Category: Planet

The Food and Drug Administration just announced a policy change that could save the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent lab animals. Under the new policy, the FDA will no longer require animals used for lab experiments to be killed after testing is complete — from now on, all healthy animals may be adopted, sent to shelters, or retired to sanctuaries.

In the U.S. (as well as many other countries), it is legally required for all drugs to be tested on animals, and each individual animal is typically only used to test one drug before being killed.

The Hill shared the news this week after obtaining documents from the FDA detailing the new policy. The agency quietly approved the change in November, but has been following a private and internal program for placing animals after studies are complete, as FDA spokesperson Monique Richards told The Hill.

Animals the FDA tests on whose lives will now be spared are dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, and some farmed animals, as The Hill reported. According to PETA, other animals the FDA routinely tests on include primates, mice, rats, and hamsters.

But as FDA spokesperson Monique Richards tells Green Matters, all animal species are protected by the change in policy.

“Yes, all species are covered,” Richards tells Green Matters in an email. “The animal program management, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, and attending veterinarians in each FDA animal program use their professional expertise to decide on eligibility and proper placement.”

Additionally, the policy change only seems to impact “healthy” animals — so any animals left in poor states of health after their experiments could still be euthanized; not to mention, any animals subjected to lethal dose tests will be left dead at the end of their experiments.

The FDA conducts experiments on animals to evaluate the efficacy and safety of drugs, vaccines, medical devices, and more, as explained on its website. However, animal tests are not actually the most accurate indication of that. According to Cruelty Free International, 90 percent of drugs fail in clinical trials on human volunteers — and those trials always come after comprehensive animal tests indicating that the drugs would safely work on humans.

Even though the FDA still legally requires animal testing, the fact that the FDA is now showing mercy for many of the animals it tests on suggests that maybe the agency will continue moving away from animal exploitation. In fact, the FDA says that it “has supported efforts to reduce animal testing, and that it “has research and development efforts underway to reduce the need for animal testing and to work toward replacement of animal testing.” And luckily, there are plenty of other tests that researchers can run on new drugs before sending them to clinical trials.

As Richards tells Green Matters, the FDA and 13 other Federal agencies make up the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM), which has a goal of replacing animal testing with non-animal testing methods (NATMs) when possible.

“FDA has an interest in reducing the use of animal-based studies. FDA fosters the development of modem, alternative research methods that can help reduce the number of animals used in testing,” Richards tells Green Matters. “Although we are hopeful that in vitro assays and computer models can ultimately help to replace much of the need for animal testing, non-animal testing is not yet a scientifically valid and available option to address many areas of product testing.”

Furthermore, legislators are currently working on the AFTER Act, which would require — and help — federal agencies rehome animals used for experiments.

In 2018, U.S. researchers experimented on about 780,070 animals (including 70,797 primates, 59,401 dogs, and 18,619 cats), according to Cruelty Free International. So even though hundreds of thousands of animals will continue suffering at the FDA’s hands every year, at least many of their lives will be spared from now on.

As the FDA and other scientists continue researching ways to reduce animal testing — and as legislators continue to push for the AFTER Act — hopefully the agency will soon banish animal testing for good.

Original article by Sophie Hirsh – Source Green Matters

Photo by Hermes Rivera on Unsplash

To find out more about Peta and ways to get involved, go to their website.

To find out more about Cruelty Free International and ways to get involved, go to their website.

A 17-year-old birdwatcher, conservationist, and environmental activist has reportedly become the youngest British person ever to receive an honorary degree.

Mya-Rose Craig, from Bristol, received the award from the University of Bristol on Thursday in recognition of her activism, which includes campaigning to encourage young people from diverse communities to embrace environmentalism.

Craig, who is British Bangaldeshi, blogs as Birdgirl and has yet to sit her A-levels. She said that when she first got the email about the award she was so surprised “it felt like some strange sort of scam.”

But she said that the recognition showed her that “my message must be getting through.”

