Dubai overspent and the real estate market crashed. A series of man-made mega projects are in danger of collapse and are now pretty much abandoned.
Environmental concerns, stagnant ponds, and migrant worker rights. White gold Mercedes cars as a the talk of the town. Dubai has some problems.
The visions envisioned by the architects went up in a puff of sand.
Hundreds of 2-gram bags containing marijuana dropped out of the sky over Rabin Square, for the comfort and delight of the population enduring pandemic times. It was the brainchild of a Telegram group calling themselves “Green Drone,” who champions making cannabis legal in Israel.
Green Drone published a mysterious message on Telegram before releasing cannabis to the wind. It read:
“It’s time my dear brothers. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s the green drone, handing out free cannabis from the sky… Enjoy my beloved brothers, this is your pilot brother, making sure we all get some free love.”
Apparently the freebies are a promotional campaign whose target market is people who will find getting their grass hard in an imminent Covid-19 lockdown. (Cannabis is being tested in Israeli hospitals to alleviate Covid-19 effects).
While Tel Avivians scrambled to pick the little bags off the street, the police were less than pleased with Green Drone’s altruistic gesture. The two men who operated the drone have been arrested.
An announcement of the “Cannabis Rain Project” drops on the Telegram channel said that 1 kilogram (or 2.2 pounds) of cannabis, divided into 2 gram bags, will be dropped each week in a different part of the country.
And that’s not the only novel thing people in Tel Aviv are doing with drones. Check out the video we made of a guy fishing in the Mediterranean Sea using a drone:
The list of banks supporting damaging practices to the Amazon include Banco do Brasil, Rabobank, and JPMorgan Chase.
Amid a tropical forest fire season that is shaping up to be more disastrous than the one from last year, a new database built by environmental activists reveals that global banks, some of which you might belong to, have funnelled 154 billion USD into the production and trade of commodities driving deforestation and land degradation in the three major tropical forest regions –– Southeast Asia, Brazil and Central and West Africa –– since 2015.
Overall, credit to these commodities has increased by 40% since the Paris Agreement was signed in December 2015. As of April 2020, investors also held USD 37 billion in bonds and shares in these companies.
Banco do Brasil was found to be the largest creditor overall, having provided 30 billion USD to forest-risk commodity operations, since 2016. This was almost exclusively for companies operating in Brazil, going into beef, soy and pulp and paper operations.
Also in the top five of largest creditors are the Brazilian bank Bradesco, with USD 7.5 billion, the Dutch bank Rabobank (which lauds its developments in agriculture), with USD 6.3 billion, US-based JPMorgan Chase, with USD 5.8 billion, and Japanese bank Mizuho Financial, with USD 5.5 billion.
I reached out to a contact I have at Rabobank before this research was released and there was no comment.
“Right now, intentionally lit fires are burning through the world’s last remaining rainforests as fire is used as a ‘cheap’ way to clear land for commodity production. Global banks and investors are knowingly financing agribusiness giants that are fueling the fires,” said Merel van der Mark, Coordinator of the Forests and Finance Coalition, one of the groups who created the report.
“Despite the financial sector’s commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement, their pursuit of profits are driving us toward a climate and public health disaster at full speed.”
Launched by Forests & Finance — an initiative by the Forests & Finance Coalition including Rainforest Action Network, TuK INDONESIA, Profundo, Reporter Brasil, Amazon Watch and BankTrack — the database reveals the financial flows between January 2013 and April 2020 to more than 300 of the biggest forest-risk commodity companies whose operations impact forests in Southeast Asia, Central and West Africa, and Brazil.
Banking, lending, and these risks are complicated business. In a way we are all part of it when we buy a non eco product or drive our cars. While we aren’t suggesting to boycott anyone right now, these are definitely questions boardrooms and executives should be asking each other. How can we do this better?
According to the press release sent out by the above groups, they say that “despite various multilateral and industry commitments to zero deforestation, tropical deforestation has nearly doubled over the past 10 years.”
They explain that forests are being primarily cleared for agribusiness commodities, often illegally and with strong ties to corruption, tax evasion and organized crime.
Collectively known as forest-risk, the commodities are beef, palm oil, pulp & paper, rubber, soy and timber. In 2019 alone, tropical deforestation reached 11.9 million hectares. Deforestation and the associated loss of wildlife habitat is also a critical factor in the emergence of zoonotic diseases such as COVID-19, according to the UN Environment Programme.
Credit and investment is critical to the expansion and day-to-day operations of companies responsible for deforestation.
Just 15 banks in the list below accounted for approximately 60% of the USD 154 billion in credit extended to forest-risk companies since the signing of the Paris Climate Agreement, the alliance who funded the research contest.
Eight of these banks are signatories to the UN’s Principles for Responsible Banking, which includes a commitment to align bank operations with the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), including SDG 15 to “halt deforestation [and] restore degraded forests” by 2020. In terms of source finance, banks from Brazil, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, United States and Japan represented the largest flows of finance. These findings illustrate the lack of regulations and company policies necessary to bring the financial sector into line with global environmental and social priorities.
“The Amazon’s indigenous peoples are facing a catastrophic burning season heaping tragedy on the toll of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Christian Poirier of Amazon Watch. “Fires across the Brazilian Amazon are at a 10-year high, with a 77 percent increase on indigenous territories since last year. These spikes are the product of criminal deforestation and arson fueled by forest-risk commodities and bankrolled by global financial giants. To global banks and investors: this database unequivocally exposes your complicity in this disaster.”
The research methodology segregates and calculates credit and investment that can be reasonably attributed to the production, primary processing, trading, and manufacturing divisions of companies with forest-risk operations in each tropical forest basin.
Below is a table with information on loans and underwriting provided by the top 15 creditors to forest-risk commodity companies across the three tropical regions, with a breakdown per sector.
