HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE

'It's intimidation': Judge faces threats after Freedom Convoy hearings

Brigitte Bureau - 

One of the judges who presided over the court hearings of Freedom Convoy organizers is speaking out after receiving threats considered serious enough to require police intervention, according to information obtained by Radio-Canada and CBC.

The judge in question confirmed that supporters of the convoy from Canada and the United States sent several offensive messages, but the message that prompted police to react threatened their physical safety, the judge said.

CBC has agreed to withhold the judge's identity to protect their safety.

"I thought, should I tell my children not to come home for a while?" the judge said.

"I changed my alarm system. I was advised not to take the same route every day," the judge added. "You feel vulnerable in your house, in your own home."


© Evan Mitsui/CBCPolice enforce an injunction against protesters on Parliament Hill on Feb. 19, 2022.

The judge believes most Canadians respect the justice system, but said a vocal minority is seeking to undermine it.

"It's intimidation. It's trying to influence a court decision, and that's serious," the judge said.

Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Richard Wagner expressed similar concerns in a recent speech in Montreal.

"The pandemic has forced many people to live online during lockdowns. And it is at times like these that lies and conspiracies spread like wildfire," Wagner said in French on June 9.

"As we have seen around the world, disinformation poses a real threat to democratic institutions."

The demonstrations that took place in Ottawa this winter stemmed in part from this disinformation, Wagner said. He encouraged people to "inform, instruct and educate" their fellow citizens.
Ministry silent on further threats

Ontario's Ministry of the Attorney General would not say if any other judges have received threats from Freedom Convoy supporters.

"It would be inappropriate for the ministry to comment on a potential or ongoing police investigation," wrote ministry spokesperson Brian Gray in an email to Radio-Canada.

He wrote that the ministry "takes court security and the safety of all those in our courthouses ... very seriously," and that local police or Ontario Provincial Police provide security "to ensure the highest level of protection."

The Ontario Court of Justice and the Ontario Superior Court of Justice both declined to comment, saying it would be inappropriate to do so.

CBC News reached out to a number of key figures of the weeks-long demonstration in Ottawa, but requests for comment were either declined or went unanswered.

No charges have been laid in this matter. It's not known whether the investigation is ongoing at this time, nor would police comment.

THE LIONS CLUB TOO

Supporters shocked as Salvation Army bans Pride walkers

SALLY ANN OPPOSED SAME SEX MARRIAGE

Organizers of a Pride-related event scheduled for Thursday, June 29, in Grand Falls-Windsor say they had to cancel at the last minute after being told the Salvation Army leadership refused to allow them on church property.

“Pride GFW would like to thank the leadership of this church for yet another reminder of why the Pride movement remains important in 2022,” Pride Grand Falls-Windsor announced on its Facebook page. “We have clearly not reached equality for 2SLGBTQ+ folks in the eyes of all people.”

No one at the Park Street Citadel responded to a phone message asking for comment, but Pride GFW did issue a statement later in the day.

“Pride GFW looks forward to being guests at the Lions Club walking program in the very near future, which will be held in a place where ALL people will be welcome to join and walk together,” it said.

The walk was actually sponsored by the local Lions Club as one of its weekly Healthy Living Walks held on the citadel’s property.

The event was supposed to start at 6 p.m., and included a walk around the church trail followed by refreshments.

The Lions also announced the cancellation online, say it was due to “circumstances beyond the club’s control.”

“(W)e continue to explore other offers with the hopes of remounting the walk next week,” a Lions spokesman said in a statement to The Telegram.

He said Pride members will still be the invited guests.

Pride GFW’s Facebook was flooded with messages of support Wednesday, as well as condemnation of the citadel’s stance.

The group added a note of thanks later in the day.

“The members of Pride GFW are deeply appreciative of all of the support, kind words and offers we are receiving from individuals, organizations and businesses. We realize this support is for us as a group, but is also very much for every 2SLGBTQ+ person who felt hurt or demoralized after reading the post earlier today. We will work our way through all of the comments and messages and make another post tomorrow. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.”

Charlie Murphy, executive director of the 2SLGBTQ advocacy organization Quadrangle, said Wednesday faith groups like the Salvation Army seem to be “hit or miss” in terms of tolerance for the Pride movement.

