The year 2020 has been dominated by COVID-19 and for many, the issues surrounding climate change and transitioning to renewable energy were put on the backburner.

But that was all flipped on its head when iconic documentary-maker David Attenborough released A Life on Our Planet, which outlined why immediate action is required.

Reducing carbon emissions and moving away from fossil fuels are the primary goals being flagged around the world, but there are numerous environmental concerns flagged in A Life on Our Planet and that need to be considered, including here in Australia.

Here are the major environmental issues our country need to worry about outside of carbon emissions and renewable energy:

Deforestation

The bottom line is we are cutting trees down at a much more rapid rate than we are planting them. As late as 2019 1.66Mha of tree cover was lost and there has been a 14 per cent decline in trees in Australia from 2000 to 2019. That is before we even look at the devastating bushfires of 2019-20 which wiped out another 18.6 million hectares.

Agriculture clearing and overgrazing

Since European settlement, around 13 per cent of all vegetation has been lost and this is only increasing as agricultural activities ramp up to feed a rising population around the world. Australia is placed in the top 10 land clearing nations in the world for agricultural purposes.

Overfishing and illegal fishing

Policing our borders for illegal fishing vessels is very difficult due to the size and geography of Australia. But it is not just overseas fishing boats depleting our stock, with government figures showing that 17.5 per cent of our stocks are overfished and the status of a further 16.5 per cent is not known.

Introduction of pests

Invasive species are an ongoing problem for Australia, from the spread of the cane toad from Queensland to other states to domestic feral animals and including new introduced exotic species and diseases which decimate our crops and wildlife stocks every year.

Pollution

Did you know that 5000 Australians die from exposure to air pollution every year? Over 30 per cent of our agricultural land is considered degraded by the impacts of pollution and we are seeing more and more of it because of natural events like bushfires and rising commercial operations that are contributing towards our negative air quality.

Infrastructure development

As we continue to grow as a nation, our infrastructure projects rise as well which results in more land clearing, more native animals and species lost, more emissions and pollution and more impact on our environment. While measures are being put in place to use more recycled materials, manage our land better and reduce emissions, the tides of progress remain a large burden on our environment.

So while COVID-19 has been a major issue, it is important to remember the ongoing environmental problems facing Australia so that we can take action and improve the world around us for generations to come.

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Why carbon is not the only major current environmental issue in Australia - Energy Matters

Upcoming Deadlines/DatesOctober 30: WHIP+ Signup; 2020 Organic Certification Cost Share Program SignupDec. 11: CFAP 2 Signup; Dairy Margin Coverage SignupMarch 15: 2021 ARCPLC Signup

Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 2USDA announced up to an additional $14 billion for agricultural producers who continue to face market disruptions and associated costs because of COVID-19. Signup for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP 2) began September 21 and runs through December 11, 2020. CFAP 2 payments will be made for three categories of commodities Price Trigger Commodities (corn soybeans, etc.), Flat-rate Crops (alfalfa, oats, etc.) and Sales Commodities (beef cattle, sheep, pigs, excludes breeding stock).Additional information and application forms can be found at farmers.gov/cfap. Documentation to support the producers application and certification may be requested. All other eligibility forms, such as those related to adjusted gross income and payment information, can be downloaded from farmers.gov/cfap/apply. For existing FSA customers, including those who participated in CFAP 1, many documents are likely already on file. Producers should check with FSA county office to see if any of the forms need to be updated.

Dairy Margin Coverage ProgramSignup for the 2021 Dairy Margin Coverage Program is now open and continues through December 11. Coverage levels range from $4.00 to $9.50 per cwt, in $0.50 increments. Coverage percentage of the dairy operations production history ranges from 5 percent to 95 percent, in 5 percent increments. If you locked in during the 2019 signup, your selections stay the same, but you still need to stop in and sign an application each year. If you did not lock in you can make the same elections, new elections, or choose not to participate in 2020. If you decide not to participate in 2021, you can still participate in 2022. You have the flexibility to participate or not each year.

CRP Mid-Contract ManagementSome CRP contract holders received a packet of information detailing the activities that need to be completed in FY21. You can begin those activities as early as October 1, 2020. However, all activities need to be completed by May 14, 2021 unless otherwise indicated on your forms. Now is a great time to line up contractors, if needed. Their schedules fill up quickly. Please stop in or call if you have any questions.

Highly Erodible Land (HEL) and Wetland ComplianceLandowners and operators are reminded that to receive payments from USDA, compliance with HEL and WC provisions are required. Farmers with HEL determined soils are reminded of tillage, crop residue, and rotation requirements as specified per their conservation plan. Producers are to notify the USDA Farm Service Agency prior to conducting land clearing or drainage projects to ensure compliance. Failure to obtain advance approval for any of these situations can result in the loss of eligibility and all Federal payments.