We’d love to hear the banking side of the story. Reach out for a contributing voice [email protected]
The Arab world has bravely taken on a new partner in peace and prosperity this week by welcoming the first flight of Israeli and American diplomats on an historic flight to Abu Dhabi yesterday. It is a new dawn where two moderate superpowers were only operating cooperatively quietly – until now. Israel and the UAE foment their willingness to create a new Middle East (or Western East) with an official visit by an Israel-US delegation led by Jared Kushner this week.
Israel and the United Arab Emirates –– also known as the UAE –– have a lot more in common in renewable energy, water resume and conservation and desert agriculture, than let’s say Israel does with the northern country of Norway. But for years outdated Middle East bigotry pervaded the ranks of the Arab League of which Israel was never a part despite about half its population being both Israeli Arabs and Arab Jews from countries like Iraq, Morocco, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
Business will find a way and did go on over the years go on behind the backs of the bullies. I have met with leaders from Arab nation governments, including Iraq, that were very keen on cooperating with Israel on cleantech and water tech. What was stopping them from doing it in the open was a broker and the US President Trump helped achieve that.
We spoke with experts from a variety of fields: carbon, energy, water, and green building to find reasonable opportunities and pathways for NGOS, businesses and humankind to go forward with building this world into a net positive place. We all want prosperity for all.
He knows the sweet spots of both nations: decarbonizing together
François Le Scornet is president of Carbonexit Consulting in Grenoble, France, where he works as a senior energy consultant, supporting industry, startups, investors and NGOs. He was at the last World Energy Congress in Abu Dhabi last September and understands the challenges and opportunities that such an agreement can bring.
Le Scornet tells Green Prophet: “I strongly believe that the very recent UAE-Israel peace deal can only be seen as a positive step when it comes to the development of the low-carbon energy sector in Israel in particular.
“The UAE is clearly an oil giant, no doubt, I actually had the chance to visit the impressive The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company or ADNOC headquarters in Abu Dhabi last September, and they are also extremely active in the renewable sector of course.”
Le Scornet continues: “They host IRENA as well as some of the largest solar PV solar plants in the world and we sometimes forget about that in the West. The Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) actually announced partners to develop the world’s largest solar power plant: 2 Gigawatts at the Al Dhafra plant– just a few days ago.
“With very limited oil and gas, Israel has a lot of innovative startups in the decarbonized power sector and a strong solar sector like the UAE. Israel will strongly push for new energy and water infrastructures in the frame of its post-COVID-19 stimulus plan and a strong growth is expected in the solar sector with a total of 2GW to be installed for about $1.6B within the next few years.
“Israel could become a new market for the UAE renewable energy companies as well as for the players involved in the energy hungry desalination plant ecosystem. On the other hand, many Israeli startups may use the UAE as a way to penetrate the regional Middle Eastern market for their innovative products and services in energy storage, smart grids etc,” Le Scornet concludes.
Renewable energy will reduce conflict
Mark Cann, the CEO of Cryomatiks in Florida works to provide zero emission technology for transportation and energy storage. He knows about the cost of conflict for Mother Earth: “Military conflict is notoriously difficult on the environment,” he tells Green Prophet.
“Even potential conflict has long lasting negative effects on the environment with the toxic military sites left over from the Cold War as just one example. So any step towards de-escalation of potential military conflict should normally be a boost for the environment.
Cann continues: “As far as an increase in renewable energy as a direct impact from the current Israel-UAE agreement, that’s a bit like the tail wagging the dog. Ahmed Zaki Yamani, Saudi Arabia’s former Minister of Oil, was famously quoted as saying ‘The Stone Age didn’t end for lack of stone, and the oil age will end long before the world runs out of oil.’
“In other words, it’s not so much that the current agreement will result in more renewable energy but rather renewable energy will result in more agreements. Commerce has proven to be a productive pathway for various states and regions to co-exist. Countries that are heavily dependent on exporting petroleum to balance sovereign budgets may experience more social unrest relative to the countries that don’t.”
Agriculture is energy too so save water
Aadith Moorthy, founder and CEO of ConserWater is working between San Francisco and Israel and they are invested in the peace deal already. His company offers a sensor-free way to grow more food using less water. “We have large initiatives in Israel and with the peace deal, we have also seen a stronger uptick of collaboration between our Israel team and upcoming projects in the UAE,” he tells Green Prophet,
“This deal is going to be very great from an environment perspective for the entire world: Israel has historically been a leader in water technology and precision agriculture, which is necessary for the world’s population to better adapt to climate change, which will result in greater resource scarcity and more frequent droughts,” Moorthy says.
“On the other hand,” he notes, “the UAE has recently become a global clean energy hub through its aggressive investment in cleantech in the past decade. The synergy of the combination of these two will provide humanity with the right resources to both reduce further climate change, while also enabling humanity to adapt to the warming that is already happening.”
Desalinating Israel and the UAE is also reducing wars on the horizon
Environmental designer and artist Pablo Soloman from Texas considers himself a lifelong leader in conservation, a person of science, an “accurate futurist” and also grew up in a very multicultural mixed home where they spoke a number of languages including Arabic. He was the first to come up with the idea of the Red Dead Sea Canal, and explained to the world why tree planting is good for carbon sequestering.
He believes that all renewable energy applications are limited in use until we find ways to store electricity efficiently, and desalination can be the key as both nations are now heavily reliant on desalination for freshwater, a process which is very energy intensive: “The best use in many places for renewable energy that cannot be directly stored is to use that electricity to desalinate seawater and/or to pump water into reservoirs for hydroelectric power back up,” he tells Green Prophet.
“Desalinating seawater cheaply will be the greatest boost to the health, economies and peace in the Middle East. More fresh water would increase food production and would reduce the chance of wars over water that are currently on the horizon. Renewable energy is only one part of cleaning up our environment. Use of natural gas is a step up from less clean carbon fuels,” he notes.
But Soloman addresses, “Keep in mind that in effect fossil fuels are stored solar energy. They pack a huge amount of energy in a small package. As economies expand, more money will be available to develop more efficient and effective ways of cleaning and repurposing emissions from fossil fuels.