Non-discrimination statements on the national Salvation Army website suggest it is not official church policy to ban or discriminate against any specific class or group of people.

Murphy says Quadrangle hasn’t encountered any institutional resistance in any of its activities — other than individual insults and slurs — but that the Pride season of June and July are when intolerant views pop up.

He cited the example of a rainbow crosswalk proposal initially being rejected by the town of Stephenville five years ago.

A year later, the Springdale town council did the same thing.

“It’s hurtful for our community who are simply trying to come together during the summer months to celebrate,” Murphy said.

Meanwhile, a member of Memorial United Church in Grand Falls-Windsor was quick to jump in when he first heard about the cancellation Tuesday night.

David Anthony, clerk of session, says Rev. Kim Waite called him to help co-ordinate an alternative venue at the church while she was out of town.

“The United Church prides itself on openness in every way, shape and form,” Anthony told The Telegram, adding that embracing gender diversity is a central tenet of its national policy.

He pointed to an official statement contained on the United Church of Canada website. It reads, in part:

“The United Church affirms that gender and sexuality are gifts of God, and that all persons are made in the image of God. We welcome into full membership and ministry people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. The United Church is opposed to discrimination against any person on any basis by which a person is devalued (search “Commitment to Inclusion” on United Church Commons.

“The struggle for justice against sexism and gender-based violence, and towards justice for people of all gender identities and sexual orientations, are fundamental ways in which the United Church seeks to transform structures and systems and be faithful to God's vision for humanity.”

Anthony said Rev. Waite is personally focused on the cause of 2SLGBTQ acceptance, and has offered to open the church doors for kitchen and bathroom facilities for the walk, should organizers take up the offer.

“To quote (the reverend), ‘If they come with their tonne of crayons, colour our parking lot rainbow,’” he said. “Now I think that’s as sweet as it can get.”

Peter Jackson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Telegram

A PITBULL MOM

9 puppies rescued after ‘amazing mom’ leads B.C. SPCA to her hidden den

Doyle Potenteau - 


© B.C. SPCATwo of the puppies that were rescued after a four-year-old dog led the B.C. SPCA to her den, where her nine puppies were hiding.

Nine puppies, which were rescued last week in B.C.’s Fraser Valley, will soon be up for adoption.

On Wednesday, the B.C. SPCA said the puppies have an amazing mom, a pitbull cross that had apparently been abandoned and wound up leading an animal protection officer to where she hid her puppies.

“Dallas had been left to fend for herself on a property near Agassiz when she gave birth,” said Eileen Drever of the SPCA.

Read more:
120 cats, 3 dogs seized from feces filled B.C. trailer: BC SPCA

Drever said the SPCA received a call about the dog, and when an animal protection officer arrived on scene, Dallas immediately met the person and led her into nearby thick brush.

The SPCA said Dallas, a four-year-old dog, led the officer 500 feet through dense brush, until she stopped at a bush and waited. Under that bush: a den that Dallas had created.

“Huddling in the den were nine, two-week-old puppies,” said Drever. “Our officer placed the puppies into a small crate and hiked back out to the road, with Dallas eagerly following.”

The SPCA says Dallas and her nine puppies were then placed in a larger crate and transported to the SPCA branch in Chilliwack.

Video: SPCA Raising Awareness During “Kitten Season”

“We would never have found these puppies if Dallas hadn’t led us there,” said Drever. “She is an amazing mom who knew her puppies needed help.”

The dog’s owner was contacted, with the SPCA saying the owner believed she had fell prey to predators.

“He recognized that he could not provide Dallas and her puppies with the care they required and chose to surrender them to the B.C. SPCA,” said Drever.

Video: SPCA helps dog recovering from gunshot wounds

The SPCA says Dallas and her puppies were given a full checkup, and that mom is underweight but is on a feeding program. All are currently in a foster home for the time being.

“Dallas is a very friendly, remarkable dog who will be available for adoption once her puppies are ready to leave her and she has been spayed,” said Drever. “The puppies will be available for adoption in approximately six to seven weeks.”

For more information about the B.C. SPCA, visit their website.

