Texas | Driver Dead after Crashing into Train, Causing Derailment

🚂ቴክሳስ | አሁን ደግሞ ሞንትጎሜሪ አውራጃ ባቡሩ ሃዲዱን ከሳተ በኋላ አሽከርካሪው ህይወቱ አለፈ፤ ባቡሩ የሃዲድ መቆራረጥም ፈጥሯል።

“ሞንትጎመሪ!?” ከዚህ ከባቡር አደጋና እና ከፊኛው ሤራ ጋር የተያያዘው ነገር ሁሉ አዕምሮን የሚያዞር ነው!

🚂 “Montgomery!?” The whole derailment thing is getting nuts!

🚂 One person is dead after a train derailment in Montgomery County… at 59 and Midline (Fostoria). Authorities say, avoid the area… there’s a possible hazmat situation.

💭 Storms, Tornadoes Cause Extensive Damage Across U.S. Southeast | Rainbow at Lisa Marie Presley’s Graceland

🛑 Anagram

Alabama + Tennessee + Georgia + Arkansas + Pine Bluff + Memphis + Jackson + Marietta + Montgomery + Magnolia = Lisa Marie Presley

🛑 Gematria

“Storm Grace” = 119 (Ordinal)

• ☆ The 156th Prime number is 911
• ☆ The 9/11 attacks fell 11009 days after the final eclipse from Saros 116:
• ☆ This week’s FAA’s nationwide flight grounding was a tribute to 9/11.

💭 Texas & Tegray (Ethiopia) Massacres + Tedros (TE) & The Queen | ትግራይና ቴክሳስ + ቴድሮስ & ንግሥቲቱ

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Hazardous Chemicals from Train Derailment Spilled into Ohio River, a Drinking Water Source for Over 5 Million People

🚂 በአሜሪካዋ ግዛት በኦሃዮ ከአንድ ሃዲዱን ከሳተ ባቡር ጋር በተያያዝ የፈሰሱ አደገኛ ኬሚካሎች ከአምስት ሚሊዮን በላይ ለሚሆኑ ሰዎች የመጠጥ ውሃ ምንጭ በሆነው ኦሃዮ ወንዝ መፍሰሱ ነዋሪዎችን በእጅጉ አሳስቧቸዋል። ቪድዮው እንደሚያሳየው ብዙ አሦች እየሞቱ ነው፤ የአካባቢው አየር በመበከሉም አንዳንድ ሰዎች መታመማቸውን አሳውቀዋል።

• ☆ ምስሉ ላይ ያለውን የእነዚያን ፊቶች ቅርጽ ማየት ትችላላችሁን? — ላይ በትልቁ የሚታየው ፕሮፋይል ቅርጽ ወስላታውን ፉትቦል ተጫዋች ኮሊን ኬፐርኒክን ይመስላል
• ☆ እና ቦታው ደግሞ “ምስራቅ ፍልስጤም” ይባላል?! ዋዉ!
• ☆ Can You See Those Face Shapes? – The profile that appears in the bigger picture looks like the wicked football player Colin Kaepernick.
• ☆ And The Place is Called: “East Palestine”?! Wow!

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🚂 Train derailment: East Palestine Ohio residents file lawsuit seeking medical testing

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Residents who filed a federal lawsuit in the fiery derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals along the Ohio-Pennsylvania line are seeking to force Norfolk Southern to set up health monitoring for residents in both states.

The lawsuit filed Thursday by two Pennsylvania residents calls for the rail operator to pay for medical screenings and related care for anyone living within a 30-mile radius of the derailment to determine who was affected by toxic substances released after the derailment. The lawsuit also is seeking undetermined damages.

About 50 cars, including 10 carrying hazardous materials, derailed Feb. 3 in the Ohio village of East Palestine. No one was injured in the derailment that investigators said was caused by a broken axle.

What happened after train carrying toxic chemicals derailed

In Cincinnati:Water works monitors for hazardous chemical in Ohio River after East Palestine derailment

Three days after the accident, authorities decided to release and burn vinyl chloride inside five tanker cars, sending hydrogen chloride and the toxic gas phosgene into the air.

