Day: October 30, 2021

Environmental, General News

An Overview Of COP26 – And More. The Climate Talks !

COP26 is the 2021 United Nations climate change conference

For nearly three decades the UN has been bringing together almost every country on earth for global climate summits – called COPs – which stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’. In that time climate change has gone from being a fringe issue to a global priority.

This year will be the 26th annual summit – giving it the name COP26. With the UK as President, COP26 takes place in Glasgow.

In the run up to COP26 the UK is working with every nation to reach agreement on how to tackle climate change. World leaders will arrive in Scotland, alongside tens of thousands of negotiators, government representatives, businesses and citizens for twelve days of talks.

Not only is it a huge task but it is also not just yet another international summit. Most experts believe COP26 has a unique urgency. 

 

The importance of the Paris Agreement

COP21 took place in Paris in 2015. 

For the first time ever, something momentous happened: every country agreed to work together to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees and aim for 1.5 degrees, to adapt to the impacts of a changing climate and to make money available to deliver on these aims. 

The Paris Agreement was born. The commitment to aim for 1.5 degrees is important because every fraction of a degree of warming will result in the loss of many more lives lost and livelihoods damaged.

Under the Paris Agreement, countries committed to bring forward national plans setting out how much they would reduce their emissions – known as Nationally Determined Contributions, or ‘NDCs’. 

They agreed that every five years they would come back with an updated plan that would reflect their highest possible ambition at that time. 

Glasgow is the moment for countries to update their plans 

The run up to this year’s summit in Glasgow is the moment (delayed by a year due to the pandemic) when countries update their plans for reducing emissions. 

But that’s not all. The commitments laid out in Paris did not come close to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees, and the window for achieving this is closing. 

The decade out to 2030 will be crucial. 

So as momentous as Paris was, countries must go much further than they did even at that historic summit in order to keep the hope of holding temperature rises to 1.5 alive. COP26 needs to be decisive.  

 

Which leaders will go to COP, and who will Cop Out !

Click here to see the list of Cop Ins:

Which leaders will attend COP26? Full list of country heads visiting Glasgow for climate change summit | The Scotsman

Cop Outs:

The Kremlin has confirmed that Vladimir Putin will not be travelling to Glasgow for COP26.

His presence had been in doubt for a few weeks, with confirmation coming on October 20th.

In addition, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been informed that Chinese President Xi Jinping will not be attending COP26.

 

Further reads on the COP:

What is a COP? – UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) at the SEC – Glasgow 2021 (ukcop26.org)

COP26: What is it and why is it happening in Glasgow in 2021? – CBBC Newsround

Conference of the Parties (COP) | UNFCCC

HOME – UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) at the SEC – Glasgow 2021 (ukcop26.org)

Regards Mark

Farm Animals

Chickens are one of the most abused animals on the planet

Posted on 22/05/2019 by Jonty Whittleton and Monica List in the “Animals in farming blog”

The number of chickens in factory farming who are suffering and dying every day is staggering. We take a look at the chicken crisis that’s exploding around the world.

Too big a problem to comprehend

There comes a point where the size of a problem does little to make it more potent.
Climate change is a classic example – the vast, often-complex nature of our warming planet has been a big hurdle for those with the job of convincing policy makers and the public at large that we face a genuine emergency.

Seven-day-old broiler chickens in a commercial farming system

And the same effect can be seen with animal welfare, specifically, chickens and other factory farmed animals who are suffering daily. The story of a single suffering creature always seems to motivate people in a way that tales of mass suffering always seem to fail to do.

It makes sense; our brains are hard-wired to prioritise stories over scale.

The scale of suffering for factory farmed chickens

The scale of suffering is important to us as animal welfare campaigners, showing us where we can improve the lives of the greatest number of animals.
And there’s no better example of suffering at scale than the factory farming of chickens (perhaps with the exception of fish and shellfish, but that’s for another day).

Let’s be frank; industrial chicken production is one of the biggest causes of animal cruelty in the world.

The problem for the modern chicken

When we talk about meat chickens, we mean the cookie-cutter, white-feathered ones who teeter around on legs that can barely take the mass of their immense breasts.

32-day-old broiler meat chicken in a commercial indoor farming system

These animals have been genetically ‘tuned’ to maximise weight gain at all cost. And it’s a hefty cost that these animals must pay, in the form of painful lameness, skin lesions, leg fractures, breathing difficulties and even heart failure.

These animals are only 40 days old when they’re slaughtered and consumed – still just babies, not that you’d know it to look at them.