EU countries approve climate measures after long talks

SAMUEL PETREQUIN
Wed, June 29, 2022

A luxury Audi car is surrounded by exhaust gases as it is parked with a running engine in front of the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019. Germany's transport minister said Thursday that he opposes plans to ban the sale of new cars with combustion engines across the European Union in 2035, arguing this would discriminate against vehicles powered with synthetic fuels. EU lawmakers voted Wednesday to back the measure that requires automakers to cut carbon-dioxide emissions by 100% by the middle of the next decade, effectively prohibiting the sale in the 27-nation bloc of new cars powered by gasoline or diesel. 

(AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File) 

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union countries reached a deal following hard-fought talks that dragged into early Wednesday to back stricter climate rules that would eliminate carbon emissions from new cars by 2035.

The 27 EU members found agreement on draft legislation aimed at slashing EU greenhouse gases by at least 55% in 2030 compared with 1990 rather than by a previously agreed 40%.

“A long but good day for climate action: The council’s decisions on Fitfor55 are a big step towards delivering the EU Green Deal," said Frans Timmermans, the European Commission vice-president in charge of the Green Deal, after the meeting of environment ministers in Luxembourg.

The agreement on the five laws proposed by the EU's executive arm last year paves the way for final negotiations with the European Parliament. EU lawmakers are backing ambitious bloc-wide targets. final approval of the legislative package requires the Parliament to resolve differences with the bloc’s national governments over various details.

“The council is now ready to negotiate with the European Parliament on concluding the package, thereby placing the European Union more than ever in the vanguard of fighting climate change," said Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the French Minister for the energy transition.

The decision to introduce a 100% CO2 emissions reduction target by 2035 for new cars and vans would effectively prohibit the sale in the 27-nation bloc of new cars powered by gasoline or diesel.

Europe’s leading clean transport campaign group, Transport and Environment, said the EU government's agreement was “historic" as it “breaks the hold of the oil industry over transport."

“It’s game over for the internal combustion engine in Europe," the group said.

Greenpeace was more skeptical, saying the 2035 deadline is too late to limit global warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).

The deal poses a mighty challenge for German automakers, who have long relied on sales of increasingly big, gas-guzzling vehicles for their profits.

Following intense haggling within the three-party government, particularly between the environmentalist Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats, German officials voted in favor of the compromise overnight.

The German government said the deal will also see the Commission make a proposal that will allow cars which run exclusively on climate neutral e-fuels to continue to be sold after 2035.

“This is a huge step forward and steers the transport sector onto the path of climate neutrality,” Environment Minister Steffi Lemke, a member of the Greens, said. By declaring that only cars and light utility vehicles which emit no CO2 can be sold from 2035, “we are sending a clear signal that we need to meet the climate targets. This gives the car industry the planning security it needs.”

The EU wants to drastically reduce gas emission from transportation by 2050 and promote electric cars, but a report from the bloc’s external auditor showed last year that the bloc is lacking the appropriate charging stations. Transportation accounts for about 25% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the EU,

In addition to the landmark agreement on cars, the package also features a reform of the EU’s carbon market and the creation of a social climate fund to help vulnerable households cope with the planned clean-energy revamp. That issue has become more politically sensitive as Russia’s war in Ukraine has sent fuel prices soaring.

The overall goal is to put the EU on track to become climate-neutral in 2050 and to prod other major polluters, including the United States and China, to follow suit.

___

Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this story.

Climate tech firm to launch scaled-up plant sucking CO2 from air


Facility for capturing CO2 from air of Swiss Climeworks AG in Hinwil

Tue, June 28, 2022 
By Kate Abnett

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Construction is due to begin on Wednesday on what could become the world's biggest plant to capture carbon dioxide from the air and deposit it underground, the company behind the nascent green technology said.

Swiss start-up Climeworks AG said its second large-scale direct air capture (DAC) plant will be built in Iceland in 18-24 months, and have capacity to suck 36,000 tonnes of CO2 per year from the air.

That is a sliver of the 36 billion tonnes of energy-related CO2 emissions produced worldwide last year. But it is a 10-fold increase from Climeworks' existing DAC plant, currently the world's largest, and a leap in scale for a technology that scientists this year said is "unavoidable" if the world is to meet climate change goals.

The new "Mammoth" plant will contain around 80 large blocks of fans and filters that suck in air and extract its CO2, which Icelandic carbon storage firm Carbfix then mixes with water and injects underground where a chemical reaction turns it to rock. The process will be powered by a nearby geothermal energy plant.