Environmental regulators have been monitoring the air and water in surrounding communities and have said that so far the air quality remains safe and drinking water supplies have not been affected.

But some residents have complained about headaches and feeling sick since the derailment.

Norfolk Southern declined to comment on the lawsuit.

👉 Source

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Graphene in Bottled Water? | ግራፊን በታሸገ ውሃ ውስጥ?

💭 ከአስር ዓመታት በፊት በኢትዮጵያ የታሸገ ውሃ አምራች ፋብሪካዎችን ብዛት ስታዘብ ወዲያው የተሰማኝ፤ “በቃ ምናምኑን ጨምረው ሕዝቡን እየበከሉት፣ እያደነዘዙት፣ እየተቆጣጠሩትና እየገደሉት ነው፤ ያውም ፀሐይ ላይ ከተሰጣ ፕላስቲክ ጠርሙስ እየተጠጣ…ዋይ! ዋይ! ዋይ! ” የሚለው ነበር። ማን ተቆጣጥሮት!? ለአፍሪቃ ያዘጋጁት ምግብ፣ መጠጥ፣ ውሃ፣ ‘መድሃኒት፣ ክትባት ወዘተ ከሌላው ዓለም የተለየ መሆኑን በየጊዜው ስንናገር ቆይተናል። አሁንማ የሚፈልጉት አገዛዝ ሥልጣን ላይ ስላስቀመጡ የፈለጉትን ነገር ሁሉ ለማድረግ እራሳቸውን በማመቻቸት ላይ ናቸው። እነዚህ አረመኔዎች ብዙ ጉዳት ያደርሳሉ ነገር ግን ፈጠነም ዘገየም የዘሯትን ያጭዳሉ፤ አንድ ባንድ ተለቅመው ወደ ገሃነም እሳት ይጣላሉ፤ ወዮላቸው!

🐍 GRAPHENE VAX CONNECTION

Presence of several forms of Graphene Oxide and derivatives in Pfizer, Moderna and Astra Zeneca Covid jabs confirmed by UK lab.

A request for criminal investigation submitted to the Police by a civil organization in the UK, organization that is compounded by Medical Doctors, Health Care practitioners, a legal team and an independent media channel (Not on the Beeb) includes an independent laboratory report, which contains a full chain of chastity for the analyzed vials, and concludes that the vials contain: (less than 50%)

The analysis of all four vial contents identified objects that are similar. For ease of nomenclature and related descriptions per vaccine, these inclusions are illustrated and defined individually below-

👉 The identified inclusions were-

• ☆ Graphene nano ribbons coated with Polyethylene Glycol
• ☆ Graphene Composite Form 1
• ☆ Graphene Composite Form 2
• ☆ Microcrystalline Calcite with Carbonaceous inclusions
• ☆ Graphene Nano Forms with and without fluorescence
• ☆ Graphene nano objects
• ☆ Graphene nano scrolls

Link to Not on the Beeb channel article, which contains both the briefing presented to the UK police and the Independent Laboratory Analysis.

https://www.notonthebeeb.co.uk/post/uk-lab-report

The jabbed are being assimilated as we speak- Graphene Oxide is a superconductor. The narrator of this video connects the dots between Graphene Oxide (microchip), 5G, and world assimilation for those of you who haven’t put this piece of the puzzle together yet. This video may also help explain why people are so difficult to wake up after they have received the first jab.

If you’ve received even 1 jab, much less subsequent jabs, you have sealed your fate and you have my empathy but there’s nothing the rest of us can do.

As the narrator in the video says, if you haven’t been jabbed, you are part of the resistance.

🐍 WHY IS GRAPHENE IN VAXXINES, in WATERS, in FOODS?

🐍 GRAPHENE OXIDE CAUSING SUDDEN DEATHS IN ATHLETES

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ሸህ አላሙዲን መወገዱ ጥሩ ነው፤ ፈዋሽ ፀበላችንን ለመበከል የሚሹት ወንጀለኛ ባለ ሃብቶችስ?

