Now bamboo is bad
Plastic is bad, paper is bad. What is left? Ceramics? They take a lot of energy to produce when they are "fired". What should I do with all the bambooo cutlery I have been given with various takeaways?
Charities and retailers are selling “eco-friendly” bamboo cups and children’s tableware containing plastic resin – despite warnings that green claims may be misleading and the products may pose a risk to health.
The bamboo “eco-cups” are promoted as helping to protect the planet, but are usually non-recyclable. Regulators warn the green claims may be tricking consumers into using products they believe to be sustainable.
There are also concerns the products may allow the accelerated degradation of plastic that can contaminate the food or drink and may be a risk to health. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said it had advised retailers to withdraw products in June and any further sales would be unlawful.
Despite the ban, the bamboo and plastic products are still widely available online, including children’s cups and plates. They are typically made of bamboo, with a melamine formaldehyde resin, and look like plastic.
WWF-UK, the wildlife charity, was last week selling a reusable bamboo cup for £7.50, which it says “helps protect our planet”. It stated on its website: “Our organically sourced bamboo fibre cup is farmed with minimal impact on the environment.” The cup with a panda design contains 20% melamine. WWF-UK advises shoppers to check with councils on where it may be recycled.
WWF-UK said disposable cups had a negative impact on the environment and tests had shown its bamboo cups were safe for the consumer. But after it was approached by the Observer it removed the cup from sale.
Another charity, the Wild Planet Trust, which runs Paignton zoo in Devon and Newquay zoo in Cornwall, sells a Tiger travel mug for £8.99, made of bamboo, corn powder and melamine. The trust said this weekend it was investigating the product, which it had removed from sale.
Several online retailers continue to sell children’s bamboo and melamine tableware. The online marketplace Etsy was last week selling a Roarsome dinosaur tableware set for £12 and a bamboo tableware set decorated with tractors and fire engines also for £12. The online retailer did not respond to a request for comment.
Another retailer, Caroline Gardner, was last week selling a scattered spot “eco” travel bamboo mug for £6.25, with 25% melamine. Caroline Gardner said it had “swiftly moved away from bamboo cups” last year when it understood the implications and a few remaining mugs were mistakenly put on sale. These have now been removed and would be destroyed, said the firm.
Amazon does not permit its retailers to sell any bamboo and melamine cups or tableware products. The online giant said it had taken the decision to prohibit the sales about two years ago. Tableware made from 100% bamboo or 100% melamine is permitted for sale under EU regulations that still apply in the UK involving products used for food.
Concerns were raised about bamboo products mixed with plastic in November 2019 after tests conducted by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, which warned melamine and formaldehyde could be released from “bambooware” products when filled with hot liquids like tea, coffee or baby formula. It said formaldehyde release from some cups would exceed the tolerable daily intake by 30 times for adults and 120 times for small children. There is no acute health risk from these bambooware products but repeated exposure to elevated levels of melamine and formaldehyde may be a risk to health, with melamine linked to toxic effects in the kidneys.
Last November the European Commission warned that tableware containing bamboo and other unauthorised additives had not been safely assessed under the regulations and their sale was illegal.
In the UK, the FSA said in June that the Committee on Toxicity, an independent scientific advisory body, had concluded the migration of formaldehyde and melamine from bamboo composite cups is a potential concern to human health and a more comprehensive risk assessment should be undertaken.
Some suppliers have already conducted their own tests, which they say show their products do not pose any health risk. The FSA is now consulting on the products and is requesting manufacturers, suppliers and retailers to submit any relevant data.
The FSA said: “Any person placing these products on the market could be committing an offence, as these products contain unauthorised additives. The FSA has taken steps to bring the market back into compliance, similar to steps undertaken in the EU.
“Businesses selling these items are reminded that plastic food contact articles containing unauthorised plant-based additives such as bamboo powder should be withdrawn from the market with immediate effect
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A Skeptical Look at Laudate Deum
A recent teaching document issued by Pope Francis, Laudate Deum (Praise God) has been aggressively promoted by the media for its focus on climate change, especially for the Pope’s criticism of the western world’s heavier energy use and alleged contributions to global warming. Pope Francis says extreme weather is worsening, but respectfully, the Holy Father is wrong.