In 2016, when she was just 14 years old, Craig set up her organisation Black2Nature with the aim of ensuring Visible Minority Ethnic (VME) communities have equal access to nature and to involvement in environmental action.

In her speech during the graduation ceremony, she called for greater equality of opportunities for everyone, regardless of their background.

“Slowly change is happening, but it needs to happen much faster because we need to engage everybody from every community to tackle the environmental crisis that we are finding ourselves in,” she told the audience.

“Now, more than ever, it’s important to recognise that inequality in engagement creates inequality of opportunity,” she continued. “And an unequal world can never be a sustainable world.”

She told those graduating at the ceremony to use their skills to “really go out and change the world for the better.”

On top of founding Black2Nature, however, Craig has also got an array of remarkable achievements to her name.

She filmed her first documentary at the age of just seven; at 13, she organised her first nature camp for VME teenagers in Bristol, and has now organised nine camps and two conferences; and in September 2018, she wrote the “Manifesto for Diversity in Nature Conservation”for naturalist Chris Packham.

She’s also the youngest person in the world to have seen at least half of the world’s species of bird, according to the university’s statement.

Craig was nominated for the honorary degree by Prof. Rich Pancost, head of earth sciences at the University of Bristol.

“Although only 17, Mya-Rose has already created a phenomenal amount of positive change for nature and is a fantastic role model for her peers,” Pancost said. “In addition to being a world-leading ornithologist, she has delivered over 50 inspirational talks and is a passionate advocate for the need to engage people of all ages and backgrounds in both the conservation and the climate change movements.”

Original article by Imogen Calderwood– Source Global Citizen

Photo by Taneli Lahtinenon on Unsplash

To find out more about Birdgirl and ways to get involved, go to their website.

Three million people live in the Greater Manchester area and the charity City of Trees have an ambitious goal – to plant a tree for every one of them.

They believe that trees and woodland have an essential role to play in making sure towns and cities are prosperous, pleasant and healthy places to live, and that by restoring underused and unloved woodland in and around Manchester they can help connect people to nature.

One of the group’s key projects is Woodland Futures, where a team including volunteers and community groups aim to restore ancient woodlands around the town of Wythenshawe, south Manchester.

The project began in September 2018, and since then regular community events have included tree planting sessions, clearing paths, sowing wildflowers and making the woodlands a nicer place for both people and wildlife.

Andy Long, a woodlands officer from City of Trees explained: “The work the many hundreds of volunteers have done across the woodlands has made a huge impact.

“The woods are more accessible and welcoming to users and hundreds of wildflowers have been planted in additional to lots of bare areas sown with wildflower seed.

“Volunteers and local people have also tackled non-native invasive species, and in Sandilands Wood this has made a massive difference to the feel and appearance of the space as well as helping to make it more resilient for the future.”

City of Trees have also partnered with several community groups including schools, scouts and Back on Track, a local charity which helps people in the community who have experienced problems with their mental health, homelessness or drugs or alcohol to learn new skills. And the benefit to everyone involved has been huge.

Andy added: “The school and scout sessions have seen lots of young people making positive improvements to the local greenspace, and our sessions with Back on Track have helped spread wider the benefits of spending time and working in natural greenspaces.

“Throughout all the sessions, we talk about the natural heritage and history of the woodlands as well as explaining the importance of those woodlands today. “

Back on Track learners have also reported that the experience of working in the woodlands has led to big improvements in their mental health, confidence and building skills like teamwork.

City of Trees need volunteers to help on the ground with the Woodlands Future project and join in with their upcoming sessions, including tree planting and tidying up the woodland. No experience is necessary. They also need donations to help them towards their goal of planting three million trees in the Greater Manchester area.

Find out more at cityoftrees.org.uk/events or on social:

Facebook: facebook.com/cityoftreesmcr

Twitter: @CityofTreesMcr

 

By Jenna Sloan

Queen guitarist Brian May is giving up animal products for the first month of 2020 as part of a New Year’s resolution known as “Veganuary.”