ሰይፍ የሚያነሡ ሁሉ በሰይፍ መጥፋታቸው የማይቀር ነውና፡ አላሙዲንን፡ “ና! ወደ ቅድመ አያቶችህ ቤተክርስቲያን ተመለስ!’ እንበለው።

የአላሙዲን ድርጅት “ሜድሮክ” በለገንደቢ ወርቅ እንዳያወጣ መከልከሉ ጥሩ ነው፡ ትክክለኛም ውሳኔ ነው። እነዚህ “ባለ ሃብቶች” በአንድ በኩል ወርቁን፣ ዕንቁውን፣ እህሉንና ከብቱን ይዘርፋሉ፣ ገነዘቡንም ወደ ውጭ ይዘው ይጠፋሉ፤ በሌላ በኩል ደግሞ ወንዙን፣ ውሃውን፣ መሬቱንና አየሩን እያድፈረሱ፣ እየበከሉና እያረከሱ ልጆቻችንን ለአስከፊ በሽታዎች ያጋልጧቸዋል፣ ብሎም የፈረንጁ “መድኃኒት” ባሪያ እንዲሆኑ ያደርጓቸዋል። ይህ እኮ ተወዳዳሪ የሌለው ግፍ ነው!

[መጽሐፈ ምሳሌ ምዕራፍ ፳፭፥፳፮]

“በኀጥእ ፊት የሚወድቅ ጻድቅ እንደደፈረሰ ፈሳሽና እንደ ረከሰ ምንጭ ነው።”

የሚከትለውን አጭር መልዕክት ከሁለት ዓመታት በፊት ነበር ያቀረብኩት፤ በዚያ ወቅት “ጠበል አያድናችሁም፡ እንዲያውም ያሳምማችኋል!“ ሊለን ነው?“ በማለት እራሴን ጠይቄ ነበር።

ፀበላችን ለኛ ፈዋሻችን ለዳቢሎስ ደግማ እንደ እሣት የሚቃጠልበት ነውና በያዝነው ዓመት ላይ፡ ቅ/ ቂርቆስ ቤ/ክርስቲያን አካባቢ የመድኃኔ ዓለም ፍልውሃ ፀበል ሲወጣ፡ እነ “ሸገር ኤፍ ኤም” “ውሃው ኬሚካል አለበት መርዝ ነው!“ ብለው የቅጥፈት ፕሮፓጋንዳ በመርጨት ፈውስ–ፈላጊ ኢትዮጵያዊ አማኝን ሊያስፈራሩት ሞክረው ነበር።

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ሰይጣን ከቤተክርስቲያን አይርቅም | ዲያብሎስ ብርቅ ውሃችንን እና ጠበሎቻችንን ሊበክልብን ይሻል

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ይህ እጅግ በጣም አሳዛኝና ዲያብሎሳዊ የሆነ ሥራ ነው። ዲያብሎስ፡ ክርስቲያን ኢትዮጵያን ከሁሉም አቅጣጫ እየተፈታተናት ነው!

ይህች አነስተኛ ወንዝ ሳሪስ አካባቢ ትገኛለች። ወንዟ የምታልፈውም – እኔ ከደረስኩባቸው አካባቢዎች መካከል – በ ላፍቶ መድኃኒዓለም፣ ኪዳነምህረት እንዲሁም ሳሪስ አቦ አብያተክርስቲያናት እና ጠበላት አቅራቢያ ነው። ወንዙ ውስጥ ለሚታዩት ነጭ የአረፋ እና ቀይ፡ ደም መሰል ቀለማት መንስዔው ያው ፋብሪካ ነው። ለቡ /ላፍቶ አካባቢ የሚገኙ ፋብሪካዎች የኬሚካል ቆሻሻዎቻቸውን እንዳፈቀዳቸው ወደ ወንዙ እየደፉ ብርቅ የሆነውን ውሃችንን በመበከል፤ እጅግ አሳዛኝ የሆነ ተግባር፣ ከፍተኛ ወንጀል እና ኃጢአት ይሠራሉ። ለጊዜው ጠበላቱን እንደማይነካ ደርሼበታለሁ፡ ግን፡ እስከ መቼ?! “ጠበል አያድናችሁም፡ እንዲያውም ያሳምማችኋል” ሊለን ነው?

