South Korean scientists find way to extract carbon emissions from exhaust gas

South Korean scientists say they have developed a device that can convert carbon dioxide into solid materials. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Nov. 23 (UPI) -- South Korean researchers say they have developed technology that can draw out carbon dioxide from industrial emissions and convert the climate-warming gas into calcium carbonate, which then can be adapted for different uses.

Koh Dong-yeun and his team at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, KAIST, said they have developed a device to convert carbon dioxide into solid materials, which can be used to make cement and other materials, Aju Daily and Yonhap reported Monday.

The statement from KAIST comes two months after Koh and his team published their findings to the online site of ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, a peer-reviewed journal.

"The technology helps power plants, steel mills and cement makers, which emit a lot of greenhouse gas, to increase their competitiveness by reducing emission and recycling resources," Koh said, according to Aju Daily.

The scientists said an ultrapermeable membrane is the foundation of a "hollow fiber module" at the core of the technology, which can be used on factory chimneys.

"We show that a hollow fiber module based on an ultrapermeable membrane synthesized with the polymers of intrinsic microporosity [PIM-1] has the potential to directly utilize [carbon dioxide] from the flue [exhaust] gas stack via a continuous solid carbonation reaction," the South Korean team said.

Only carbon dioxide can cross the module's membrane. Once on the other side, carbon dioxide reacts with alkali metal ions to form calcium carbonates, the scientists said, according to Yonhap.

The team at KAIST also said the hollow fiber module is 20 times smaller than conventional devices, according to Aju Daily.

Carbon dioxide in emissions is a major contributor to greenhouse gases. This weekend, the Arctic Circle was an average 12 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, according to the University of Maine's Climate Reanalyzer, CBS News reported Monday.

Can Masturbating Really Boost Your Immune System?
MIREL ZAMAN
LAST UPDATED 23 NOVEMBER 2020


PHOTOGRAPHED BY KAREN SOFIA COLON.

Tiger King. Banana bread. Zoom calls we actually enjoyed. The early days of the pandemic feel like 100 years ago. Do you remember all the masturbation jokes? My favourite was this viral tweet: "Your quarantine number is the number of times you’ve masturbated minus the number of times you’ve cried." The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in New York even tweeted, "Masturbation will not spread COVID-19." For one weird second, there was even a rumour that masturbating could boost your immune system.

Most of the masturbation talk was us just fooling around (with ourselves) because we were stuck inside, bored, and blissfully unaware of the horrors that were yet to come. But the "masturbating might boost your immune system!" truthers were actually serious. They were basing their declarations on a study that came out back in 2004 (remember her?). A group of researchers from Germany asked 11 men to "masturbate until orgasm," then drew their blood to measure their levels of natural killer T cells (a marker of immunity) five and 45 minutes post-O. The results? Levels were higher after the men had masturbated. "These findings demonstrate that components of the innate immune system are activated by sexual arousal and orgasm," the researchers concluded.

Too bad 2020 kept getting more and more depressing, and we all lost our libidos, right? But don't worry — there's no evidence that masturbating more would have actually helped any. First: That study was in literally 11 people (11 men, at that), a number so small as to be meaningless. Even if a larger study confirmed that masturbating increases natural killer T cell levels, that alone doesn't say much. "There hasn’t been a study with specific findings that masturbation boosts the immune system in a way that helps fight off infection," Erica Smith, a sexuality educator, points out.

"However, don’t be deterred!" Smith quickly adds. She says there are more than enough other reasons to masturbate, then lists seven: stress relief, endorphin release⁣, menstrual cramp relief, increased connection to and knowledge of one’s own body⁣, greater sexual self esteem, better sleep, and pleasure — oh yeah, that.

Now, if you're really invested in the idea that you could masturbate away colds, you might have stumbled across this study in the journal Psychological Reports, which showed that people who had sex one to three times a week had higher levels of an antibody (IgA, which plays a crucial role in the immune system) than those who had more or less frequent coitus.

But the partner might be key to the immune benefits, not the orgasm. "Sexually active people may be exposed to many more infectious agents than sexually non-active people," said Clifford Lowell, an immunologist at the University of California at San Francisco who was not involved in the study, according to Eurekalert. "The immune system would respond to these foreign antigens by producing and releasing more IgA."

Interestingly, when asked why people who have sex more often than one to three times per week had lower IgA levels, one of the study authors speculated that they "may be in obsessive or poor relationships that are causing them a lot of anxiety," which in turn suppresses IgA levels. Kind of judgmental, no?