Maintaining the Quality of Farm-Stored Loan GrainBins are ideally designed to hold a level volume of grain. When bins are overfilled and grain is heaped, airflow is hindered and the chance of spoilage increases. Producers who take out marketing assistance loans and use the farm-stored grain as collateral should remember that they are responsible for maintaining the quality of the grain through the term of the loan.

Unauthorized Disposition of GrainIf loan grain has been disposed of through feeding, selling or any other form of disposal without prior written authorization from the county office staff, it is considered unauthorized disposition. The financial penalties for unauthorized dispositions are severe and a producers name will be placed on a loan violation list for a two-year period. Always call before you haul any grain under loan.

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What's Up at the USDA Office? | The Standard Newspaper - Waukon Standard

A contractor bidding process is to begin this fall to prepare for the construction of a 344-acre multipurpose reservoir in Caldwell County. This comes after all agencies involved approved the Little Otter Creek Lake to move forward to begin construction after nearly 25 years of planning, design, reviews, and permitting.

The primary purpose of the lake is to provide a source of drinking water to communities in Caldwell County and the surrounding area. The secondary purpose is to provide flood control and recreational opportunities, such as fishing, hunting, camping, hiking, biking, and viewing nature.

Construction plans have been completed and approved. The land for the Little Otter Creek Lake has been acquired. It is to be located about three miles east of Hamilton on the south side of U. S. Highway 36.

A news release notes the lake will be the first water supply lake the Corps of Engineers has approved in more than 25 years in Missouri. Mozingo Lake in Nodaway County was the last community lake to be approved, and it was built in the 1990s.

The federal government has committed more than $16,000,000 and more than $5,500,000 from the state and local government toward the Little Otter Creek Lake project. Caldwell County residents passed a half-cent county sales tax in 2004 for the lake and have contributed more than $4,000,000 of local tax money so far. Most of the funds have been used for land acquisition, surveys, permitting, and other preliminary activities. The state has also provided financial support and assistance from the Department of Natural Resources and other state agencies.

Plans involve starting land clearing of the pool area this winter and beginning construction of the dam and reservoir next summer. As part of the permit approval and lake construction, five low water crossings will be removed and replaced with span structure bridges as part of the mitigation requirements. Other mitigation requirements include purchasing stream credits and wetland credits along with riparian plantings on some of the county-owned lake property. Clearing and construction are estimated to take about two years. It may take up to two years for the lake to fill based on average rainfall.

Additional plans are being developed in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Conservation and other agencies for future land use and recreational opportunities around the Little Otter Creek Lake.

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Contractor bidding process to begin this Fall in preparation to construct Little Otter Creek Lake in Caldwell County - kttn

Eurex Repo has added a new basket of green bonds for use as general collateral (GC) within its repo marketplace, as of 2 November, as part of Deutsche Boerses contribution to the environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives within the EU.

The Green Bond GC Basket encompasses euro-denominated debt securities that are issued in adherence with guidelines for sustainable bonds that include renewable energies, sustainable waste management, the preservation of biodiversity and sustainable land utilisation, as well as social bonds that raise funds for new and existing projects with positive social outcomes.

Included in the basket is the first Green Federal security. The 10-year Green Federal bond was first issued by the German Finance Agency in September and a second issuance is due on 4 November. A total amount of 11.5 billion is expected to be issued through green instruments this year.

Eurex says that by allowing for these debt instruments in a new specific GC basket it enables clients to incorporate ESG factors into their funding and financing activities, a key secondary market activity for trading, clearing and collateral management.

We see the launch of the new Eurex Repo Green Bond GC Basket as a major step forward in the development of a sustainable repo market, says Claus Breternitz, a director on the repo desk at Commerzbank AG. This first Green Bond GC basket shows the repo market is reacting to the increasing number of green bond issuances and the growing importance of the ESG segment.

Frank Gast, managing director at Eurex Repo, adds: The new Eurex Repo Green Bond Basket is bridging the gap between the well-established Green Bond cash bond market and the newly-emerging ESG securities financing industry.

By incorporating green and social bonds into its trading, clearing and collateral management ecosystem, Eurex is contributing to the further development of this market and facilitating the attractiveness of newly issued ESG bonds.

Elsewhere, the baskets go-live follows Eurexs inclusion of the new EU Sure bonds as eligible margin collateral and for repo trading and clearing.

The European Commission released the Sure bonds last month to raise funds to support businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The issuing consisted of two bonds, with 10 billion due for repayment in October 2030 and 7 billion in 2040.