ቸሩ እግዚአብሔር ንብረቱን ይከላከላልና፡ ሕዝባችንንም በአግባቡ ይጠብቅልን!

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The 11 Cities Most Likely To Run Out Of Drinking Water – Like Cape Town

Cape Town is in the unenviable situation of being the first major city in the modern era to face the threat of running out of drinking water.

However, the plight of the drought-hit South African city is just one extreme example of a problem that experts have long been warning about – water scarcity.

Despite covering about 70% of the Earth’s surface, water, especially drinking water, is not as plentiful as one might think. Only 3% of it is fresh.

Over one billion people lack access to water and another 2.7 billion find it scarce for at least one month of the year. A 2014 survey of the world’s 500 largest cities estimates that one in four are in a situation of “water stress”

According to UN-endorsed projections, global demand for fresh water will exceed supply by 40% in 2030, thanks to a combination of climate change, human action and population growth.

It shouldn’t be a surprise, then, that Cape Town is just the tip of the iceberg. Here are the other 11 cities most likely to run out of water.

1. São Paulo

Brazil’s financial capital and one of the 10 most populated cities in the world went through a similar ordeal to Cape Town in 2015, when the main reservoir fell below 4% capacity.

At the height of the crisis, the city of over 21.7 million inhabitants had less than 20 days of water supply and police had to escort water trucks to stop looting.

It is thought a drought that affected south-eastern Brazil between 2014 and 2017 was to blame, but a UN mission to São Paulo was critical of the state authorities “lack of proper planning and investments”.

The water crisis was deemed “finished” in 2016, but in January 2017 the main reserves were 15% below expected for the period – putting the city’s future water supply once again in doubt.

2. Bangalore

Local officials in the southern Indian city have been bamboozled by the growth of new property developments following Bangalore’s rise as a technological hub and are struggling to manage the city’s water and sewage systems.

To make matters worse, the city’s antiquated plumbing needs an urgent upheaval; a report by the national government found that the city loses over half of its drinking water to waste.

Like China, India struggles with water pollution and Bangalore is no different: an in-depth inventory of the city’s lakes found that 85% had water that could only be used for irrigation and industrial cooling.

Not a single lake had suitable water for drinking or bathing.

3. Beijing

The World Bank classifies water scarcity as when people in a determined location receive less than 1,000 cubic metres of fresh water per person a year.

In 2014, each of the more than 20 million inhabitants of Beijing had only 145 cubic metres.

China is home to almost 20% of the world’s population but has only 7% of the world’s fresh water.

A Columbia University study estimates that the country’s reserves declined 13% between 2000 and 2009.

4. Cairo

Once crucial to the establishment of one of the world’s greatest civilisations, the River Nile is struggling in modern times.

It is the source of 97% of Egypt’s water but also the destination of increasing amounts of untreated agricultural, and residential waste.

World Health Organization figures show that Egypt ranks high among lower middle-income countries in terms of the number of deaths related to water pollution.

The UN estimates critical shortages in the country by 2025.

5. Jakarta

Like many coastal cities, the Indonesian capital faces the threat of rising sea levels.

But in Jakarta the problem has been made worse by direct human action. Because less than half of the city’s 10 million residents have access to piped water, illegal digging of wells is rife. This practice is draining the underground aquifers, almost literally deflating them.

As a consequence, about 40% of Jakarta now lies below sea level, according to World Bank estimates.

To make things worse, aquifers are not being replenished despite heavy rain because the prevalence of concrete and asphalt means that open fields cannot absorb rainfall.

6. Moscow

One-quarter of the world’s fresh water reserves are in Russia, but the country is plagued by pollution problems caused by the industrial legacy of the Soviet era.

That is specifically worrying for Moscow, where the water supply is 70% dependent on surface water.

Official regulatory bodies admit that 35% to 60% of total drinking water reserves in Russia do not meet sanitary standards

7. Istanbul

According to official Turkish government figures, the country is technically in a situation of a water stress, since the per capita supply fell below 1,700 cubic metres in 2016.