All told, I certainly hope no one stops masturbating just because it's probably not a replacement for vitamin C and zinc. It really is so enjoyable, and healthy, in many ways. Plus, as that NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene tweet pointed out, masturbation doesn't carry the same risk of spreading COVID-19 that sex does, since it's a social distancing-friendly activity. Smith says it best: "You may not be able to 'beat' a virus this way — pun intended — but you sure won’t be hurting anyone if you try.⁣"

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Back on track: UK vinyl sales heading for best year in three decades


Mark Sweney Media business correspondent
Sat, 21 November 2020, 

Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

UK sales of vinyl records are set to reach a three-decade high as fans unable to attend live music events during the pandemic channel their spare cash into building up their record collections.

Vinyl sales are up almost 10% this year, well on track to break the £100m mark by the end of 2020, making for the best year since 1990 when Sinead O’Connor and New Kids on the Block topped the charts. Sales by volume are also set to beat last year’s 4.3m.

It marks a remarkable bounce back given the market for physical music, from vinyl and CDs to cassettes and DVDs, plunged by almost half in April as the first lockdown shut high streets across the nation.

Related: UK music industry will halve in size due to Covid, says report

“We have seen 250% growth from the bottom of lockdown to where we are now,” said Drew Hill, managing director of Proper Music, the UK’s biggest independent distributor of vinyl and CDs. “I thought it could be catastrophic for the industry but during lockdown the kind of people buying records also probably went to a lot of gigs. They can’t do that so it seems fans are spending the money they used to on going to gigs each month on records.” Last week, Kylie Minogue wound back the years as Disco topped the vinyl album chart.

The pandemic has also fuelled the ongoing revival of cassettes, with sales up 85% so far this year, putting total sales on course to top £1m for the first time since renewed interest wound back the years for the format.

However, the picture is much less rosy for CDs, already facing inexorable decline at the hands of the streaming revolution, with sales down 30% in the year to date, according to the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA). If that trend continues in the final weeks of this year CD sales will reach about £150m, the worst year since 1987.

(What’s the Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis is the top-selling vinyl album of 2020 so far Photograph: CBW/Alamy

“It’s an extraordinary turnaround,” said Kim Bayley, the chief executive of the ERA. “Thirty years ago the compact disc was the aficionados’ format as people pursued the dream of ‘perfect sound’. But with the mass market turning increasingly to streaming, vinyl and even cassette have become the aficionados’ formats of choice.”

Proper Music’s Hill said that despite the decline in the popularity of the CD the pandemic would not spell the death of the format. Revenues at his business, which ships 8m CDs and vinyl records annually, will climb a third this year to £33m.

“From the beginning of lockdown to now, CDs have actually made a remarkable recovery,” says Hill, who points out that weekly sales have tripled since the nadir in April. “I don’t know if I’d say it looked like the death of the CD in April, but sales have made a remarkable recovery from the levels we saw then. If the CD was in [terminal] freefall [because of the pandemic] I wouldn’t have expected to see that sort of bounce back.”

The ERA says that the high street shutdown means that this year will mark the first time that more than half of the total sales of physical music products will be online – with Amazon reaping the lion’s share – but HMV and independent retailers have also benefited.

Natasha Youngs, co-owner of Brighton-based record store Resident, said that owners have worked hard to shift sales online but it has proven difficult given vinyl fans’ love of the in-store browsing experience.

“We’ve had to adapt our business to provide our customers with as close to a normal service as possible and customers have really responded,” said Youngs. “As a result our online sales are considerably up year on year. But this in no way compensates for the sales we have lost over the counter. We can’t provide the face-to-face service that we pride ourselves on – it is missing a vital element of what a record shop is all about.”
Top-selling vinyl albums of 2020 so far

1. (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? – Oasis (Sony Music)

2. Rumours – Fleetwood Mac (Warner Music)

3. Back to Black – Amy Winehouse (Universal Music)

4. Nevermind – Nirvana (Universal Music)

5. Ultra Mono – Idles (Partisan)

6. Fine Line – Harry Styles (Sony Music)

7. MTV Unplugged – Liam Gallagher (Warner Music)

8. Disco – Kylie Minogue (BMG)

9. Chromatica – Lady Gaga (Universal Music)

10. Greatest Hits – Queen (Universal Music)

Source: Entertainment Retailers Association

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M 

UK responsible for more than a third of $427bn global tax avoidance each year, report finds


Ben Chapman
Fri, 20 November 2020


More than $160bn was facilitated by the UK and its territories and dependencies(Reuters)

The UK and its "spider's web" of overseas territories are responsible for more than a third of global tax avoidance each year, a study has found.

