Scientists warn “Plant a Million Trees” Campaigns can be Detrimental

CHILE, South America - Recent studies have shown that large-scale efforts to plant trees in lieu of deforestation can be massively harmful without proper execution. Improper reforestation reduces the biodiversity of an ecological environment, but it also often falls short with inaccurate estimations of how much carbon the new forests can absorb.

Photo by Casey Horner on Unsplash

In 2019, a scientific article claimed that we had previously underestimated the amount of space available for artificial forests, which were capable of reducing carbon emissions by 25 percent. However, many scientists refuted this article, stating that the results were "too good to be true." Countries from all parts of the world have attempted to reduce the effects of deforestation—increasing crop efficiency in the U.S., concentrating fewer areas of population in the Eastern Europe and Russia, and even a highly dictatorial regime in China—but none of these methods could be highly successful on a global level. 

One of the main problems with such optimistic studies is that they neglect the prospect of time. Trees take decades to reach their full carbon-absorbing potential; however, the human production of carbon emissions is increasing rapidly every day. By the time artificial forests are viable, it will most likely be too late. 

However, it seems that many countries are willing to take the risk with artificial forests, much to the chagrin of environmental scientists. One such effort is the Bonn Challenge, which was "launched by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which acts as its Secretariat, and the Government of Germany in 2011." The challenge's homepage states that it "is a global effort to bring 150 million hectares of the world's degraded and deforested lands into restoration by 2020 and 350 million hectares by 2030." While around 40 nations have claimed their support, scientists have warned against the rush into such a large-scale initiative. More than ¾ of the commitments that have been made "involve planting monoculture plantations or a limited mix of trees that produce specific products such as fruit or rubber." These monoculture crops are often more profitable than the rich ecosystems they are replacing. There seems to be somewhat of a hidden agenda in the Bonn Challenge, and economic interest is a common feature in similar campaigns.

For example, a recent study was done on the Chilean government, which ran a globally acclaimed afforestation program from 1974 to 2012, where they subsidized 75% of the costs behind replanting forests. Unfortunately, since many farmers had governmental support when planting trees, they replaced native forests with cash crops to earn a sizable profit. The program largely failed to remove atmospheric carbon and even increased the loss of biodiversity. The co-author of the study, Professor Eric Lambin from Stanford University, stated that "If policies to incentivize tree plantations are poorly designed or poorly enforced, there is a high risk of not only wasting public money but also releasing more carbon and losing biodiversity." Large-scale afforestation campaigns were partially detrimental due to the lack of rules or their enforcement. 

Another study was done on the intensive afforestation and dust-reduction efforts in northern China. Researchers found that while adding trees to carbon-poor soil increased the density of organic carbon, the same practice on carbon-rich soil decreased the density. They concluded that the previous studies on monocultures' organic carbon-restoring capabilities were vastly an overestimate, and additionally was an inadequate response to such a multi-level problem. "We hope that people can understand that afforestation practices are not one single thing," said Dr. Anping Chen, from Colorado State University and a lead author on the study. 

Directly planting thousands of trees with no concern about the climate that they are replacing is not the solution to deforestation; instead, a multi-prong approach is necessary to combat such a complex issue. Anything less than this would be a disservice to the complex and rapidly disappearing ecosystems that grace this planet and the entire human population.

RELATED ARTICLES

• Protests In Chile (bbc.com)

• Tree-Planting Programs Can Do More Harm Than Good (pulitzercenter.org)

• Tree planting ‘can do more harm than good’ according to scientists (nbc.com)

• Tree planting ‘can do more harm than good’ according to scientists (inews.co.uk)

• Why planting more trees may not help cool the planet (environment-review.yale.edu)

Hyperloop: Will the U.S, Dutch, Spanish, or Asia Arrive First?

EUROPEAN UNION - What is the Hyperloop? It’s not a new app for your mobile phone or a new video-game despite its futuristic sound. Its a newly proposed transportation system that uses magnetic levitation (or a “hotbed of air”), to propel a pod or proposed cargo, via a series of sealed tubes with low air pressure and reduced friction. This sealed environment essentially simulates a total vacuum, conditions similar to space, which allows cargo to travel at hyper-sonic speeds, bypassing traffic and congestion while covering much further distances in far, far less time.

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While based on an informal proposal uploaded online by Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk back in August 2013, the general idea itself dates back to the 1800s. Pneumatic tubes, the smaller ancestor to the proposed hyperloop tunnels, were still being used to transport mail and telegrams. Inevitably, however, the idea of scaling it up to accommodate bigger cargo, perhaps even living people, became both potentially economically lucrative, yet technologically infeasible for the time.

