Climate Change > Delhi's Dangerous Diwali Air; SW Europe's Cold Winters Reducing Global Wine Production; COP26 - Ecological Disaster

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Delhi trapped under blanket of toxic air two days after Diwali

Overall Air Quality Index at 456 on a scale of 500, indicating ‘severe’ pollution

Published:  November 06, 2021 15:48

Reuters

  

Dense smog engulfs the Akshardham temple as air quality index (AQI) readers hit maximum 999 after Diwali, in New Delhi on Friday. Image Credit: Amit Sharma

New Delhi: India’s capital was blanketed by toxic air on Saturday as pollution levels remained dangerously high for a second day after revellers defied a fireworks ban during a major Hindu festival and farmers in nearby states burnt stubble.

New Delhi’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 456 on a scale of 500, indicating “severe” pollution conditions that can affect healthy people and seriously impact those with existing diseases.

The AQI measures the concentration of poisonous particulate matter PM2.5, which can cause cardiovascular and respiratory diseases such as lung cancer, in a cubic metre of air.

On social media, some residents complained about the hazardous conditions in Delhi, which has the worst air quality of all world capitals, with an annual spike often early in the winter.

“The pollution in Delhi makes it very difficult to live in this city. Or at least live here for too long,” resident Pratyush Singh said on Twitter. “We’re breathing smoke everyday.

Media will talk about it. Leaders will say they are fixing it.

It’ll go away and come back next year.” Toxic air kills more than a million people annually in India and takes an economic toll on the country’s populous northern states and the capital city of 20 million people.

The current pollution levels in Delhi were the result of fireworks on the night of the Hindu festival of Diwali on Thursday and from stubble burning in the surrounding farm belt, according to the federal Ministry of Earth Sciences’ SAFAR monitoring system.

Farmers in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana set alight the stubble left after harvesting at this time of the year to prepare their fields for the next crop.

The situation is expected to improve in Delhi from late Sunday onwards, but the AQI will remain in the “very poor” category, which can trigger respiratory illness on prolonged exposure, SAFAR said in a statement on its website.

Can somebody determine the amount of carbon entering the atmosphere from Diwali? I would like to know if it creates more carbon in two days than Canada does in a year?

Indo-Canadians also celebrate Diwali. Here in Abbotsford, B.C., I got to listen to 3 hours of fireworks four days after Hallowe'en. There were so many fireworks on the BC south coast and down into the Seattle area that on Hallowe'en evening I saw a good 1000 Canada Geese flying northeastward into the mountains. The wrong direction for migration, but they probably thought they were being shot at. There's a potential disaster there.

Global wine production expected to dip to 'extreme' low

due to harsh weather

By UPI Staff

   

The OIV forecast says that harsh weather conditions in fertile areas in Italy, Spain and France have led to "extremely low" production volumes for the industry. File Photo by Debbie Hill/ UPI | License Photo

Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Wine production worldwide is expected to fall to historic lows after severe weather conditions impacted multiple winemaking areas in Europe, according to an intergovernmental viticulture organization.

The International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) says it is forecast that harsh weather conditions in fertile areas in Italy, Spain and France have led to "extremely low" production volumes for the industry.

Compacting the problem, it says, is that demand for wine is almost back to normal levels that were disrupted by COVID-19.

"This would be the third consecutive year [when] the global production level is below average," OIV said in a statement Thursday.

"Italy, Spain and France ... lost about 22 [hectoliters] with respect to 2020 due late spring frost and overall unfavorable climatic conditions."

It seems there's a lack of global warming in southwestern Europe.

The OIV forecast is based on data collected from 28 countries, which account for about 85% of all wine production

in 2020. File Photo by Debbie Hill/ UPI

The organization said 2021 estimates are between 247 and 253 hectoliters -- which is 7% lower than its 20-year average.

France, Italy and Spain account for about 45% of global wine production and almost 80% of production in the European Union, OIV said.

"The impact of this downfall for the global wine sector is yet to be evaluated given the current context where the COVID-19 pandemic is still generating a relatively high degree of volatility and uncertainty," the organization added.

By contrast, the OIV forecast said that Germany, Portugal, Romania, Hungary and the United States have seen a slight increase in production.

COP26 climate change summit sets unexpected ecological record

12 Nov, 2021 13:58

Climate activists hold signs and masks as they demonstrate outside the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) venue, in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain November 12, 2021 © REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

A report commissioned for the UK government has shown that the COP26 meeting held in Glasgow has been twice as polluting as the previous climate summit, COP25, which was staged in Madrid.

The carbon footprint for the UN COP26 is expected to reach the equivalent of 102,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide, according to an initial assessment report for the UK government. The figure is roughly equivalent to the amount of C02 emitted by 10,000 British households annually.    

