Environment
Tesla to stop accepting Bitcoin for car payments
Electric car maker Tesla will stop accepting Bitcoin as a payment, CEO Elon Musk tweeted on Wednesday, citing environmental concerns.
“We are concerned about rapid increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel,” Musk said on Twitter. He added that cryptocurrency is a “good idea on many levels” but its promise cannot come at a “great cost to the environment.”
Read:Consumer Reports tricks Tesla to drive with no one at wheel
Tesla, he added, won’t be selling any of the Bitcoin it owns.
The price of bitcoin fell about 5% to $51,847 after Musk’s comments on Twitter. Tesla’s stock finished Wednesday down 4.4%.
Tesla said in February that it had invested around $1.5 billion in Bitcoin and it planned to begin accepting the digital currency as payment “soon.” The fair market value of Tesla’s Bitcoin holdings as of March 31 was $2.48 billion, according to securities filings.
Bitcoin relies on computers, which rely on electricity, to exist. The number of computers and the energy needed to power them is rising — the growing value of bitcoin is directly tied to the amount of energy it uses.
Bitcoin miners unlock bitcoins by solving complex, unique puzzles. As the value of bitcoin goes up, the puzzles become increasingly more difficult, and it requires more computer power to solve them. Estimates on how much energy Bitcoin uses vary.
Read: Scrutiny of Tesla crash a sign that regulation may be coming
A 2019 study by researchers at the Technical University of Munich and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology concluded that, in late 2018, the entire bitcoin network was responsible for up to 22.9 million tons of CO2 per year — similar to a large Western city or an entire developing country like Sri Lanka. Total global emissions of the greenhouse gas from the burning of fossil fuels were about 37 billion tons last year.
Plastic waste increases from 178 tons per day in 2005 to 646 tons in 2020 in Dhaka
Plastic waste has gone up from 178 tons per day in 2005 to 646 tons per day in 2020 in Dhaka city alone, Mercy Tembon, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, has said.
Tembon said this at a virtual workshop jointly organized by the World Bank and the Department of Environment on Wednesday.
World Bank announced the winners of the Plastic Circularity Innovation Challenge at the event.
Also Read: Keep track of your plastic wastes online
The competition sought innovative solutions to combat plastic pollution in Bangladesh.
“Addressing plastic pollution is a critical development agenda for ensuring green and smart growth,” said Tembon.
The contest asked for innovative solutions in two categories:
i) collection/sorting, recycling of low-valued plastics and single use plastics and
ii) digital technology solutions in coping with plastic pollution such as mobile apps.
Read Fighting plastic pollution: EcoVia working to transform RMG waste
The three-member panel of judges included Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, Chairman and CEO of PRAN-RFL; Cyrill Gutsch, CEO, Parley for the Oceans, and Marina Tabassum, Founder and Principal Architect of Marina Tabassum Architects. The short-listed teams made presentations today virtually in presence of the judges.
Since 2019, the World Bank has partnered with the Department of Environment (DoE) and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to organize a series of events on “Sustainable Management of Plastic to Leverage Circular Economy and Achieve SDG in Bangladesh.” This was the fourth event in the series.
“The Government of Bangladesh is committed to reduce pollution and ensure sustainable green growth. We are taking a range of actions to curb pollution and improve waste management,” said Mr. Ziaul Hasan, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change.
“It is encouraging to see that our youth are so well plugged into the issue and bringing pragmatic solution to beat plastic pollution.”
Also Read: BUILD wants to assist govt in promoting recycling, sustainable business practices
Further, to raise awareness on plastic pollution among school children, the event also introduced an animated video.
The contest was launched in November 2020 and funded by PROBLUE. The winners received 80,000 BDT each. The winners and winning proposals are (in alphabetical order):
Team Amity:
Formed by Farhana Haque, majoring in Civil Engineering and Sadman Fakid, majoring in Chemical Engineering – from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).
Their solution to #BeatPlasticPollution is an integrated management of plastic wastes where they present a micro-credit business model addressing unemployment and involving multi-modal approach to plastic waste collection, sorting and recycling.
Read Solid waste management essential to save Cox's Bazar ...
Team Blues:
Comprised by Mahedy Hasan, Sakib Asrar, and Tanvirul Azim, three Electrical and Electronics Engineering students from North South University.
They built an extremely budget-friendly floating-aquatic-waste-cleaning robot made up of readily available cheap materials and with minimal labor. This bot is made of floatable material that will hover on the water to collect the waste materials resulting in cleaning our water bodies.
Read A Bangladesh startup that aims at saving the world!
Team Garbageman:
Garbageman Ltd. is an organization founded by Fahim Uddin Shuvo. He presented a ‘Recycling Platform,’ a free incentive-based digital way for environmentally conscious individuals, households, restaurants, and organizations who will donate recyclable waste for recycling and upcycling purpose. The platform will formalize the supply chain of recyclables and create opportunities for green jobs, and conduct research and development to create scope to recycle and upcycle waste.
Read Bangladeshis lose over 1.8 years of lifespan to air pollution ...
Team Green Beans:
Comprised of Mohammad Rayed and Asma Arisham, students of Computer Science and Engineering at North South University, and Mahdi Ahmed, a student of Information and Communication Technology at Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP).
