In Costa Rica, ‘Pura Vida’ Also Means Climate Action
May 14, 2021
Costa Rica is an undisputed leader in climate action in Central America, having established a goal to reach net zero emissions by 2050, with several interim goals across many sectors that focus on resilience as well as mitigation. For example, the country has set targets for all newly built commercial, residential, and public buildings to be energy-efficient and climate-resilient, including the use of renewables for cooking and the heating of water.
These goals are ambitious and laudable, and they stand out in the region. Costa Rica itself is both small in land mass and population (5 million), but it is politically and economically stable with a relatively high standard of living. The country has long been a leader in ecotourism, and to underscore that as an economically viable economic strategy, Costa Rica’s leadership and its citizens have been bold in pursuing sustainable development across many sectors.
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CHENNAI: Animal welfare groups in India have opposed the Centre’s suggestion to allow reopening of poultry shops amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a letter to the secretary, ministry of fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying, prominent animal welfare organisations, including People for Animals (PFA), Humane Society International/India (HSI/India), Mercy for Animals India Foundation and Ahimsa Trust have expressed their concern over the government’s recent letter addressed to the states’ chief secretaries asking them to consider opening poultry shops during the lockdown.
The groups said that there is growing evidence and research conducted over the past one year, which shows that intensive animal agriculture and live animal markets that confine animals in small spaces create a larger risk of amplifying disease.
May 18, 2021
An exclusive Montana resort wants to turn sewage into snow so that its rich and famous members can ski its slopes in a winter season that’s shrinking because of climate change.
The Yellowstone Club a ski and golf resort just north of Yellowstone National Park that counts Bill Gates, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel among its members has asked the Montana Department of Environmental Quality for a permit to allow it to use wastewater for snowmaking operations on its ski slopes.
About a dozen other ski areas across the U.S. have used wastewater to make artificial snow before, but the Yellowstone Club would be the first in Montana. The technique has also been used in Europe and Australia.
Wednesday, 12 May 2021, 11:59 am
Talk about living in a bubble. As vegetarianism and veganism become normalised – there are more options on restaurant menus! - it can be easy to think that the whole world is gradually giving up on meat. Alas, the reverse is true. Americans for instance consumed 100 kilograms of meat and poultry in 2018, up from 75 kilograms in 1960, according to the US Department of Agriculture figures. Over the same 60-year period, global meat production has nearly quintupled, from 71 million tons to 340 million tons. Meat consumption per capita in China has reportedly doubled since 1990. In China as elsewhere, factors like urbanisation, population growth and the expanding middle class have combined to drive a steep rise in meat consumption. In many parts of the world, the conspicuous consumption of meat, poultry and seafood is treated as a sign of social success.