Co-CEO Christoph Gebald said once this plant launches, Climeworks intends to build a far bigger facility capturing roughly half a million tonnes of CO2 per year - and then replicate multiple plants of that size, backed by project financing, towards the end of the decade.

Mammoth was part-financed by a 600 million Swiss Franc ($627 million) financing round Climeworks announced in April. The firm also sells among the world's most expensive carbon removal credit - costing up to 1,000 euros per tonne - to buyers including Microsoft, Audi and Boston Consulting Group.

"It's the cost of scaling up," Gebald told Reuters. "This is, so to say, the investment we have to do as a company to move forward."

The world currently has 18 direct air capture facilities, according to the International Energy Agency. U.S. oil firm Occidental also plans to launch a large-scale DAC facility, in late-2024, to collect 1 million tonnes per year of CO2.

The U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said energy-intensive and costly technologies like DAC will be needed to remove CO2 on a large scale in the coming decades, to limit global warming to 1.5C and avoid increasingly severe climate impacts.

Heleen De Coninck, an IPCC author and professor at Eindhoven University of Technology, said DAC must be powered by CO2-free energy to be useful, and should not replace urgent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

"It can backfire if it leads to avoiding doing what’s necessary right now," she said. (This story refiles to fix word in fourth paragraph)

($1 = 0.9563 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Kate Abnett; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

Climate Not Fuels Drive Large Blazes

BY GEORGE WUERTHNER   

JUNE 28, 2022 JUNE 28, 2022

Post-fire logging, Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Washington Cascades. Photo: Jeffrey St. Clair.

Logging proponents fail to acknowledge that climate is the ultimate arbitrator of wildfires. That is why the coastal forests of Oregon and Washington, which contain more “fuel” than any place in the northern Rockies, seldom burn. Why? It’s too cool and moist.

Vegetation responds to climate, and today’s climate is considerably different than even a couple of hundred years ago when we were coming out of the cool, moist climate of the Little Ice Age.

We are in the worse drought in over a thousand years. We are seeing record high temperatures. Average wind speeds are increasing. These factors are responsible for the increase in wildfire spread and severity. For instance, for every 1-degree rise in temperature, fire risk is increased by up to 25%. Wind impact is also exponential, with high winds responsible for every large fire across the West.

We have historical references demonstrating the correlation between climate and fires—long before anyone can claim “fire suppression” created large fires. For example, the 1910 Big Burn that consumed more than 3 million acres of the Northern Rockies occurred long before anyone could assert that “fire suppression” led to fuel accumulation. And 1929(i.e., the beginning of the Dust Bowl), as much as 50 million acres were burned across the West. This acreage is five times what we now call a record year if 10 million acres burn.

A mid century cool, moist period 1940-1980 led to a decline in fire igntions and fire spread which many use as the “norm” for fire behavior. Nature (climate) did a good job of fire suppression. 

However, our view is skewed by a decline in fires in the mid-century between the 1940s-1980s. Some logging proponents assert that “fire suppression led to fuel accumulations. In reality, the West was in the midst of a cycle of cool, moist conditions, which resulted in few ignitions and limited fire spread, and glaciers were growing in the PNW. During this period, Nature (climate) did a fine job suppressing fires, but in typical human arrogance, we try to take credit for it.

Furthermore, there is abundant evidence from large blazes around the West that logging does not preclude large blazes. For example, the town of Paradise, California, which the Camp Fire consumed, was surrounded by clearcuts, hazardous fuel reduction projects, and even two previous fires-all of which “reduced” fuels, yet propelled by 60 mph winds, the fire spread as fast as one football field a second.

The area burned by the Holiday Farm Fire in 2020 was under “active forest management.” (Google Earth)

The Holiday Farm Fire charred the western slopes of the Oregon Cascades in 2020; the Dixie Fire, California’s largest blaze, and Bootleg Fire in Oregon were respectfully the largest blazes last year in each state, burned through substantial areas of past logging. Here’s a link to a Google Earth view of clearcuts that made up the bulk of the area charred by the Holiday Farm fire.

Numerous studies confirm that climate drives large blazes and logging exacerbates fire spread, and recently more than 200 scientists sent a letter to Congress.