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Eurex Repo introduces a new standardised Green Bond GC Basket - Securities Lending Times

There is a real and credible concern that election-related violence might occur at some point in the coming weeks. It could take place on Election Day, in the form of armed thugs at polling stations in swing states, or extend throughout election season if no clear result is announced or, in what might be a worst-case scenario, if a candidate refuses to concede. Keep in mind that the Trump campaign has already tried to enlist every able bodied man and woman to join [an] Army for Trumps election security operation. As a country, we could be facing one of the most volatile and chaotic episodes in our history. This concern is underscored by many well understood and researched cases of election violence from around the world which have shared, among others, the following contributing factors:

All these factors are present in the current US context. But risks do not necessarily determine outcomes. As much as experts have analyzed, researched, and studied these risk factors, no expert sits with a crystal ball peering into a murky future. Human beings are unpredictable. But there is real power in the decisions that each of us make when social and political stress is high. Widespread civil resistance has, time and time again, proven to be the most effective tool to defend democracy and delegitimize political violence.

This is why our team at the War Prevention Initiative launched a campaign last week: #NonviolentElections2020. We noticed that mainstream information on nonviolent action is too narrowly focused on attending a protest or march, even though scholarship and practice clearly show that civil resistance is so much more. While protests are immensely important (and weve been incredibly impressed by the commitment to nonviolence demonstrated by Black Lives Matter protesters), these highly visible public demonstrations are not desirable or feasible to all. There are myriad reasons why perhaps youre a parent concerned about putting your children in harms way at a protest. Maybe youre immuno-compromised and concerned about the risk of COVID-19 transmission at public gatherings. Or youre a government employee with restrictions on what you can do or say. We also know that while mass protests historically have led to significant concessions, those in power have become savvier. Sustained and diverse tactics of civil resistance can chip away at the pillars of support that uphold the power structures in question.

Sustained and diverse tactics of civil resistance can chip away at the pillars of support that uphold the power structures in question.

There are over 200 forms of nonviolent civil resistance that have been used by social movements around the world, all documented in the Global Nonviolent Action Database hosted by Swarthmore College. During this campaign, we are highlighting several key categories that are cognizant of the risk factors outlined above and in the context of increasing rates of COVID-19 transmission around the country. Here are some to give you an idea:

Using drama and music like Billionaires for Bush

During the 2004 presidential campaign, Billionaires for Bush was a political street theater group that would appear at George W. Bush campaign stops, satirically supporting the incumbent president. This group used humor to convey their political opinion and attract supporters through entertaining, non-threatening, and nonviolent action.

Employing symbolic actions like the Redwood Rabbis

In January 1997, logging companies began clearing old growth redwood forests in northern California. The Redwood Rabbis protested deforestation by aligning with the Jewish imperative to guard the earth with reclaiming land owned by the logging company by trespassing on logging company land and planting redwood seedings.

Noncooperation with unjust laws like Saudi Women and their campaign for the right to drive

For over two decades, Saudi women waged a nonviolent campaign for recognition of their rights and at the very least the right to drive. Women would not cooperate with law and customs by driving en masse through the capital city and, in turn, were arrested. In 2018, Saudi women were permitted to drive after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman legally recognized womens right to drive.

Disobeying authority like how Dutch clergy members stood for immigrant rights

In October 2018, an immigrant family moved into a church in the Hague, Netherlands, to take sanctuary. 650 clergy members, over 1,000 pastors and clergy members of the church volunteered to hold a continuous religious service to resist deportation of an immigrant family. Dutch authorities are prohibited from interfering with a religious service and the church congregations disobedience prevented the family from deportation.

Obstructing like Casino-Free Philadelphia

Spurred by the 2007 Pennsylvania citizens Casino-Free Philadelphia campaign, the Philadelphia City Council stalled and enacted procedural hurdles to prevent two casino plans from proceeding. These obstruction tactics aided the larger campaign to ultimately stop one casino construction and significantly reduce the size of the other.

Striking like Rio Olympic workers

Ahead of the World Cup and Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the state government forcibly removed communities from low-income favelas for aesthetic purposes. Simultaneously, multiple industries went on strike in 2016 to demand better service workers pay amidst massive government spending to facilitate the events. The strikes were part of a larger campaign for human rights and against financial mismanagement that eventually led to arrest of the governor of Rio.

The best possible outcome is that this is all a moot point, and our country moves past election day with a clear and decisive winner and a concession by the candidate who fell short of the necessary votes. Short of that outcome, it is best that we all make a plan and take necessary action to defend American democracy. One thing is for sure, we cannot afford to miss the moment and look back at times of violent unrest asking, how could that happen?

Kelsey Coolidge, MA, is a social science researcher with an interest in peace and conflict, gender, and climate change. She is the managing editor of the Peace Science Digest and the Associate Director of the War Prevention Initiative of the Jubitz Family Foundation.

Kristin Henderson, MA, is a political violence and nonviolence researcher with an interest in state repression and civilian-led social movements. She is currently the Project Manager at War Prevention Initiative of the Jubitz Family Foundation.