Abuse of the tax system by multinational firms and wealthy individuals deprived countries of $427bn (£321bn) for hospitals, nurses, schools and other public services last year, according to advocacy group the Tax Justice Network. Of that figure, more than $160bn was facilitated by the UK and its territories and dependencies.

As coronavirus claims hundreds of thousands of lives and causes governments across the globe to spend trillions of dollars to support their citizens, the research gives the clearest picture yet of the damage wrought by those who funnel profits into tax havens and stash wealth offshore.

TJN analysed the first detailed, international set of data reported by companies showing where they avoid tax.

It calculated that Europe lost the equivalent of one-eighth of its health budget to tax dodging last year.

While wealthy countries are responsible for 98 per cent of tax avoidance, less wealthy ones bear the brunt of the impact. Latin America and Africa lost the equivalent of a fifth and half of their respective health spending, TJN calculated.

Lower-income countries lose the equivalent of 5.8 per cent of the total tax revenue they typically collect a year whereas higher income countries on average lose 2.5 per cent.

The UK maintains its position at the top of the list of jurisdictions helping firms shift vast sums of money away from public investment and services.

The Cayman Islands – a British Overseas Territory of just 65,000 people – helped multinational companies and individuals avoid paying $70bn, or one dollar in every six that countries are deprived of each year.

The UK itself, which provides world-beating tax avoidance advice through City of London banks, trust lawyers and accountants is second on the list, responsible for $42bn of tax losses. Together, the UK and Cayman facilitate more than a quarter of the booming tax avoidance industry.

Since the 1950s, when the UK helped to create the world’s tax haven network, ministers have claimed that they have little control over territories like Cayman. However, the UK has power to veto laws and appoint key government officials, and is also responsible for the island’s defence and international relations.

The Netherlands is the third most damaging country for the global tax system, responsible for $36bn of losses annually. Luxembourg and the US make up the top five, responsible for £28bn and £24bn respectively. Jersey, Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands make the top 20, alongside China, Singapore, Ireland and Hong Kong.

Globally, more than half of tax losses – $245bn – resulted from companies shifting $1.38 trillion of profits out of the countries where they were generated into jurisdictions where they pay little or no tax.

The rest was from individuals avoiding tax by holding $10 trillion of assets offshore. The amount held in secretive, low-tax countries is roughly equivalent to five years of the entire economic output of every person in the UK.

“A global tax system that loses over $427bn a year is not a broken system, it’s a system programmed to fail," said Alex Cobham, TJN's chief executive.

"Under pressure from corporate giants and tax haven powers like the Netherlands and the UK’s network, our governments have programmed the global tax system to prioritise the desires of the wealthiest corporations and individuals over the needs of everybody else.

"The pandemic has exposed the grave cost of turning tax policy into a tool for indulging tax abusers instead of for protecting people’s wellbeing.

“Now more than ever we must reprogramme our global tax system to prioritise people’s health and livelihoods over the desires of those bent on not paying tax."

TJN is calling on governments to introduce an excess profits tax to recoup money from multinationals that have "short-changed" countries for years.

Those companies that have seen their profits soar while local businesses have been forced to shutdown should be targeted first, TJN said.

"A wealth tax alongside this would ensure that those with the broadest shoulders contribute as they should at this critical time,” Mr Cobham said.

Rosa Pavanelli, general secretary at Public Services International, said: “The reason frontline health workers face missing PPE and brutal under-staffing is because our governments spent decades pursuing austerity and privatisation while enabling corporate tax abuse.

"For many workers, seeing these same politicians now 'clapping’ for them is an insult. Growing public anger must be channelled into real action: making corporations and the mega rich finally pay their fair share to build back better public services."

Read More

Tech firms' Covid-19 donations "peanuts" compared to tax they dodge

Denmark bans tax haven firms from bailout money – will others follow?

Revealed: The UK firm cashing in on toxic ‘ship scrapping’

UK overseas territory added to EU tax haven blacklist

Dutch police question researcher who 'guessed Trump's Twitter password'

James Cook
Fri, 20 November 2020

A security researcher claims to have been able to access the president's Twitter account last month - AFP

Dutch police have reportedly questioned a security researcher who claimed that he had been able to access the Twitter account of Donald Trump.