Though much made by ill-informed commentators who argue that fuel build-up due to alleged fire suppression in low elevation pine and Doug fir has created the current situation for large blazes. However, dry montane forests dominated by ponderosa pine and Douglas fir make up only 4% of northern Idaho and western Montana forests. Therefore, even if fire suppression had led to a fuel build-up, these forests could not be responsible for the massive acres being burned since they make up a small percentage of all forest types.

The Wood Products Industry (green)  is the largest contributor to GHG emissions in Oregon. 

The irony of logging as a cure for large wildfires is that the wood products industry significantly contributes to Greenhouse Gas Emissions. For instance, 35% of the GHG emissions in Oregon are due to the logging industry. Thus, more logging only puts more CO2 into the atmosphere resulting in even greater climate warming.

Spending funds logging forests in the false hope that one can reduce large blazes are looking in the rear-view mirror. Unless we reduce GHG emissions, we will continue to see large blazes driven by climate warming. In the meantime, rather than log our forests, the best way to protect communities and structures is home hardening working from home outward.

George Wuerthner has published 36 books including Wildfire: A Century of Failed Forest Policy. 

Climate change is driving 2022 extreme heat and flooding
By Gloria Dickie - Yesterday 

© Reuters/CHRISTOPHE VAN DER PERREFILE PHOTO: Cyclone Batsirai hits Madagascar

By Gloria Dickie

LONDON (Reuters) - Extreme weather events – from scorching heatwaves to unusually heavy downpours – have caused widespread upheaval across the globe this year, with thousands of people killed and millions more displaced.

In the last three months, monsoon rains unleashed disastrous flooding in Bangladesh, and brutal heatwaves seared parts of South Asia and Europe. Meanwhile, prolonged drought has left millions on the brink of famine in East Africa.


© Reuters/JAYANTA DEYFILE PHOTO: A girl carries her brother as she wades through a flooded road after heavy rains on the outskirts of Agartala

Much of this, scientists say, is what's expected from climate change.

On Tuesday, a team of climate scientists published a study https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2752-5295/ac6e7d in the journal Environmental Research: Climate. The researchers scrutinized the role climate change has played in individual weather events over the past two decades.


© Reuters/STEPHANE MAHEFILE PHOTO: Cracked and dry earth is seen in the wide riverbed of the Loire River in Ancenis-Saint-Gereon

The findings confirm warnings of how global warming will change our world - and also make clear what information is missing.

For heatwaves and extreme rainfall, "we find we have a much better understanding of how the intensity of these events is changing due to climate change," said study co-author Luke Harrington, a climate scientist at Victoria University of Wellington.

Less understood, however, is how climate change influences wildfires and drought.

For their review paper, scientists drew upon hundreds of "attribution" studies, or research that aims to calculate how climate change affected an extreme event using computer simulations and weather observations.


© Reuters/ALKIS KONSTANTINIDISFILE PHOTO: Aftermath of Cyclone Batsirai

There are also large data gaps in many low- and middle-income countries, making it harder to understand what's happening in those regions, said co-author Friederike Otto, one of the climatologists leading the international research collaboration World Weather Attribution (WWA).


© Reuters/MARCELO DEL POZOFILE PHOTO: Spain to face first heatwave of the year

HEATWAVES

With heatwaves, it's highly probable that climate change is making things worse.

Related video: 
Heatwaves, floods, wildfires and thunderstorms across US




"Pretty much all heatwaves across the world have been made more intense and more likely by climate change," said study co-author Ben Clarke, an environmental scientist at the University of Oxford.

In general, a heatwave that previously had a 1 in 10 chance of occurring is now nearly three times as likely — and peaking at temperatures around 1 degree Celsius higher – than it would have been without climate change.

An April heatwave that saw the mercury climb above 50C (122 Fahrenheit) in India and Pakistan, for example, was made 30 times more likely by climate change, according to WWA.

Heatwaves across the Northern Hemisphere in June - from Europe to the United States - highlight "exactly what our review paper shows … the frequency of heatwaves has gone up so much," Otto said.

RAINFALL AND FLOODING

Last week, China saw extensive flooding, following heavy rains. At the same time, Bangladesh was hit with a flood-triggering deluge.

Overall, episodes of heavy rainfall are becoming more common and more intense. That's because warmer air holds more moisture, so storm clouds are "heavier" before they eventually break.