“As peace and prosperity expand, nuclear material money can be used for electrical generation instead of bomb making. As economies interact peacefully and share technology, there will be increased cultural understanding and possibly tolerance and acceptance. People gain greater understanding and respect through working together on shared interests than from threats of war,” Soloman concludes.
Invest in solar, destabilize destroyers
Joshua M. Pearce, a PhD and director of the Michigan Tech Open Sustainability Technology (MOST) Lab, Michigan Technological University says that “renewable energy deployment in the Middle East can be a key factor in promoting peace.
If the US continues to follow the standard model, relatively weak diplomacy, military threats and economic sanctions could lead to another Iraq-like war. Although Iran and Iraq have differences, most observers would agree that the same outcome and price are likely results. In purely economic terms, the CBO estimates that the Iraq-US war cost about $2.4 trillion.
“In a study published in the Pearce Studies Journal, I showed that strong US support for solar in Iran would obtain all the benefits from denuclearizing Iran for a fraction of the cost of the standard model, while earning a higher return and improve environmental impact in the process,” Pearce tells Green Prophet.
Toward a $1 trillion solar energy goal
How? Today, solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is the lowest-cost electricity source and is thus unsurprisingly growing the most rapidly, Pearce explains. “Unfortunately, tensions between Israel and the Arab world have prevented the region from obtaining the PV deployment scale, which has limited the deployment velocity.”
Pearce explores: “Today, the region’s operational PV capacity is at $5 to 7.5 billion USD, with another $15 to 20 billion USD slated for deployment by 2024. The Middle East Solar Industry Association reports energy investment in the Middle East region could hit $1 trillion USD in the next few years.
“The peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) unquestionably benefits the $1 trillion of solar energy goal. Peace and stability will provide the security for investors that is needed to drop PV prices even further with scale of both large centralized and distributed generation solar options in the Middle East. The UAE is already a solar leader in the region for PV, which now can be more easily exported in the region.
Largest PV plant reaches record low power prices
“They launched commercial operations at the 1.177 GW Sweihan PV project, Abu Dhabi in November the allocated the fifth, 0.9GW phase of the massive, 5 GW Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park for a record low power price of $0.01693/kWh.
“My research has clearly shown that a wiser, more-profitable way to invest in the elimination of nuclear capability in Iran is through solar. This ‘generous solar option‘ shows that the US can obtain all the benefits from denuclearizing Iran for a fraction of the cost of the standard model, while earning a higher return and improve environmental impact in the process.
“This generous solar option is not even necessary if the region can enjoy <$0.02/kWh solar electricity funded by partnerships between the Arab world and Israel.
“Why invest in nuclear if solar beats it without any of the risk?”
Plants: They seem more resilient than we are. And there are so many wild places in the world that they can take over. But a new study reveals that along with large mammals, amphibian and creatures of the sea, plants are going extinct faster than we thought possible.
Time to start saving seeds. And not just in war times as Syria has been doing at the Svalbard Global Seed Bank in Norway. Every plant is a medicinal plant. Losing one could mean losing a universe of opportunities.
A new study reveals that 65 plant species have gone extinct in the continental United States and Canada since European settlement, more extinctions than any previous scientific study has ever documented. Led by Wesley Knapp of the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program, a group of 16 experts from across the United States collaborated to document the extinct plants of the continental United States and Canada for the first time in history.
Their report has been published by the international journal Conservation Biology.
The team found that most plant extinctions occurred in the western United States, where the vegetation was minimally explored before widespread European settlement. Because many extinctions likely occurred before scientists explored an area, it is extremely likely the 65 documented extinctions vastly underestimate the actual number of plant species that have been lost.
Previous studies documented far fewer plant extinctions on the North American continent.
“Preventing extinction is the lowest bar for conservation success we can set, yet we are not always successful,” Knapp said. “This study started as an academic question but later developed into an opportunity to learn from what we have lost. By studying the trends and patterns of plants that have already gone extinct, hopefully we can learn how to prevent plant extinction going forward.”
Of the 65 documented extinctions in the report, 64% were known only from a single location. While conservation often focuses on protecting entire landscapes, this finding points to the importance of small-scale site protection in order to prevent extinctions.
Because plants serve as the foundation for most terrestrial ecosystems, the urgency for documenting plant extinctions is especially great if extinction rates rise as predicted over the next century. Anne Frances, lead botanist at NatureServe, states, “In most cases, we can stop plants from going extinct, we just need the resources and commitment to do so.”
Action items? What you can do?
Read Braiding Sweetgrass to understand more about plant and human life
Read this New Times article on a man who is saving heirloom apples
Start by growing these healing herbs at home
Want your city, region and country to stand for something better? Want to switch over to solar energy and renewables, like Australia and Germany? New research today from the University of Oxford shows that electric utility companies around the world are continuing to invest heavily in fossil-fuel-based power generation, resulting in a missed opportunity for progress on global climate commitments.
The study, published in Nature Energy is the first to investigate electric utilities on a global scale. Using a machine-learning technique, the research analyses the activities of more than 3,000 companies over the past two decades to understand investment strategies deployed.
“This research highlights a worrying gap between what is needed to stop global warming, and what actions are being taken by the utility sector,” explains Galina Alova, study author and researcher at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment.
“Although there have been a few high-profile examples of individual electric utilities investing in renewables, this study shows that overall, the sector is making the transition to clean energy slowly or not at all.”
The study finds that only 10% of companies prioritised renewables – i.e. expanded their renewables-based power generation capacity faster than their gas or coal fired capacity. Many of these organisations also continued to invest in fossil fuels in parallel with renewables, although at a slower rate.
Many countries and businesses have committed to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. To achieve this, fossil fuels must be replaced with renewable energy throughout the economy. But the study suggests utilities remain committed to their conventional fossil-fuel-dominated activities. While independent power producers are leading the penetration of renewables, traditional utilities lag behind.
“Utilities’ continued investment in fossil fuels leaves them at risk of stranded assets – where power plants will need to be retired early – and undermines global efforts to tackle climate change,” says Alova.