Victor Gevers has claimed that he was able to access the president’s account simply by guessing his password. Twitter has said it has no evidence that the hack took place and Mr Gevers is yet to provide convincing evidence for his claims.

The Dutch Public Prosecution Service said this week that it is “currently investigating whether something criminal has happened,” Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant reported.

A spokesman for the prosecution service described the inquiries as an “independent Dutch investigation” which was not prompted by any legal request from the US government.

Mr Gevers is not considered a suspect, the newspaper reported.

The security researcher has further information about the claimed hack but has not yet handed it to police. “Police asked me if I was willing to show it and I said no. Only if there is an indication of wrongdoing will the archived material be unlocked,” he told BBC News.

Mr Gevers has denied any wrongdoing. “I did not 'hack' Trump's account, I did not bypass any security system as there was no adequate security in place. I just guessed the password and then tried to warn his team about the risks and how to solve them,” he told BBC News.

Mr Trump’s Twitter account is subject to extra protections designed to stop hackers being able to gain access.

However, the security researcher claimed that Mr Trump’s account did not use strong two factor authentication requiring a smartphone to verify a login attempt and posted screenshots which appeared to show him accessing the president’s Twitter account.

Mr Gevers claimed that he made repeated attempts to contact the US government to warn them of what he says were security issues with the president’s account, which has 89 million followers.

A Twitter spokesman previously said: “We've seen no evidence to corroborate this claim. We proactively implemented account security measures for a designated group of high-profile, election-related Twitter accounts in the United States, including federal branches of government."

Your pillowcase has more bacteria than your toilet seat if you don't wash your sheets often

Gina Echevarria and Benji Jones

Each night, your body sheds around 15 million skin cells, which build up if you don't wash your sheets often. You're essentially providing food for thousands of dust mites.

This is bad news for the some 20 million Americans who are allergic to proteins produced by dust mites and their feces.

If you never wash your sheets, fungi and bacteria build up, too. In fact, one study found that your pillowcase has more bacteria than your toilet seat.

Experts recommend washing your sheets once a week with the hottest water possible.

Following is a transcript of the video.

Narrator: No one likes making their bed, let alone washing their sheets. Especially single men. In one survey, 55% of single men between 18 and 25 reported changing their sheets only four times a year. And to be clear, those are beds that you would not want to sleep in.

You shed about 15 million skin cells each night, but they don't just pile up in your sheets. Because something else is already there waiting to gobble them up: dust mites. And the longer you wait between washes, the more food these critters will have and the more they'll procreate and multiply. So if you don't wash your sheets, you'll be sleeping with hundreds of thousands of arachnids.

Now, for the estimated 20 million Americans with dust allergies, it gets worse. Dust mites and their feces produce proteins that cause red and itchy eyes, runny noses, and other cold-like symptoms in people who are allergic. And dust mites, well, they're actually not the only allergen in a dirty bed. If you never wash your pillow sheets, a community of fungus can also build up there. One study found that a typical pillow has as many as 16 different species of fungus and literally millions of fungal spores. And the most common among them, Aspergillus fumigatus, is potentially dangerous. In addition to allergic reactions, it can infect your lungs and other organs.

And it's not just fungi joining the party. You see, bacteria also love a good unwashed pillow case or sheet a lot. Another study found that unwashed pillow cases and sheets had up to 39 times more bacteria than pet-food bowls and several thousand times more bacteria than a toilet seat. Like Staphylococcus aureus, which in some rare cases can be deadly.

Now on a slightly less or perhaps more frightening note, dirty sheets can also give you acne. Each night, the oil, lotion, and other cosmetics on your skin transfer to your sheets and build up over time until eventually your bedding is basically a giant used makeup wipe. Then during the following nights, all that gunk transfers back onto your body, clogging your pores, and, voila, you've got acne.

Fortunately, there's a simple way to avoid all of these problems: Wash your sheets, and wash them often. Experts recommend about once a week using the hottest water possible. That'll kill a lot of bacteria and dust mites, get out stains, and remove oils.

Plus, as awful as making your bed might be, there's simply nothing better than slipping between clean, crisp sheets.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This video was originally published in May 2019.