Patrick. T. Hiller, Ph.D., is a Conflict Transformation scholar, professor, served on the Governing Council of the International Peace Research Association (2012-2016), is a member of the Peace and Security Funders Group, and is Director of the War Prevention Initiative of the Jubitz Family Foundation.

Follow our campaign on Twitter at @WarPrevention or through the hashtag #NonviolentElections2020, or follow us on Facebook and Instagram: War Prevention Initiative.

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Here's How to Be Prepared if the Election Goes South - Inkstick

TERTER, Azerbaijan For years, the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia had agreed to postpone discussion about the status of the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, to avoid inflaming passions. But that changed suddenly this spring, when Armenias populist prime minister declared the area indisputably Armenian.

To Azerbaijanis, who lost a bitter, unresolved war with Armenia over the region in the 1990s, the remark by the prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, landed with explosive force. Even more infuriating, it was delivered in Shusha, a city that Azerbaijanis regard as their cultural capital but that lies in territory lost during the war.

The final nail in the coffin of the negotiation process was when he said that Nagorno-Karabakh was Armenian, said Hikmet Hajiyev, foreign policy adviser to the Azerbaijani president.

The two countries returned to all-out war a month ago, with Azerbaijan determined to retake the roughly 13 percent of its land that Armenia seized 26 years ago, displacing 800,000 Azerbaijanis in the process. The fighting threatens to draw in Turkey, on the Azerbaijani side, and Russia, which backs Armenia.

Casualties in the conflict have already mounted into the thousands, but as his troops make advances, Azerbaijans president, Ilham Aliyev, is showing no signs of slowing down, and the country is gripped with war fever.

A cease-fire mediated in Washington last weekend was broken within an hour of coming into force as both sides traded artillery fire Monday morning.

Mr. Aliyev is demanding that Armenian forces withdraw to internationally recognized borders in keeping with United Nations Security Council resolutions and basic principles agreed to in previous negotiations. These were the terms agreed upon 10 years ago but never implemented, and analysts say that Armenia became less ambiguous this year about claiming Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts seized during the war.

Mr. Hajiyev said in an interview that Azerbaijan had hoped for progress when the Armenian leader, Mr. Pashinyan, came to power after a popular uprising in 2018. At their first meeting, Mr. Pashinyan, a former journalist, asked Mr. Aliyev for time but promised to pursue a new policy on Nagorno-Karabakh.

That policy never came. Tensions escalated this year, analysts say, as Mr. Pashinyan and his defense minister made increasingly populist statements over the territory, announcing plans to make Shusha the regional capital and in August moving the Parliament there. Those steps may ultimately prove to have been major miscalculations.

An American-Armenian historian, Jirair Libaridian, has suggested as much. We became obsessed with our dreams instead of focusing on the possible, he wrote in September.

Independent analysts largely see Azerbaijan as the main driver of the war, saying it prepared a major offensive, but add that Mr. Pashinyan pushed the envelope with his populist talk.

Its logical that Azerbaijan wanted to start this, not the Armenians, who merely want the status quo, said Thomas de Waal, a senior fellow with Carnegie Europe and author of Black Garden, a book on Nagorno-Karabakh. But the Armenians also played their part with provocative moves.

The Armenian government has accused Azerbaijan of mounting a planned offensive and of instigating the clashes that led to all-out war, and says it is acting entirely in self-defense.

Russia has been a crucial presence backing Armenia. It supported Armenia in the original conflict, maintains two military bases in the country and has provided support and equipment.

Since the moribund truce in 2009, leaders of both countries proceeded carefully, believing it was politically safer to stick with the status quo than risk the territorial compromises that a peace deal would demand, Mr. de Waal said.

All the while, Mr. Aliyev, who inherited the presidency from his father in 2003, was using his countrys oil and gas wealth to build up the military, purchasing advanced weapons and sending officers for NATO-standard training in Turkey.

The rearming effort seemed to bear fruit in 2016, when in four days of fighting Azerbaijani forces seized control of a village just over the cease-fire line. But Russia intervened to stop the advance, said Farid Shafiyev, a former diplomat and director of the government-funded Center for Analysis of International Relations in Baku.

The popular disappointment at that time was palpable, he said. He noticed the same public reaction when Russia negotiated a cease-fire on Oct. 10, just two weeks into the latest fighting. People were very depressed, he said.

The immediate spark for the current conflict came in July, in a deadly clash near the border town of Tovuz, where Azerbaijans vital oil and gas pipelines run on their way to Georgia and Turkey.

Armenian soldiers fired on an Azerbaijani military vehicle, touching off heavy cross-border exchanges that killed more than a dozen people, including several officers.