The team came up with the model ‘Bottle Economy,’ a platform using USSD, a decade-old mobile communication protocol to connect the poor people and scavengers with local recyclers, allowing them to sell plastic wastes directly while limiting the role of intermediaries. It encourages them to recycle plastics by providing monetary incentives.
Read Plastic face masks, hand sanitizer bottles trigger pollution
A Bangladesh startup that aims at saving the world!
The year was 2018, when Mahbub Sumon decided to do his bit for the environment. Along with his three friends, this young climate activist from Bangladesh founded Shalbrikhkho, a Bangladeshi startup that aims at helping people reuse, reduce and recycle daily-use products.
Two of Mahbub's projects -- BONKAGOJ and plastic from potatoes (POLKA) -- have already caught the attention of thousands across social media platforms. Mahbub opened up about his work in an interview with UNB.
Q. What motivated you to work on renewable energy and eco-friendly alternatives?
While doing some basic research on the alternative power sector and renewable energy prospects, I figured out climate change as the biggest crisis for the human race.
For environmental sustainability, I soon started working on a couple of ideas like natural agriculture for cities and alternative sources of energy. Soon I focussed on developing eco-friendly alternatives to various plastic products.
I experimented with permaculture using BONKAGOJ and succeeded. The principle was -- since paper is made from trees, we can use that paper to grow a tree again. I also developed POLKA (plastics from potatoes) as an alternative to polyethene.
I am also experimenting with different innovative projects in the renewable energy sector and alternative eco-friendly lifestyle changes.
Read Jute: The Greenest Alternative to Plastic Bags
Q. What is BONKAGOJ?
BONKAGOJ, a biodegradable product, is made from recycled paper and embedded with different plant seeds. It's a handmade paper that can be used like any other ordinary paper. But after its use, if anyone puts the paper in a soggy pot, a flower garden will sprout from it within weeks.
Worldwide billions of trees are chopped down every year, many for producing paper. Single-use paper and paper products pollute cities. So, I harped on the idea of turning waste papers into a flower garden to save the environment.
Read BUILD explores producing paper pulp from whole jute plant
BUILD explores producing paper pulp from whole jute plant
The demand for pulp, the main raw material for producing paper, has been growing and green jute-based pulp can meet the increasing local and global demand.
China and European Union are closing their paper mills because of higher production costs and environmental reasons and Bangladesh can fill the void.
However, the pulp is now being imported and produced locally from recycled waste paper whose quality is not satisfactory, Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) CEO Ferdaus Ara Begum said Monday.
Read Will achieve self-sufficiency in jute seeds: Agriculture Minister
Ferdaus Ara was addressing the online dialogue on "Paper Pulp from Whole Jute Plant: Potential and Way Forward" organized by BUILD.
Mohammad Abul Kalam, additional secretary of the Ministry of Textiles and Jute, said the economic viability of using the whole jute plant needs to be considered.
"Rigorous research will have to be conducted. Also, the practical scenario needs to be considered. An initiative can be taken to initiate technical assistance for public participation (TAPP) and project on whole jute plant-based paper pulping," he added.
Also read: BUILD wants to assist govt in promoting recycling, sustainable business practices
Dr Md Monjurul Alam, former director-general of Bangladesh Jute Research Institute, said cottage industries can be developed locally to run paper pulp manufacturing industries that will use the whole jute plant.
However, Dr Sarwar Jahan, director (Pulp and Paper) at Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, said: "It is not feasible to run the small-scale pulp industries because whole jute plant-based pulp will cost more than $11,00 per tonne."
Read Jute: The Greenest Alternative to Plastic Bags
Siegwerk opens Blending Centre in Dhaka
Siegwerk, one of the leading global suppliers of printing inks for packaging applications and labels, has inaugurated its new Blending Centre in Dhaka. “The Blending Center will not only allow us to be closer to our customers in the Bangladesh region but will also allow us to expand our offerings. We can now offer customised, individually formulated safe ink solutions through our latest blending technology,” Siegwerk Asia President Ashish Pradhan said at the virtual inaugural ceremony on Monday.Spread over 65,000 sq ft, the centre will host customised solutions for the Bangladesh market. The state-of-the-art centre will generate direct and indirect employment for close to 50 people in Bangladesh. Siegwerk, through this centre, will significantly boost its domestic business in Bangladesh while enhancing its market leadership position across the Asian region.
Read Info-Sarker-3: Lithium-ion battery use “to harm environment”The centre will also reduce inventory costs to customers and allow Siegwerk to provide immediate technical support for local customers. Siegwerk is supplying printing ink in Bangladesh since the mid-‘90s.Pradhan said Siegwerk used to supply inks from its plant in India until recently. The new centre is already commissioned and has completely taken over the supply of blended inks from February 2021. This facility will help us solve technical issues locally and provide additional technical support with less turnaround time.“Our customers now have the advantage of receiving faster response to their technical issues and selecting custom-made solutions that match their printing requirements. The blending centre will supply Toluene free safe inks and is on par with global standards,” he said.
