EARTH MEANDERS ESSAY By Dr. Glen Barry

PAMACC News - Given long-predicted and self-evident abrupt climate change and ecosystem collapse, and resultant perma-war and rise of fascism, despite decades of scientific warnings which went unheeded; will you now listen to science, embrace an ecology ethic, and act to avoid biosphere collapse and the end of being before it is too late?

Essentially every warning from ecological and climate scientists regarding the limits to growth have come to pass. Climate models have been amazingly accurate, if anything under-predicting the magnitude of the climate apocalypse dramatically playing out in Polar Regions and radiating heat globally. Water, farmland, soil, wetlands, oceans, old-growth forests, and the atmosphere are, as forecasted, in precipitous decline.

Whole regions are collapsing ecologically and are on track to being uninhabitable and will have to be abandoned. Yet demands for inequitable consumption placed upon nature by seven billion top predators continue to grow exponentially (as a billion live in opulent splendor, another billion face abject soul-sucking poverty, and a handful enjoy half of Earth’s wealth).

There are few naturally evolved large ecosystems remaining to cut, burn, and otherwise plunder for short-term ill-gotten gains as the biosphere and society bear the unpriced external costs. Those natural ecosystems that remain are under threat as the oil oligarchy consolidates its power in order to access and burn every last drop of oil and chunk of coal, destroying our atmosphere and last natural ecosystems in the process.

The global ecological system – our one shared biosphere that makes Earth habitable – is collapsing and dying as human industrial growth overruns natural ecosystems and the climate.

Resource scarcity resulting from ecosystem loss, albeit delayed through the advent of information technology, nonetheless underlies the surge in uncontrolled mass migration and diminished economic prospects for the formerly affluent Western middle classes. Landscapes ravaged by industrial capitalism in the developing countries in particular are barren wastelands unable to support indigenous and other local self-reliant lifestyles that provided for quality lifestyles for millennium.

As foreseen by this author and others, authoritarian fascism has arisen to exploit both environmental decline and surging inequity between the super-rich and multitudinous have nots. A state of perma-war and institutionalized war murders masked as a clash between cultures are more accurately depicted as a scramble for dwindling resources upon which to base overly consumptive and clearly unsustainable lifestyles for the privileged few for a while.

Fascist demagogues have arisen that spout charlatan alternative facts as they stifle voices of ecological and other truths.

Environmental and climate crises long perceived as distant or affecting others, but not you, are increasingly impacting average people in their daily lives, particularly in the over-developed world. Food and water systems are failing and prices rising, as regular patterns of seasonality are lost. Jobs based upon ravaging natural ecosystems are a thing of the past, as they are exhausted, and are not coming back. Foreigners from hard scrabble over-populated countries will work far harder for much less and increasingly take even domestic high-tech positions excluding locals.

Our present state of environmental collapse, driven by inequitable over-population and ecosystem loss, fomenting precipitous social and economic decline, was foreseen by ecological scientists. Numerous warnings from a host of ecological visionaries sought to highlight the problems and the course of action required to move towards not only sustainable, but also just and equitable sustainable development.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s the preceding work of Malthus, John Muir, Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson and others went mainstream as the self-evident need to protect land, air, and water led to bipartisan efforts. The ground-breaking Limits to Growth publications highlighted once again the irrefutable fact that exponential growth can only lead to collapse. The advent of micro-processors has pushed back some limits, as others like the absorptive capacity of the atmosphere have clearly been breached.

It has been two years since I proposed a 10th Planetary Boundary in my peer-reviewed scientific journal article entitled Terrestrial ecosystem loss and biosphere collapse regarding how many natural ecosystems can be lost before the biosphere collapses. Noting how smaller ecosystems, indeed anything from which portions are cut, fragment and fall apart at around 40% loss; I proposed a threshold of 66% natural and semi-natural terrestrial ecosystem retention as being required to avoid biosphere collapse.

Despite my findings being subsequently validated in other studies by scientific luminaries, precisely nothing is being done by world governments and even leading environmental NGOS to begin the process of ending natural ecosystem loss and beginning an age of ecological restoration.

With about 50% of natural ecosystems having been destroyed already there can be no other outcome (after unknown lag times) than biosphere collapse and the end of being.

