The decision follows a petition by the Ecuadorian city of Cuenca to allow a ballot referendum on mining near water sources, including near the Tomebamba, Machángara, Norcay, Yanuncay, and Tarqui rivers.
Year: 2020 C.E.
China, top global emitter, aims to go carbon-neutral by 2060
Citing the Paris Agreement that he and former U.S. President Barack Obama helped forge in 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping said his country would raise its emissions reduction targets. “We aim to have CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060,” he said.
Walmart aims for zero emissions by 2040 without buying offsets
To reach zero emissions without carbon offsets, Walmart says it will power its facilities with 100 percent renewable energy by 2035 while introducing zero-emission vehicles for all of its fleet, including long haul trucks by 2040.
Online tool helps mobilize Native American communities to go out and vote
The website aims to help Native Americans navigate roadblocks to the ballot box, by supplying specific, scrupulous details for registering, voting in person, and voting by mail, in all relevant counties and Indian tribal lands in the US.
California to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035
The new legislation is part of a new package of policy changes that aim to reduce climate-warming emissions amidst another season of wildfires. As The Hill reports, the order also includes a provision to no longer issue new permits for oil and gas fracking by 2024.
Vanguard, BlackRock add new climate-focused ETFs as demand soars
Top asset managers Vanguard Group Inc and BlackRock Inc on Thursday introduced new exchange-traded funds that exclude oil companies, coal producers and other industries that a growing number of investors want to avoid.
New Jersey passes bill to protect poor communities from pollution
The New Jersey Law will require the state’s Department of Environmental Protection to deny permit applications for a new project if it determines it will have a disproportionate impact on a certain community already facing environmental or health stressors.
Universal Hydrogen and Magnix building world’s largest hydrogen plane
A new LA-based fuel logistics startup, Universal Hydrogen, has embarked on a project to develop a retrofittable hydrogen powertrain for existing airliners, and will test it with a 40-seat De Havilland Canada DHC8-Q300, commonly known as the Dash-8, that will become the world’s largest hydrogen-fueled commercial aircraft.
Berlin opens giant city-run department store for second-hand goods
While the state-run store is meant to redirect useable goods away from landfill sites, the idea is also to use the stores to “anchor the re-use of used goods in urban society” by functioning as centers to educate and spread tips on re-use.
Older people today are smarter, stronger and faster than 30 years ago
A compelling new study from researchers in Finland has compared the physical and cognitive performance of a group of older people in 2017 with a similarly aged group three decades earlier. Improvements were seen in almost every test.