The dream may finally become a reality, based upon recent significant funding shifts and the progress of construction abroad in Europe. Recently, a Dutch study has claimed that the Hyperloop transport system could be a viable means of replacing the use of short-term flights altogether. The study, which was headed the European airport company Royal Schiphol Group and Hardt Hyperloop, posited that pods carrying passengers through this transport system would be a low-carbon option compared to short-haul flights.

However, with speeds approaching 700 m.p.h., it would be reasonable to expect more than just tubes to be built; while revolutionary, the technology must be thoroughly tested beforehand. Hardt Hyperloop, located in the Netherlands, is notable for also being the first company in Europe to establish a full-scale testing facility for the transportation system itself.

Unique to Hardt Hyperloop’s approach is the concept of a hyperloop switch, which would allow vehicles using the hyperloop to pass one another similar to trains, but one in a network of tubes spanning across vast distances and various cities. Areas such as the province of North Holland also tout hyperloop’s safety versus consumer vehicle use and the beneficial environmental impact of reducing everyday traffic.

Zeleros, a Spain based company also developing their version of the hyperloop, also recently raised 7 million euros and is now in the funding lead for the European Union. The company proclaims that its novel approach to mass transportation is bleeding edge because of its design. The majority of the technology required resides inside of the vehicle itself. Because of this design, the cost for infrastructure such as rail, etc. will be significantly reduced, resulting in a lower price of services as calculated per kilometer.

Zeleros also posits that their hyperloop reduces greenhouse emissions by 7m tonnes per annum, allowing the technology to play an essential part in the battle against climate change. The company is currently looking at testing a 3km track in at the European Hyperloop Development Centre in Spain as a proof of concept for the technology. The companies CEO, Tim Houter, also made comments regarding the increasing viability of the hyperloop projects across Europe as being bolstered by the European Green Deal.

Elsewhere in Asia, however, there are also murmurs of activity with the Virgin Hyperloop One project: connecting Mumbai and Pune in under 20 minutes, at a speed of 1000 km (or 621 miles) a second might be an economic advantage to the region. Of note is the suggestion that the hyperloop itself could in-fact be solar-powered, further making it transportation apart from the past, and one more suited for a future more focused on climate change and hand-wringing over carbon production.

With multiple countries participating and competing for their role in the construction of the hyperloop, the result may very well end up being the sum of many countries working together for a common goal. In all of this, however, one major disadvantage of the hyperloop despite its highly coordinated efforts is the number of resources required to implement this futuristic transportation system. Also, as with other renewable energy technologies, there is a small but vocal group of detractors. All in all, it seems that in addition to new technological and funding capabilities, the environmental prospects for climate change in the 21st century seem to be giving the Hyperloop transportation project the boost that it needs to arrive sooner, rather than later, into the future.

Related Articles

• How long until Hyperloop is here? (cnn.com)

• The WIRED Guide to Hyperloop (wired.com)

• Hyperloop One takes first step on a promising test road in America’s heartland (cnbc.com)

• Hyperloop One is considering 11 US routes for its futuristic transport system — here they are (businessinsider.com)

Rwanda's Most Wanted Man Arrested in Paris and Extradited

RWANDA - Felicien Kabuga, 84, is a Rwandan businessman, who made the bulk of his fortune in the 1970s in the tea trade. He is also the founder and primary funder of Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM) and stands accused of using twenty different aliases to evade capture. After evading apprehension for 28-years, he was finally arrested by French police on 16 May 2020, in a suburb of Paris.

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Ntarama Genocide Memorial, Ntarama, Rwanda, Photo by Bradford Duplisea

Kabuga was the richest man in Rwanda before the 1994 genocide when the Hutus slaughtered approximately 800,000 Tutsis between July and April of that year. RTLM was a leading news outlet for Rwanda, but a significant propaganda arm for the Hutu militia, Interahamwe. Daily programming included anti-Tutsi content, songs, and speeches, including the broadcast of the names of people who were killed earlier in the day.

Indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in 1997, Kabuga evaded capture by frequently moving between several East African countries, including Kenya, where it is believed that the government harbored him as a fugitive for many years. During this time, he continued to do business in the country, held a Kenyan passport, and investigators charge that Kenyan government officials actively aided and abetted the fugitive. Kenya has repeatedly denied these allegations.

Efforts to locate Kabuga and bring him to justice were abandoned when the Tribunal closed in 2015. However, Serge Brammertz, a United Nations’ war crimes prosecutor, leading the division responsible for adjudicating outstanding war crimes from Uganda, ordered the search restarted last year after learning that Kabuga may be hiding in Europe. Authorities located Kabuga in his French apartment based on information obtained by surveilling his children.