Local experts have warned that the situation could worsen to water scarcity by 2030.

In recent years, heavily populated areas like Istanbul (14 million inhabitants) have begun to experience shortages in the drier months.

The city’s reservoir levels declined to less than 30 percent of capacity at the beginning of 2014.

8. Mexico City

Water shortages are nothing new for many of the 21 million inhabitants of the Mexican capital.

One in five get just a few hours from their taps a week and another 20% have running water for just part of the day.

The city imports as much as 40% of its water from distant sources but has no large-scale operation for recycling wastewater. Water losses because of problems in the pipe network are also estimated at 40%.

9. London

Of all the cities in the world, London is not the first that springs to mind when one thinks of water shortages.

The reality is very different. With an average annual rainfall of about 600mm (less than the Paris average and only about half that of New York), London draws 80% of its water from rivers (the Thames and Lea).

According to the Greater London Authority, the city is pushing close to capacity and is likely to have supply problems by 2025 and “serious shortages” by 2040.

It looks likely that hosepipe bans could become more common in the future.

10. Tokyo

The Japanese capital enjoys precipitation levels similar to that of Seattle on the US west coast, which has a reputation for rain. Rainfall, however, is concentrated during just four months of the year.

That water needs to be collected, as a drier-than-expected rainy season could lead to a drought. At least 750 private and public buildings in Tokyo have rainwater collection and utilisation systems.

Home to more than 30 million people, Tokyo has a water system that depends 70% on surface water (rivers, lakes, and melted snow).

Recent investment in the pipeline infrastructure aims also to reduce waste by leakage to only 3% in the near future.

11. Miami

The US state of Florida is among the five US states most hit by rain every year. However, there is a crisis brewing in its most famous city, Miami.

An early 20th Century project to drain nearby swamps had an unforeseen result; water from the Atlantic Ocean contaminated the Biscayne Aquifer, the city’s main source of fresh water.

Although the problem was detected in the 1930s, seawater still leaks in, especially because the American city has experienced faster rates of sea level rise, with water breaching underground defence barriers installed in recent decades.

Neighbouring cities are already struggling. Hallandale Beach, which is just a few miles north of Miami, had to close six of its eight wells due to saltwater intrusion.

Source

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Volcanic Suppression Of Nile Summer Flooding Triggers Revolt And Constrains Interstate Conflict In Ancient Egypt

Abstract

Volcanic eruptions provide tests of human and natural system sensitivity to abrupt shocks because their repeated occurrence allows the identification of systematic relationships in the presence of random variability. Here we show a suppression of Nile summer flooding via the radiative and dynamical impacts of explosive volcanism on the African monsoon, using climate model output, ice-core-based volcanic forcing data, Nilometer measurements, and ancient Egyptian writings. We then examine the response of Ptolemaic Egypt (305–30 BCE), one of the best-documented ancient superpowers, to volcanically induced Nile suppression. Eruptions are associated with revolt onset against elite rule, and the cessation of Ptolemaic state warfare with their great rival, the Seleukid Empire. Eruptions are also followed by socioeconomic stress with increased hereditary land sales, and the issuance of priestly decrees to reinforce elite authority. Ptolemaic vulnerability to volcanic eruptions offers a caution for all monsoon-dependent agricultural regions, presently including 70% of world population.