And the houses in which these giants are reared add insult to injury. Factory farm conditions for these animals are extremely poor.
The barren sheds are stuffed full of chickens and provide little to keep these naturally curious, playful animals from abject boredom.

Rest is a constant challenge, as most sheds don’t provide more than four hours of ‘darkness’ at a time. And for most of the time, the chickens are bathed in harsh artificial light and crammed in alongside tens or even hundreds of thousands of other chickens.

Imagine being forced to gain an unhealthy amount of weight while spending your whole life in a poorly lit, window-less, cramped, unfurnished flat with nothing to do.
Not fun, right? It would be quite a job to design a less appropriate house for a living, breathing, feeling animal.

Continue reading “Chickens are one of the most abused animals on the planet” →

Environmental, Farm Animals, General News, Uncategorized

UK: COP26 – ‘You Can’t Be A Meat-Eating Environmentalist’ Declares New (Bus) Campaign (In Glasgow) Aimed At COP26. Go Vegan !! – Also, Don’t Have Blood On Your Hands !

New Bus Campaign Urges World Leaders At COP26 To Go Vegan To Save The Planet

‘You Can’t Be A Meat-Eating Environmentalist’ Declares New Campaign Aimed At COP26

WAV Comment: Credit where it is due – we know its politics and votes at the end of the day, but we will say clearly that Boris Johnson – UK Prime Minister (and NO relation – a surname only thing !) is trying his best to do something about the global environmental issue. It is the Chinese and Russian leaders who are not even attending who are showing their real national colours about a situation that effects the entire planet and every one of us.

Other leaders, like Scott (I love fossil fuels like coal) Morrison, the PM of Australia, have been hauled kicking and screaming to the conference; not wanting to, but being given little choice really by HM the Queen, and other (British) commonwealth politicians who are all doing their bit to improve the global situation.

Scott Morrison – I love coal !, sod the climate.

Anyway, the excellent bus campaign now adorning buses around the streets of Glasgow, venue for the conference; urging people to go vegan for the sake of the planet; is sending a message loud and clear on the streets of the conference venue.

Well done all concerned.

Regards Mark

COP26 has come under fire for its decision to serve meat, including beef, at the upcoming summit

New Bus Campaign Urges World Leaders At COP26 To Go Vegan To Save The Planet – Plant Based News

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has launched a campaign aimed at the world leaders attending COP26 this year. The initiative urges them to go vegan for the sake of the planet – a message that’s sent loud and clear via the sides of half a dozen buses. 

PETA, said to be the largest animal rights organization in the world, launched the campaign in Glasgow, where the United Nations’ climate change conference is being held this year. It’s the 26th event of its kind.

The advertisement will appear on buses that run through the city center, including past the Scottish Event Campus where COP26 will take place from October 31 to November 12, 2021.

“You can’t be a meat-eating environmentalist. Take Personal Responsibility: Go Vegan,” the bus ads reads. The campaign will run until November 14.

COP26

COP26 unites world leaders with the shared goal of protecting the planet from the escalating climate emergency. There, they will conjure up strategies to reduce emissions, pollution, and deforestation, for example.

But some have criticized COP26 for overlooking the food system’s impact on the planet. Animal farming practices, in particular, are resource-intensive and responsible for huge amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. 

As a consequence, environmentalists have called on the conference to serve only vegan food. 

However, despite promising to focus on plant-based meals, COP26’s menu still features dishes like turkey, salmon, and beef. The latter has repeatedly been identified as one of the most destructive foods to produce.

“The UN has stated that a global shift to vegan eating is necessary to combat the worst effects of climate change,” commented PETA Senior Campaigns Manager Kate Werner. “PETA’s ad blitz is a wake-up call to anyone who can look at a plate of sausage or black pudding without considering the environmental impact of these foods – or the animals who suffered for them.”

 

 

Regards Mark

AND ….

Shoppers Caught Out By Hand Sanitiser ‘Filled With Blood’ In Vegan Stunt

With the government not ‘taking the climate crisis seriously’ the activists took it into their own hands – by getting fake blood on others’

Vegan activists are hijacking hand sanitizer stations outside meat and fast-food stores with fake blood. It’s hoped the ‘caught red-handed’ scheme will encourage people to rethink their food choices and go vegan.

Hand sanitizers filled with fake blood

Activists took to south London this week, where they positioned hand sanitizer stations outside McDonald’s and KFC outlets, as well as a butchery.

As customers left venues in Brixton and Clapham high street, they went to clean their hands only to be met with fake blood.