THAILAND 

Hands off, warns protest group
Police told not to interfere in major rally

PUBLISHED : 22 NOV 2020
NEWSPAPER SECTION: NEWS
WRITER: POST REPORTERS

Pointing the way: Student protester volunteers manage traffic 

at a busy 'Bad Student' rally on Rama I road in front of Siam Paragon on Saturday.

The Ratsadon group has threatened to escalate its activities if its members are dispersed by authorities on Wednesday, when they plan to march to the Crown Property Bureau in Bangkok.

Panupong Sritananuwat from the anti-government Dao Din group, an affiliate of the Ratsadon group, said at a rally in Khon Kaen on Saturday that the group disagreed with parliament's rejection of a charter amendment bill submitted by the Internet Dialogue on Law Reform, better known as iLaw.

The bill, dubbed "the people's constitution", has the backing of the anti-government protesters and almost 100,000 people who signed up to support it.

Mr Panupong said Dao Din would carry on educating the public about iLaw's charter draft and confirmed the group would take part in Wednesday's major anti-government demonstration in Bangkok.


Rally charges
Protesters threatened
Police willing to use lese majeste law against protesters

He denounced the government's use of force to crack down on the Nov 17 demonstration in front of parliament and vowed to intensify Dao Din's activities, especially in Khon Kaen province.

The group's rally on Saturday ended quickly and peacefully amid tight security by officers from the Khon Kaen provincial police.

The Khon Kaen branch of Ratsadon also gathered at Ratchadanusorn Park in Muang district and vowed to continue to protest until Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha resigned and the charter was amended.

Protest leader Parit "Penguin" Chiwarak posted a Facebook message on Saturday urging demonstrators to gather on Aksa Road in Bangkok today at 4pm.


Costume drama: Protesters wearing dinosaur costumes line up at a Bad Student rally at Siam BTS station on Saturday. In keeping with the "Bye bye dinosaurs" theme, participants dressed in dinosaur costumes were pelted by inflatable meteorites launched at them from the crowd.

Meanwhile, young "Bad Student" activists gathered on Saturday beneath the Siam BTS skytrain station, a day after it was revealed that two of their teenage leaders were facing charges for taking part in pro-democracy protests.

The theme of the event was "#Bye bye dinosaurs" (old-guard politicians) and in keeping with that, some protesters dressed in dinosaur costumes and were pelted by inflatable meteorites launched at them from the crowd.

Deputy police spokesman Pol Col Kissana Phathanacharoen said the Bad Student group was given permission to demonstrate, but strictly prohibited from moving to other locations.

Police would also not tolerate protesters using signs with words that caused hatred and division in society, he said.

Legislators flee parliament as rival protesters clash

UPDATED: 18 NOV 2020 
WRITER: ONLINE REPORTERS

Legislators leaving the parliament board a Marine Department boat at Kiak Kai pier. 

(Capture from TV)

Legislators began leaving the parliament by boats as government supporters and pro-democracy demonstrators clashed at nearby Kiak Kai intersection in Bangkok on Tuesday evening.

Members of the two groups threw things at each other at the second barricade at Kiak Kai intersection. Riot police had not intervened, the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights Centre tweeted.

Protesters were held back by thousands of police standing behind barricades, who used tear-gas water cannons .

MPs, senators and parliament officials began leaving the parliament on boats arranged by the Marine Department, from Kiak Kai pier on the Chao Phraya river, around 4.40pm.

Matichon reported they left parliament by boats to avoid confrontation with demonstrators

Legislators left from the pier behind the parliament building.

Among those who left were MPs from both camps. They included Pol Lt Gen Viroj Pao-in and Karun Hosakul of the opposition Pheu Thai Party, and Chada Thaiset of the coalition Bhumjaithai Party.

Khaosod Online reported that police deployed more water cannon at the main gate on Sam Saen Road around 4.30pm. There were a total of four water cannons. Police kept firing the tear-gas solution at demonstrators to prevent from moving closer to parliament.

Around 5.05pm, police moved water trucks back from the confrontation at Kiak Kai intersection. Demonstrators managed to remove barricades and barbed wire and occupy areas at the intersection.

Police later moved back to Soi Wat Kaewfa. About this time, a clash erupted between anti-government demonstrators and yellow-clad people.

The BMA's Erawan centre reported that nine demonstrators were injured and were being treated at Vajira Hospital.