The rock star is documenting his dietary journey on social media and is calling on other people to join him if they feel inspired. He said he felt moved to pursue Veganuary after watching friends embrace a vegan diet and learning about the moral and environmental consequences of animal products.

“My reasons?” he wrote on Instagram. “(1) To lessen the suffering of animals. (2) To lessen the load on our groaning planet. (3) For my health. And… as an animal campaigner, it has been bothering me for a while that I still eat animal-derived food, that has caused indignity and pain to a non-human animal. So I will try to move along the line.”

The first couple of days went “Ok,” May wrote. He’s learning what he can and can’t eat, relying on the support of accommodating restaurants and his family, and craves some of his favorite animal products like eggs and prawns.

Still, May is enjoying his plant-based meals.

“There are SO many great vegetables in the world — artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, roasted parsnips, new potatoes, and a rocket and tomato salad, perked up with olive oil and balsamic vinegar from dear old Luciano Pavarotti’s home town,” he wrote in one post.

Veganuary is more than a stunt — it’s a full-fledged advocacy organization. Founded in 2014, Veganuary encourages people to try a plant-based diet and reduce their consumption of animal products.

More than 250,000 people took the Veganuary pledge in 2019, the organization notes, and hundreds of restaurants, stores, and brands supported the cause.

In recent years, the vegan diet has become more accessible and mainstream. Brands such as Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat have allowed meat lovers to find convincing alternatives to beef and chicken. Celebrities such as Beyoncé and Leonardo DiCaprio have championed plant-based diets, and documentaries such as The Game Changers and What the Health have made compelling cases for abandoning animal products.

The plant-based movement is driven by environmental, animal welfare, and health concerns.

Animal agriculture is one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions. It also causes deforestation, habitat destruction, desertification, and pollution. Scientists have urged people to adopt a “planetary health diet” that reduces meat consumption as a way to protect the planet and limit the threat of climate change.

Animals raised in factory farm conditions, meanwhile, essentially live in a constant state of physical and mental pain. Many people are beginning to question why animals such as cows, chickens, and pigs aren’t afforded the same basic dignity as dogs and cats.

Finally, animal products, particularly those raised with hormones and antibiotics, have been linked to a range of health problems, such as different kinds of cancer and heart disease.

For May, the celebrated rock icon, these reasons were enough to try out Veganuary. He’s not pressuring his fans to join the quest, but he would love support.

“I will be looking at your comments to see how your [Veganuary] went, those of you good folks who are joining me,” he wrote on Instagram. “If you’re not, don’t worry. We all have our paths to tread. I wasn’t ready to do this last year, but was so impressed by the success of almost all my SAVE-ME team that I determined to try it out this year.”

Original article by Joe McCarthy –  Source Global Citizen

Photo by Rustic Vegan on Unsplash

To find out more about Veganuary and ways to get involved, go to their website.

Brighton is one of the most popular tourist spots in the UK. Around 11 million people visit every year, and for many it’s the draw of the sea which makes it so popular.

But it can be difficult to relate to a vast blue ocean as something to respect and protect when you can see very little of the marine wildlife who live under the waves.

The Brighton Dolphin Project are trying to change that, by encouraging people in Brighton and the surrounding areas to build a deeper connection with the ocean and the wildlife which lives there.

Simon McPherson, a manager at the Brighton Dolphin Project, explained: “We aim to engage, inspire, and excite everyone in the community about the incredible marine life that can be found right off our coastline, and what can be done to protect it.

“We were set up as we realised many businesses and individuals feel a close connection to the sea – for many of us it’s a big part of why we live here. But few are aware of the diversity of marine wildlife that can be found under the waves, or the threats to its existence.”

Since the project was set up two years ago, they have welcomed thousands of visitors to their Dolphin Discovery Centre on Brighton seafront and run a series of wildlife watching boat tours around the Sussex coastline to help visitors connect directly with ocean wildlife.