She maintains, “The global transition to a low carbon future might be further jeopardised by the strain that COVID-19 pandemic has put on public and private finance, as well as supply chains, resulting in delay or cancellation of new renewable energy projects. This could be especially detrimental to developing countries that are dependent on green development finance.”
Who would have imagined tahini and chocolate blended up and frozen? But after all, halvah is based on tahini, and people love chocolate halvah – so why not freeze the mix as popsicles?
In Tel Aviv, people are going crazy over tahini popsicles produced by Tamara Yoghurt with the local Al-Arz tahini manufacturer. It started as a gesture of support for the company when their CEO contributed funds to an association for LGBTQ Arab Israelis, causing some Arab communities to boycott their product. You can’t put that in the eye of Israel’s most gay-friendly city.
Tamara Yogurt, manufacturers of vegan ice cream based in Tel Aviv, joined with Al-Arz to produce tahini popsicles, and now the frozen treats are flying off the shelves in Tel Aviv groceries.
But you can easily make your own tahini popsicles. The year is now turning toward autumn, and these robust little frozen treats fit right in with that end-of-summer feeling.
Tahini & Chocolate Popsicles
Yield: 6 popsicles
Ingredients:
1 cup (170 grams) 70% chocolate, chopped finely
1/2 cup (85 grams) non-dairy chocolate chips
2 tablespoons refined coconut oil
4 tablespoons raw tahini paste
1 cup (240 ml.) full fat coconut milk
1/4 cup (85 grams) maple syrup
1-1/2 tablespoons more raw tahini paste, set aside for the maple glaze
1/4 cup toasted coconut flakes
Put the chopped dark chocolate, the chocolate chips, and the coconut oil in a medium bowl. Melt the mix over hot water; or microwave it in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring every 30 seconds, until all is smooth. Stir in the tahini and coconut milk and blend thoroughly.
Pour the blend into popsicle molds. Freeze until solid, at least 4 hours.
About 15 minutes before serving, make the maple syrup glaze.
Blend the maple syrup and 1-1/2 tablespoons tahini in a small pan.
Simmer over medium heat, stirring, for 10 minutes. Let the glaze cool.
Have the coconut flakes ready in a separate bowl. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Slide the popsicles out of their molds. Dip them, head first, into the maple/tahini glaze, then quickly dip them, head first, into the toasted coconut flakes. Place the popsicles on the lined baking sheet and slide the whole thing into the freezer to let the glaze harden for a few minutes. Serve.
Optional: mix 1/2 teaspoon rose water into the glaze for a floral accent.
Did you know that virtual working helps reduce lots of greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, fossil fuel consumption, plastic, and other paper waste? If you are among the people who care about the environment, then it’s high time you thought about how your daily work routine affects the environment.
Continue reading to find how virtual working can help to bring work-life balance through several positive environmental effects that come with online work. It’s all a win-win scenario.
How Virtual Jobs Are Helping To Environment
Though recently technology has seen huge improvements, more social cognizance as well as more tight governmental restrictions, the following are still among the top global environmental concerns.
Since our daily activities, including commuting to and from our offices, contribute a noteworthy portion of this major issue, most of the concerned leaders and like-minded citizens are seeking ways to decrease the impacts that come with offices and vehicles.
The main idea is—the ones who work remotely drive less, create less office-related plastic waste, and consume significantly less energy.
Additionally, since you’ll be running a home office you can take care of small, but impactful things like using recyclable paper, efficient hosting for your website, or through making the choice to power your home with solar panels.
All this sounds wonderful. Is it? But does virtual working help to reduce environmental degradation effects? For sure, Yes! Read on to know how.
Virtual Workers use less gasoline
On average, Americans use more than 390 million gallons of gas every day. With about a population of 325 million citizens, each American uses an average of approximately 1.3 gallons of gas per day.
So, assuming about 25 million citizens take their job virtual, it will save the nation about 30 million gallons per workday.
Online Working Reduces Carbon Emissions
According to USEPA – the US Environmental Protection
Agency, each year, an average vehicle is estimated to emit like 4.8 metric tons of carbon dioxide every year. This is assuming that cars drive at an average of 11,400 miles annually.
As almost all the employees drive approximately 30 miles each workday – translating to more than 7,800 miles annually. It shows that everyone can reduce carbon dioxide by more than 60%.
The total savings here are equal to:
By simply working from home, you can help save the globe a great deal.
If we all can shift to online working and refrain from working from the offices, we can undoubtedly alleviate the nation’s contributions to the overall carbon emissions.
Both Virtual Working Helps to Reduce Air Pollution
Apart from carbon, driving also emits nitrous oxide into the air, volatile organic compounds, and particulate matter. All these pollutants carry with them both human health and environmental effects. For instance, Nitrogen dioxide causes respiratory issues like Asthma.
Additionally, when other nitrogen oxides react with ammonia or the other volatile organic compounds in the air, the resulting product alters the Ozone layer, water, and soil acidity, and other ecosystem diversities.
Online Jobs Use Less Energy
It is a fact that you will use energy, whether working from the office or the comfort of your couches. However, it is also a fact that employees tend to treat energy consumption differently when in their employer’s office than when at their home. This means that offices are identified with high levels of energy usage.
A study carried by Microsystems before Oracle acquired it demonstrated that you would consume twice the amount of energy when in offices than when in their homes.
Virtual Jobs Use Less Fossil Fuel
Fossil fuels contribute to the highest part of greenhouse gas emissions in the US. Fossils are burnt mainly for heat, electricity, or transportation.
Over 60% of the electricity that’s generated in the United States comes from fossil combustion.
This means that if employees turned to work from home, they would significantly decrease the demand for fossils. Also, over 90% of the fuel used to power your vehicle comes from petroleum products.
Online Workers Use Less Paper
According to UESPA, Americans use nearly 70 tons of paper as well as paperboard annually. Even though the government strives to recover and recycle more than 68% of the paper product every year, it still leaves more than 22 million tons of paper in American landfills only.
What about the other nations that have no strict recycling guidelines?