The new parliament complex backs on to the Chao Phraya river. (Photo: Bangkok Post) 

GREEN CAPITALI$M #P3

Scotland's new National Investment Bank launched with demand to focus on green investments

Scotland’s new national investment bank should be an institution set apart from politics, its chairman has said 

As a call was made on its launch day for it to tackle falling productivity and invest in the green economy.

By Gina Davidson
Monday, 23rd November 2020, 7:00 am

Nicola Sturgeon on the terrace of the headquarters of the Scottish National Investment Bank.

The Scottish National Investment Bank will use £2 billion of Scottish Government funding over its first decade to invest in businesses and projects which aim to help Scotland meet its 2045 net zero carbon target, tackle geographic inequalities and foster innovation in the country's businesses.

However profit targets for the bank have not yet been set and its chair, Willie Watt, said he does not expect money to be flowing into the bank for the first few years.

Launching the bank today, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described the project as “one of the most significant developments in the lifetime of this parliament” while Mr Watt said he hoped the bank would eventually become a national, non-political institution.

“I want it to become a trusted institution that is seen as being owned by the whole of Scotland," he said. “A non-political, cornerstone institution in the investment landscape in Scotland.


“I want it to have a list of really good investments against each of its three missions so we can look back and say that we actually invested against these missions.”

However Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said the SNIB must move quickly in the light of the Covid pandemic, “especially when the challenges are so great on climate change and the green economy.”

He added: “It is important that we use the bank to lever that change, and that we use it for better productivity. It should lever in money to create jobs and opportunities, and create the low-carbon green economy for the future of our country and the planet."

Referencing the problems experienced by the Bifab yards despite government help, he said: “We see stubborn problems, such as companies that create offshore wind farms choosing to go to other parts of the world, and we know action is needed.”

MSPs unanimously passed plans for the bank in January, with appointments taking place in recent months before its official launch today. The first investment, officials announced, will be Glasgow-based laser technology firm M Squared.

Funding by the SNIB will be provided in multiple forms, according to Mr Watt, including through loans and equity purchases.

Ms Sturgeon said: “The Scottish National Investment Bank will help to tackle some of the biggest challenges we face now and in the years to come, delivering economic, social and environmental returns.

“It is hitting the ground running with its first major investment in M Squared – a great example of the ambitious and innovative companies we have here in Scotland that will be key to our economic recovery and future prosperity.

“The launch of the bank is one of the most significant developments in the lifetime of this parliament, with the potential for it to transform, grow and decarbonise Scotland's economy.”

Dr Graeme Malcolm, the founder of M Squared, said: “We are delighted that the Scottish National Investment Bank has invested in M Squared as its very first business – our shared commitments to society and the environment makes this an ideal partnership that will enable accelerated growth and progress in frontier technologies.”

GREEN CAPITALI$M

Climate change is only going to make health crises like coronavirus more frequent and worse

Ibrahim AlHusseini , Opinion Contributor

Thousands of school students from across Sydney attend the global #ClimateStrike rally at Town Hall in Sydney, Australia. AAP Image/Dean Lewins/via REUTERS


Climate change is only going to make pandemics like coronavirus more frequent.

Climate change is also going to cause a slew of other health issues for people around the world.

In order to combat these devastating effects, we need to address climate change.
Ibrahim AlHusseini is the founder and CEO of FullCycle, an investment firm focused on addressing the climate crisis.

While the world is currently facing down the COVID-19 pandemic, until we address an even broader issue — climate change — we'll likely face additional pandemics for years to come.

Scientists have long warned that climate change will impact not just our environment, but also our health by increasing rates of infectious disease.

Indeed, there's more than just water trapped in the ice caps and permafrost of high latitudes: as recently as 2015, researchers identified 28 previously undiscovered virus groups in a melting glacier. These harmful pathogens could make their way into streams, rivers, and waterways as the ice caps melt, wreaking havoc on our immune systems that have no natural resistance to these ancient diseases.

If the COVID-19 outbreak is any indication, that future may now be our reality – which is why we have to act on climate change.

As early as 2001, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change cited climate change as a severe risk to human health. Those findings initially received backlash: What could the climate have to do with health? But today it's clear that the criticisms – not the climate science – were baseless.

The 2001 IPCC report's findings are now accepted as fact by pillars of the healthcare community, including the World Health Organization and, even recently, the US Department of Defense. The question is no longer if climate change will impact our health. The question is, how badly will climate change impact our health?

We're already seeing the consequences today.

