), through the disruption of 3 of his busiest months.

Paul Mackie, who uses AirBnB to rent out an apartment on Sydney's Bondi Beach to British and European tourists in the peak summer holiday period was hit by last-minute cancellations.

"I had bookings for the whole of this period going for the next couple of months, but a lot have cancelled because they said they saw the news of the fires," Mackie added.

AirBnB declined to comment.

A Sydney airport spokesman said it did not have recent statistics on whether the fires were hitting arrival. A Qantas spokeswoman declined to comment on whether the wildfires had hurt bookings.

The fires have spotlighted Australia's environment policies, criticized most recently at a UN summit in Madrid, said Susanne Becken, a professor of sustainable tourism at Griffith University in Queensland.

"The government's response to the climate crisis does not bode well...and this is not good for tourism," Becken said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Australian bushfire smoke turns New Zealand glaciers brown

WELLINGTON -- Smoke from Australia's bushfires has created a haze across New Zealand thousands of kilometers away with normally white glaciers turning a shade of caramel, according to social media posts Thursday.

The acrid-smelling smoke first appeared in the country early Wednesday when in many areas the sun appeared as either a red or golden orb, depending on the thickness of the haze.

"Smoke which has traveled around 2,000km across the Tasman Sea can clearly be seen," New Zealand's official forecaster MetService tweeted. 

"Visibility in the smoke haze is as low as 10km in the worst affected areas." 

A Twitter user called Miss Roho tweeted: "We can actually smell the burning here in Christchurch." 

Another woman, Rachel, posted a photo of the Franz Josef Glacier -- more than 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) away -- with its usual pristine white taking on a brown hue.

"Near Franz Josef glacier. The 'caramelized' snow is caused by dust from the bushfires. It was white yesterday," she said in a post Wednesday.

Comedian Jemaine Clement posted a photo of a golden orb.

"All the way over in NZ the Australian bushfire smoke in the atmosphere giving us this strange sun," he said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Climate champions Thunberg and Attenborough join forces to push for change

BARCELONA - Two titan climate campaigners, Greta Thunberg and David Attenborough, joined forces on Monday to push politicians and businesses to step up action on climate change after a year in which schoolchildren took to the world's streets in protest.

Swedish teen activist Thunberg, who turns 17 this week, said 2019 had been "a very strange year" as millions of young people skipped school to demonstrate over slow progress on tackling climate change, inspired by her weekly vigils at the Swedish parliament.

British naturalist and broadcaster David Attenborough, 93, said Thunberg had "aroused the world" about the urgency of reining in global warming, achieving things that people who had worked on the problem for 20-odd years had not.

Attenborough - famous for his TV series showing the impact of environmental degradation on flora and fauna - said he had flagged the need for changes to political structures and daily lives two decades ago, but "no one took a blind bit of notice".

Thunberg urged people to "read up" about climate science and what is being done - or not - to tackle the problem. "We climate activists are being listened to - but that doesn't mean that what we are saying is translated into action," she told BBC Radio 4's Today show on which she was guest editor.

"It needs to be a big shift, and that's what we are waiting for - this tipping point," said Thunberg who has Asperger's syndrome and has also suffered from depression in the past.

Attenborough said it was depressing when governments in the United States, Brazil or Australia indicated they were not taking any notice of what should be done.

"It needs a real electric shock - such as you have produced socially - to bring them to their senses, and let's hope that shock will go on," Attenborough told Thunberg on the Today show.

Thunberg has transformed over the past year from an unknown, solo campaigner to the figurehead of a global movement, winning a list of accolades and awards along the way including being named Time Magazine's Person of the Year for 2019 for her work.

Her father Svante explained how he and his wife had changed their lives as their daughter found out about climate science.

He said Greta did not eat for three months, nor speak to people outside her family at one stage, but becoming a climate activist had enabled her to recover and become a happy teenager who "dances around" and "laughs a lot".

The family has since become vegan and no longer uses planes, instead sailing across the Atlantic this year to attend a U.N. climate action summit in New York and then sailing to Spain for December's global climate talks in Madrid.

"I didn't do it to save the climate, I did it to save my child," said her father.

Both Thunberg and Attenborough called on politicians to ensure next year's U.N. climate talks in Scotland produce a successful outcome, with governments due to strengthen their national plans to combat climate change.

The annual conference in Madrid this month was viewed as disappointing, with large carbon-polluting countries resisting pressure to step up their targets to reduce emissions.

"We, and they, must do everything they can to make sure that it doesn't fail and that we succeed in bringing the science into the conversation," Thunberg said. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Meatless burgers, hemp cocktails and pasta straws: 2019 eco-friendly food trends

ROME - From cockroach milk to beer made from waste water, a raft of eco-friendly food trends hit menus and supermarket shelves in 2019 vowing not to add to the world's carbon emissions.

Here are 7 ways to keep the seasonal revelry going while shrinking carbon footprint:

1. RISE OF THE FLEXITARIANS

Plant-based burgers went mainstream with fast food giants Burger King and McDonald's joining the fray. Burger King's Impossible Whopper was so successful there are multiple vegetarian options now being planned.