In fact, virtual workers use emails and other cloud-based software programs to send messages, submit files, take notes, and create documents. This translates into reduced printing, paper filing, faxing, and label marking every day.
Virtual Workers Use Less Plastic
To date, the world has generated about ten billion tons of plastic. This should not surprise you considering the many people who buy breakfast, coffee, and lunch each workday.
Ranging from coffee cups lids, food packaging products, plastic beverage bottles as well as plastic carrier bags that almost every worker carries home every evening sum up to this surprising amount of plastic.
As a virtual worker, you can visit the coffee shop and other local eateries they do so like one or two times per week. This is because they have the convenience of refilling their coffee cups from their kitchen coffee pots, reuse dishware, and sometimes eat leftovers.
Online Workers Have More Time for The Environment
Virtual working can help you create more life balance, leaving lots of free time to activities that matter more. Some of the things that matter for most individuals include volunteering to an environment upgrading programs, hiking and spending your free time with nature, gardening in your backyard, or even taking part in community clean-ups.
There are a thousand ways to care for the environment in the form of caring for the animals, rehabilitating ecosystems in addition to spreading the environment-friendly gospel to help others care for the environment.
Bottom Line
From the above view, we have seen that Virtual working highly helps us to care for our environment. The benefits that come with working for your environment and your company make it a win-win strategy.
It’s time that employers trusted their employees to give them the required rights and let them work from home for the benefits of our global environment.
While Church may be cancelled in some parishes until further notice, Catholics aren’t feeling set adrift from the problem at the seven Catholic communities in Richmond, Virginia. The churches there are building and investing in solar energy to power the communities’ churches and schools, creating 1.6 million kW hours of clean electricity each year for decades while saving the churches more than $2 million in energy operating costs.
The solar power projects are being developed in partnership with Catholic Energies, part of the D.C.-based nonprofit Catholic Climate Covenant, which helps guide American churches and their response to climate change or “care for creation,” as they express it. Catholic Energies was able to obtain the total capital costs of the seven projects from a single investor source.
Solar energy into the collection basket
“Nearly $3 million in total installation capital costs were secured by Catholic Energies on behalf of the Diocese and its parishes,” said Dan Last, Catholic Energies Program Manager. “This is one of our largest collections of projects to date.”
“At St. Pius X it was an easy decision for us to go solar; not only do we save money, but we help answer the call from Pope Francis to care for creation,” said Father Nixon Negparanon of St. Pius X Church in Norfolk, one of the seven projects.
“The children who will be sitting under the solar panels on our school roof are the ones that are going to be living with the choices that we make today. As a faith community, we witness our commitment to good stewardship of the earth when we take tangible steps to reduce our carbon footprint, both here on the St. Pius X campus, and in each of our households.”
I went to a Catholic high-school and I remember us rallying together to buy some rainforest land to stop deforestation. Certainly communities of schools and faith-based groups can band collective climate aspirations together to make it happen.
Consider the energy required to power US buildings is responsible for about a third of greenhouse gases in the US, and these projects will help reduce those emissions. The Richmond Diocese projects are expected to offset more than 45,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas over 25 years (this is equivalent to some 100 million miles driven by an average passenger car.)
The list of solar energy projects include Church of St Therese, Chesapeake: 100kW; Roanoke Catholic School, Roanoke, 61kW; Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School, Richmond, 108kW; Diocese of Richmond Pastoral Center, Richmond, 245kW; Sacred Heart Church, Danville, 230 kW; St. Pius X Church, Norfolk, 316kW; Church of the Holy Family, Virginia Beach, 253kW.
Hearing the cry of the earth
“In a warming world, it is critical that we hear “both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor,” as Pope Francis has urged. These parishes are showing us the way,” said Dan Misleh, executive director of Catholic Climate Covenant.
Parishes always have the option to pay upfront or finance their solar projects. However, a third-party financing model for nonprofits continues to grow in popularity in Virginia, especially after the recent passage of the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which seeks for the state to move toward 100% renewable energy.
Through a “Power Purchase Agreement” (PPA,) the churches pay no upfront costs for solar projects. Instead, Catholic Energies secures third-party investors who will pay for the entire solar project. In return, the investor receives tax credits, plus regular payments from the church for the solar-generated power.
The price the Catholic institution pays for the solar power is generally a discounted rate compared to their current utility power rate, which allows them to save on operating costs each month, year over year. The institution has options throughout the PPA to purchase the solar panel system outright. Parishes can also complete LED lighting retrofits to save energy and costs though the PPA. Most of the Diocese of Richmond projects were completed through a PPA and are also completing LED retrofits.
“It’s probably the best time ever in the history of the state of Virginia to make an investment in solar,” said Page Gravely, head of client services at Catholic Energies.
An exciting archaeological find in Israel was announced early this week: a hoard of ancient gold, unearthed in excavations near Tel Aviv. A teenage volunteer digging the ground saw something glittering in the dirt. “It looked like very thin leaves,” he said. It was gold coins spilling out of a broken clay jug, exposed to daylight for the first time in perhaps 1,1000 years.
Israel Antiquities Authorities archaeologists Liat Nadav-Ziv and Elie Haddad said in a press statement that the”extremely rare” find comprised 425 complete gold coins and hundreds of gold clippings from other coins, to be used as change.
“We almost never find them in archaeological excavations, given that gold has always been extremely valuable, melted down and reused from generation to generation,” the directors said in a statement. “The coins, made of pure gold that does not oxidize in air, were found in excellent condition, as if buried the day before. Their finding may indicate that international trade took place between the area’s residents and remote areas.”
Antiquities Authority coin expert Robert Kool estimates that the coins date from the late 9th century, an era when the Abbasid caliphate was at its peak of power in the Near East and North Africa. “The hoard consists of full gold dinars, but also — what is unusual — contains about 270 small gold cuttings, pieces of gold dinars cut to serve as small change,” Kool said.
Between entire coins and clippings, the total weight is 845 grams of pure gold. A rich man’s hoard, or maybe a businessman’s entire assets?