One of those killed, Maj. Gen. Polad Hashimov, was a popular figure whose death stirred an outpouring of emotion. A small protest became a demonstration of tens of thousands of people marching through the capital, Baku, demanding that the country retake Nagorno-Karabakh.

The July events sent a shock wave, said Mr. Hajiyev, the policy adviser. And public opinion and the youngsters sent this message: Enough is enough.

Frustrations over the coronavirus pandemic and severe water shortages added pressure, said an Azerbaijani journalist, Khadija Izmayilova. It was clear to Aliyev that the public was ready to explode and it was time to act.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey regarded the clash at Tovuz as a strategic threat to Azerbaijan and immediately dispatched jets and troops for two weeks of joint military exercises with the Azerbaijani military.

Turkish analysts saw Mr. Erdogans move as a way to gain leverage in his dealings with Russia. But protecting his Turkic ally, which recently replaced Russia as Turkeys main source of natural gas, was also hugely important.

It is a clich that Turkey was instigating it, Mr. Shafiyev, of the Center for Analysis of International Relations, said of Azerbaijans venture into war. But he confirmed, as both Mr. Erdogan and Mr. Aliyev have since, that Turkey has promised active support if Azerbaijan were to run into difficulties.

In August, the Azerbaijani authorities said the army had detained Armenian troops making another cross-border foray. We understood something was coming, Mr. Hajiyev said.

After years of trading sporadic artillery fire, both sides were poised and ready for more by September.

Villagers living on the Azerbaijani side of the cease-fire line near the town of Terter were forewarned by the Azerbaijani military on Sept. 26. Some who had cars left in the night. Those who stayed described a barrage of Armenian rockets at 7 a.m. the following day.

We hear shelling all the time, but this was completely different, said Gulbeniz Badalova, 59, who lives in Terter, just 500 yards from the cease-fire line. They started to fire continuously, and we all got scared.

Azerbaijan quickly retaliated, saying it was defending its civilian populations. They started attacking civilians and we were obliged to make a counter offensive operation, Mr. Hajiyev said. But even some officials admitted they had been waiting for an excuse to launch an attack.

Azerbaijani troops have already retaken parts of four southern districts along the border with Iran and have come within striking distance of the Lachin corridor, a mountain pass that is a critical supply route from Armenia.

But there is little doubt that it has been tough going for Azerbaijani forces. Baku has not released numbers of military casualties, but President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said on Thursday that each side had already lost more than 2,000 soldiers in less than a month of fighting. Missile strikes have also killed at least 65 civilians from Azerbaijan and 37 from Armenia, according to official figures from both sides.

Public support for the offensive remains solidly behind Mr. Aliyev and the army, but the president could face a difficult job managing expectations.

Many Azerbaijani families displaced by the shelling in Terter are originally refugees from Karabakh, and said they would not be satisfied if Mr. Aliyev halted after taking only a few districts.

Its not enough, Zarifa Suleymanova, 43, said, before listing all the regions Azerbaijan needed back. We have very brave sons. It will not take long.

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Roots of War: When Armenia Talked Tough, Azerbaijan Took Action - The New York Times

Tropical forest and peatland areas bigger than the Netherlands have burned in Indonesia in the past five years, Greenpeace has said, lambasting President Joko Widodos government for allowing the pulpwood and palm oil sector to act with impunity despite bearing considerable responsibility for the fire crisis.

In a new report on Thursday, the prominent environmental group said some 4.4 million hectares (9.9 million acres) of land have burned in Indonesia between 2015 and 2019.

About a third of those areas were located in palm oil and pulpwood concessions, it said, citing an analysis of official maps.

However, despite government promises to punish companies found to be deliberately burning concessions particularly in the aftermath of the 2015 crisis that caused trans-boundary haze, affecting tens of millions of people across Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore palm oil and pulp firms continue to operate with few or no sanctions, Greenpeace said.

There has been no action against eight of the 10 palm oil companies with the largest burned areas in their concessions from 2015 to 2019, despite fires burning in multiple years within their concessions, it added.

Further exacerbating the situation, Indonesias government and legislators recently passed a new law that dismantles environmental protections, Greenpeace said. The omnibus Job Creation law, drafted with the involvement of the plantation sector approved by parliament earlier this month, weakens liability for environmental crimes, the group said, as the palm oil and pulp sectors will be relieved of responsibility for prior damage they have inflicted on Indonesias peatlands.

People protest against the new so-called omnibus law, in Jakarta, Indonesia, October 13, 2020 [File: Willy Kurniawan/Reuters]The law which drew huge protests in Indonesia over fears of weakened labour rights will also protect the plantation sector from future liability for damage to the environment and fires in their concessions, the report said.

Palm oil and pulp multinationals have practically set the rules in recent decades. Year after year they have broken the law by allowing forests to go up in flames, yet they evade justice and go unpunished, said Kiki Taufik, global head of Greenpeace Southeast Asia Forest campaign.

