https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4k9yk_bfFpw&ab_channel=TheRationalNational
Friday, November 6, 2020
Natural hotspots lose ground to farms and cities
November 6th, 2020, by Tim Radford
https://climatenewsnetwork.net/natural-hotspots-lose-ground-to-farms-and-cities/
LONDON, 6 November, 2020 − Nations that signed up to preserve biodiversity − the richness of living things in the world’s forests, grasslands and wetlands − are not doing so very well: in one generation they have altered, degraded or cleared at least 1.48 million square kilometres of natural hotspots unusually rich in wildlife.
This is an area in total larger than South Africa, or Peru. It is almost as large as Mongolia. And importantly, this lost landscape adds up to 6% of the scattered ecosystems that make up the world’s biodiversity hotspots.
The biodiversity hotspot was defined, in 2000, as an area of land home to at least 0.5% of the world’s endemic species of plant. That means that a tract of marsh, savannah, upland or forest that may have already lost 70% of its cover is host to at least 1500 species native to that landscape and nowhere else.
Researchers at the time calculated that 44% of all vascular plants and 35% of all amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals could be concentrated in just 25 such hotspots on the world’s continents and islands.
The hotspot count has since been increased to 34. But the message has remained. Focus on preserving and protecting these areas and you have a “silver bullet” strategy for conserving wildlife worldwide.
First such inventory
But, say scientists in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, between 1992 and 2015 much of this precious wilderness has been consumed by agriculture, or paved by sprawling cities.
Their analysis of high resolution land-cover maps made by the European Space Agency is the first to try to look at the global inventory of hotspots, over a time frame of almost a quarter century.
“We see that not even focusing protection on a small range of areas worked well,” said Francesco Cherubini of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, who with colleagues carried out the research. “There was major deforestation even in areas that were supposed to be protected.”
Two fifths of the lost landscapes were in forests, and agriculture accounted for most of this loss, particularly in the tropical forests of Indonesia, the Indo-Burma region and Mesoamerica. Five per cent of the lost hotspots were in areas formally declared as under state protection.
“The soils in these areas are very fertile, and agricultural yields can be very high. So it’s very productive land from an agricultural point of view, and attractive to farmers and local authorities that have to think about rising local incomes by feeding a growing population,” Professor Cherubini said.
But most of the lost land went not to feeding people: it went instead to producing palm oil or soybeans for cattle feed. And local people may not have benefited: the change was driven by commercial agribusiness.
“You have these big companies that are making these investments, with high risks of land overexploitation and environmental degradation. The local population might get some benefits from revenues, but not much.”
The tension between hungry humans and vulnerable wilderness continues. Once again, such research supports a call for the people of the planet to consider a switch to plant-based diets, a switch that could contain climate change and preserve the natural capital on which all life depends. But many of those rich habitats are in some of the poorest countries.
“We need to be able somehow to link protection to poverty alleviation, because most of the biodiversity hotspots are in underdeveloped countries and it’s difficult to go there and say to a farmer, ‘Well, you need to keep this forest − don’t have a rice paddy or a field to feed your family’”, Professor Cherubini said.
“We need to also make it possible for the local communities to benefit from protection measures. They need income, too.”
Dr. Richard D. Wolff vs David Friedman | Socialism Vs Capitalism Debate
[Friedman is a malignant narcissist.]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29qDJHoDStA&feature=em-lbrm&ab_channel=Modern-DayDebate
Message from Movement for a People's Party
A presidential election that was supposed to be a landslide is coming down to thin margins in a handful of states. The fact that the election is this close is a remarkable indictment of Biden, the Democratic Party, and their unrelenting corporatism.
Trump won the highest share of nonwhite voters in generations, showing how fed up voters of color are with the Democratic Party and demolishing the myth of the party's inevitable demographic supremacy. Latinos, who along with Black and Indigenous Americans have been hit the hardest by the corrupt bipartisan response to the pandemic, abandoned the Democrats in record numbers.
The Democrats unshakable allegiance to Wall Street and Biden's refusal to adopt overwhelmingly popular progressive policies like a basic income, ending mandatory minimum sentencing, and a green new deal, has taken a huge toll on down-ballot races. As a result, the Democrats appear poised to lose the Senate and lose seats in the House.
The Democratic Party has made itself the party of the status quo and allowed the Republican Party to sell itself as the antiestablishment party of change. They rigged the primary against the most popular politician in America to nominate the architect of the crime bill and a self-described top cop in the midst of a national uprising against police brutality and systemic racism. They vowed to deny Americans free and guaranteed health care in the middle of a pandemic. Wall Street was so enthusiastic about the prospect of a Biden presidency that they gave more to the Democrats than Trump.
While Biden will likely win, Trump claimed victory on the night of the election and has filed legal challenges in an effort to stop the count. But as CNN has pointed out, the challenges seem geared more towards giving Trump an excuse to delegitimize the election on Twitter and explain away his loss rather than actually swing votes to him. Meanwhile, the Republican Party and even members of Trump's team are giving up.
For years our movement has said that the Democrats would rig their primary to block Bernie and progressives in 2020. For just as long we have said that if a typical corporate Democrat wins the presidency, that the far-right counterreaction in four years would give us an even more ideological and capable Trump. The only way to prevent that is to give Americans the major new party that the majority are desperate for in poll after poll. An authentic progressive populist party powered by the people and not corporate money. That what we are building. And this election could not have made it more clear that without it, this country is on the path to neofascism.
For much more discussion of the results and our plans, join our national call starting now, at 8:30 pm ET, or watch the recording on our YouTube channel.
The corporate parties had their chance. It's time for the People's Party.
Nick Brana
National Coordinator
Movement for a People's Party
Trump Files Lawsuit In Pennsylvania Alleging Election Officials Totally Disregarding His Feelings
https://www.theonion.com/trump-files-lawsuit-in-pennsylvania-alleging-election-o-1845587740
WASHINGTON—Blasting the complete lack of empathy, campaign attorneys for President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit in Pennsylvania Thursday alleging state election officials were totally disregarding his feelings.
“A lot of these ballots clearly contain information that makes me sad and scared, and it’s just not right,” said Trump, who cautioned the media to refrain from issuing any results that would hurt him.
“I’m angry and confused, and I demand that election officials cease being mean immediately. All this vote counting completely flies in the face of my emotions, and I won’t stand for it. We won’t let the Democrats make me cry.”
At press time, an angry mob of Trump supporters had surrounded a vote counting facility to demand election officials make the president smile.
Will Trump Incite Violence If He Loses?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjkUOxWMh_U&ab_channel=GrahamElwood
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