Volunteers have also held workshops about local marine life in schools, organised beach clean ups and launched a unique initiative to record and log the different species of dolphins and other sea creatures who live off the coast.

Since 2017 visitors and residents have reported more than 100 sightings of marine life, including three different species of dolphin, one species of porpoise and two species of seal.

Simon said: “We cannot hope to better understand these remarkable animals, as well as how to protect them, without reliable and regular data.

“This has led to a disengagement of people who want to take action as they may see their ocean as a big blue space devoid of wildlife, as so little is seen above the surface of the water. It is challenging to inspire pride and wish to protect something you cannot see.

“We want to inspire our community to act now to collect data on marine mammals and unite to become a community of ocean champions.”

The Brighton Dolphin Project need more wildlife sightings to continue their research. If you live in the area, or are visiting, and spot a dolphin or other marine animal then please send in the information, along with any video or photos.

The project also need volunteers to train as wildlife guides who will educate visitors on boat trips about the marine life to be found in the area.

If you think you can help visit brightondolphinproject.org/ to find out more, or find them on social:

Twitter: @BriDolpProject

Instagram: @brighton_dolphin_project

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightondolphinproject/

 

By Jenna Sloan

The National Trust is planning to plant 20 million trees over the next decade as part of efforts to achieve net zero emissions by 2030.

The organisation made the announcement, which it says will cost £90m-100m, on Thursday to mark its 125th anniversary.

By the end of the decade, it says the new trees and natural regeneration of woods will cover more than 18,000 hectares (44,000 acres), an area one and a half times the size of Manchester. It will mean that 17% of the land the National Trust looks after will be wooded, up from 10%.

The focus will be on planting on farmland – including in upland areas – that the trust owns, rather than in country estates, but the director general, Hilary McGrady, said the National Trust would be working with farmers to deliver the targets.

The charity says a similar level of tree cover is needed nationwide to meet government targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Other initiatives announced by the trust include maintaining peat bogs, investing in more renewable energy and cutting its carbon footprint.

Efforts will focus on the National Trust’s own pollution, but McGrady acknowledged the impact of visitors, many of whom travel by car to the organisation’s properties.

She said the trust was measuring the impact of visitor emissions and suggesting ways to encourage more sustainable transport.

The charity, which was founded in the 19th century to protect and care for natural and historic places, plans to work with other organisations to create “green corridors” that connect people in urban areas to nature.

“As Europe’s biggest conservation charity, we have a responsibility to do everything we can to fight climate change, which poses the biggest threat to the places, nature and collections we care for,” McGrady said.

“People need nature now more than ever. If they connect with it then they look after it. And working together is the only way we can reverse the decline in wildlife and the challenges we face due to climate change.”

 

Original article by PA Media –  Source The Guardian

Photo by Matthew Smith on Unsplash

To find out more about the National Trust and ways to get involved, go to their website.

Mexico City has joined a growing list of cities in banning single-use plastic bags after a law targeting the shopping staple went into effect on Jan. 1, according to the Associated Press.

Under this new law, businesses that continue to give out plastic bags will be fined, and companies that make plastic bags will be banned from selling them to businesses in Mexico City.

Another ban on other single-use plastics, such as straws and plastic dishes, is set to go into effect in 2021.

Mexico City has had problems with excessive amounts of trash for years now. Plastic only recently became recyclable in the city, which means the vast majority of discarded plastic has potentially ended up in landfills or has contaminated the environment.

Plastic pollution is a global problem, especially in marine environments. Marine animals like whales and turtles have died after mistaking plastic for food, and 50 trillion microplastics pervade the ocean.

Plastic bags, in particular, are one of the most common forms of marine pollution. Only 5% of single-use plastic bags gets recycled.

About 8 million tons of plastic waste makes its way into the oceans every year, which has impacted almost 700 species, according to National Geographic.