The diplomatic relationship between France and Rwanda – a former French colony, has been extremely complicated since the days of the genocide. Rwandans accuse the French of complicity in the genocide since the French government was an ally of Hutu leader, Juvenal Habyarimana, (whose death was the final catalyst for the genocide), before the massacres.

Rwanda charges that the French initially supplied arms to militias, and UN peacekeepers from France often helped known killers escape capture and prosecution. Twenty-six years after the genocide, archived records about Rwanda and the genocide are still classified in France, despite numerous calls for the documents to be made public. Rwandans also accuse the French of harboring génocidaires, including Kabuga, since 1994. Six charged génocidaires by the Tribunal remain fugitives who are possibly being harbored by France.

Kabuga has denied alleged involvement in the genocide during a bail hearing in a French court at the end of May. On 3 June 2020, a French court ruled that he be extradited to Tanzania, the home of the UN Tribunal. His lawyers argue that Kabuga will not receive a fair trial at the Tribunal, especially one held in East Africa. Rwandans prefer that he be tried in his home country for war crimes, but there is no extradition treaty between Rwanda and France at this time. Kabuga’s legal team will appeal the decision to France’s highest court, which they hope will be successful due to their assertion that his ailing health makes him unable to travel.

RELATED ARTICLES

• Félicien Kabuga, tycoon charged with helping launch Rwandan genocide, arrested outside Paris (washingtonpost.com)

• Rwanda's Most-Wanted Genocide Suspect Appears Before French Court (usnews.com)

• Rwanda: Felicien Kabuga - the Quiet Businessman From Byumba Who Took Over Kigali (allafrica.com)

• Rwanda: How Money, Petty Politicking Protected Félicien Kabuga From Justice for 26 Years (allafrica.com)

Sweet Revenge of West African Cocoa Cartels

WEST COAST, Africa - When one first thinks of chocolate, usually Europe comes to mind. As many connaisseurs of chocolate can attest, there is no sweeter pursuit than wandering the streets of Belgium or Switzerland in search of a piece of "brown heaven." Ironically, the natural resources which are critical to the success of these chocolatiers, and for which these countries are renowned, start as cocoas tree grown a continent away, in Africa. In fact, because of the plant’s need for a warm, tropical climate, there are no cocoa fields in Europe.

Ghana and the Ivory Coast, small neighboring countries on the west coast of Africa, produce over 60% of the world’s cocoa. Yet, despite demand being at an all-time high and the industry reaching a peak of $107.3bn per year, some cocoa farmers in West Africa are more impoverished now than they were in the 1970s and 80’s.

Seeking to rectify this inequity, the presidents of both countries entered into a partnership. They formed an alliance that many have dubbed the chocolate equivalent of the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) or “COPEC.” The coalition decided to stabilize the market by assessing a $400 per metric ton premium on top of the current benchmark cocoa futures prices, which is currently trading at $2500 per metric ton.

Manufacturers have agreed to the premium, after first pushing back against Ivory Coast and Ghana’s first proposal of a $2600 per metric ton minimum, stating that their interests are aligned with that of the West African cocoa farmers.

Mars’ global communications director, Josh Gerbino, said “Mars believes boosting the income of cocoa farmers while ensuring cocoa is grown sustainably is key to a thriving cocoa sector. “ A spokesperson for Hershey, Jeff Beckman, said that “cocoa farmers should be able to support their families and earn a decent standard of living…”

Though all of this may seem altruistic on the part of the manufacturers, Jonathan Parkman, the co-head of agricultural trading at Marex Spectron, believes that chocolate prices will undoubtedly go up, and he doesn’t expect the multi-billion dollar companies to foot the bill.

“Who’s paying the bill for this?” Parkman asks, “ultimately, it’ll be the consumers.”

Eric Bergman, the vice President at Brokerage JSG Commodities Inc., concurs, stating that the new premium “is essentially a $1.2 billion tax on the cocoa industry”.

In the past, when different governing bodies have attempted market manipulate, the results were short term at best. Ultimately, when commodity prices rose, the demand subsequently fell, thus defeating these efforts. For example, when chocolate prices rose to $3000 per metric ton, supply declined sharply.

In the short term, the premium may boost supply. After decades of subsistence farming, this opportunity for greater returns on investment will incentivize growers. However, as prices rise, consumer demand for the final product will likely fall, resulting in a surplus supply, which farmers cannot sell to other markets. In the long run, some analysts fear that this premium may not be in the best interest of the farmers.

Yet, the inequity in the market supply chain in which the farmers have relatively little leverage, this may be their best bet since being solely dependent on supply and demand has not benefited them. As the adage goes, "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly yet expecting different results." Thus, this approach, one in which partnerships with the farmers' respective governments, provides them with the best-negotiating positions.