Measures like the pro-business Omnibus Law that ignore people and see nature as a bottomless resource to be extracted for short-term profit, can only have a catastrophic outcome for human health, human rights and the climate, he added, urging the Indonesian president, who is also known as Jokowi, to end this madness and veto the law.

Palm oil plantation is pictured next to a burned forest near Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan province, Indonesia, September 29, 2019 [File: Willy Kurniawan/Reuters]Indonesia, which has the biggest forests outside the Amazon and the Congo, is the worlds largest producer of palm oil and each year fires are linked to slash-and-burn practices used to clear areas for palm oil cultivation.

Three of the five companies, Greenpeace said, had the largest burned areas in their concessions from 2015 to 2019 are suppliers to Indonesias biggest conglomerate, Sinar Mas Group, and one of the countrys largest pulp and paper companies, Asia Pulp & Paper (APP).

A spokeswoman for APP, which is part of Sinar Mas Group, told Reuters news agency that APP has spent $150m on a fire management system, and that it continues to help local communities transition away from slash-and-burn land clearing towards more sustainable methods.

Indonesias Ministry of Environment and Forestry did not comment immediately.

In February, Widodo told government officials to find a permanent solution to the annual fires, and ordered more frequent patrols on the ground by security personnel across the country, especially in fire-prone areas.

But in June, the environment ministry said, it had to scale back fire patrols because of budget cuts owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

Link:
Area burned in Indonesia fires greater than the Netherlands - Al Jazeera English

Welcome to Climate Point, your weekly guide to climate, energy and environment news from around the Golden State and the country. In Palm Springs, Calif., Im Mark Olalde.

Let's start with some electrifying perhaps chargednews. Only weeks after California announced a goal to ban the sale of new internal combustion engine cars by 2035, New Jersey began speeding down the same turnpike. E&E reports that the Garden State is the second state to make the commitment, calling for a similar ban, also by 2035.Who's next?

Here's some other important reporting....

A plume of steam billows from a coal-fired power plant.(Photo: AP Photo/Jim Cole, File)

Fossil future.The future of oil, gas and coal continues to get stranger as governments around the world slowly push to break our addiction to hydrocarbons.Oregon Public Broadcasting reports that the state's last operational coal-fired power plant shut down the other day, 20 years ahead of schedule. Meanwhile, The Guardian writes that the warming climate is making it more difficult for oil companies to operate in Alaska because the ground under their equipmentis thawing. In response, they're looking to install chilling devices to cool the ground so their product, which is causing the warming in the first place, can get to market.

Something to chew on. The Center for Investigative Reporting and PBS NewsHour reportthat Nicaragua a beautiful but incredibly poor Central American countryis clearing land for cattle ranches to help feed the U.S. during COVID-19 outbreaks in American meat processing plants. The U.S. has sponsored multiple wars in Nicaragua, including a bloody coup in 1979. Now, ranchers selling to the U.S. appear to be destroying indigenous communities, killing peopleand stealing their land to meet demand.U.S. meat importers don't seem to be doing much about it.

Flooding the housing market.Climate change is exacerbating extreme weather, making it costlier for homeowners to keep cleaning up after major storms. An NPR investigation has found that only about half of all states require that information on flood risk be disclosed to buyers. And, they write, "the flood and fire disclosure laws that do exist provide information in confusing ways or give too little information too late in the homebuying process."

Swift & Co. miners creating slurry with pressurized water at a phosphate rock mine, photo dated 1941(Photo: File photo)

Radioactive roadways.The Tampa Bay Times writes that the EPA reversed a decades-old rule last week, allowing "radioactive byproduct of phosphate mining to build roads." Florida is home to many of the country's phosphate mines, and that's left a billion tons of waste called phosphogypsum sitting in stacks. The EPA says the decision will decrease these piles and put the waste to a productive use. Environmentalists argue it's dangerous to build with radioactive material.

Just sue, baby, sue.William Perry Pendley is one of the most controversial figures in an already controversial administration. Is he the director of the Bureau of Land Management? Is he just some guy who works there? Is his job illegal? It's unclear because the Department of the Interior where the BLM is housed keeps changing its answer. A judge said he had been acting illegally as the director without being confirmed by the Senate and revoked several decisions he made in Montana, leaving environmental groups champing at the bit to target more or his actions, Bloomberg reports.The judge recently denied that request, but WildEarth Guardians told me they're planning to move forward with separatechallenges to at least 16 resource management plans around the country.

Making the Lakes Great again.Are you still undecided on whether to vote for President Donald Trump or former Vice President Joe Biden? Do you live in the Midwest? Well, you're in luck.Sarah Bowman and London Gibson of the Indianapolis Star are out with explainers analyzing what Trump would mean and what Biden would mean for the area. To boil it down, the candidates are diametrically opposed on the environment.