It's estimated that 90% of the world's children breathe toxic air every day. With health experts warning that these pollutants are damaging the developing lungs of children, it's no surprise that many now believe these toxins could also increase the risk of respiratory tract infections – including from viruses like the novel coronavirus.

In the US, extreme heat causes more death annually than all other weather events combined – and cities are getting the worst of it. These "urban heat islands" are associated with a much higher risk of death on warm summer days.

Climate change leads to more food insecurity, and as a result, experts predict that humans will seek out alternative food sources like bushmeat and bats. Consumption of these animals leads to disease outbreaks and is even potentially to blame for coronavirus.

Then there's excessive rainfall and high humidity. Both are risk factors for the spread of waterborne diseases like malaria.

Research suggests that even an increase of 2 to 3 degrees Celsius would increase the at-risk population by 3% to 5%, putting tens of millions of more people in danger, including large parts of the southern United States. And a 2013 paper found that the likelihood of early and severe influenza seasons increase following warmer than average winters. With this year's winter being abnormally warm, we need to prepare for the possibility that coronavirus could come back with a vengeance in the fall.

Construction of new roads, mines, and hunting reserves is driving previously wild animals into contact with humans, leading to cross-contamination and infections from diseases like SARS, Avian Flu, and HIV.

These viruses do not disappear along with the habitats and animals they once inhabited; they tend to search for a new host – which all too often becomes us. As Eric Roston noted in a recent Bloomberg article, "unlike measles or polio, there is no vaccine for ecosystem destruction."

The good news is that these scenarios are by no means inevitable. But to avoid them, we need our elected leaders to inform the public about the connection between pandemics like COVID-19, and climate change. Because climate change is a problem we can solve, but only if we show the kind of international energy and cooperation that we are beginning to see in the fight against coronavirus.

As we head into the fall election in the US, and President Trump and former Vice President Biden debate their plans to confront this pandemic and the next one, both men would benefit from offering concrete steps to address the climate crisis. And businesses, even those who depend on fossil fuels, need to realize that the health of their customers and employees will suffer if they keep opposing climate-friendly policies and candidates.


We no longer need vague promises from our leaders: we need decisive action. Unless that happens, COVID-19 could be a harbinger of things to come.

Ibrahim AlHusseini is a venture capitalist, entrepreneur, and environmentalist. He is the founder and CEO of FullCycle, an investment firm harnessing proven technologies that accelerate solutions to the climate crisis.

This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author(s).
\Read the original article on Opinion Contributor. Copyright 2020.

GREEN CAPITALI$M

Fighting climate change isn't just about saving the planet, it's also about boosting the US economy and helping American workers
William M. Sisson ,
Opinion Contributor
Nov 14, 2020

A shift to clean energy will create millions of new jobs and protect our economy and our future. Reuters

The climate is changing, wreaking havoc across the US in the form of hurricanes and wildfires.

A new narrative is needed to build widespread public support: "It's the economy, stupid." 

Climate change will be the number one economic driver for the twenty-first century by creating hundreds of new occupations across industries.

The United States has seen a series of concurrent climate-related disasters this summer.

As the climate changes, the air and oceans get hotter. As the oceans get hotter, the warmer water acts as a catalyst giving more strength to hurricanes. As a storm moves over hot water, it captures moisture and energy very quickly. So far in 2020, we have already experienced 17 tropical storms and 10 hurricanes in the United States.

The fingerprints of climate change are all over the Western wildfires too. A century of increased planet warming has fueled the dry, hot winds in the Western US that now regularly turn forests into tinder at unprecedented rates. This year alone, more than 4 million acres have burned in uncontained forest fires in California, killing 31 people and creating "climate refugees" among the thousands of people who lost everything in these fires. In addition, not only did the wildfires force many companies to close, the acrid smoke from the fires blanketed cities and cast a haze from coast to coast.

There is no doubt the climate is changing and wreaking havoc on American livelihoods. The question then becomes, what type of course correction should the country take to avoid the worst impact of a changing climate?

Changing the narrative

In an article published last year in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, the authors found that more than a decade of investment in advocacy and marketing to raise awareness about climate change has not yet sufficiently galvanized political or public will in the US. "The issue remains a political third rail even for people who believe we need to act now," the authors concluded.

Despite this finding, climate change advocacy has continued to focus on the imperative of a stable climate and the need to mitigate trends in rising temperatures. Scientists loudly proclaim we must act immediately to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, but they have largely failed to inspire widespread action in the US.