He is also mistaken in his solutions, namely an energy transition, global deprioritization of economic growth, and the implied need to sacrifice the western standard of living. These will not only fail to stop climate change, but will lead to further human and ecological suffering. He’s not wrong about everything though, so read on.
Pope Francis has always emphasized humans’ responsibility to the environment; the name he took -- Francis -- is in reference to Saint Francis of Assisi, who was known for having a special connection to animals. It is no surprise that he has published two encyclicals on this topic, which to be clear, is something that concerns the religious and nonreligious alike. Scientific matters are also moral matters, especially when possible negative effects are widespread, like when Pope John Paul II addressed nuclear war.
Laudate Deum is the second environment-focused encyclical issued by Pope Francis, and compared to the first, Laudato Si, has its primary focus on the issue of climate change. It also was written in much stronger language, highlighting the lack of “progress” in advancing the goals of the numerous U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) conferences.
Pope Francis is incorrect that extreme weather is getting worse, and he’s wrong about other alleged problems caused by climate change, which would require an entire book to debunk individually.
While there may be the appearance of more frequent weather disasters around the globe, this is actually an artifact of media coverage and focus, and our ability to instantly obtain news from everywhere in the world 24 hours a day.
The IPCC itself has essentially come to the same conclusion of a recent study, which found that “on the basis of observational data, the climate crisis that, according to many sources, we are experiencing today, is not evident yet.” The IPCC says there is low scientific confidence in the existence of any visible trends in the form of most weather extremes that alarmists frequently cite as evidence.
Even better news is that human casualties due to climate-related disasters like floods and extreme temperatures have been declining worldwide.
The reason why these deaths are declining, of course, is because of improvements and expanded access to emergency services, infrastructure, electricity, indoor climate control, and other developments -- all of which come thanks to our continued use of fossil fuels.
More here:
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/10/a_skeptical_look_at_emlaudate_deumem.html
********************************************************Climate Activists Seek to Save the Planet by Cutting, Burying Trees
Cutting down trees to manage wildfires isn't a new thing, although it remains a hotly debated practice.
Tree thinning is a disputed procedure that has drawn as much criticism within the environmental community as support. Many scientists, researchers, and conservationists are against it, saying tree thinning can even worsen wildfires.
However, America's woodlands have been culled for more than two decades for fire management. Now, climate activists are jumping into the conversation with a "carbon capture" argument for tree thinning.
Activists such as Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates have thrown their weight, and checkbooks, behind the practice of cutting down trees and burying them to address fears over carbon emissions.
Through his foundation Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Mr. Gates is a part of the $6.6 million seed investor pool backing Kodama Systems in its proposal to remove trees in California's fire-challenged woodlands and bury them in Nevada to sequester carbon dioxide (CO2).
"We must dramatically accelerate forest thinning treatments," the Boston-based firm says on its website. Kodama calls itself a "technology-driven forest restoration service."
Mr. Gates is well known for his headline-grabbing methods of addressing his climate concerns—from buying up vast swaths of U.S. farmland to backing wild-card experiments such as solar geoengineering and, most recently, criticizing tree planting as a viable means of reducing CO2.
During The New York Times Climate Forward Summit in September, the billionaire didn't hesitate to share his thoughts on the role of planting trees to mitigate climate concerns, calling it "complete nonsense."
In an interview with NY Times reporter David Gelles, Mr. Gates responded dismissively to the idea that planting more trees can reverse adverse climate effects.
"That's complete nonsense ... I mean, are we the science people, or are we the idiots?" Mr. Gates asked rhetorically.
Critics are quick to point out holes in the logic surrounding the claimed benefits of culling trees and burying them.
"This is a spectacularly bad and counter-productive idea," Chad Hanson, a research ecologist and co-founder of the John Muir Project, told The Epoch Times.
He says existing trees and forests are "by far, our best and most effective means" to reduce any "excess of carbon in our atmosphere."
Additionally, selective culling poses a risk to old-growth trees, which research indicates capture vastly more atmospheric carbon than their younger counterparts.