Still, the impact varies by region, with some areas not receiving enough rain, the study said.

DROUGHT

Scientists have a harder time figuring out how climate change affects drought.

Some regions have suffered ongoing dryness. Warmer temperatures in the U.S. West, for example, are melting the snowpack faster and driving evaporation, the study said.

And while East African droughts have yet to be linked directly to climate change, scientists say the decline in the spring rainy season is tied to warmer waters in the Indian Ocean. This causes rains to fall rapidly over the ocean before reaching the Horn.

WILDFIRE

Heatwaves and drought conditions are also worsening wildfires, particularly megafires - those that burn more than 100,000 acres.

Fire raged across the U.S. state of New Mexico in April, after a controlled burn set under "much drier conditions than recognized" got out of control, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The fires burned 341,000 acres.

TROPICAL CYCLONES

On a global scale, the frequency of storms hasn't increased. However, cyclones are now more common in the central Pacific and North Atlantic, and less so in the Bay of Bengal, western North Pacific and southern Indian Ocean, the study said.

There is also evidence that tropical storms are becoming more intense and even stalling overland, where they can deliver more rain on a single area.

So while climate change might not have made Cyclone Batsirai any more likely to have formed in February, it probably made it more intense, capable of destroying more than 120,000 homes when it hit Madagascar.

(Reporting by Gloria Dickie; Editing by Katy Daigle and Lisa Shumaker)

Scorched Earth: The Catastrophic Environmental Costs Of Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

June 28, 2022
By Giovana Faria

In addition to thousands of deaths and the destruction of crucial infrastructure, another, more invisible, crisis tied to Russia’s invasion could haunt Ukraine for years: environmental damage. From shelled chemical plants to forests scorched by missiles, the consequences will be felt not only by Ukraine’s ecosystems but also by its people.

The list of damage caused by armed conflict in Ukraine since Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 is long and, if not given proper attention, could last for years.

The Conflict and Environment Observatory has reported that the environmental impact of war began even before the conflict began. Building up military forces and maintaining their readiness can consume a lot of resources. Military gear and vehicles require energy that usually comes from oil, and large militaries' CO2 emissions are greater than many countries in the world combined.

A study by Brown University showed that the U.S. military’s greenhouse-gas emissions are greater than those of countries like Portugal, Denmark, and Sweden.

After a conflict starts, hazards ramp up and the damage becomes a lot more apparent.

Ukraine's Environmental Background

Ukraine’s ecosystems are of considerable importance to Europe:

Encompass 35 percent of Europe’s biodiversity.
Are home to over 70,000 species.
29 percent of Ukraine's territory is composed of natural vegetation as well as seminatural vegetation (such as managed grasslands and hedgerows, etc.).
16 percent of its territory is composed of forests.
Ukraine has about 63,000 rivers.
Ukraine occupies 11 percent of the Carpathian mountain range, which comprises one-third of all plant species in Europe.

The Severskiy Donets River is the longest in eastern Ukraine and an important source of fresh water. The Dnieper is the fourth-longest river in Europe.

On March 14, after the Russian military shelled a sewage-treatment facility, water from several districts of Zaporizhzhya began to enter the Dnieper River without any treatment.

The Red Data Book of Ukraine, a document that tracks the current state of rare and threatened fauna and flora, has registered 687 endangered species of animals and 857 endangered species of plants in its latest edition from 2021.

In addition to wildlife declines due to wildfires caused by rocket launches, thousands of dolphins have been found dead in the Black Sea, which could be a consequence of increased shipping noise and the use of powerful sonar systems by navies, according to data collected by Ukraine's Tuzla Estuaries National Nature Park.

Conflict Actions Causing Environmental Damage
 "Category" Actions Damages

  

Chemical plant explosion 

 Soil and groundwater contamination

Air pollution
   

Attacks on oil- and gas-storage facilities 

 Air pollution

Rocket launches

Soil and groundwater contamination
Fires

Mass burials 

 Soil and groundwater contamination
 

Warships and submarines 

 Wildlife decline

Source: Conflict and Environment Observatory

Ukraine's Industrial Sector

The environmental dangers Ukraine is facing as a result of armed conflict are also heightened by the country’s industrial background. Heavy industry is a big part of Ukraine's economy, especially in the east of the country. The largest nuclear power plant in Europe is located in Ukraine, in the city of Zaporizhzhya, and Ukraine's industrial sector accounts for nearly 29 percent of its gross domestic product.