It is not through lack of effort by others and me that deep ecology has not caught on. Indoctrination into a nationalistic, consumptive worldview is pervasive and all-encompassing. Very few are able to escape the religious, racist, nationalistic, and economic lies forced upon them in youth.

Much of humanity has forgotten that it is possible to live in peace and within the bounds of nature. Social cohesion has dangerously frayed. Poorly educated folks falling from middle class lifestyles, as well as the well-off feasting upon the last ill-gotten fruits of nature, are unable and/or unwilling to grok causal connections between declining natural systems and limited economic prospects, and that such growth can only end in collapse.

Our fatally flawed education system fails to provide the necessary cognitive skills to grasp basic truths –like nothing grows forever, ecosystems make life possible, and water is required for life – upon which our existence depends.

Nothing grows exponentially forever, it is a physically impossible.

To deny Malthus, indigenous wisdom, and all subsequent iterations upon ecological knowledge and intuition found in science is sheer utter madness.

The truth of the matter is that while ecological trends are clear, the breaking point of ecosystems and societies is not known with certainty. There may be sources of ecological resiliency of which we are unaware. And given the drive for self-survival of a species can be found in all genetic code, including the hairless ape with the amazing opposable thumb, it would be incautious, indeed ludicrous, to give up.

But we need to quickly change our ways personally and societally to embrace an ecology ethic. We need to listen to ecological and other scientific experts and dramatically reduce industrial and population growth, as well as inequitable over-consumption, or we are faced with ecological apocalypse and biosphere collapse.

One last time swords must be beaten into plowshares (and restored ecosystems).

It is known with certainty that human prospects depend upon functioning natural ecosystems. And the personal and societal changes required to maintain such systems are known with surety as well.

Simply, pollution of land, air, and water must end or we all needlessly die.

To sustain local ecological patterns and processes globally, old-growth forest logging and industrial scale marine fisheries MUST cease immediately, and massive investments in ecosystem restoration be made. Decentralized renewable energy grids and nega-watts from energy conservation must be embraced with utmost urgency as fossil fuel burning ends. Massive investments in women’s education, birth control, and tax incentives for small families must be made worldwide to slow growth and then reduce human population. Genetic modifications and oil intensive agriculture must end as we return to family farming embracing organic permaculture. And all sources of sacred water must be protected at any cost.

Fascism and the threats posed by both large governments and corporations must be eliminated. A guaranteed minimum income must be established worldwide. Armies must be demobilized and international institutions strengthened to pay the price for our continued existence, while ending systematic war murders. Liberty, justice, and equity for all members of the human and all species’ family must be ensured.

This course of action is based upon scientific truths, and further ignoring of ecological limits is a willful death wish.

Humanity heeds the warnings of its sage elders and embraces such an ecology ethic now in all haste or we face intensified abject human misery prior to biosphere collapse and an imminent end to being. Let’s come together now to make it so.

The Government of Kenya announced today a ban on the use, manufacture and import of all plastic bags, to take effect in six months. This announcement comes just three weeks after the UN declared a “war on plastic” through its new Clean Seas initiative, which has already secured commitments to address major plastic pollution from 10 governments.

Some 100 million plastic bags are handed out every year in Kenya by supermarkets alone. Long identified as a major cause of environmental damage and health problems, they kill birds, fish and other animals that mistake them for food, damage agricultural land, pollute tourist sites and provide breeding grounds for the mosquitoes that carry malaria and dengue fever.

“Kenya is taking decisive action to remove an ugly stain on its outstanding natural beauty,” said Erik Solheim, UN Environment’s Executive Director. “Plastic waste also causes immeasurable damage to fragile ecosystems -- both on land and at sea -- and this decision is a major breakthrough in our global effort to turn the tide on plastic.

“Kenya should be commended for its environmental leadership. It's a great example that I hope will inspire others, and help drive further commitments to the Clean Seas campaign.”

Plastic bags are the number one challenge for urban waste disposal in Kenya, particularly in the poorest communities where access to disposal systems and healthcare is limited.

They also contribute to the 8 million tonnes of plastic that leak into the ocean every year. At current rates by 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish, wreaking havoc on marine fisheries, wildlife and tourism.

Kenya today is the 11th country to take action in support of the UN Environment campaign. In Africa, Rwanda and Morocco have already banned plastic bags and other countries are set to announce measures in the coming weeks.