Nadav-Ziv estimates that one such gold coin would buy a horse. Kool says of the whole hoard’s worth, “With such a sum, a person could buy a luxurious house in one of the best neighborhoods in Fustat, the enormous wealthy capital of Egypt in those days. ”
He added that one of the gold cuttings was exceptionally rare and never before found in excavations in Israel — a fragment of a gold solidus of the Byzantine emperor Theophilos (829 – 842 CE), minted in the empire’s capital of Constantinople.
According to the IAA, the existence of the fragment among Islamic coins is evidence of connections between the Abbasid Caliphate and the Byzantine empire.
Kool said, “Hopefully the study of the hoard will tell us more about a period of which we still know very little.”
The clay jug holding the coins had been firmly closed, and held in place with a nail before being placed in a hole and covered with dirt. There’s no way of knowing who buried it or for what purpose, but clearly it was concealed to be retrieved when the right time came.
Only the right time came an unimaginable thousand-odd years later.
Photos by Heidi Levine, AFP, and courtesy of Israel Antiquities Authority.
If you own a small business, there’s a good chance that you’ve had to navigate uncharted waters for a considerable portion of the past six months. And as social distancing policies and safety concerns continue to shift consumer shopping patterns and overall needs in response to COVID-19, more and more businesses are still scrambling to simply stay afloat. Not only have they had to implement a slew of improved cleaning procedures and install safety features that permit lower-risk interactions with their customers and clients, most have also been forced to seek out new ways of doing business altogether, dreaming up new products and services in order to meet new consumer demand. It’s an emotionally and financially difficult position for any business, which is why it’s important that they seek out strategies that buoy their interests, as well as their assets, if even for just a few months. Here are three options for protecting your business during this crazy time:
Federal Relief Programs
The U.S. government passed the CARES Act at the end of March which provides “$376 billion in relief to American workers and small businesses.” Although the first round of loans has already been dispersed, there are still opportunities for businesses with 500 employees or less to apply for some of the remaining funds through an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL). An EIDL allows up to $2 million of capital for small businesses experiencing a loss of revenue due to COVID-19 and includes a forgivable advance of $10,000 which is available within a few days of an application’s acceptance. In addition, many small businesses with existing loans can apply for aid programs designed to relieve some of their debt burden (such as an SBA Bridge Express Loan or SBA Debt Relief). Any of these programs offer economic assistance to cover the effects of the current pandemic.
Research Insights
Market research is part of any company’s success. During a crisis, it becomes critical because it helps decision makers allocate resources more effectively. When a situation — such as a global pandemic — threatens normal business practices, having direct access to various segments of a population means a company can quickly and easily assess consumer thoughts and behavior and develop a strategy for addressing any changing needs. Whether professionally constructed or done in-house, market research can provide the insight a business needs to stay ahead of the competition.
Communication
Robust communication amongst the entirety of a company’s shareholders is also crucial for maintaining trust, a business’s most valuable asset. Indeed, recognizing current circumstances and communicating your plans to address them show employees, customers, suppliers and management alike that you not only have a plan and are working hard to implement it, but that you respect your partners enough to keep them informed even in the midst of chaos. Communication allows everyone to remain connected, educated and informed and encourages people to continue supporting you even when it’s hard. In short, trust breeds loyalty, making it easy for stakeholders to positively report on your products, policies and procedures and come back to you again and again!
In a time where it seems like we need to choose light or dark, fear and hope, building or destruction, some stars and models lend their voices and faces to a solution to what appears to be the world’s biggest challenge right now: climate change. They have played a part in making a movie that explains regenerative agriculture and it’s called Kiss the Ground.
We humans call it climate change, and the problem might not be a problem at all but a clarion call for a bigger reset, the way Covid-19 retested some of our personal goals, family-life orientation, and how we spend our time and with whom. The movie will help us take some steps.
The big catchphrase in the ecosphere – which to many is a spiritual place for understanding what we want to build on this planet – is regenerative agriculture. If you plan on hanging out with conservationists or anyone who speaks the language of a future viable planet, this is what they are talking about. Rewilding (by bringing nature back to what it should be) sometimes goes along with that but not exclusively.
Regenerative agriculture is a method of farming (read about this regenerative farm in Saudi Arabia of all places) which swings way back to the way our great-grandparents would have farmed. This is systems-thinking farming, considering the whole, not the parts, and brings in animals, plants, soil, and people into equal parts, minus heavy machinery, mono-crop thinking and commercial fertilizers (mined from places like the shrinking Dead Sea).
One of the early proponents of this new-old way of farming was a Masanobu Fukuoka. He was born into a wealthy family in Japan, and against what everyone was expected to do at the time, he listened to his inner compass, and became a renowned farmer and philosopher celebrated for his natural farming and re-vegetation of desertified lands. He died in 2008, but before then crossed the planet many times missionizing his approach to farming for body, mind and soul.
Fukuoka (shown below) was likely inspired by the ancient Japanese “Walden” called Hōjōki, translated as The Ten Foot Square Hut – a popular short work of the early Kamakura period in Japan by Kamo no Chōmei. This philosophy of living simply (bare minimum) and with nature in mind, is later expounded by Henry David Thoreau in America in the late 1800s. You know him as Walden and the pond he lived at for a couple of years. He grew his own food, and lived simply as one educated man could at the time.
Consider that traditional farming depletes the soil and releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. We don’t want that. But it’s not “new” science. Decades ago, an Indian scientist named Rattan Lal, born in 1944, helped start a movement based on the idea that carbon could be put back into the soil — a practice known today as “regenerative agriculture.” And it’s having a moment.
Building on what was before now, a new film narrated by Woody Harrelson offers a solution to the pickle we are in – or the pickle we think we are in. There is a solution: (it’s not necessary to suffer the foibles of going Into the Wild) but it’s something tangible we can work towards toward healing the world, healing ourselves. We can do it in cities and even from our home offices.
In a time when farming is absolutely romanticized (some meanly say fetishized) and working the land an antidote to our online addiction, the new film Kiss the Ground explains to the everybody how we can build a blueprint for stabilizing Earth’s climate, restoring lost ecosystems and creating abundant food supplies. The trailer is below.