One of the high-risk threats comprises tailings storage facilities (TSFs), which store liquid industrial waste. Altogether there are 465 TSFs in the country, storing over 6 billion tons of waste, and 200 of these TSFs are located in eastern Ukraine, the region that has been hardest hit by the war.

A 2019 study by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) showed that potential threats posed by damage to these facilities include risks of floods, explosions, and chemical, environmental, and fire hazards.

Now, three years after this report was published, more than 40 industrial sites have already been attacked by the Russian military.

A satellite image of burning oil-storage tanks in Chernihiv during Russia's invasion of Ukraine on March 21.

First responders work at a fuel-storage facility hit by cruise missiles in Lviv in western Ukraine on March 27.

According to a war assessment by the Dutch peace organization PAX, Ukraine had already been on the brink of an environmental catastrophe since the beginning of the ongoing war in the Donbas in 2014. This was avoided by the creation of de-escalation lines to prevent the bombing of chemical plants and continuous monitoring by the OSCE.

However, since this period, many industrial installations that store a huge amount of toxic and radioactive waste are in bad condition due to the effects of previous attacks and a lack of maintenance.

At the beginning of June, shelling on a chemical plant hit nitric-acid tanks, causing a big cloud of pink smoke to cover residential areas in Syevyerodonetsk. The governor of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Hayday, urged the population to stay inside their houses, since nitric acid can be dangerous if it is inhaled or swallowed or if it comes into contact with the skin.

A toxic cloud of smoke rises above Rubizhne in Ukraine’s Luhansk region in this social media image released by Ukraine’s parliament on April 5.

Laws And Obstacles

The four treaties of the Geneva Conventions that are supposed to regulate conduct during armed conflict don’t expressly mention the environment. However, after the Vietnam War, two important changes occurred in the law.

The first prohibits the violent use of environmental modification techniques that have “widespread, long-lasting, or severe effects.” The second blocks “methods or means of warfare that are intended, or may be expected, to cause widespread, long-term, and severe damage to the natural environment.”

As of May 2022, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine had recorded 231 environmental crimes allegedly committed by Russia.

The problem is that, even when actions in war are harmful to the environment, it is difficult for them to be considered a violation of the provisions, because the standards for military action to fall under the two new conventions are very high.

Health Costs

The lingering consequences felt by the population include lung diseases and various types of cancer due to the inhalation of heavy metals and carcinogens present in explosives, and also in the rubble of shelled buildings. Asbestos, a highly toxic substance that was only recently banned in Ukraine, is the main concern when it comes to human health.

The asbestos still present in the structure of buildings that are being torn apart by bombardments can cause a series of diseases, ranging from breathing difficulties to cancers of the lungs, stomach, ovaries, and other organs.

Postwar Actions And Obstacles

Experts from Ecoaction: Center for Environmental Initiatives say that, after the war is over, in addition to documenting all the environmental damage (in an effort to make Russia pay for it), it is also important to include the rehabilitation and protection of ecosystems in the Ukrainian recovery plan, as well as the rebuilding of settlements focusing on nature-based solutions for dealing with and adapting to climate change.

Sources: Ecoaction, International Committee of the Red Cross, PAX For Peace, Conflict and Environment Observatory, VOX, Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine, Reuters, The Guardian, Pravda, OSCE, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Al-Jazeera, the State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine, and Brown University.

Giovana Faria is a visual journalist with RFE/RL's Central Newsroom.

FOR INFOGRAPHICS SEE 

Scorched Earth: The Catastrophic Environmental Costs Of Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine (rferl.org)

UAE children’s magazine accused of promoting homosexuality with ‘gay issue’

Namita Singh 1 day ago

© AFP via Getty GettyImages-1241536767.jpg

United Arab Emirates has reportedly launched an investigation against a children’s magazine for allegedly promoting homosexuality.

The probe against Majid, a popular comic book anthology and magazine for children in the Arab world, comes days after it withdrew its May issue, according to the New Arab.

The comic depicted a multi-colored character, who said: “Amazing, I have the capability to colour things… Ali will wish to become like me.”