Fish substitutes are entering the market too, including tuna made from a blend of 6 legumes and algae oil. Such alternative proteins cut down greenhouse gas emissions associated with livestock farming and industrial-scale fishing.

2. BUGS TAKE CENTER STAGE

Grub granola, cockroach milk and silk worm vanilla ice-cream are just a few offerings to make insects less icky and more appealing to diners. Bugs are high in protein and vitamins, but low in emissions and require less land and water.

Some are even hoping farming insects could help clean up palm oil's tarnished image.

3. HEMP HITS A HIGH

With the 2018 Farm Bill legalizing farmers to grow industrial hemp in the United States, cannabidiol (CBD)-infused food and drinks are here to stay.

Proponents say hemp - from which CBD is derived - has many sustainable aspects as it can provide food, shelter, clothes and energy.

There is confusion over their safety and legality in both the United States and Britain, but that has not stopped companies like Ben & Jerry's from announcing plans for their own CBD-based products.

4. PASTA WITHOUT SAUCE

To use as straws, of course, as the world steps up efforts to combat plastic pollution.

A Thai supermarket turned to tradition, using banana leaves to wrap fresh produce while consumers are flocking to products such as re-usable beeswax wrappers.

5. ORPHANED PLANTS FIND HOME

Neglected plants rich in vitamins and can adapt to the changing climate, including babassu oil from Amazon, millet from India and Mayan spinach from Guatemala, made their way onto plates, championed by pioneering chefs and scientists.

With 75 percent of the world's foods coming from just 12 plants and five animal species, expanding the diet is also a good strategy for coping with climate-induced crop failures.

6. WASTE NOT, WANT NOT

Restaurants that use almost every part of the raw materials to cut down on food waste popped up in Helsinki, New York and Berlin - the last one also happened to be vegan.

There's also Trash Tiki, an "anti-waste" cocktail company that uses food scraps - leftover milk, discarded nut shells, coffee grounds, etc - to re-make beloved classics, bringing their ethos to Toronto, Amsterdam and Rome this year.

7. CHEERS!

Eco-friendly beers - brewed using recycled or waste water, doing away with the plastic 6-pack rings, or pledging part of the profits to conserve sea turtles - hit the shelves.

Natural wines, which proponents say are made with organic grapes and no chemical additives, thus purer and more environmentally-friendly, also gained major followings in Europe and the United States.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

London street bans petrol, diesel cars

LONDON -- Petrol and diesel vehicles will be banned from a street in central London in an innovative attempt to reduce pollution, local authorities said.

Officials said Beech Street, which runs underneath the Brutalist designed Barbican Estate, would become Britain's first "24-7 zero emission street."

During an 18-month trial starting next year, the area will be restricted to electric or hybrid vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, the City of London Corporation announced on Monday.

However, access will be given for refuse collection and deliveries, for those using car parks off the street and emergency vehicles.

"Drastically reducing air pollution requires radical actions, and these plans will help us eliminate toxic air on our streets," said the chairman of the corporation's environment committee, Jeremy Simon.

Officials told AFP they expected a reduction of 90 to 95 percent in traffic on Beech Street, and an improvement in air quality around the immediate area, which includes two schools.

"The scheme aims to bring nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels within air quality guidelines set out by the European Union and World Health Organisation," a corporation statement said.

The trial is separate from the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) introduced across the center of London earlier this year, for which motorists in older, more polluting vehicles must pay a charge to enter.

Agence France-Presse

Thousands of 'penis fish' exposed on California beach

LOS ANGELES, United States - Thousands of marine worms dubbed "penis fish" for their shape and color appeared this week on a California beach after a strong winter storm exposed them.

The creatures -- more commonly known as fat innkeeper worms -- covered Drakes Beach, 50 miles north of San Francisco.

Despite their eye-catching appearance, the pulsating worms which reach around 10 inches are adept at digging U-shaped burrows on beaches and marshes, using the tunnels to catch food.

Found almost exclusively in California, they are themselves considered a culinary delicacy in South Korea, with reputed aphrodisiac effects.

"Yes, the physical design of the fat innkeeper worm has some explaining to do," wrote biologist Ivan Parr. "But the fat innkeeper is perfectly shaped for a life spent underground."

Parr explained in a column on the Bay Nature website this week that fossil evidence of the animals dates back at least 300 million years.

"They are preyed on by otters, flounders, sharks, rays, gulls, and humans," the latter of whom eat them as sashimi, fried or grilled.

In this case, the worms were caught out by heavy rain.

"We're seeing the risk of building your home out of sand," noted Parr.

"Strong storms... are perfectly capable of laying siege to the intertidal zone, breaking apart the sediments, and leaving their contents stranded on shore.

The beach is named after Francis Drake, who is believed to have landed here in 1579 during his circumnavigation of the globe.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Teen climate activist Greta Thunberg is Time's Person of the Year

NEW YORK -  Greta Thunberg, the teen activist from Sweden who has urged immediate action to address a global climate crisis, was named Time Magazine's Person of the Year for 2019 on Wednesday.

Thunberg, 16, was lauded by Time for starting an environmental campaign in August 2018 which became a global movement, initially skipping school and camping out in front of the Swedish Parliament to demand action.