The document, compiled by sustainability consultant Arup, notes that some 60% of the emissions are related to international air travel of some 39,000 delegates who have taken part in the environmental crisis talks. Other major sources of pollution are cited as accommodation for the delegates, ferrying of guests to and from the summit, and venue catering. 

The report authors add that COP26 is the largest summit held in the UK to date and the figures on carbon emission will provide an important measure to inform wider activities within the Carbon Management Plan. 

The last UN climate change summit in Madrid welcomed some 27,000 people and produced some 51,101 tonnes of carbon dioxide. Data suggest the COP summits have been gradually getting more polluting, with the 2009 COP15 in Copenhagen producing around 26,000.  

The British government has said it will undertake projects within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to offset emissions. 

A number of critics have bemoaned the use of gas-guzzling luxury vehicles to ferry delegates back and forth to the conference venue. Others have labelled world leaders hypocritical for flying to Glasgow for the summit; some, it is understood, had come directly from the G20 meeting in Rome.

The BBC was told by aviation analytics company Cirium that some 76 flights involving private jets, or VIP flights, arrived at Glasgow and nearby airfields in the four days running up to the summit.

This man-made ecological disaster is brought to you by Stupidity Supreme the favourite drink of hypocritical elites the world over!

Climate Change > Biden's 85-car Motorcade; Trudeau to Destroy Canada to Save the World; PM BoJo - Hyperbole King; Swiss Reject Fuel Surcharges;

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‘Very green’: VIDEO of Biden’s massive 85-car motorcade

ahead of climate summit leaves critics stunned

30 Oct, 2021 20:18

US President Joe Biden leaves after meeting Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi ahead of the G20 summit

in Rome, Italy ©  REUTERS/Remo Casilli

US President Joe Biden has left many confused after he took an 85-car motorcade to his meeting with the Pope ahead of a massive summit on climate change.

On his way to meet Pope Francis on Friday, Biden traveled with a massive motorcade, caught on camera and likely extended from his usual entourage due to a Covid-19 restriction in Italy limiting the number of passengers in each vehicle. A typical motorcade for the president includes a couple dozen vehicles, plus vehicles to block traffic. 

Biden led a group of about a dozen people into his meeting, and his motorcade was filled with security details as well as press who shadow and report directly on the president. It reportedly involved 85 vehicles. 

Footage of the long line of gas-guzzling vehicles moving their way through the slim streets of Rome left many confused, especially since climate change is an issue the president and the Pope so often talk about. The meeting also took place ahead of a planned climate summit in Glasgow where the president was expected to tout over $500 billion in new spending on environmental programs, which is part of his larger $1.75 trillion spending package that has been stuck in Congress negotiations. 

Many critics noted the likely massive carbon footprint Biden’s trip has left, especially when the vehicles being used are not exactly environmentally friendly, including the 244-horsepower vehicle carrying the president, referred to as The Beast. Most of the vehicles are SUVs, vans, etc, typically vehicles that receive low gas mileage. 

“But remember folks,” pundit Darren Grimes tweeted in reaction to video of the extended fleet of vehicles, “YOU must stop driving YOUR car. YOU must stop flying abroad. YOU must stop eating meat. YOU must stop using a gas boiler. YOU must immiserate YOUR life in the name of saving the planet.”

“Just a vanity visit,” commentator Steve Milloy said, adding: “Very green.”

Canada will put a cap on oil and gas sector emissions,

Trudeau tells COP26 summit

'That's no small task for a major oil and gas producing country.

It's a big step,' PM says in speech

John Paul Tasker · 

CBC News · Posted: 

Nov 01, 2021 11:46 AM ET

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives for the COP26 summit in Glasgow, Scotland, Monday Nov. 1, 2021.

(Phil Noble/The Associated Press)

Canada will impose a hard cap on emissions from the oil and gas sector, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday at the COP26 summit in Glasgow.

Calling the promise "a major commitment" that should inspire other resource-rich countries to dramatically curb their own emissions, Trudeau said Canada is prepared to limit the growth of one of the country's largest industries to help the world hold the global average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

"We'll cap oil and gas sector emissions today and ensure they decrease tomorrow at a pace and scale needed to reach net-zero by 2050," Trudeau said during his two-minute speech in front of other world leaders gathered in Scotland.

"That's no small task for a major oil and gas producing country. It's a big step that's absolutely necessary."

In 2019, Canada's oil and gas sector accounted for 191 megatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions — 26 per cent of the country's total emissions. The country's second-largest source of emissions is the transport sector, which emitted 186 megatonnes.

Since 1990, emissions from the oil and gas sector have nearly doubled — an increase largely attributed to a dramatic expansion of the oilsands industry.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), the lobby group that represents oil and gas interests, has argued that Canada accounts for less than 1.5 per cent of the world's GHG emissions and global climate change efforts should be directed at coal, which still accounts for half of all emissions.

