Yeonwoo Lebovitz, PhD @ywlebo@qoto.org

A group of 18 European Parliament Members have issued a statement officially calling for #Degrowth.

Here is part of what they wrote...
______________________________

We believe that the current economic model, based on endless growth, has reached its limits.

Firstly, continuous economic growth, especially based on the consumption of fossil fuels, is leading to catastrophic global warming.

Secondly, the infinite pursuit of growth relies on the depletion of natural resources, the destruction of biodiversity, and the accumulation of waste and pollution. This also poses risks to our health, our economies, and our societies writ large.

Thirdly, the current economic model is contributing to social inequality and exclusion. The emphasis on economic growth has not translated into equal distribution of wealth or opportunities. Instead, it has resulted in a concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few leaving many behind.

Fourthly, the current economic model is inherently unstable and prone to crises, as seen, for example, during the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. The pursuit of growth at all costs has created a global economic system that is fragile and vulnerable to shocks.

We need an economic system that prioritises human well-being and ecological sustainability over GDP growth, one that recognises that infinite growth on a finite planet is impossible.

We also believe we need to find new ways of organising our economies without relying on the continuous exploitation of resources and the constant increase in production and consumption.

We call for more pluralism in economic thinking within EU institutions and for its alignment with the scientific evidence of climate, ecological, and social sciences.

We call for economic models and other decision-support tools to be more diverse, more comprehensive, and more readable for citizens.

We call for decision-making processes to be aligned with our common policy objectives rather than on the basis of the variation of GDP figures.
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FULL STATEMENT -- https://www.euronews.com/2023/05/10/moving-beyond-growth-is-not-only-desirable-it-is-essential

Names of those who signed on as co-authors: Philippe Lamberts (BE), Bas Eickhout (NL), Ville Niinisto (FI), Manuela Ripa (DE), Marie Toussaint (FR), Ernest Urtasun (ES), Kim Van Sparrentak (NL) — Greens/EFA; Manon Aubry (FR), Petros Kokkalis (EL), Marisa Matias (PT), Helmut Scholz (DE) — The Left (GUE/NGL); Pascal Durand (FR), Aurore Lalucq (FR), Pierre Larrouturou (FR) — Socialists & Democrats (S&D); Sirpa Pietikainen (FI), Maria Walsh (IE) — European People’s Party (EPP); Katalin CSEH (HU) — Renew Europe (RE); and Dino GIARRUSSO (IT) — Non-attached (NI).

#Europe #EU #Politics #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #Biodiversity #Pollution #Inequality

Scientific illustrator Mark Balen of @artscistudios has a wonderful new infographic out: The Global Biomass of Mammalian Life

And Earth is full of cows. https://www.visualcapitalist.com/biomass-of-mammals/ #SharedPlanet

Nothing about this sounds safe…

"My coffee tasted unusually bitter, my lips started feeling numb, the roof of my mouth started feeling numb, my tongue started burning, and my throat started burning...I did experience GASTROINTESTINAL BLEEDING," -Therese, 15 miles away from #EastPalestineOH train explosion👇
#Ohio #train

https://twitter.com/StatusCoup/status/1626288682326958083

"Sheep living in pasture with solar panels benefit from shade in hot weather and more nutritious grass – and they stop weeds from growing on the panels"

Putting #SolarPanels in grazing fields is good for #sheep | #SolarEnergy |New Scientist
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2357545-putting-solar-panels-in-grazing-fields-is-good-for-sheep/

This is not a chart depicting Moore’s Law.

This chart is the CRAYOLA COROLLARY showing that the number of Crayola crayon colors doubles approximately every 18 years.

COVID-19 and Airborne Transmission: Science Rejected, Lives Lost. Can Society Do Better?

Lidia Morawska, et al.,
Clinical Infectious Diseases, https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciad068

This is the sad story of lost opportunities to save many lives. Unfortunately, the errors are still being repeated in poorly designed "pragmatic" RCTs and biased Cochrane reviews.
@linseymarr @EliP

The pandemic has taught us
that we
have been getting the myth
of Cassandra entirely wrong
and it is not that her
accurate warnings
were not believed
but that her warnings
were heard and understood
but those who heard them
just did not care.

“Hundreds of patients have received #LungTransplants due to #COVID19 in the United States. According to data from the United Network for Organ Transplants (UNOS), in the U.S., about one in 10 lung transplants now go to COVID-19 patients.”

https://columbiasurgery.org/news/one-ten-lung-transplants-go-covid-19-patients-here-s-what-we-know

This is what I've been clumsily trying to say in media recently. We now have waves of COVID with lower peaks and higher troughs. This is what "hyperendemicity" looks like. So yes, the official pandemic could justifiably be declared over, as that is an administrative definition. But functionally, what we're looking at is a *sustained* assault on our already overtaxed health care system for the foreseeable future.

Solutions? Better treatments, better vaccines (mucosal ones), better engineered built environments.

More on the precautions at Davos. If they are good for them they are good for you too.

Everyone should be safe.

World Economic Forum: Here Are All The Covid-19 Precautions At Davos 2022 via @forbes

@whn #covid #COVIDisAirborne #CovidIsNotOver

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2023/01/20/world-economic-forum-is-taking-all-these-covid-19-precautions-at-davos/?sh=442df66c6304

Elites at the World Economic Forum are doing everything they can to protect themselves from #COVID, because the ruling class know the pandemic is not over.

Meanwhile, they are pushing the rest of us back into unsafe workplaces to protect their profits. This is class warfare.

Not to be everyone’s cancer awareness auntie but CVS (and likely other pharmacies) has the HPV/gardasil vaccine available right now! 💉💉💉

Any gender can get this vaccine, up to 45 years old (younger is better but any time is still good). Evidence shows it can prevent cervical cancer (if you have a cervix) and throat cancer, the one I have. A vaccine that prevents cancer! C’mon it is a no brainer! You can schedule it online like all the other vaccines.

Cyclist praying mantis. ☺️
A mantis sits on two fern sprouts.

#nature #mantis

France is mandating clean air in the classrooms, requiring CO2 levels of 800 ppm. I hope this is rolled out in other countries. Apart from lowering #covid risks in the classroom, it will also address other respiratory issues. #CleanAir #COVID #SafeSchools

Never in a million years did I see pandemic safety becoming one of the most punk rock things you could do in this world, but here we are