Scaring people and corporations to change behavior has, by and large, failed to build a rock-solid constituency that cuts across the political divide on this issue. Instead, the narrative should be changed to focus on the new jobs and economic growth that can result from a coordinated effort to address climate change.

"It's the economy, stupid"

This phrase was made famous by James Carville back in 1992 when he ran Bill Clinton's presidential campaign. As the story goes, Carville posted a sign around the campaign's headquarters with three phrases. "It's the economy, stupid," was the most memorable and became the rallying cry for the campaign.

Ironically, that phrase is as relevant today as it was nearly three decades ago. And, while pre-election polls indicated US voters were also considering COVID-19, racial concerns, and political leadership, economic concerns took precedence. In fact, exit polls showed more voters were concerned about the economy than any other issue. Creating well-paying jobs will be the foundation from which the US will claw its way out of the pandemic economic hole we're in today.

Climate change will be the economic driver in the 21st Century

At the start of this decade, we are on the verge of the next economic era following the digital revolution of the last half century. This new era (let's call it the "Climate Revolution") will transform business and society through efforts to address climate change.

The Brookings Institution released a report last year that found the "transition to the clean energy economy will primarily involve 320 unique occupations spread across three major industrial sectors: Clean energy production, energy efficiency, and environmental management."

The report, titled "The Hidden STEM Economy," states that "staffing all these industries entails a broad assortment of occupations. Energy-related industries are typified by a need for skilled trades to help manufacture advanced products, execute large-scale construction projects, research and develop new technologies, and deliver other detailed STEM-related services."

Another Brookings report also found that "businesses within these industries rely on an expansive suite of support services — including business, financial, and customer management — to compete. Likewise, government and nonprofit organizations rely on specially trained workers to execute their missions."

So, it becomes clear that transitioning to a clean energy economy has compounding economic benefits for everyone. 

US businesses are driving this economy

While the current administration is not serious about addressing this issue, many US companies are adapting their business models to account for both the risks and opportunities a changing climate provides. Companies are beginning to talk about commitments to achieve "Net Zero Emissions" and use "Science-Based Target Initiatives" to align their climate change commitments with what was agreed upon in the 2015 Paris UN Climate Change agreement. Companies as diverse as Apple, Ford, Microsoft, Nike and McDonald's have already made bold public statements about their climate intentions.

Members of my organization, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), are taking concrete steps to compete in this economic transition and are not waiting for the federal government to act.

Recently, WBCSD members approved new conditions for membership in the organization. Among them is a commitment to achieve Net Zero Emissions by 2050 and use science-informed methods to develop the path by which to achieve this goal.

More broadly, at a time when everyone talks about "building back or forward better", the new member commitments address the three interconnected challenges our society face — the climate emergency, nature loss, and inequality — and pave the way for business action.

In doing so, they are creating new, sustainable jobs, and, at the same time, helping to ensure all people can live well and within the boundaries of the planet for generations to come.

China and Europe are leading the way

While we still argue in the US over whether the climate is worsening and the degree to which humans play in making it worse, China and many European countries have already been moving to transition their economies.

China has been especially aggressive of late to capture the climate market. President Xi Jinping recently announced China's plans to reach peak carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060, positioning China as a global leader.

China's main thrust focuses on the new jobs that will spring from its efforts to corral climate change. It will then sell the new technologies, products, and services innovated and made in China to other countries to avert climate disaster while fueling the Chinese economy.

We have learned from COVID-19 that America must be prepared for looming threats and have seen the consequences of "too little, too late" responsiveness or, worse, the outright ignorance of the science. In terms of the environment, we must act knowledgeably and swiftly to reduce emissions and avoid the worst impacts of climate change. We must and will take the opportunity of the pandemic-induced economic pause to find a way to build back better.

In doing so, we too can create millions of new jobs, foster clean energy innovation in the US, increase our national security, and, most importantly, protect the health of our people, economy, and our future.

The private sector is calling on local, state, and federal governments to enact stronger and consistent climate policy to give them clarity and confidence to invest in the technologies and markets needed to avert climate disaster. Businesses cannot do it alone.

Politicians today should realize that Carville was right in 1992, and his phrase rings even truer today. Climate responsibility is all about "the economy, stupid!"

William M. Sisson is the executive director, North America, for the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author(s).Read the original article on Opinion Contributor. Copyright 2020.