Al Gore gave us the problem we know we needed to solve. Does Kiss the Ground give us the handbook on making it work? Stars of the film include Harrelson (who narrates), Ian Somerhalder, Gisele Bündchen, Jason Mraz, David Arquette. Producers are Rebecca Tickell, Josh Tickell, Bill Benenson, Ryland Engelhart and Darius Fisher.
I heard the expression Kiss the Ground, not from the mouth of a cute Woody Harrelson, but from my friends in Venice, LA who like to learn about how they can be part of the solution. There is an NGO there in Venice with the mission to “awake” the woke with activities that include participation in the story of regenerative agriculture, mostly hard to do if you live in an apartment and spend your waking hours at WeWork.
Kiss the Ground, founded by Ryland Engelhart and Finian Makepeace, says they have educated and activated millions through through short films, mini-docs, a podcast, branded collaborations, and other content they produce. They also work locally in Venice, a neighborhood in LA, to start hyper-local, urban farms.
In more central LA (south central) you have Ron Finley, considered a “guerilla gardener. He talks about food deserts and other problems of the disenfranchised, which if we think too hard is none of us or all of us. We are sort of all in this boat together. 😉 I remember my dad dying of cancer in Toronto and I couldn’t find a fresh apple near the hospital. There was coffee, doughnuts, plenty of fast food. Fresh food? I walked 20 minutes in frigid winter to find a grocery store.
If you haven’t already started gardening during the Covid-19 lockdown, don’t worry. You won’t miss the boat. There is still plenty of room to grow: The movie is now available on Netflix. The link is here.
Before the movie, download our Victory Garden handbook from the 40s. It was a great initiative to get all of America and Europe farming again.
Read more on regenerative and urban agriculture:
Parkour, singing and dancing– all ready for Haptic Path’s hemp-based, slow fashion for men and women
Every once and a while you meet somehow who inspires – like Ondi in India. They are all over the world and you will find them if you are listening. They are people who listen to that inner voice, some of us call intuition, and who build something that helps others participate in building a new reality.
Today we are going to talk with Nina Skibnevsky, founder of Haptic Path, a sustainable clothing line – for women and men – made in Israel for body, soul and mind. She is launching her business online and has a story to share, one that may inspire you to buy clothes that suit your movement in body and sustainable fashion purchases. She also runs the Facebook group Eco-friendly Israel.
She considers that your clothes should reflect your life, how you move and where you move.
“My dream is to continue creating clothes that make the body sing and dance! To make clothes in which you can move effortlessly, look regal, and be confident in,” Skibnevsky tells Green Prophet.
Consider that when you buy clothes today at H&M or Forever21 you mainly contribute to a cycle of abuse of people and children, and the environment too. Clothes that are made for women and men today and sold in mainstream shops are built to distort and contort the body image and self-esteem –– to uphold an unrealistic quest of creating the ultimate image. They are also built to throwaway next season, like last year’s top model. They are not made slow; they are not made to last.
Green Prophet: Tell us more about you.
I’m Nina Skibnevsky, and my journey to become a fashion designer came from a life-long passion with fashion. I grew up in Moscow but spent lots of time in nature. From childhood I dreamt about being a designer. I went to University to study Environmental Psychology and shortly after, I opened my wings and traveled the world for several years with my daughter.
I decided to retire my backpacking life 8 years ago and settle in Israel.
Why was it important for you to put your energy into clothes?
I believe in style, high-quality and the freedom of movement; I prize equity, sustainability, and eco-living; I treasure nature, the ability to travel and to connect to the beauty of the world. In my wanderings, I have witnessed many ecological issues first hand and believe it is essential to create with our planet in mind.
My aspiration is not just to make beautiful and comfortable apparel, but also to live my dreams and values – and, of course, to change the world!
Tell us about some of the problems with the clothing industry today?
I would mention three:
1) The business model of fast fashion brands pushes people to buy without thinking, to buy emotionally and to throw away after, because the garment falls out of trend and you need to keep up. This manipulative strategy was a king of marketing for many years and it’s destroying not only the environment, but the ability of each person to ask him/herself important questions (what do I like? how do I want to feel?) and to find his/her own path.
2) The world of fabrics is very diverse nowadays, but most options are made of polyester, which is the same as plastic bottles and will remain in the landfill much longer than a human’s life.
3) Most of the production is taking place in Asia, where people work very hard and are paid very little; they struggle to afford life’s most basic necessities.This is because the majority of today’s fashion brands and retailers do not own their manufacturing facilities. Fashion supply chains are highly globalised, complex and untransparent.
How is Haptic Path different than whatever else is out there?
My brand’s slogan is “Free motion in body and mind”.
I believe that elegance and comfort should go hand-in-hand. Haptic Path’s clothes are created by a Psychologist (that’s me!) to empower people, to inspire them to move forward to their dreams and to stay in harmony with their body. For years I was practicing yoga, contemporary dance, butoh. When you are present in your body, aware of its feelings, you simply can’t wear uncomfy clothes. For me, this is true mindfulness and it’s one of the basics of the Haptic Path brand. I chose 100% natural and one of the most environmentally friendly and strong fabrics – hemp. All the items are made to last long and to look great in many different functions so that they become like a home to your body.
What’s going on in Israel that concerns you?
The most common misconception is that clothes should be cheap. Clothes are now like a helium balloon – one minute happiness. It’s not true. If it’s cheap it means that the producer used fabric and a dyeing process that damages the environment; it might be produced in sweatshops and most likely it is not healthy.
It’s a question of values. Everyone going to their job expects fair payment. The same with workers in the fashion industry.
Every item makes a very long journey to your wardrobe. It’s worth investing time to learn more about a brand and its values and to choose your clothes consciously.
Haptic Path is crowdfunding
Haptic Path is organizing a crowdfunding campaign for their new organic collection, “Less is More”. Find it here. Donations come with a reward item of your choice.