Introduction

The need to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of anthropogenic climate change has revived interest in longstanding but unsettled questions concerning how past climatic changes have influenced human societies1. Egypt provides a unique historical laboratory in which to study social vulnerability and response to abrupt hydroclimatic shocks. As one of the Ancient World’s great “hydraulic civilizations”2, its prosperity was overwhelmingly tied to the annual cycle of Nile summer flooding, with diminished flooding (Nile failure) often associated with major human impacts through its many millennia of recorded history3. Of all Ancient Egyptian history, that of Ptolemaic Egypt (305–30 BCE; Fig. 1a) is most richly furnished with contemporary documentation. As the longest-lived successor to Alexander the Great’s empire, the Ptolemaic state was a major force in the transformative Hellenistic era, a period marked by large-scale conflict but also material and cultural achievement. Ptolemaic Egypt featured one of the largest cities of the Ancient Mediterranean (Alexandria), including the Great Library and Lighthouse, and was a hub for invention, boasting minds such as Euclid and Archimedes. Technological advances such as the saqiya4, a rotary-wheel water-lifting machine documented by the mid-third century BCE, maslin (mixed wheat-barley) cropping, as well as grain storage, acted to mitigate the impacts of the mercurial Nile flood. Families also distributed land in geographically dispersed individual shares to further hedge against the risk of Nile failure, and tailored agricultural decisions to annual flood conditions6. External territories (e.g., Anatolia, Syria) capable of rainfed agriculture also helped buffer the state against Nile failure. The existence of these mitigation and adaptation strategies highlights the importance of managing Nile variability in Ptolemaic Egypt, yet discussion of the impact of hydroclimatic shocks is effectively absent from modern histories of the period.

At ~6825 km, the Nile is among the Earth’s great rivers, fed by rainfall in Africa’s equatorial plateau (mainly via the White Nile) and the Ethiopian Highlands (mainly via the Blue Nile and Atbara rivers)8. Before twentieth century damming, the summer flood, driven primarily by monsoon rainfall in the Ethiopian highlands, began with rising waters observed at Aswan as early as June, peaking from August to September, and largely receding by the end of October, when crop sowing began2. Nile flood suppression from historical eruptions has been little studied, despite Nile failures with severe social impacts coinciding with eruptions su

Explosive eruptions can perturb climate by injecting sulfurous gases into the stratosphere; these gases react to form reflective sulfate aerosols that remain aloft in decreasing concentrations for approximately one to two years11. While most studies of the climatic effects of volcanism have focused on temperature changes, contemporary and historical societies were also vulnerable to hydrological changes12. Hydroclimate is harder to reconstruct and model, but studies are increasingly noting global and regional hydroclimatic impacts from explosive volcanism. Volcanic aerosols influence hydroclimate through multiple mechanisms. Aerosol scattering of solar radiation to space reduces tropospheric temperatures; if lower-tropospheric relative humidities remain unchanged, the mass of water converged by a given wind distribution decreases, and precipitation minus surface evaporation (P-E) is thus reduced21. This thermodynamic effect may represent the principal means by which equatorially symmetric aerosol distributions from tropical eruptions alter P–E15. In addition, extratropical eruptions increase sulfate aerosols on one side of the equator, cool that hemisphere, and may thus alter tropical P–E primarily by changing winds. In particular, a high-latitude energy sink in one hemisphere forces an anomalous Hadley circulation, shifting the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) away from that energy sink1. Aerosol cooling of northern high latitudes can thus force a southward shift of northern hemisphere (NH) summer monsoon precipitation, promoting drought in the northern parts of monsoon regions. These energy-budget arguments provide a more fundamental perspective on the controls on tropical rainfall than arguments based on land-ocean temperature contrast because large-scale tropical circulations are driven by horizontal gradients in the total (sensible plus latent) energy input to the atmosphere24. The hypothesis that a decrease in land-ocean temperature contrast will cause monsoon rainfall to weaken has been disproven by the observation that continental monsoon regions are cooler during years of enhanced monsoon precipitation25, and by the fact that monsoon winds weaken as land-ocean temperature contrast strengthens in projections of next-century warming.

Source

Egypt | The Pollution of the Nile River

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Source of Pollution

1. Factories

There are about 700 facilities manufacturing a variety different products located along the Nile river. Some of these facilities dump chemicals into the Nile, while others’ runoff finds its way to the water.

Some of the chemicals that find their way into the river would be phosphors, nitrogen, and pesticide residue. Once dumped, these chemicals can have negative affects on the microorganisms living in the water, by increasing the population of unhealthy bacteria by 50%-180%

2. Food Industry

Studies show that more then 350 different factories discharge their waste in to the Nile. The majority of these factories are involved in the food industry.
The Nile is suffering from the amount of agricultural waste that’s being dumped into the river. The waste is full of toxic chemicals like detergents, heavy metals, and pesticides. Discharge of oil and grease can come from untreated domestic waste water. Fortunately, those chemicals can be treated and removed from the water, but some like mutagens, and neurotoxins remain unaffected by water treatment.

