The John James Newsletter 253
It tells us we can limit planetary destruction if we act now, but we know from the world’s response to that report that we won’t act, not now and probably not ever.
Category: Water
The world’s fresh water supplies are almost fully exploited.Almost al, 97 per cent, of the world’s water is salt. Of the fresh water in the world, two thirds is locked up as ice and snow (the cryosphere – to you and me, kid!). Globally, three quarters of the water that is used is used by agriculture. India, China and the United States, use more fresh water than is available. The water level in those nation’s aquifers is falling as a result.The current food crisis has come about largely as a result as the shortfall in available water begins to impact on the cost of irrigation.Â
Philippines expands crackdown on polluting mines
Philippines environment secretary, Regina Lopez, last week cancelled one third of new mining contracts on environmental grounds. She also rejected calls to reverse her earlier decision to close 23 of the existing 41 mines in the Philippines on the grounds they are polluting drinking water. “You kill the watershed, you kill life” she told media Continue Reading →
Dangerous toxins accumulate in deep-sea trenches
Incredible levels of toxic organic compounds have been discovered in the Mariana and the Kermadex Trench in the mid Pacific. The toxins were found in crustraceans collected between 8,000 and 10,000 metres below sea level at levels higher than the most polluted mines in Australia, Japan and the Philippines. Their use is banned in most developed Continue Reading →
National Guard razes camp at Standing Rock, arresting 76
Seventy six protesters were arrested at the Cannon Ball protest camp at Standing Rock in Dakota last week and the camp was razed to the ground. The police and National Guard acted with the US Army Corp of Engineers under direct orders from President Trump to waive a review of environmental impacts and expedite the Continue Reading →
Activists prepare to protect Wangan Jagalingou lands
Activist groups around the country are preparing to defend the Wangan Jagalingou lands in the Galilee Basin from coal mines. The recently approved Adani mine will provide less than 1,500 jobs and will consume 12 billion litres of water each year and create a hole in the ground 64 square kilometres in size. Direct action Continue Reading →
Flesh eating bacteria clears beaches on Gulf of Mexico
A flesh-eating bacteria related to cholera has terrified beach goers along the Southern US coast as reports of amputated limbs and deaths from the previously rare infection begin to mount. The Vibrio Vulnificis bacteria is infects humans who eat infected shellfish or who expose cuts and abrasions to infected water. It is most common after Continue Reading →