Travelling is the most intriguing part of a person’s life because it allows them to go on a social detox. Especially if you have planned to travel with your family, the vacation experience is going to be fun. However, cutting off from social life and relying on conventional laps can take a big toll on your tour if you have plans to explore different places in a short time. So when you pack your bag, don’t forget to carry your tech-friendly travel accessory. They’ll help you in keeping control over the travel noise and breathe life into your phone when the battery is dying. Here we will sift you through the must-have travel tech accessories:
1. External Battery
Today, external battery charges are omnipresent. Secondly, because they are available in bigger sizes, one can easily buy a few of them for the entire trip. If you ask any of your friends, they will guide you through packing the external battery as a must-have accessory. Because many people love to explore mountainous regions during vacation, it becomes crucial to have a battery when you can’t find a charger slot every few miles up. External batteries don’t weigh much and can easily contour in your pocket. Make sure to read the customer reviews if you have plans to purchase the external battery from the web.
2. A Bluetooth Speaker That is Waterproof
If you are setting off on a beach vacation, not having a waterproof speaker is going to make you regret it. Now, with much advancement in technology, you think of something, and it is already available out there. Beach is a fun place to go, so you must not overlook carrying a waterproof Bluetooth speaker in your bag. This way, you can enjoy your favorite track while swimming in the water. Another strong reason to carry a Bluetooth speaker is its tiny size. You can carry it anywhere you want without worrying about its weight.
3. A Digital Watch
If you’re travelling to a different country, it is imperative that you wear a digital watch. Although they have been around for the last four decades, still many people overlook this option when it comes to travelling. Now, digital watches are better than ever and come with a plethora of interesting features. Suppose if you want to find the kids attraction near your hotel, a digital watch will quickly sift you through the chaos to your desired destination. You can also wear a fitness tracker when travelling with family.
4. A Selfie Stick
Now selfie sticks have become a permanent companion for travelers. For those who love to encapsulate their entire trip, selfie sticks can easily help them in recording vlogs and interesting videos. However, you need to find a Bluetooth selfie stick because it can get paired with any phone. If you settle for the conventional selfie stick with a long cable, you will have to struggle with the wires throughout the journey. A selfie stick is portable and is light in weight, which makes it the perfect travel accessory.
5. A Waterproof Phone Cover
There are many instances when your phone will slip from your hand. Secondly, if you have the plan to visit the beach or a place where water is in abundance, a waterproof phone cover will protect your device from getting damaged. Waterproof phone covers protect the mobile from getting drenched in water if they fall in it. However, when you decide to buy such a cover from the web, don’t forget to check the customer reviews. They will help you in weighing the pros and cons of buying from a particular seller. Want something fancy and sustainable? How about iPhone 13 cases by Carved?
6. A Streaming Stick
If the hotel room is going to be your home for the next few days, you can’t forget the streaming stick at home. Especially when you’re obsessed with sifting through Netflix and Youtube, it becomes imperative to carry the streaming stick. The reason why many people prefer streaming sticks is because of its speed. Unlike the traditional internet or satellite connection, a streaming stick channels the content without any distortion. Secondly, a streaming stick doesn’t take much space in your bag. So it’s the most portable thing you’re going to carry.
7. Headphones
Are you in love with music? Do you like listening to your favorite track while walking through the local streets? Buy headphones before you decide to fly with your luggage. You never know if you’ll get the best accessory for your phone when you land in a new country. It is best if you settle for the noise-cancelling headphones because they can curate the voice from any distortions. Headphones are imperative for your trip because they eradicate the chaos of carrying a wired ear device. So don’t forget to pack them in your luggage before setting off.
I grew up as a Dutch girl in Canada. Among part of our family’s storytelling and legends was the tale about the Dutch boy who plugged a dyke with his thumb to save his town, the country, the world? from an encroaching sea. The flatlands people of Holland or The Netherlands as you might call them are at home with the idea of climate adverse consequences.
The national psyche is built on man against nature or man with nature, and for that the Dutch people have been reasonably doing unreasonable things against climate change and for helping the environment. See our article on the extraordinary city of Rotterdam, the home to one of resident writers, or Boyan Slat, who boldly plans to clean up the seas with his plastic-corralling invention.
While Americans might rather escape to Mars with Elon Musk, the Dutch are battening down the hatches and are offering more reasonable approaches to dealing with Mother Nature, or an angry Mother Nature. It was an ongoing fantasy in my home that if we won the lottery we would invite all our family and rent a boat and take them all on Caribbean yacht charters. We didn’t know about this luxury houseboat option then. Consider the Dutch firm who has designed a solar powered yacht that can lower stilts for a more permanent mooring.
Like the modern trailer also known as the #tinyhome or #vanlife, this yacht appeals to a certain eco personality that might also want to settle like the barge dwellers in Amsterdam. It is not your father’s houseboat.
The solar powered boat is created by the Dutch architecture studio Waterstudio.NL for the yacht maker Arku in Miami, with an option of it becoming an off-grid home.
The craft is 75 feet long, is fully solar-electric, mobile and self elevating. This turn-key vessel is furnished and decorated in style by the acclaimed Brazilian furniture company, Artefacto.
The first one is for sale at a cool price of $5,500,000.
Arkup is a Miami, US-based company founded in 2016, to pioneer next-generation floating homes. The company rethinks life on water with its fully solar-electric, mobile and self-elevating livable yachts they call “future-proof blue dwellings.”
Weather and future proof, rain harvesting too
These livable yachts feature zero emission and silent electric propulsion which provide mobility and maneuverability. An automated hydraulic lift system, allowing the vessel to put down a stable foundation in up to 20 feet of water, ensures stability and hurricane resilience.
The livable yacht has four bedrooms in 2,600-square-feet of indoor space, with 4,350-square-feet in total, including its terraces and balconies. To achieve its sustainability objectives, the Arkup design is 100 percent solar-powered and has systems for harvesting and purifying rainwater, for complete independence.
With Covid and potentially other climate change disasters facing us, let’s start saving? The other option might be our collective thumbs in the dyke.
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