A fisherman pulls his nets from the Gulf of Paria in Trinidad and Tobago.(Photo: Mark Olalde)

Oil, gas, chemicals, mining. We've built a society reliant on materials that, when pulled from the ground or synthesized in labs, can make us and the environment sick. Even though our industries make a mess, we have never prioritized cleanup. This week's barrage of news provides examples of what happens when businesses are allowed to cut corners to maximize profits.

Caribbean catastrophe.Just north of Venezuela, the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago has had a booming oil and gas industry for years. Now, its lifeblood is threatening its environment, asa vessel called the Nabarima, loaded with 1.3 million barrels of oil, appears to be slowly sinking just offshore.The Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, the dual-island nation's oldest daily newspaper, has the details.This unfolding story caught my eye in part because I spent time there a few years ago investigating what the country's singulardependence on its oil and gas industry meant for its environmental movement. If you want more background, check it outhere (and forgive me, for I was still a young writer!).

Mountain State mayhem.Chemical giant Union Carbide likely knew for more than a decade the extent to which toxic chemicals accumulated at and around one of its dumping sites adjacent to West Virginia's capital. It didn't report the data as required by law, however. This finding comes afterWest Virginia Public Broadcasting and local conservation groups pushed the courts to unseal new documents.

Charged up about this battery recycler.The Los Angeles Times reports that a judge ruled last Friday that a bankrupt company called Exide Technologies could abandon its battery recycling plant in the middle of California's largest urban area. The decision, reporter Tony Barboza wrote, "marks the latest chapter in a decades-long history of government failures to protect the public from brain-damaging lead, cancer-causing arsenic and other pollutants from the facility."

A rendering depicts NASAs OSIRIS-REx mission readying itself to touch the surface of asteroid Bennu.(Photo: courtesy of NASA, Goddard and University of Arizona)

This story is outta this world.If you're like me, then for the past few months you've been tracking the progress of a little spacecraft that could. Called OSIRIS-REx, this machine is piloted remotely by NASA and is in the midst of a seven-year mission to touch down on an asteroid that's hurtling through space, collect a sample, relaunch and head back to Earth so we can analyze the material it picked up. The mission is the first of its kind, and OSIRIS-REx made contact with the asteroidBennu this week! Space.com has the story, complete with a video from NASA showing the moment of impact, which you should absolutely watch. It's not quite to the level of mining the moon like Trump wants no, seriously, I wrote about that here but it's one small step in that direction.

Scientists agree that to maintain a livable planet, we need to reduce the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration back to 350 ppm. Were above that and rising dangerously. Here are the latest numbers:

Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are again at record highs for this time of year.(Photo: Karl Gelles)

Thats all for now. Dont forget to follow along on Twitter at @MarkOlalde. You can also reach me at molalde@gannett.com. You can sign up to get Climate Point in your inbox for free here. And, if youd like to receive a daily round-up of California news (also for free!), you can sign up for USA Todays In California newsletter here.Those COVID-19 numbers aren't looking great. Wear a mask! Cheers.

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Climate Point: Killings, land theft surge in Central America to feed our love of beef - USA TODAY

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Forested areas greater than the size of the Netherlands have been burned in Indonesia in the past five years, with 30% of the fires occurring on pulpwood and palm oil concessions, environmental group Greenpeace said on Thursday.

Greenpeace said analysis of official data showed 4.4 million hectares (10.8 million acres) of land burned over 2015 to 2019, with 1.3 million hectares of that lying in the concession areas.

The groups report said eight of the 10 palm companies with the largest burned areas in their concessions for the five years have not been sanctioned.

Indonesias new jobs creation law, which activists say favours businesses at the expense of the environment, is rolling out a red carpet for more deforestation, it also said.

Year after year they (companies) have broken the law by allowing forests to go up in flames, said Kiki Taufik, head of the Greenpeace Southeast Asia forest campaign.

Indonesias environment and forestry ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

In February, Indonesian President Joko Widodo ordered government officials to find a permanent solution to prevent annual forest fires.

Indonesia has the biggest forests outside the Amazon and Congo and environmentalists say its remaining reserves may be exploited under the new labour law.

The government says the law aims to boost investment and competitiveness and create better quality jobs.

Among the changes in the new law that worry environmentalists is the removal of a minimum forest area.

Indonesian islands were mandated to have 30% forest cover per island, a benchmark policymakers call arbitrary and want replaced with more relevant metrics.

Three of the five companies Greenpeace said had the largest burned areas in their concessions from 2015 to 2019 are suppliers to Indonesias biggest conglomerate, Sinar Mas Group, and one of the countrys largest pulp and paper companies, Asia Pulp & Paper (APP).

