COLTAN FROM AFRICA AND GOLD FROM BRAZIL. PLEASE READ THIS, BEFORE BUYING A NEW SMARTPHONE

COLTAN: a conflict mineral Many investors are no doubt aware of tantalum’s conflict mineral status, so it should come as no surprise that coltan falls under the same banner. There have been reports that neighboring countries in Central Africa, including Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi, have smuggled Congolese coltan from the DRC [Democratic Republic of Congo] to fund war and conflicts in the region, although all countries deny that is the case. A 2001 Amnesty International report states, “By one estimate, the Rwandan army made at least US$250 million over a period of 18 months through the sale of coltan, even though no coltan is mined in Rwanda.” Demand for the technological material has only grown in the almost two decades since. So where does all of this coltan end up? Its path is hard to trace, but regulatory authorities are doing their best to ensure that electronics corporations are not funding conflict in the DRC by buying coltan and thus contributing to human rights violations. However, not all electronics companies are transparent about their supply chains. COLTAN: harmful for gorillas It's worth noting that coltan mining has caused significant destruction of gorilla habitats in the DRC. Gorilla habitats have been reduced as forests are cleared to make way for mining operations, leaving a population of only about 6,800 Grauer's gorillas — the world's largest primate. Mountain gorilla habitats have also been impacted by the illegal coltan-mining and smuggling industry. The ongoing conflict and issues around mining and sourcing coltan have prompted calls to the Congolese government and local leaders to strengthen the conflict minerals law.

Natural resources such as gold and copper are fundamental in the manufacturing process of electronic products. And since these resources are so valuable, there are many illegal mining companies around the world. Unfortunately, it seems that Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon have been buying gold illegally mined in Brazil for their products. The local Brazilian newspaper Repórter Brasil revealed on Monday that these four major tech companies used illegal gold from Brazilian indigenous lands located in the Amazon rainforest. This gold was primarily destined for smartphones and computers from Apple and Microsoft, as well as servers from Google and Amazon. APPLE PRODUCTS: may have gold from illegal miners. Documents seen by the authors of the report confirm that the companies bought gold from the Chimet and Marsam refineries between 2020 and 2021. Both refineries have been under investigation by the Brazilian Federal Police for illegal extraction of natural resources, in addition to several charges related to environmental damage. Although the extraction of natural resources on indigenous lands is prohibited in Brazil, there are several illegal mining companies that extract and sell these resources to other companies around the world. This is because mineral extraction results in deforestation of the Amazon forest and contamination of rivers with mercury. At the same time, the illegal extraction of natural resources also finances organized crime. In Brazil, the number of armed attacks on indigenous peoples has grown considerably in recent years as these mining companies expand their operations Every company listed on the US stock exchange is required to report its natural resource suppliers. However, although Chimet and Marsam are under investigation in Brazil, these refiners are currently certified in the United States and Europe. Although tech companies argue that they use clean materials, it seems that not all of them are really interested in learning where these materials come from.

BEES ARE CLEVER AND SENTIENT (?!)

Reproduced from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/16/bees-are-really-highly-intelligent-the-insect-iq-tests-causing-a-buzz-among-scientists?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

They have been revered by the ancient Egyptians, lauded by Shakespeare, feared by Winnie-the-Pooh and, most recently, battled by Rowan Atkinson in the new Netflix hit Man vs Bee. But love or loathe them, you may be surprised to discover just how much bees know. “We now have suggestive evidence that there is some level of conscious awareness in bees – that there is a sentience, that they have emotion-like states,” says Lars Chittka, professor of sensory and behavioural ecology at Queen Mary University of London. Chittka has been studying bees for 30 years and is considered one of the world’s leading experts on bee sensory systems and cognition. In his latest book, The Mind of a Bee, published on 19 July, he argues that bees need our protection, not just because they are useful for crop pollination and biodiversity, but because they may be sentient beings – and humans have an ethical obligation to ensure their survival. “Our work and that of other labs has shown that bees are really highly intelligent individuals. That they can count, recognise images of human faces and learn simple tool use and abstract concepts.” He thinks bees have emotions, can plan and imagine things, and can recognise themselves as unique entities distinct from other bees. He draws these conclusions from experiments in his lab with female worker bees. “Whenever a bee gets something right, she gets a sugar reward. That’s how we train them, for example, to recognise human faces.” In this experiment, bees shown several monochrome images of human faces learn that one is associated with a sugar reward. “Then, we give them a choice of different faces and no rewards, and ask: which do you choose now? And indeed, they can find the correct one out of an array of different faces.” It takes them only a dozen to two dozen training sessions to become “proficient face recognisers”, he said. In the counting experiment, the bees were trained to fly past three identical landmarks to a food source. “After they had reliably flown there, we either increased the number of landmarks over the same distance or decreased it.” When landmarks were spaced closer together, the bees tended to land earlier than before and vice versa when the landmarks were placed further apart. “So they were using the number of landmarks to say: ah ha, I’ve flown far enough, this is a good place to land.” Since the landmarks were identical, he could be sure the bees weren’t identifying a particular one when deciding how far to fly. “They really could get the solution only by counting the number of landmarks.”

CORN PRIMARILY FOR FOOD AND NOT FOR MOVING CARS!!!

Global demand for fuels puts pressure on biofuel generation. Brazil is "a target"!

