Flux continu

Scientists have uncovered alarming new evidence that a common insecticide may leave lasting marks on the developing brain before a child is even born. Researchers studying New York City children found that prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos — a pesticide once widely used indoors and still used in agriculture — was linked to widespread brain abnormalities and weaker motor skills years later.

Climate change is causing measurable harm globally1,2. Political and legal efforts seek to link these damages with specific emissions, including in discussions of loss and damage (L&D)3,4; however, no quantitative definition of L&D exists5,6, nor is there a framework to link past and future emissions from specific sources to monetized, location-specific damages. Here we develop such a framework, which is integrated with recent efforts to estimate the social cost of carbon7. Using empirical estimates of the non-linear relationship between temperature and aggregate economic output, we show that future damages from past emissions—one component of L&D—are at least an order of magnitude larger than historical damages from the same emissions. For instance, one tonne of CO2 emitted in 1990 caused US$180 in discounted global damages by 2020 ($40–530) and will cause an additional $1,840 through 2100 ($500–5,700). Thus, settling debts for past damages will not settle debts for past emissions. In other illustrative esti

A new groundbreaking German study proves that pesticides spread much further from the field than previously believed. A team of scientists led by Professor Dr. Carsten Brühl tested topsoil, vegetation, streams and puddles from 78 locations over a 180 km stretch, from remote areas in the UNESCO forests on the mountain ranges to the farmland in the Upper Rhine area. The research team detected a total of 63 pesticides. Almost all measurement sites were contaminated. Residues were found in 97% of the soil and vegetation samples, often in complex mixtures of several active ingredients. This cocktail of pesticides is especially problematic because interactions can occur and effects can be amplified. The worrying results are consistent with previous smaller-scale studies in the South Tirol area in Italy. Large scale and prolonged pesticide use is a major factor in the sharp decline in populations of insects and other organisms essential for farming, as highlighted in our biodiversity campaign. The researchers see pe

Today, we are close to the critical moment when conventional economic growth becomes impossible on a finite planet, constrained by two parallel factors: resource depletion and pollution. Tthe depletion of fossil fuels and other mineral commodities is placing heavy constraints on both industrial and agricultural production. We are not running out of anything yet, but the cost of extraction is increasing, just as the damage that extraction causes to the ecosystem. On the other side, pollution is appearing in more than one form. Chemical pollution is growing in terms of heavy metals, endocrine-disruptors, and other poisoning substances, while climate change can be seen as another form of pollution generated by the excess of CO2 in the atmosphere.

UN GEO report says ending this harm key to global transformation required ‘before collapse becomes inevitable’

EU officials warn climate breakdown and wildlife loss ‘are ruining ecosystems that underpin the economy’ […] The European way of life is being jeopardised by environmental degradation, a report has found, with EU officials warning against weakening green rules. The continent has made “important progress” in cutting planet-heating pollution, according to the European Environment Agency, but the death of wildlife and breakdown of the climate are ruining ecosystems that underpin the economy.

The world's largest polluters are also the safest from the environmental damage they help create—while the countries least to blame face the greatest threats, including the increased possibility of violent conflict.

A Dartmouth College research team came up with the estimated pollution caused by 111 companies, with more than half of the total dollar figure coming from 10 fossil fuel providers: Saudi Aramco, Gazprom, Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, National Iranian Oil Co., Pemex, Coal India and the British Coal Corporation. For comparison, $28 trillion is a shade less than the sum of all goods and services produced in the United States last year.

The economic damage wrought by climate change is six times worse than previously thought, with global heating set to shrink wealth at a rate consistent with the level of financial losses of a continuing permanent war, research has found. A 1C increase in global temperature leads to a 12% decline in world gross domestic product (GDP), the researchers found, a far higher estimate than that of previous analyses.

04/17/2024 - Even if CO2 emissions were to be drastically cut down starting today, the world economy is already committed to an income reduction of 19 % until 2050 due to climate change, a new study published in “Nature” finds. These damages are six times larger than the mitigation costs needed to limit global warming to two degrees. Based on empirical data from more than 1,600 regions worldwide over the past 40 years, scientists at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) assessed future impacts of changing climatic conditions on economic growth and their persistence.