"In the 16 months since, she has addressed heads of state at the U.N., met with the Pope, sparred with the President of the United States and inspired 4 million people to join the global climate strike on September 20, 2019, in what was the largest climate demonstration in human history," the magazine said.

"Margaret Atwood compared her to Joan of Arc. After noticing a hundredfold increase in its usage, lexicographers at Collins Dictionary named Thunberg’s pioneering idea, climate strike, the word of the year," Time said.

Thunberg, who turns 17 in January, continues to beat the drum, saying in Madrid last week that the voices of climate strikers are being heard but politicians are still not taking action.

(Reporting by Barbara Goldberg; Editing by Toby Chopra and Nick Zieminski)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Fix climate crisis because Earth is all we’ve got, Nobel Prize winner says

STOCKHOLM - Fix the climate crisis and save the Earth, one of this year's Nobel laureates for physics urged on Saturday, saying the idea of humans escaping our planet to live in other solar systems was farfetched and unrealistic.

Swiss astronomer Didier Queloz, who shared the 2019 Nobel Prize for Physics for discovering planets orbiting distant suns, said he had heard the argument against fighting climate change because 'it doesn't matter because anyway we're going to leave the Earth at some point'.

"I think this is just irresponsible ... because the stars are so far away, I think we should not really have any hope, serious hope, to escape the Earth," Queloz said at a news conference in Stockholm where he is to collect his share of the 9-million-Swedish-crown ($910,000) prize next week.

"So we better spend our time and energy trying to fix it than trying to imagine that we will ... destroy it and leave it," he said.

Some scientists, including late cosmologist and theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, have said threats such as nuclear war and climate change are so serious humans may have to eventually leave the Earth in order to survive as a species.

Briton Stanley Whittingham, awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize for Chemistry along with American John Goodenough and Akira Yoshino of Japan for inventing the lithium-ion battery, said a pragmatic approach was needed to the climate crisis.

"We've got to do things step-wise and have some solutions in mind," he said at the same event. "I think lithium batteries are going to help electrification of transportation, including big trucks, and in the US it's already helping solar and wind take over from coal power plants."

The prizes for achievements in science, literature and peace were created and funded in the will of Swedish dynamite inventor and businessman Alfred Nobel and have been awarded since 1901. This year's award ceremony and banquet is on Dec. 10.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Brazil's president accuses Leonardo DiCaprio of financing Amazon fires

SAO PAULO - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro claimed on Friday that Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio financed fires being set in the Amazon rainforest, without presenting any evidence, the right-wing leader's latest broadside in casting blame over forest fires that have generated international concern.

"This Leonardo DiCaprio is a cool guy, right? Giving money to torch the Amazon," Bolsonaro said on Friday during brief remarks in front of the presidential residence.

Bolsonaro appeared to be commenting on social media postings claiming that the environmental organization the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) had paid for images taken by volunteer firefighters that it then supposedly used to solicit donations, including a $500,000 contribution from DiCaprio.

The Brazilian leader talked about DiCaprio on Thursday during a live webcast. The president said the WWF paid the firefighting NGO to take pictures of forest fires in the Amazon.

"So what did the NGO do? What is the easiest thing? Set fire to the forest. Take pictures, make a video," the president said. "(WWF) makes a campaign against Brazil, it contacts Leonardo DiCaprio, he donates $500,000."

"A part of that went to the people that were setting fires. Leonardo DiCaprio, you are contributing to the fire in the Amazon, that won't do," Bolsonaro said.

The WWF has denied receiving a donation from DiCaprio or obtaining photos from the firefighters.

DiCaprio denied having donated to the WWF. In a statement, the actor lauded "the people of Brazil working to save their natural and cultural heritage." But, he said, "While worthy of support, we did not fund the organizations targeted."

DiCaprio has been an outspoken advocate on behalf of combating climate change, speaking frequently about environmental issues including the Amazon forest fires. His Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, which is focused on projects that "protect vulnerable wildlife from extinction," is part of the Earth Alliance.

Four members of the nongovernmental organization Alter do Chão Fire Brigade were arrested on Tuesday with police accusing them of purposefully setting fires in order to document them and drum up more donations. They were released on Thursday on a judge's order.

Politicians and other NGOs fiercely criticized the arrest, saying it was part of a concerted attempt by Bolsonaro's government to harass environmental groups.

Scientists and activists blame land speculators, farmers and ranchers for setting the fires to clear land for agricultural use, saying that deforesters are being emboldened by Bolsonaro's rhetoric of promoting development and farming over preservation.

The Amazon rainforest is considered a bulwark against global climate change.

Bolsonaro has repeatedly lashed out at various factions in casting blame for the forest fires.

In a Facebook live post on Aug. 21, he said, "everything indicates" that NGOs were going to the Amazon to "set fire" to the forest. When asked then if he had evidence to back up his claims, Bolsonaro said he had "no written plan," adding, "that's not how it's done."

One day later he admitted that farmers could be illegally setting the rainforest ablaze, but roughly a month later he attacked the "lying media" for saying that the rainforest was being devastated by the fires.

source: news.abs-cbn.com