Living trees store a massive amount of atmospheric carbon. One estimate puts the CO2 storage value of U.S. forests and grasslands at 866 million metric tons per year. For perspective, that equates to the annual emissions from 50 million gasoline- or diesel-fueled vehicles.
Some research does support the theory that burying debris from cut trees can work as a form of carbon capture. One 2019 study showed that storing wood biomass can remove billions of tons of carbon annually.
"Trees continue to sequester and store more and more carbon as they get older, and this is true no matter how old they get,” Mr. Hanson said in countering that point. “Cutting existing trees and burying them eliminates their ability to draw down and reduce atmospheric carbon."
No in-depth analysis exists on the asserted benefits or secondary environmental effects of tree thinning and debris storage.
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Biden admin OKs major Pacific Northwest gas pipeline in blow to environmentalists, Dems
The nation's top energy regulator authorized a major energy developer to move forward with a natural gas expansion project in the Pacific Northwest.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a certificate Thursday for the so-called Gas Transmission Northwest XPress Project (GTNXP), which will upgrade three existing compressor stations and increase capacity on an existing system that has transported natural gas for decades. GTNXP developer TC Energy; GOP lawmakers in Oregon, Idaho and Washington; and labor unions have all called on FERC to issue the certificate.
"The GTN XPress project will play a critical role in keeping energy affordable and reliable for consumers in California and the Pacific Northwest," TC Energy spokesperson Michael Tadeo told Fox News Digital. "We appreciate FERC’s bipartisan action today to approve the project and will work diligently to place it into service as soon as possible."
According to TC Energy's application filed with FERC in October 2021, the $75 million project will leverage existing infrastructure to increase GTN's incremental mainline capacity by 150,000 dekatherms per day — enough to power roughly 500,000 additional homes in the region. The operational GTN pipeline travels through Idaho, Washington and Oregon and serves California customers.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission commissioner Willie Phillips waits to testify during the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on Thursday, March 3, 2022, to review FERC's recent guidance on natural gas pipelines." (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Willie Phillips. (Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images / File)
The project, which mainly consists of software and other upgrades to TC Energy's existing infrastructure, comes as demand for natural gas transportation on the GTN pipeline system has increased 26% in recent years while nearby natural gas production has dwindled. The pipeline feeds key gas supplies to utility companies which, in turn, provide energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers.
"After I led a bicameral group of my colleagues in urging FERC to act, I’m glad the commission is finally allowing this much-needed energy project to move forward," Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore., told Fox News Digital in a statement. "It will support domestic energy production and boost our energy security while also helping lower utility bills for families. Although it’s overdue, this is the right decision."
Earlier this month, Chavez-DeRemer, fellow Oregon GOP Rep. Cliff Bentz, four other House Republicans and Idaho GOP Sens. Mike Crapo and James Risch penned a letter to FERC leadership, urging it to immediately approve the pipeline expansion project that they said would benefit their constituents, help achieve climate goals and provide "energy certainty" for the region.
The letter came after FERC, which is chaired by Willie Phillips, a Democrat appointed by President Biden, opted to delay approval for the project multiple times without offering an explanation amid pressure from Democrats and environmental groups to reject its application.
In July, FERC removed the project from its open-meeting agenda without explanation. One day before the meeting, Democrat Oregon Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden wrote to the regulator, imploring it to reject the project and arguing that states through which the pipeline travels are "moving away from fossil fuels."
The commission again opted against discussing the proposal during its following meeting on Sept. 21, which earned a pointed rebuke from TC Energy.
"The Commission's continued inaction has almost certainly exposed GTN's customers, who serve residential and commercial natural gas and electricity users, to more expensive supply sources to meet their load demands this winter," Stanley Chapman III, TC Energy's executive vice president and chief operating officer of natural gas pipelines division, wrote in a letter to FERC commissioners after the September meeting.
"As experience in California and elsewhere shows, delaying natural gas infrastructure projects hurts energy reliability and affordability and burdens families, small businesses, and other energy users," Chapman added. "These types of delays in Commission action also erode the kind of certainty and predictability that gas infrastructure developers rely on for planning, financing, and constructing projects that are in the public's interest."
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My other blogs. Main ones below
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM )
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs
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Jim Hansen and his twin
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