Further afield, Indonesia has committed to slash marine litter by 70%, Canada has added microbeads (tiny particles of plastic) to its list of toxic substances, and the UK and the US have banned microbeads in cosmetics.

ABUJA, Nigeria (PAMACC News) - Nigeria's biosafety regulatory agency has began wide ranging analysis of suspected Genetically Modified (GM) products in the country, the Director-General of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Dr Rufus Ebegba has said.

In line with the NBMA's resolve to ensure the safety of Nigerians, Ebegba revealed that the agency’s scientists had selected products suspected to contain genetically modified ingredients from some superstores in the country.

“The analysis followed a three-month GMO survey conducted by the agency which, among other findings, showed the presence of products containing genetically modified ingredients in superstores across the country" Ebegba said.

According to him, “some of the products have labels showing ingredients contained therein while others do not. Hence, the need to carry out an indepth analysis to ascertain the true type of genetic materials and their make-up, and to ensure that it is safe for Nigerians to consume.’’

In a separate interview, Miss Amedu Josephine, Head of the GMO Analysis Laboratory said: “We do have some foods on our shelves that are GM Foods. Our work is to ensure that it is actually GMO and to find out the genetic component that describes the GM material. We also have to be sure that the sequence that has been inserted is not one that will be detrimental to the health of Nigerians."

“This is why we want to be sure that everything that is genetically modified within the borders of Nigeria is safe for public consumption,” Miss Amedu added

According to Amedu, the agency has been diligent in the discharge of its duties. “I urge Nigerians to have faith in the ability of the agency’s scientists to protect and safeguard their health,” she said.

It may be recalled that the agency acquired a state-of-the-art GMO analysis laboratory in 2016 as part of its resolve to diligently carry out testing of products.

Jury still out on GMOs in Nigeria

In the face of the acquisition of state-of-the-art GMO analysis facilities and assurances by the regulatory agency, a cross section of the Nigerian civil society are still up in arms against in the introduction of GMOs in the country.

At a stakeholders meeting on Promoting Biosafety in Nigeria held recently in Benin City, South-South Nigeria, the stakeholders led by by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) and the Nigerian Bar Association (Edo State chapter) analysed critical issues and concerns of Nigerians on GMOs and the Nigerian Biosafety Management Act of 2015 which, according to them, did not take into account the concerns of local farmers and critical stakeholders, contrary to the provisions of the African Union's Model Law on Biosafety and the Cartagena Protocol.

On this count, the stakeholders unanimously agreed that the Act in its current  form lacks the legal safeguards to protect Nigerians's food culture, environment, ecosystems and human health.

The non-state actors also expressed dismay over the Biosafety Agency's refusal to take into account, the objections and critical concerns submitted by key NGOs supported by over 100 groups, bordering on health, environmental, socio-economic, technical and administrative concerns before issuing permits to Monsanto Agriculture Nigeria Limited on behalf of Monsanto Company, based in St-Louis, Missouri, USA, for commercial release and placing on market of genetically modified cotton and for the confined field trial of two maize events.

Wondering why institutions that are created to protect the Nigerian environment and biosafety  are actually hand-in-gloves with corporations that are trying to flood the country with exotic and risky  products and merchandise, Nnimmo Bassey of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation called for a local and  national paradigm-shift towards food sovereignty based on local contextual considerations, promotion of small-scale farmers, pastoralists and fisher-folk which have defined indigenous agriculture based on human rights and sustainable natural resource use.

"The mythical benefits of GMOs have ben debunked by many experts. For instance a report issued by over 400 scientists and development practitioners from developed and developing countries, under the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), concluded that small scale farmers should be supported as modern biotechnology would have very limited contribution to the feeding of the world in the foreseeable future" Bassey says.

Chairman of the Benin branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, Barr Ede Asenoguan declared that there are several fault-lines in the permissive NBMA Act requiring that the entire Act be urgently reviewed and the GMO permits issued withdrawn. According to the Benin-based Lawyer, "the constitution of the Board of NBMA makes the agency open to conflict of interests as already seen in the case of a board member (National Bioetechnology Development Agency) teaming up with commercial interests to apply for and receive permits to introduce GMOs into Nigeria."