Read Local community participation in climate change mitigation paramount: MinisterHowever, the Blending Centre manufactures and supplies toluene-free inks, to ensure health and safety to consumers of packaged food. Toluene or any raw materials containing Toluene, won’t be used as intentionally added ingredients in this facility. The inks produced will be compliant with global regulatory and brand owner requirements to ensure products are safe for end-use packaging applications.Siegwerk has a robust global production and service network and has offered customers consistently high-quality products for close to two centuries. As a supplier of high-quality printing inks and varnishes with a strong emphasis on customer service, Siegwerk has built long-term customer relationships with a high degree of trust and interaction.The company is also conscious about sourcing environment-friendly and sustainable raw materials for its products. Siegwerk manufactures its basic colours and varnishes in a standardised process at the 15 dedicated Siegwerk - Centers of Excellence worldwide.
Read UN chief for global cooperation for climate action, pandemic responseThe raw materials and intermediate products are as close to identical as possible, ensuring consistent product quality. With the addition of this center in Bangladesh, Siegwerk currently has more than 31 Blending Centres worldwide. Siegwerk has been aware of the need for safe printing inks for packaging applications from the beginning and has made ink safety one of its guiding principles. Today, the company is a global leader in providing product safety guidance and has an expert team exclusively dedicated to this. Siegwerk’s product safety guidance includes global regulatory compliance, brand owner requirements, and risk assessments. This ensures products are safe for end-use applications.Siegwerk employs some 5,000 people worldwide in more than 30 country organisations and is headquartered in Siegburg near Cologne.
Read New Global Coalition launched to address impacts of climate change.
Local community participation in climate change mitigation paramount: Minister
Environment, Forests and Climate Change Minister Md Shahab Uddin has pointed out that climate change is one of the biggest challenges to Bangladesh becoming the 25th largest economically prosperous country in the world by 2050.
"It is said that Bangladesh's economy is more at risk to climate change than any country," he said at the knowledge sharing workshop of the ICBAAR project at a hotel in Dhaka on Sunday.
He said that to sustain the economic growth, the government is emphasising climate change mitigation in its policies. "Therefore, in the National Adaptation Action Plan (NAPA) and the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCAP), participation of local communities in climate change mitigation has been considered paramount."
He said the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has taken initiatives for green budget for all ministries.
Also read: 'No time to waste': A clarion call for action against climate change
UNDP initiated integrating community-based Adaptation into Afforestation and Reforestation Program (ICBAAR) in 2017 to increase species diversity in the coastal forest, which resulted in enhanced socio-economic benefits to local communities from the forests.
It was supported by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and implemented through the Bangladesh Forest Department in collaboration with seven ministries and departments of government, with the financial support from Global Environment Facility (GEF)
For the last four years, the project has been providing climate-resilient, innovative and ecosystem-based diversified livelihood support to 8,600 coastal, poor and forest-dependent households to adapt to climate change, said UNDP.
The project makes a conscious effort to empower women and their involvement in advancing resilience in coastal areas, of which over 52 percent are women.
Also read: Swedish minister happy with Bangladesh’s use of climate change adaptation support
"ICBAAR activities have piqued the interest of the coastal communities, and many are adapting to innovative livelihood options introduced by the project. I hope these activities are rolled out to other coastal areas of Bangladesh for overall strengthening of the vulnerable population," the minister said.
Appreciating the project interventions, Deputy Minister Habibun Nahar said, "I believe the Project learnings, best practices and knowledge products can be included in future Coastal Climate Change planning, which will make today's effort more fruitful."
"Adopting a green, clean production agenda will be imperative if Bangladesh wants to meet export-led growth ambition in the post-LDC graduation period," said UNDP Resident Representative Sudipto Mukerjee.
"This is the forests that protect us from cyclones and climate impacts. Now it is our moral responsibilities to protect them," he added.
Also read: Global Youth Climate Summit 2021 urges pressing actions to combat climate change
"ICBAAR was successful in building key strategic partnerships, cooperating with relevant institutions, and building linkages with other projects. The project adopted co-management approach and acted as a platform of collaboration for multiple government, non-government organisations and individuals, which represents an excellent recipe for future replication on other projects or to other areas."
"We must seize the opportunity to properly utilise the enormous project learnings generated through concerted efforts of various sectors," the UNDP RR said.
The workshop was chaired by the ministry’s Secretary Ziaul Hasan while Chief Conservator of Forest Amir Hossain Chowdhury was the special guest. UNDP's Program Specialist Arif M Faisal and ICBAAR Project Manager Dr Muhammed Muzammel Hoque gave keynote presentations.
China sets moderate new energy goals for climate change
China, the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, announced generally moderate new energy and climate targets on Friday that give little sign that it will step up its pace in combatting climate change.
Reflect nature’s ‘true value’ in economic policies and decisions
Nations must start weighing up the cost of economic profit against damage to the environment if they are to have a chance at a sustainable future, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday.
Effective strategies adopted to protect Sundarbans: Environment Minister
A strategic environmental assessment is being carried out for the south-western part of the country as part of the government's commitment to the conservation of the Sundarbans, Environment, Forests and Climate Change Minister Md Shahab Uddin said.