3. Phosphate

On April 22 2015, an Egyptian military owned barge spilled 500 tons of phosphate in to the Nile.

Phosphate is a mineral that comes from rocks when they are eroding. In small amounts, phosphate is good for water bodies. For example, it can help the growth of plankton and aquatic plants.

But in large amounts, like what was dumped into the Nile, it is very harmful. The mineral can cause a nutrient imbalance in the water, which can damage the aquatic plants and kill them, and can also speed up the aging process of the river.

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20 Dirtiest Cities in The World

Most large cities in the developing world are breaching global air pollution guidelines, according to new data from the World Health Organization.

Air pollution has risen by 8% globally in the past five years, with the WHO estimating that it causes 3 million premature deaths a year, making it one of the greatest environmental risks to human health.

The latest urban air quality data, collected between 2011 and 2015, reveals that 98% of cities with over 100,000 inhabitants in low- and middle-income countries do not meet WHO air quality guidelines.

So which cities have the worst air quality?

Of the 3,000 cities in the WHO’s air quality database, the most polluted at the time of measurement was Onitsha, a fast-growing city in Nigeria, which recorded roughly 30 times more than the WHO’s recommended levels of PM10 particles. Peshawar in Pakistan was in second place, followed by Zabol in Iran.

These cities are mostly located in rapidly growing economies in the Middle East and South East Asia. Four of the 20 urban areas with the worst air quality at the time of measurement were in Nigeria, three were in Saudi Arabia, three were in India, and two in Iran.

China, which has been working to tackle its air pollution problem, is the only country with just one city on the most polluted list.

The Eastern Mediterranean (covering the Middle East and parts of North Africa) and South East Asia were the regions that performed worst overall in the database – with urban air pollution rising 5% in more than two-thirds of cities. Annual mean levels of air pollution in cities in these regions often exceeded five to 10 times WHO limits.

Among mega-cities (urban areas with over 14 million inhabitants) Delhi and Cairo had the highest levels of urban air pollution.

The report urges policy-makers at international, national and city level to promote cleaner transport, more efficient energy production and waste management.

Despite the bad news, the data also revealed that more than half of the monitored cities in high-income countries and more than one-third in low and middle-income countries reduced their air pollution levels by more than 5% in five years.

Commenting on the data, Dr Maria Neira, Director of the WHO’s Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health, said: “Urban air pollution continues to rise at an alarming rate, wreaking havoc on human health.

“At the same time, awareness is rising and more cities are monitoring their air quality. When air quality improves, global respiratory and cardiovascular-related illnesses decrease.”

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Rich Nations Destroying Planet Earth

Happy is the man whose wish and care a few paternal acres bound, content to breathe his native air in his own ground while arising in the morning, thinking of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.

My note: Rich nations are the cause of many things which are destroying our planet. The natural world, the earth itself; the air, the trees, the vast realms of animals, plants, oceans, deserts and mountains are increasingly losing meaning and value in the self-hypnotized, narcissistic lives of greedy nations. It’s sad indeed when we ignore the real thing around us which is our natural surrounding environment, including the spiritual nature of our being, and instead remain culled to a collective mechanical-vision of the artificial man-made life. Christianity teaches that, of all the creatures and life-forms upon this planet, only human beings have souls that can be saved, yet, those rich nations that abandoned the Christian faith are allying themselves with evil Arab states like Saudi Arabia and its tiny Wahhabi satellite nation of Qatar. These nation were willing to sell their souls in their quest “to inherit this earth”, and ultimately destroy it mercilessly.

“And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” Matthew 16:26

Doha, Qatar is hosting the latest round of United Nations talks on climate change. But can a major oil and gas hub with the highest carbon footprint per person in the world and inhospitable climate lead the way on a switch to a green economy?