If Canada were to get to zero net emissions, that means the world's GHG emissions would drop by 1.5%, which would not result in a measurable difference in the global temperature, but will result in a spectacular difference in our standard of living.

Trudeau seems to be completely unaware that we live in the 2nd largest country in the world; that there are hundreds if not thousands of kilometers between our major cities; that we have bitterly cold and very dark winters. 

How does he plan to move goods from tide-waters to the interior cities? Will tractor-trailers and trains run on batteries, regardless of the temperature and the mountain slopes? Will we warm our houses by solar panels when the temperature outside is -40 deg.? Will windmills work in an ice-storm? 

Majority of Swiss refuse to pay more for fuel & heating

to meet climate change goals – survey

31 Oct, 2021 23:53

FILE PHOTO. Traffic on the A52 motorway passes a Shell gas station near the village of Hinteregg, Switzerland.

© Reuters / Arnd Wiegmann

The majority of Swiss are reluctant to fund climate change goals from their own pocket, a new survey has shown. Younger people, and those living in rural areas, are especially unwilling to pay more for gas, heating and air travel.

The 2050 carbon neutrality goals, outlined by the Switzerland authorities, are out of step with the population's readiness to pay increasingly higher bills to fund them, according to a new survey. The poll, conducted among some 23,000 people, was commissioned by the Tamedia and 20 Minuten media groups early in October with its findings published Sunday.

The rejection of footing higher bills for fixing climate change turned out to be high across the entire Swiss society, with the exception of the supporters of the Green Party. Women have demonstrated somewhat better climate awareness, with the majority, however, still unwilling to spend significantly more.

'Better climate awareness' reveals where this media outlet stands. They stand right with those who are desperately working to increase climate alarmism. 

Overall, some 67% of respondents either found fuel price hikes unacceptable, or were ready to pay a maximum of ten percent on top of their regular bills. Some 61% of polled women were against paying more for a tank of gas, while among young men between 18 and 34 a whopping 80% refused to spend more at the pump. People living in rural areas have demonstrated higher sensitivity to fuel prices. 

The Swiss turned out a bit more welcoming towards climate-minded price hikes in aircraft travel and heating. The majority of the surveyed, however, are still against such moves: some 57% of the respondents either rejected plane ticket price hikes altogether, or agreed to no more than $44 in additional charges. A similar number of respondents – some 60 % – refused to pay significantly more for home heating.

Back in June, the Swiss narrowly rejected a proposed “carbon dioxide law” during a nation-wide referendum. The flopped legislation, which came as an additional package to the standing CO2 Act, envisioned new hiked fees and taxes on fuels that produce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. If adopted, the bill would have introduced additional taxes on all fossil fuels, including natural gas, as well as placed additional fees on airline tickets.

PM Johnson calls on humanity to ‘defuse that bomb’ of climate change

in Bond-inspired speech at COP26

Boris Johnson - King of hyperbole

1 Nov, 2021 15:58

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during the opening ceremony of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain November 1, 2021. © Steve Reigate/Pool via REUTERS

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that climate change is like a “doomsday device” from a James Bond film and there is no time left on the countdown, as he called on the global community to step up their commitments.

Speaking on Monday during the plenary session of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Johnson claimed that nations around the world needed to get serious on climate change “today” otherwise it would be too late for the children of the future.  

Referencing one of Scotland’s most famous fictional sons, James Bond, the PM asserted that there was no time left to wait. “We are in roughly the same position as James Bond today, except that the tragedy is this is not a movie and the doomsday device is real,” he stated. 

Humanity has long since run down the clock on climate change. It’s one minute to midnight on that doomsday clock and we need to act now.

Johnson said if conferences actually solved things, then we would not need the 26th edition of the UN’s climate change conference, noting that instead, COP26 was a “lifeboat for humanity.” 

“We may not feel much like James Bond. Not all of us necessarily look much like James Bond. But we have the opportunity and the duty to make this summit the moment when humanity finally began to defuse that bomb,” he added, ending his 007 references. 

Johnson said it was the children of tomorrow that leaders needed to be thinking about, noting that future generations would judge them with “bitterness and resentment” if they failed to deliver. 

The prime minister’s remarks were followed by speeches by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, long-time environmental campaigner Prince Charles, and famed wildlife broadcaster David Attenborough. 

As world leaders spoke, Swedish activist Greta Thunberg retweeted an open letter accusing Johnson and his international colleagues of “betrayal.” 

“Millions will suffer as our planet is devastated – a terrifying future that will be created, or avoided, by the decisions you make. You have the power to decide,” it read. 

Speaking of bombs - Thunberg has taken to dropping F-bombs during her speeches. I'm sure that will help!

World leaders and delegates from some 200 nations are gathering in Glasgow on Monday to pledge their commitments to cut carbon emissions in line with the Paris Agreement, signed in December 2015.