Some social media users claimed that the magazine deliberately played on the Arabic word “mithli”, which is used to refer to both a “homosexual” and “like me”.

The UAE, like other nations in the wider Middle East, is a Muslim-led country that criminalises same-sex relationships, awarding up to 14 years of imprisonment.

This crackdown by Emirati authorities is only the latest on queer communities in the region.

Earlier this month, the country banned Pixar’s Lightyear because the Toy Story spinoff reportedly included a same-sex kiss.

While officials had secured a license to play the film in the UAE, it was revoked following outrage on social media where users accused Disney and Lightyear of insulting Islam.

Earlier this month, authorities in Saudi Arabia seized rainbow-themed children’s items from shops as they claimed that the colours encourage homosexuality. Similarly, authorities in neighbouring Qatar had announced in December that they had confiscated rainbow-coloured toys from shops.

In April, the Disney/Marvel release Doctor Strange in the Muliverse of Madness was also denied a release in Saudi Arabia and other countries over LGBT+ content.

Czechs earn higher wages than Poles, Hungarians and Slovaks

The average wage in Czechia rose by 7.2 percent year over year to €1,534 in the first quarter of 2022

The annual study by the consulting company Mazars compares the tax systems of 22 countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

June 28, 2022

editor: REMIX NEWS

author: CZECH NEWS AGENCY

via: IDNES.CZ

 (Pixabay)

The average monthly wage in Czechia is the highest among the Visegrád Group countries and has enjoyed year-over-year growth of 12 percent, according to the annual study by Mazars.

The consulting company compares the tax systems of 22 countries across Central and Eastern Europe to ascertain the current level and annual growth of wages on the continent.

The average wage in Czechia is €1,533, topping Hungary at €1,369, Poland at €1,301 and Slovakia at €1,185, respectively.

Germany has retained the highest average wage in Central and Eastern Europe at €4,130, with Austria following closely behind at €3,818.

By contrast, the lowest average wage is €400 in Kosovo, €450 in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and €485 in Ukraine.

According to data from the Czech Statistical Office, the average wage in the Czech Republic rose 7.2 percent year over year to 37,929 korunas (€1,534) in the first quarter of this year but fell by 3.6 percent in real terms after inflation.

The differences in the growth of the average wage in euros were more significant in the region than before. Germany, where average wages rose by 14 percent based on last year’s study, grew by only 4 percent. On the contrary, the wage level in Austria grew faster, by 23 percent. In Hungary, growth also accelerated to 19 percent. Slovakia grew by 6 percent, and Poland fell by 2 percent.

The study also states that taxes and mandatory employer contributions related to people’s employment have decreased further in 22 European countries this year. The ratio of employer’s costs to gross wages for taxes and compulsory levies is approximately 15 percent. However, there are significant differences between countries. While in Romania and Kosovo, the levies are less than 5 percent of gross wages, these are 20.48 percent in Poland, 24.8 percent for annual incomes up to 76,330 euros in the Czech Republic, and 35.2 percent in Slovakia.

The study also shows that Hungary and Croatia have the highest VAT rates at 27 and 25 percent, respectively. The average in the region is between 19 and 21 percent. The Czech rate is 21 percent, while in Germany, it is 19 percent.

Regarding corporate income taxes, Germany has the highest taxation — its maximum amount is 31 percent. By contrast, some companies in Kosovo and Lithuania pay the lowest taxes, at 3 percent and 5 percent, respectively. Hungary, Montenegro, and Poland have a 9 percent tax rate. The current corporate income tax rate in the included countries remains between 15 and 20 percent. In the Czech Republic, it is 19 percent.

In the case of personal income taxation, nine states have one tax band, for example, Hungary’s 15 percent. More than half of the countries in the region have progressive taxation or more tax bands. In Austria, personal income tax is up to 55 percent, but at the same time, as in Kosovo or Albania, it starts at zero. Slovakia has three tax bands of 15, 19, and 25 percent. Poland has bands of 17 and 32 percent, while the Czech Republic has 15 and 23 percent tax bands.

The publication, which includes Germany, Austria, Russia, Ukraine, and southern European and Baltic states in addition to the V4 countries, monitors mainly labor costs, indirect taxes, and various aspects of corporate taxation and transfer pricing.