According to the World Wildlife Fund’s latest report, Qatar still has the world’s largest carbon footprint

It’s been a couple of years since Qatar was awarded the ‘largest carbon footprint in the world‘ title (relative to the size of its population), but it appears little has changed since then. Despite various green initiative such as supporting local farms and ensuring that all new mosques were eco, they are still spewing record amounts of carbon for such a tiny nation. And once again, the nations next on the list were Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. It seems that old habits die hard and no more so than in the Gulf.

The fact that these countries are amongst the richest nations in the Middle East is clearly part of the problem – well, it’s part of the explanation anyhow. According to the WWF Living Planet report, high-income countries have an ecological footprint on average five times higher than that of low-income nations.

Carbon

Doha has the largest carbon footprint per person in the world. Qataris use five times the amount of carbon than the average Briton, at 44 metric tonnes per person per year in 2009. This is largely because of energy intensive air conditioning and desalination plants for water. Because water and electricity is free, there is little incentive to cut usage.

Gas

The UK spends more on gas from Qatar than any other country. In 2011 the UK spent £4.25bn on Qatari gas, 70 per cent more than our next largest import partner, Norway.

This is not because the UK imports more gas from Qatar than Norway but because it is much more expensive.

The tiny emirate has more than 15 per cent of the world’s proven gas reserves and has talked about using “unconventional sources” in future, opening the possibility of deepwater drilling or shale.

Human rights

Migrant workers, including workers on gas rigs, make up more than 80 per cent of Qatar’s population and come mostly from south and south-east Asia.

Continue reading: Modern Slavery: The Plight of Foreign Workers in Qatar

Climate reputation

As a developing country Qatar does not have fixed emission reduction targets, nor has it made any voluntary pledge to cut emissions.

There will be pressure on Qatar and other Middle Eastern countries to announce targets during the UN meeting.

Source: WWF; Telegraph

List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions

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The Future of Electric Vehicles

1.) Ford thinks hybrids will beat electric cars. Electric cars are clean and high-tech and seem like they should be the future, many say. But while visionaries and gadget-geeks alike clamor for more automotive electrification, the big global auto manufacturers continue to hedge their bets, with Ford the latest to join the chorus of concern.

2.) As battery prices drop, will electric cars finally catch on? At the moment, Americans aren’t exactly dashing out to dealerships to buy electric cars. The plug-in Nissan Leaf, which runs 75 miles on a single charge, has seen sales plummet since June 2011.

3.) Group aims to develop electric cars for Singapore. A Singapore-based investment holding firm led by a Chinese entrepreneur announced an ambitious plan on Saturday to develop and market electric vehicles from the city state.

4.) 10 electric cars you can buy this year. [Gallery]

5.) The extra mile: Solar car charger panel tracks sun. The summer of 2012 has been scorching hot. The heat at times has been practically unbearable. There is one advantage to the rays emitting from the sun these days: free energy for electric vehicles.

Source: smartplanet.com

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Diesel Fumes Cause Lung Cancer

ይህ ዜና እንደ አዲስ አበባ ያሉ ከተሞችን ይመለከታል። አዲስ አበባ ገና ብዙ መኪኖች የሏትም፡ ነገር ግን ከፍተኛ ቦታ ላይ ስለምትገኝና ብዙ የዲዘል ጭስ የሚያወጡ መኪኖች ስለሚንቀሳቀሱ ነዋሪዎቿ ለብዙ ዓይነት በሽታዎች የመጋለጥ እድሉ ይኖራቸዋል። ይህ እጅግ በጣም አሳሳቢ ጉዳይ ነው። 

Diesel fumes cause lung cancer, the World Health Organization declared Tuesday, and experts said they were more carcinogenic than secondhand cigarette smoke.

The W.H.O. decision, the first to elevate diesel to the “known carcinogen” level, may eventually affect some American workers who are heavily exposed to exhaust. It is particularly relevant to poor countries, where trucks, generators, and farm and factory machinery routinely belch clouds of sooty smoke and fill the air with sulfurous particulates.

The United States and other wealthy nations have less of a problem because they require modern diesel engines to burn much cleaner than they did even a decade ago. Most industries, like mining, already have limits on the amount of diesel fumes to which workers may be exposed.

 

Continue reading…

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