globalbriefs


News and resources to inspire concerned citizens to work together in building a healthier, stronger society that benefits all.


Reforesting India Massive Tree-Planting Against Climate Change


Indian officials report that volunteers planted more than 49 million trees on a single day in 2016, surpassing the 2013 world record of 850,000 in Pakistan. An estimated 800,000 volunteers worked for 24 hours planting 80 species of saplings raised in local nurseries along roads, railways and other public land. The effort is part of the commitment India made at


the Paris Climate Conference in December 2015. The country agreed to spend $6 billion to reforest 12 percent of its land and bring the total forest cover to 235 million


acres by 2030, or about 29 percent of its territory. Trees sequester carbon dioxide from the air and reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. India has experienced substantial loss of its forest cover in recent centuries as people cut down trees for firewood, pasture and development. Still, saplings need water and care and are susceptible to disease. Mortality rates can reach 40 percent after such massive tree plantings. Other countries are also replanting trees. Last December, African nations pledged to reforest 100 million hectares (386 square miles). A wide range of stakeholders from countries to companies also signed on to the non-binding New York Declaration of Forests that month, with the goal of halving deforestation by 2020 and ending it by 2030.


Source: National Geographic


Protecting Pollinators Maryland Bans Bee-Killing Pesticides


Maryland is the first state in the nation to pass strict restric- tions on pesticides thought to be responsible for significant reductions in bee populations with enactment of its Pollinator Protection Act. Maryland lost more than 60 percent of its hives in 2015, each containing up to 20,000 honeybees, making it one of the states with the highest recorded declines. The national average is about 42 percent, yet across the country, farmers and gardeners are still using pesti- cides linked to colony collapse disorder. Globally, more than one-third of the world’s food supply could be at risk if these and other pollinators are lost. Neonicotinoids are one potent class of systemic pesticides introduced to agriculture in the 1990s that have been linked to bees’ demise. In recent years, pesticides such as Knockout Ready-to-Use Grub Killer, Ortho Bug B Gon, and All- In-One Rose & Flower Care have been made available to consumers and beekeep- ers have noticed a corresponding increase in bee deaths. The Maryland law bans the use of neonicotinoids by everyday consumers that


have been spraying home gardens and trees with these deadly pesticides. Farmers and professional gardeners are exempt from the law. A similar law is awaiting the governor’s signature in Connecticut. Although the U.S. Department of Agriculture has not officially recognized the well-researched link, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is reviewing it.


Source: BeyondPesticides.org Long Island Edition


22 www.NaturalAwakeningsLI.com


Airline Air Recirculating Jet Air Linked to Illness


Aerotoxic syndrome is the medical term for the illness caused by exposure to contaminated air in jet aircraft, and it’s causing that ail- ment, plus the permanent disability and even death of airline employees and passengers. Whistleblowers have been met with ridicule and termination. The problem has been called the “asbestos of the airline industry” by critics. French scientist Jean-Cristophe Balouet, Ph.D., who discovered the syndrome in 1999, thinks it may have already affected 250,000 pilots, cabin crew and passengers worldwide. In 1963, aircraft moved from


drawing fresh air into the cabin to “bleeding” part of it from the engines. The synthetic oil used by jets contains organophosphates used in pesticides and nerve gas, and was banned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for residential use in 2001 because of known toxicity. The byproducts of these carcinogenic organophosphates can also include aldehydes and carbon monoxide. Airplane seals wear out and


there are no chemical sensors onboard aircraft to detect fumes— only noses to detect the “dirty sock” odor. The Aerotoxic Association continues to push for air quality detectors on all planes and the Cabin Air Quality Act sponsored by Califor- nia Senator Dianne Feinstein. For more information, visit


Aerotoxic.org.


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