As the scale of plastic pollution becomes more apparent, local, state, and national governments are beginning to restrict plastic production.

Hundreds of municipalities around the world have instituted plastic bag bans, including Mexican cities such as Querétaro and Tijuana, according to Mexico News Daily.

Plastic bag bans have been shown to significantly reduce the number of plastic debris found in marine environments.

Critics argue that plastic bag bans can have unintended consequences, and don’t address the deeper problem of plastic packaging. One common concern is that plastic bag bans will simply lead consumers to use single-use paper bags instead. The most important thing, proponents of the ban say, is to incentivize consumers to not just ditch plastic, but to shop with reusable bags instead.

“That’s why any good plastic bag ban attempts to avoid a surge in paper bag use by also implementing a paper bag fee, ideally nudging shoppers to bring bags from home instead,” Jennifer Sass, a scientist from the Natural Resource Defense Council, explained in an NRDC Q&A.

In the case of Mexico City, that grocery stores will be offering reusable shopping bags for around 75 cents.

 

Original article by Erica Sanchez  and  Brandon Wiggins –  Source Global Citizen

Photo by Brian Yurasits on Unsplash

To find out more about the Natural Resource Defense Council and ways to get involved, go to their website.

 

Slowly but surely, more and more cities, states, and countries are enacting bans on single-use plastic and polystyrene (aka Styrofoam) all around the world. And beginning Jan. 1, 2020, there will be a ban on the use and import of single-use plastic and polystyrene in seven Caribbean countries: the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago, the Yucatan Times reported.

Each of those countries are coastal, located all around the Caribbean sea. Ocean plastic is a mounting issue, negatively impacting marine life, underwater ecosystems, the climate, and more — so these nations reducing single-use plastic could make a significant difference on ocean pollution.

“January 1 represents an important date in the fight against plastic pollution that affects not only Jamaica, but the entire world,” said Daryl Vaz, head of Jamaica for Economy and Employment, as reported by Spain’s News. Vaz often uses his Twitter to discuss environmental protection, and he recently represented Jamaica along with Prime Minister Andrew Holness at September’s UN Climate Action Summit.

The new law is part of the Bahamas Environmental Protection Act 2019, according to the Yucatan Times. It’s unclear exactly what forms of single-use plastic will be included as part of the ban, since most bans have exemptions on a variety of kinds of single-use plastic, such as food packaging, dry cleaning bags, trash bags, and plastic needed in the medical industry. What’s typically covered by these bans is single-use plastic or polystyrene takeout containers, plastic shopping bags, straws, cups, and water bottles. Hopefully more details about these bans will be made public in the new year.

The Caribbean is one of the world’s greatest plastic polluters — of the 30 countries that produce the most plastic pollution per capita, 10 are from the Caribbean region, as reported by Forbes via the Journal of Science. The 10 countries are Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, Guyana, Barbados, St. Lucia, Bahamas, Grenada, Anguilla, and Aruba.

As explained by Forbes, one reason so many Caribbean countries are producing so much plastic is because of disposal and collection issues. 22 percent of households in a sample of Caribbean countries discard waste either on waterways or on land with a risk of it getting into waterways, according to Forbes via data from World Bank. That adds up to an estimated 322,745 tonnes of plastic going uncollected every year.

But the residents of these islands are not necessarily to blame — as Key Caribe pointed out, tourism accounts for a substantial amount of the trash produced in the Caribbean. Single-use plastic bottles, cups, straws, utensils, and more are commonplace even at the fanciest resorts and beaches, where they can easily be blown into the ocean.

It will certainly be interesting to see how bans on single-use plastic in the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago affects the operation of resorts and other tourist destinations. But it will be even more interesting to see how this ban affects plastic pollution in the Caribbean Sea over the coming decade.

Original article by Sophie Hirsh – Source Green Matters

Photo by Brian Yurasits on Unsplash

 

To find out more about UN Climate Action and ways to get involved, go to their website.