As the UN Ocean Conference opens in France, a push to turn promises into protection
NICE, France — The third United Nations Ocean Conference opens Monday as pressure mounts for nations to turn decades of promises into real protection for the sea.
The summit comes as just 2.7% of the ocean is effectively protected from destructive extractive activities, according to the nonprofit Marine Conservation Institute. That's far below the target agreed under the '30x30' pledge to conserve 30% of land and sea by 2030.
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3 hours ago
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We were given two hours to evacuate our Raac riddled home
Standing beside the metal fence now surrounding the block of flats he once called home, Jimmy Vallance looks up at the metal shutter bolted to his living room window. He shakes his head and sighs "It's such a shame to see it like this," he says. Jimmy lived in the top floor flat in Tillicoultry for more than 40 years without any problems. That was until October 2023 when he and his wife, Fiona, were ordered to leave with just two hours' notice after inspectors discovered Raac concrete in the roof of the building. "It was a shock" he says. "Two or three weeks later you're sitting in temporary accommodation, looking at four walls. You've got no furniture of your own. You're surrounded by boxes. And it's like, 'oh man, this is depressing'." Potentially dangerous Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete - a cheap, lightweight building material widely used between the 1950s and 1980's - was discovered in three blocks of flats in Tillicoultry around the same time The 27 properties, 10 of which are privately owned, have been off limits ever since but the council says it it working with residents on a solution. Raac stands for reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete. It is a lightweight material that was used mostly in flat roofing, but also in floors and walls, between the 1950s and 1990s. It is a cheaper alternative to standard concrete, is quicker to produce and easier to install. It is aerated, or "bubbly" - like an Aero chocolate bar. But it is less durable and has a lifespan of about 30 years. Its structural behaviour differs significantly from traditional reinforced concrete. Moreover, it is susceptible to structural failure when exposed to moisture. The bubbles can allow water to enter the material. Raac is often coated with another material, such as bitumen on roofing panels. But this material can also degrade. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said Raac was now beyond its lifespan and may "collapse with little or no notice". Jimmy and his wife spent 15 months living in temporary accommodation in nearby Alva which he says took a toll on their physical and mental health. In November last year the 64-year-old was driving to a protest at the Scottish Parliament - to demand more help for Raac affected homeowners - when he suddenly felt unwell. At the roadside he suffered the first of three seizures that led to him being placed in an induced coma for 24 hours. "High blood pressure and the stress of being in the situation we're in. I think that combination built up, and built up and it just suddenly hit me. "Whether my seizure was brought on by the stress they can't really say but it's got to have had some kind of impact." What is RAAC concrete and why is it a safety risk? Raac residents offered alternatives to demolition For Jimmy, and the other homeowners, a major source of stress is continuing uncertainty about what will happen to the buildings. Having spent more than 18 months stewing over potential options including demolition, the conversation has now shifted towards repairing the flats. "If it's repaired then we've got to find the money for the repair," Jimmy says. "Do I get loans? Do we get a loan from the council? I don't have a mortgage but do we go to a bank? At the end of the day I'm in the situation where I haven't got the finances for that." Clackmannanshire Council said it was committed to working with private homeowners on the issue of Raac, and another meeting with homeowners was due to take place on Monday. But, frustrated at what they see as a lack of support, residents have set up a campaign group. They hope a meeting with council officials and contractors on Monday afternoon will offer some clarity. The group has also written to Scotland's housing minister to ask for a meeting Paul McLennan recently travelled to Aberdeen to listen to the concerns of residents living in Raac affected properties. He will be involved in similar meeting in Dundee this afternoon. McLennan said: "I recognise this is a very difficult time for those affected. "Raac is a cross-UK problem, and we have been clear from the beginning that it requires a cross-UK solution. "We have repeatedly called on the UK government to make available a dedicated Raac remediation fund, which they have unfortunately failed to do" Having returned to Tillicoultry where he's renting a bungalow, Jimmy says life is "100 times better" than it was at their lowest point. What he and Fiona want now is for this long running saga to be resolved. "We need it finished and we need to walk away just to make it easier for us." "At the end of the day I'm not getting any younger so I could do without all this hassle." RAAC residents angered after evacuation Raac homeowner: 'I'll never see inside my house again'
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Tangled humpback whale sparks rescue mission off Australia