A spokeswoman for APP, which is part of Sinar Mas Group, told Reuters that APP has spent $150 million on a fire management system, and that it continues to help local communities transition away from slash-and-burn land clearing towards more sustainable methods.

A spokeswoman for Golden Agri-Resources, the palm oil arm of Sinar Mas Group, could not immediately provide comment.

GAPKI, Indonesias palm oil association, declined to comment and referred Reuters to the environment ministry.

Reporting by Fathin Ungku; Editing by Martin Petty and Tom Hogue

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Nearly a third of Indonesia forest fires are in pulp, palm areas: Greenpeace - Reuters

opinion

Saeed R. Khan| Guest columnist

The idea of an international body to promote global peace started with President Franklin Roosevelt of the United States and Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom. In August 1941, they signed the Atlantic Charter outlining the goals of war against Germany, Italy and Japan.

The U.S. joined the war effort in December 1941 and on January 1, 1942, the Declaration by United Nations was signed in Washington by 26 allied nations led by the U.S., U.K. and Soviet Union. The United Nations Charter was finalized in April 1945 in San Francisco, signed by representatives of 50 countries on June 26 and finally became operational on October 24, 1945 75 years ago this weekend.

The General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice and the U.N. Secretariat are six main parts of the U.N. The central mission of the U.N. is the maintenance of international peace and security, which is accomplished by preempting and preventing conflict, and by persuading parties in conflict to make peace and improving the conditions to preserve peace.

Over the past 75 years the U.N. and its agencies have worked on a wide range of issues. They include maintaining peace and security, disarmament, clearing land mines, and the prevention of nuclear proliferation and genocide. The U.N. has also worked on counter-terrorism, the peaceful use of outer space, delivering humanitarian aid, providing food, sustainable development, environmental protection, disease control, human rights, gender equality and the promotion of rule of law in national and international relations.

The U.N. is credited with helping negotiate 172 peaceful settlements and helping more than 30 million refugees. It has provided safe drinking water to more than a billion people and food to millions of people across 80 nations. It has assisted countries with their elections, provided vaccinations for children, helped millions of women with maternal health and protected human rights through some 80 treatise and declarations.

Currently, approximately 100,000 peacekeepers from 120 countries are serving in 13 missions. The U.N. and its agencies have had success in coordinating global efforts against diseases such as HIV/AIDS, Ebola, cholera, influenza, yellow fever, meningitis and COVID-19, and has helped eradicate smallpox and polio from most of the world. Ten U.N. agencies and U.N. personnel have received Nobel prizes for peace.

Unfortunately, the U.N. also had many failures, such as stopping the Rwandan genocide in 1994. In addition, U.N. aid workers were blamed for spreading cholera in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. Allegations of sexual misconduct and rape were leveled against U.N. peacekeepers in Republic of Congo, Cambodia, Haiti and other countries. The U.N. oil for food program in Iraq was accused of corruption. U.N. peacekeepers were unable to stop the Srebrencia massacre of around 8,000 Bosnian Muslims who fled to a U.N.-declared safe-zone in 1995.

When the U.N. was established in 1945 and its charter was signed, there were 50 members. The great powers of the time, who were on the winning side of the world war the U.S., the U.K., France, China and the Soviet Union became permanent members of the Security Council, which currently includes an additional 10 members who are elected by the General Assembly for a two-year term.

Every member of the Security Council, from St. Vincent with a population of 111,000 to China with over 1.3 billion, has one vote, but permanent members have veto powers. The General Assembly is now composed of 193 members.

A few of the challenges facing the U.N. include a burgeoning bureaucracy, creeping unilateralism, the non-representative Security Council with abuse of veto power by permanent members, powerful members ignoring U.N. charter and resolutionsand a lack of youth involvement.

A number of ongoing crises are indicative of U.N. inaction and paralysis, including Russias takeover of part of Ukraine; China occupying disputed territories in South China Sea; the Iraq War; the Israel-Palestine conflict; civil wars in Syria, Yemen, Libya and the Democratic Republic of Congo; and the treatment of Rohingyas in Myanmar, Ughyurs in China and Kashmiris in India

Still, the U.N. and multilateralism are popular throughout the world. More than a million people U.N. survey and dialogues through global consultation, UN75: The Future We Want, the UN We Need. They found that over 87% considered global collaborations vital to facing global challenges and 74% deemed the U.N. essential in tackling those challenges. They showed major concerns for the environment and climate change.

A survey of U.S. citizens by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs found 7 out 10 Americans would like the U.S. to more actively participate in global affairs. The Gainesville chapter United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) celebrated the anniversary on Oct. 24, and discussed some of these issues. For more information, visit http://una-usagainesvillefl.org.

Saeed R. Khan is president of UNA-USA/Gainesville.

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The United Nations at 75: successes, failures and challenges - Gainesville Sun