According to Bloomberg.com, when supply exceeded demand in 2018, the price per metric ton plummeted steeply, and farmers and their countries were left reeling. The Ivory Coast even delayed a plan to extend electricity to villages as a consequence. However, the net benefit, according to individual analysts, is that the alliance between these two powerhouse producers of chocolate is worth any potential market downturn.

Together, these nations grow more than half of the entire world’s chocolate supply. Their presidents and their administrations have been working on these proposals for years, and with change comes pain. Still, the world's desire for and consumption of chocolate is not likely to diminish. As Jonathan Parkman put it, “you’re talking about two-thirds of the world’s cocoa"… The world cannot do without that cocoa,” and therefore, Ghana and Ivory Coast hold indomitable power.

RELATED ARTICLES

• West Africa’s cocoa farmers are trapped by the global chocolate industry (quartzafrica.com)

• Cocoa Cartel Stirs Up Global Chocolate Market (wsj.com)

• Cocoa Report (jenkinssugar.com)

• Choc tactics: Ghana and Ivory Coast plot ‘Opec for cocoa (ft.com)

• Why African cocoa growers are having an OPEC moment (bloomberg.com)

Quarantine Protests Go Worldwide

Source: Tim Perdue. Flickr.com.

UNITED STATES - Many Americans look on in horror and disappointment as lock-down protesters take to the streets of California, North Carolina, Michigan, and Ohio. These, mostly, right-wing Americans march to end the lockdown enforced to combat the current Corona Virus epidemic. Their platform is simple. They believe that the lockdown infringes on their rights to work, congregate at church, hair and nail salons, and schools.

This “cabin fever” as President Trump put it, has many politicians and health-care professionals scared, and angry. Many doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers took to the streets to counter these anti-quarantine protests, by donning their scrubs and white coats to confront protesters and on some occasions bar them from continuing their march.

To some Americans, these protests seem like a phenomenon occurring only in their countries. This could not be further from the truth. Though international quarantine protests have not been covered by the media in the US; they are becoming more and more prevalent.

Anti-quarantine protesters have popped up in Canada, France, and Germany. These international protesters have similar oppositions to their American counterparts. They too feel that the counter-measures taken to flatten the curve are putting their countries’ economies at risk. The protesters do not focus on the need to quarantine to save lives by slowing the virus and giving healthcare officials the time and resources necessary to combat the disease. Instead, they take to the streets to fight for small business owners, and their jobs and in some instances their need for a haircut.

Some of the protesters’ claims do focus on saving human lives. Their fight for victims of domestic abuse, for example, can be said to focus on the well-being of others. However, Though the rise in domestic violence is more than devastating the number of lives that would be endangered if the quarantine was to end at this moment in time far exceeds the number of lives endangered by continuing it.

Protests in Canada have so far, been peaceful. This cannot be said for some of the European protests.  Protests in Paris have escalated to full scale riots. The lockdown has really intensified France’s economic inequalities.  The violence has been amplified in the past week as the protests gain traction and find their way into Parisian suburbs. Conflicts with police have escalated, trash cans and cars have been set on fire and just last week an elementary school was set on fire.

On the Polish-German border, hundreds of people protested against a Covid-19 lockdown last Friday night. Poland closed its borders for a mandatory two weeks due to the Corona Virus outbreak. Approximately 300 citizens that live in Poland but work in Germany are protesting their inability to leave their homes to go back to work. German citizens joined them in the protests though the two groups were separated by a fence to prevent people from crossing the border.

Approximately 20,000 Poles work in Germany and around 10,500 of them cross the Polish-German Border daily. Protesters are afraid that their jobs will not be waiting for them when the quarantine is finally lifted.

The Corona Virus crisis has brought virtually the entire world to its knees and it’s easy to believe that Americans are the only people reacting adversely to the quarantine efforts. It’s important to note however that these sentiments are felt worldwide. Many feel trapped in their homes, with no money, having just lost their jobs. They have no idea what the future holds. What we must keep in mind is that these measures ensure the safety of most people. While some are protesting that the quarantine may be worst than the disease, we must remember that, as Governor Andrew Cuomo stated, “the disease is death”.

 RELATED ARTICLES

• French authorities deal with protest in Paris suburbs during coronavirus lockdown (cbc.ca)

• Hundreds Protest Against Lockdown at Polish-German Border (nytimes.com)

• The anti-quarantine protests seem spontaneous. But behind the scenes, a powerful network is helping. (washingtonpost.com)

• These are the people behind the anti-quarantine protest events that Facebook is shutting down (Inquirer.com)