Wildlife rescue teams scoured Australia's east coast on Monday to find and free a distressed humpback whale tangled in a rope. Aerial footage showed the whale swimming south of Sydney Harbour trailing a rope attached to a floating buoy. "It makes it more difficult for the whale to dive," said Pip Jacobs from whale rescue group ORRCA. "It's tiring for the whale, which is already in a state of distress being tangled." The whale was about eight metres (25 feet) long, Jacobs said, indicating it was still "quite young". The rope appeared to be tangled around the whale's left pectoral fin, she said. "The way it is moving is quite erratic," Jacobs told AFP. "It's moving south which is unusual. "They should be heading north as part of their migration." Teams of volunteers and wildlife rescue experts were searching the coastline to pinpoint the whale's location, she said. But efforts had been hindered by choppy waters and blustery winds. "If conditions allow and we have eyes on the whale, the best-case scenario is we have a successful disentanglement. "If they are dragging gear it hinders their ability to swim freely. The worst-case scenario is the whale can't feed or swim." sft/djw/tym
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
The volunteers helping seniors combat poverty, loneliness and shame
Most people want to grow old - after all, the alternative is worse - but few want to be old, burdened by loneliness, isolation and the looming risk of poverty. "We thought: nobody is interested in old people," says Griseldis Ellis, who runs a foundation to combat old age poverty in Germany. "But the response has been overwhelming. People are much more open, empathetic and interested than they are often given credit for." She and her wife Christine Kienhöfer have been running Silbertaler, a project in the state of Rhineland Palatinate to combat since 2021. "We started in the living room in Speyer," she says. Today, the Beyond Unisus Foundation runs an office not far from the cathedral, where teams pack 45 food boxes every week. They deliver fresh fruit, vegetables and other staple foods to senior citizens who are living at home. One is Heidrun Koegler, 81. "You spoil me so much," she calls out to Doris Walch in the stairwell as she brings the food. "I got very ill way back and was no longer able to work full-time," says Koegler. "Now I have a mini-pension, and Mrs Walsch and Silbertaler save me every week. That way I can look after myself and don't have to go into an old people's home." For many senior citizens, this is crucial: Staying in their own home for as long as possible. Koegler and Walch place the food carefully in the fridge. "It's not just the food," says Koegler. "It's also the contact with Silbertaler, the visit from Mrs Walsch: in a way, that's also food. They give me courage and strength." Meanwhile, Kogler says many seniors feel shame about being poor in their old age, says Koegler. "I want to encourage them to overcome this and speak out." Seniors in many places face poverty and here in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate the problem is reaching record proportions, according to Karl-Heinz Totz, chairman of the Rhineland-Palatinate Seniors' Union. "One in five pensioners in Rhineland-Palatinate is at risk of poverty in old age, which is far higher than the national average," he says. The risk of poverty among 65-year-olds and older in the state is 20.2%, a recent study shows. "At 23.2%, women in Rhineland-Palatinate are significantly more at risk of poverty than men of the same age at 16.6%," says the Seniors' Union. Ellis, in her office in Speyer, recalls the tree that prompted the start of the project. "We saw a Christmas tree at a retirement home in town, and on it people had hung up what they wish for, and their wishes were so modest, like cookies, a puzzle book, a bag of crisps, a scarf. People have no money for the little pleasures in life, like a trip to the hairdresser or new clothes." Christine Kienhöfer nods. "We just took action. Also because we were doing well in life ourselves." At the start, the two women collected donations in kind and soon realized that the need was greater than they had expected. The neighbourhood group they had started evolved into the Silbertaler project. Ellis and Kienhöfer founded the organization, provided start-up funding and took on a project manager and volunteers to run the day-to-day activities. The city of Speyer helped to establish contact with those in need. Now, the foundation says it is financed by donations and receives support from local companies and private individuals. On top of that come collaborations with other charities. "We would love to be a model project that can be imitated in other cities," says Ellis. "Our experience and infrastructure can help to launch similar projects elsewhere in Germany." In Speyer, Silbertaler currently supports 145 to 150 people, mostly women with many living in care homes. "The need for support is much greater than our current capacity," says Kienhöfer. "There are almost 500 recipients of basic income support and more than 2,000 people affected by poverty in old age. Through campaigns, we are constantly trying to make ourselves more visible to these people and increase our offer." Their support goes beyond boxes of food. Silbertaler also helps take people who need to go to an official office or local authority, bring in tradespeople or when they need new washing machines and kitchen appliances. "When people move house, we help them sort out their personal belongings. These are borderline cases," says Ellis. Asked what she would like, she hesitates, then says ideally, that everyone would pitch in. "It would be great if we all showed more mindfulness and everyone helped where they are needed, according to their abilities."