While many were shocked, others welcomed the stunt. And one shopper reportedly said they would consider cutting down their meat intake.

The activists, known only as Jane and Gaby, said the point was to leave people’s consciences stained as well as their hands.

Moreover, McDonald’s and KFC were chosen as meat features heavily on their menus.

Activists encourage public to go vegan

In a statement sent to PBN, the activists said: “We thought that if the government isn’t going to take the climate crisis seriously and the role that the consumption of meat plays in this, then we would have to get the general public to take notice.

“We thought hand sanitizing stations were perfect as it taps into a current everyday behavior.

“And, also doubles up as a metaphor to show that the responsibility of eating less meat is in everyone’s individual hands.”

Regards Mark

Environmental, Farm Animals, General News

UK: Britain Preparing For Meat Tax; For Better Animal Welfare (Farming) Methods and To Encourage Other Meat Exporting Nations To Go Greener.

WAV Comment: People across the world need to change their habits to purchasing locally produced food. This cuts down on Carbon footprint – simple !

We hope this move by the UK government will encourage farmers to get animals out of intensive systems and move them back to the land. If they are to be paid subsidies for going greener, then this is the route they must take.

Also, it will encourage ‘less Green’ nations such as Australia to step up to the plate and make their green credentials better, if they want to sell their exported meat in the UK. We will always and only support people moving to a vegan (plant based) diet, for many reasons; but we also accept that there will always be some who want to continue eating meat.

If this is the case, get the animals out of intensive systems and move them back on the land. Hopefully, if UK farmers will be given subsidies to do this, it will be a massive positive for future animal welfare.

Regards Mark

Above – a free range pig farm in Suffolk, England.

Meat taxes will make British farmers go greener, says George Eustice

Emma Gatten  

The farming minister has signalled his support for meat taxes, in an interview with The Telegraph.

On the eve of the Cop26 summit in Glasgow, George Eustice has said that the UK will need to “move into the realms of things like carbon taxes” when existing EU agricultural subsidies are finally phased out.

Mr Eustice, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary, disclosed that the Government was already working on a new tax system for parts of the food sector that contribute most to global warming, such as meat and dairy.

By placing levies on high polluters, such a move could help cut down emissions, and is also likely to help British farmers compete with post-Brexit imports.

Any new tax could, however, raise the price of red meat. Mr Eustice said that according to the Government’s own modelling, prices were already set to increase in real terms by 10 per cent over the next five years.

Mr Eustice told The Telegraph that a planned restructuring of the £3.5 billion EU agricultural subsidies would encourage farmers to produce higher-welfare and more environmentally friendly food over the next seven years.

But he added: “Beyond that, you then start to move into the realms of things like carbon taxes. But we need to do the thinking about it now.”

It comes as Boris Johnson warned that civilisation could fall once again like the Roman Empire if the world failed to make sufficient progress on curbing climate change.

Speaking on Friday night as he landed in Rome for the G20 summit, the Prime Minister said being in the Eternal City should serve as a “fantastic reminder” and a “memento mori” that societies could go “backwards as well as forwards”.

“You saw that with the decline and fall of the Roman Empire and I’m afraid to say it’s true today, that unless we get this right in tackling climate change we could see our civilisation, our world, also go backwards.”

Mr Johnson then deployed a football analogy to warn that humanity was currently “5-1 down” at half-time against the “formidable opponent” that is global warming.

The new carbon taxation system raised by Mr Eustice would be introduced after 2027, by which time the Brexit transition period for agricultural subsidies would have come to an end.

He said carbon border taxes would also be brought in and their purpose “would be to encourage countries like Australia, like New Zealand, to tackle their own greenhouse gas emissions”.

Mr Eustice said: “If there are other countries in the world that don’t pull their weight, and don’t do their share, you know, at some point you will have to find a way of reflecting that in international trade.”

He said: “The Treasury and BEIS [the business department] are doing a piece of work on this. Ideally for it to work obviously it would be agreed multilaterally.”

He added: “All of this is supposes that you would move in the direction of carbon emissions trading” first in the UK agriculture sector.

Continue reading on next page.

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Stray Animals

why adopt an animal …

While some “animal-loving” people buy expensive dogs,
he is still there…
All he wanted most was to have a family …
Instead he was abandoned and condemned to constant fear, hunger and loneliness.

Never buy an animal.
Adopt! Give an animal a fair, responsible coexistence
They are worth it. In their cleverness, their beauty and their sensitivity.
And in doing so, you correct the crimes that an ignorant, irresponsible society causes.

regards, Venus