Barr Chima Williams, President of the Green Alliance of Nigeria is of the view that promoters of GMO and their allies have deliberately ignored the importance and the peculiarities of  Nigerian  culture, environment and agriculture in their aggressive attempts to impose their products and  merchandise on Nigeria . "Rather than  promoting agroecology, which works in harmony with nature, they have become tied to the apron-strings of speculators and neo-colonial powers whose objective is to exploit, subjugate and destroy food production systems in Nigeria while promoting monoculture and use of toxic agro-chemicals" Williams added.

At the end of the meeting, the stakeholders called for concerted actions aimed at tackling the inadequate level of information and awareness on food sovereignty issues in the media which shuts out critical stakeholders, deepening public ignorance and inhibiting contributions to solutions.

For now, the relationship between the biosafety regulatory agency and the civil society groups in Nigeria remains largely that of a cat and mouse and the possibility of finding a common ground appears elusive.

ABUJA, Nigeria (PAMACC News) - As the environmental activists seek for investment in green energy, the Federal Government of Nigeria has already announced that it will consolidate and allocate coal sites across the country to “serious minded players in the power sector” in a drive to meet the country's increasing energy deficit.

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, disclosed this during a visit to the Abuja Steel Mills Limited, Minna, North Central Nigeria.

According to Fayemi, the ministry is considering the power sector as its priority area that needs coal to address electricity deficit in the country.

“We are not saying that we will not give coal to others that need coals for the production of steel or relevant manufacturing works, but right now power sector needs coal,” he said.

He said that the management of Abuja Steel Mill had requested for coal for the production of steel, adding that the ministry would support local steel manufacturers that could solve steel deficit.

“Our work as a ministry is to facilitate companies that have taken it upon themselves to manufacture steel locally, rather than importing substandard steel with our hard earned Forex.”

He expressed appreciation to the management of the company for employing 450 Nigerians and providing healthcare facilities, adding that the company should train its local engineers to perform or take over its expatriate tasks. He also urged the company to continue to maintain its standard of production to gain adequate market and bridge steel importation gap.

Dr Fayemi said the ministry would encourage the Ministry of Works, Power and Housing to link the company to construction giants in the country to patronise their products. He promised to liaise with Nigerian Customs Service on scrap metals being exported on a daily basis, as scarcity of the material had hiked prices of steel produced locally.

However, he promised to solve some of the requests presented by the company, adding  that it should also fulfill the ministry’s requirements to move the country forward.

Using coal to boost steel production

Mr Richpal Singh, Executive Director and Advisor of the company, urged the minister to make coal sites available to the company to boost steel production. Singh said availability of coal would enable the company to produce 6.8 million tonnes required for local consumption.

He said the scrap metals being sold at the rate of N50,000 per tonne now sold at N250,000, as the materials were being exported due to high exchange rate.

He said one of the company’s challenges was scarcity of scrap metals being used for the production of steel, as Nigerians were now making brisk business with some Chinese firms to package and export them.

The company produces 150,000 tonnes yearly and is currently the highest steel producer in the country. All the local steel companies in Nigeria are producing 2.5 million tonnes annually and Nigeria requires 6.8 tonnes of steel every year. The company is an Indian organisation with other seven subsidiaries in steel, chemical and energy production.

Coal and Nigeria's NDCs

In October 2015, it would be recalled that Nigeria submitted its climate pledge to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as part of its commitment to the process leading to the COP21 Paris Agreement. The Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) identified measures like working towards ending gas flaring and other fossil-based energy forms by 2030, working towards Off-grid solar PV of 13GW (13,000MW), deployment of efficient gas generators, and 2% per year energy efficiency (30% by 2030).


The climate pledge reckoned that under a business-as-usual growth scenario, consistent with strong economic growth of 5% per year, Nigeria’s emissions are expected to grow to around 900 million tonnes per year in 2030, which translates to around 3.4 tonnes per person.


However with food insecurity, poor access to energy and high unemployment presently constituting principal constraints on economic development and about 40% of the population living below the poverty line of US$1.25, coupled with the recent sharp decline in world oil prices putting enormous pressure on the federal government’s budget, which continues to depend significantly on export revenues, it is increasingly becoming difficult for Nigeria to honor its climate pledge as conveyed by the NDCs.


The recent recourse to coal as a panacea to energy deficit runs contrary to the focal emphasis of Nigeria's climate plan which aspired to achieve economic and social development by growing the economy 5% per year, improving standard of living, electricity access for all under a mitigation objective of 20% unconditional reduction in emissions and a 45% conditional reduction from business as usual.