Ferment corn to fill the tank of this SUV or feed 10 to 20 human beings for a year. "While a ton of sugarcane produces between 70 and 85 liters of ethanol, one tonne of corn can produce between 370 and 460 liters, depending on the quality of the corn, which fluctuates little and is practically free of impurities"; and, unlike sugarcane that needs to be processed right after harvest to generate ethanol, corn can be stored for a certain period before being processed. CORN: IT IS FUNDAMENTALLY FOOD. Corn is the seed of the plant of the species Zea mays. This cereal is one of the most consumed foods in the world (second largest crop), both in human and animal feed. Corn is believed to originate from Central America, a region where Mexico is now, having been cultivated since pre-Columbian times. In Brazil, corn was grown by the Brazilian native people even before the arrival of the Portuguese. Unlike most cereals, corn conserves its bark, rich in fiber. It has a high carbohydrate content and considerable amounts of vitamins B1, E and mineral salts such as iron, phosphorus, potassium and zinc. In the ethanol production chain, it is necessary to include the 'inputs' of the production system, in the same way that it would have been necessary for sugarcane in the generation of ethanol. It is also important to consider environmental costs, like soil degradation, pollution; government, federal and state subsidies.

SORRY! I CAN’T UNDERSTAND! ARE’NT THESE COUNTRIES VERY GOOD FRIENDS?!

Reproduced from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/09/us-cruise-ships-using-canada-as-toilet-bowl-for-polluted-waste-alaska-british-columbia?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other Canadian regulations create ‘perverse incentive’ for US cruise ships en route to Alaska to discharge toxic mix of chemicals and wastewater off British Columbia, report says

From the comfort of cruise ships, a typical trip to Alaska offers magnificent views of glaciers and untamed national parks, and visits to quaint seaside towns. For years, these draws have made cruises to Alaska the most booked US holiday.

But the journey to those pristine areas, which involves sailing along Canada’s west coast for two or three days, is leaving behind a trail of toxic waste, including within marine protected areas (MPAs), according to new research. More than 31bn litres (8.5bn US gallons) a year of pollution is estimated to be discharged off the west coast of Canada by cruise ships on their way to and from Alaska, according to a report by the environmental organisations Stand.earth and West Coast Environmental Law (WCEL). Across Canada’s 151,019 mile (243,042km) coastline, ships generate 147bn litres of harmful waste each year, equivalent to 59,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools, according to a March 2022 report by WWF-Canada. Based on data from more than 5,000 vessels, the report found cruise ships were the largest polluters, despite making up only 2% of the marine traffic analysed. Cruise ship pollution includes large volumes of toxic sewage from toilets, greywater from sinks, showers and laundries, and bilge water – the oily liquid that collects at the lowest part of a ship. By far the largest source of pollution identified in the WWF report was from so-called scrubbers – devices installed to remove exhaust gases such as sulphur oxide and nitrogen oxide, as well as particulates, from the heavy bunker oil used as marine fuel. The scrubbers create an acidic wastewater containing a cocktail of chemicals. On a one-week trip to Alaska and back along the Canadian coast, a cruise ship will generate nearly 200m litres of waste from scrubbers, according to the Stand.earth and WCEL report. While ships can decide whether to discharge at sea or within a port, most waste from scrubbers is dumped as it is generated. […]continue reading on link shown on top

SOCIAL MEDIA SHOULD BE MORE COOPERATIVE FOR NATURE CONSERVATION

REPRODUCED FROM: (on top of photo below)

Manaus (AM) – Facebook, the Meta conglomerate, was fined R$ 10 million [U$ 1,820,000.00]by the Brazilian Institute of The Environment and Renewable Natural Resources ('IBAMA') for exposing for sale 2,227 specimens of Brazilian native wildlife without the proper permission, license or authorization of the competent environmental authority. A dossier of the National Network to Combat the Trafficking of Wild Animals (Renctas), carried out from a scientific study in partnership with the University of Northumbria in the United Kingdom, served as the basis for ibama's action. The study monitored groups on Facebook and Whatsapp (which is also part of the meta company), from the end of 2020 to the beginning of 2022. During this period, more than four million messages were cataloged by the institution to identify patterns and trends of the illegal online market of wild animals in Brazil. According to the dossier, 1,682 wild animals were registered for sale, and a total of U$127,272.00 moved. Renctas had already tried to contact Facebook for the posts to be deleted, denouncing the sale by the means offered by the platform. Without any return, Renctas sent the result of the dossier to Ibama. About 500 prints of Messages on Facebook and 500 prints of messages on WhatsApp were sent to the agency. […] "They often use the unfavorable socioeconomic conditions of communities in regions of great biological diversity to co-opt people. Dealers buy or trade these animals by bargaining for food, clothing. It is a social problem that we have on the basis of wildlife trafficking",according to Dener Giovanini, Renctas general-coordinator. According to the data collected by the study, among the most commercialized animals are reptiles (44%) and birds (40%). There is also commercialization of exotic species (19%), a fact that draws attention because they are species that do not occur naturally in Brazil. The screenshots provided by Renctas show animals such as macaws, spiders, snakes, owls and iguanas. […]

COSTS OF AMAZON PRESERVATION

https://www.perspectecolconserv.com/en-minimum-costs-conserve-80-brazilian-avance-S253006442200027X?referer=buscador HIGHLIGHTS: • Conserving ∼80% of the Brazilian Amazon is still feasible • Conservation areas are essential for a new regional development model • The cost of establishing.1.3 million km2 of new conservation areas is USD 1.0–1.6 billion • The annual cost of 3.5 million km2 of conservation areas is USD 1.7–2.8 billion • A new ambitious, decentralized, and agile fund mechanism is required