According to a new report, food banks are helping to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
The annual impact report of the Global FoodBanking Network found that food banks around the world avoided 1.8 million tonnes of carbon emissions last year by preventing food from being wasted in landfill. The network includes food banks in more than 50 countries.
Rachael Lucille, network communications specialist at the Oregon Food Bank, said food waste is the result of food being both inaccessible and unaffordable.
“When we work with local producers, such as at food banks, to intercept perfectly good, edible food before it is thrown away, it helps reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions from food waste,” explains Lucille.
Food waste in landfills is a major source of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that traps more heat than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. About one in eight Oregonians is food insecure, meaning they don’t know where their next meal will come from.
Carbon emissions from food waste exacerbate climate change and have a circular impact. Lucille pointed out that wildfires across Oregon are impacting food production.
“Extreme weather events caused by climate change are disrupting food supply chains, leading to higher and unpredictable food prices, increased risk of food deserts for communities already suffering from food insecurity, and fewer fresh fruits and vegetables,” Lucille explained.
One way to combat food waste is to support small, local farms. Lucille added that her organization does this through their community project to support producers. They emphasized that small farmers help combat climate change.
“It contributes to biodiversity, uses sustainable agricultural practices and ensures that food is grown locally,” Lucille stressed. “This reduces the fossil fuel emissions associated with packaging and transporting food.”
Disclosure: The Oregon Food Bank donates to our fund for coverage of community issues and volunteerism, education, health issues, and hunger/food/nutrition. If you would like to help us support news in the public interest, click here.
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Although summer is coming to an end in New York, the effects of climate change are still being felt.
This summer saw record high temperatures that have only continued to rise over the past decade, with reports suggesting the state is expected to see more days with temperatures above 90 degrees by 2050.
Climate activists protest against companies that contribute to the use of fossil fuels, which leads to worsening climate impacts.
Rev. Chelsea MacMillan, New York City organizer for the nonprofit GreenFaith, said climate changes in New York are similar to the national trend.
“Last year, the sky turned orange because of wildfire smoke rising from Canada,” MacMillan said. “We’re going to see more and more climate disasters like this in our state and in New York City.”
While extreme heat is one of the deadliest elements of climate change, storm damage is among the most costly. Hurricane Beryl was one of several storms that inundated many New York communities this year. In total, New York has suffered about $23 billion in damages from “billion-dollar disasters” this year. In 2023 alone, taxpayers will have to foot the $2 billion cost of climate change.
The Climate Change Superfund Act would require companies that have contributed to climate change to bear a portion of the investment costs for adaptation infrastructure.
MacMillan and other activists are protesting against the banks that finance fossil fuel projects. She said Citibank is one of the biggest donors.
“Citibank has pumped nearly $400 billion into oil, gas and coal companies since the Paris Climate Agreement in 2016,” MacMillan stressed. “This is simply unconscionable. There is no way we can achieve our climate goals if we continue to invest money in fossil fuels.”
While Citibank has been the largest financier of fossil fuel company expansion since 2016, JPMorgan Chase donated the most funds to fossil fuel companies last year. Since the Paris Climate Agreement, JPMorgan Chase has invested more than $430 billion in fossil fuel projects and companies.
Disclosure: GreenFaith donates to our fund for reporting on climate change/air quality, energy policy, and environmental justice. If you would like to help us support news in the public interest, click here.
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From government planners to farmers to citizens, anyone who wants to know how climate change will affect Minnesota in the coming decades can now get that information right at their fingertips. The people behind a new tool say it can help with certain types of planning.
The University of Minnesota’s Climate Adaptation Partnership recently launched the interactive digital tool MN CliMAT. Users can use greenhouse gas emission scenarios to make predictions, such as how much winter snowpack would be lost by 2060.
Nate Meyer, interim acting director of the Climate Adaptation Partnership at the University of Minnesota, said the goal is to help the public make informed decisions about the future.
“If someone is wondering when they should replace their roof with something like a reinforced roof system, they can use these climate forecasts to gather information to answer that question,” Meyer explained.
The user can see how the immediate area around a building becomes more vulnerable to heavy rain events. Another example is agriculture, getting a sense of future soil health and helping farmers develop strategies to make their land more climate resilient.
Meyer noted that the free service could also be a great resource for those tasked with protecting cities and communities from the worst impacts of climate change.
“We are currently working with a number of regulators and policymakers on strategies to help them select the data that are most useful for their purposes,” Meyer noted. “Then they incorporate that data into the models they need for their planning purposes.”
In a state known for its outdoor recreation, the data could benefit Minnesota’s tourism industry by helping stakeholders learn about future fluctuations in lake temperatures, for example, project leaders said. Since its launch, the tool has been accessed more than 50,000 times, Meyer said.
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Conservation groups across New England are calling for permanent protection for the Cashes Ledge area in the Gulf of Maine.
Often referred to as the “Yellowstone of the North Atlantic,” it contains rare ecological structures, a treasure trove of marine life, and one of the deepest cold-water kelp forests on the east coast.
Priscilla Brooks, vice president of marine conservation at the Conservation Law Foundation, said designating the area as a protected area would enable needed scientific research in one of the fastest-warming bodies of water on Earth.
“Protecting Cashes Ledge is one of the most comprehensive opportunities for protecting biodiversity and climate in the Gulf of Maine,” Brooks said.
Hundreds of scientists and marine conservation groups have formally called on the Biden administration to grant permanent protection, the first step in what is expected to be a years-long process.
Most commercial fishing, including bottom trawling, is already restricted in the Cashes Ledge area to restore depleted populations of groundfish such as cod and haddock, but environmental groups warn that regulatory uncertainty and a change in the White House could undo protections already in place.
Brooks noted that the economic health of Maine’s coastal communities depends on a healthy marine ecosystem that can adapt to the increasing pressures of climate change.
“More diverse and healthy ecological communities can provide a guarantee that ecosystem functions will be maintained even if some species decline,” Brooks noted.
Brooks emphasized that multiple industries, including fishing, aquaculture and tourism, have an interest in preserving Cashes Ledge. She added that a newly designated protected area would also contribute to President Biden’s goal of protecting 30% of America’s land and water by 2030 to slow biodiversity loss and build climate resilience.
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