UN plastic waste pact approved by almost all countries but US
UN plastic waste pact approved by almost all countries but US Photo Credit: (Photo by Ed Wray/Getty Images) Plastic trash along a seawall in Jakarta in May 2018. (Photo by Ed Wray/Getty Images) UN plastic waste pact approved by almost all countries but US By: Jared Leone, Cox Media Group National Content Desk Published: May 12 2019 2:25 PM Photo Credit: (Photo by Ed Wray/Getty Images) GENEVA – Nearly every country in the world has agreed to legally binding terms aimed to reduce pollution from plastic waste except the United States, which outsources much of its plastic waste to other countries for disposal.
Countries will have to track and monitor different types of plastic waste outside its borders, according to updates to the agreement linked to the Basel Convention and signed by 187 countries .
“It’s sending a very strong political signal to the rest of the world — to the private sector, to the consumer market — that we need to do something,” Rolph Payet of the United Nations Environment Program told The Associated Press . “Countries have decided to do something which will translate into real action on the ground.”
Even countries that did not sign it could be affected.
“(The changes) would prevent the U.S. from sending — it would only allow the U.S. to export plastic waste that is already sorted, cleaned and ready for recycling,” David Azoulay of the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) told Reuters . “Which is exactly the type of waste they don’t send around because it has value.”
The United States, Germany and Japan shipped over 1 billion pounds of plastic waste last year, Reuters reported. China stopped processing other countries’ plastic waste in 2017, leading to more of it being disposed in southeast Asia, where it is more difficult to manage and dispose, Reuters reported .
UN environmental officials said there is more than 100 million tons of plastic waste in the world’s waterways with more than 8 million tons added each year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Read More Georgia heart patients donating used pacemakers to save pets’ lives Georgia heart patients are donating their used pacemakers to pets. An 11-year-old husky is alive today because of one of those used devices. The first of those used pacemakers was donated to the University of Georgia’s veterinarian school by a cardiac nurse years after she lost her own dog to heart failure. “I’m such a dog enthusiast,” Terri Matula said. Before becoming a cardiac nurse, Matula had a broken heart she couldn’t mend: that of her cocker spaniel, Gator. Gator needed an expensive pacemaker to save his life, but Matula and her husband were in college and money was tight. They couldn’t afford it. “Eventually Gator died from complications due to congestive heart failure,” Matula said. Years later, another heart needed mending: the one belonging to, Matula’s husband. He did get a pacemaker but as his condition changed he needed a new device. Used pacemakers are typically thrown away. “I told the cardiologist I wanted to keep his old device because I thought about Gator,” Matula said. She called the University of Georgia’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital with a unique donation: Could her husband’s used pacemaker help a pet in need? “Animals actually use the same pacemakers that are in people,” said UGA veterinary cardiologist Dr. Gregg Rapoport. Not only did UGA take Matula’s pacemaker, they’ve partnered with Matula ‘s hospital, Navicent Health, to take any pacemaker donated from cardiac patients. Rapoport said those donations offset the cost of a procedure that can costs thousands. “She saw the potential value for animals in developing a relationship with a veterinary institution and it’s been incredibly rewarding working with her and developing that relationship,” Rapoport said. Since the program started in 2018, people have donated more than 40 pacemakers. Doctors are not only putting them in dogs, they’ve also implanted them in cats, a horse and even a ferret. One of those dogs was Matty Goldstein’s 11-year-old husky, Agent Cooper. “Agent Cooper had a third-degree heart block,” Goldstein said. “They said the heart was going to stop beating within days or months and we would lose him.” Vets at UGA discovered Agent Cooper’s heart block while treating him for thyroid cancer. Goldstein said he didn’t ask a lot of questions when vets said a used pacemaker would save his dog’s life. “I thought I was going to lose my dog, and to my wife and I, they are our children,” Goldstein said. “They told me they could do it. I said OK.” Matula said the partnership between Navicent Health and UGA is a fitting tribute to Gator. Not one Navicent heart patient has said no to donating their used pacemakers. “It makes them feel like (with) the situation they’re going through, which is not necessarily so pleasant, there’s a silver lining,” she said. Florida woman dies from dog bites at Humane Society, officials say Florida police volunteer died Thursday at the Humane Society of St. Lucie County, TCPalm reported. Humane Society officials identified the volunteer as Christine Liquori, WPTV reported. Police were called to the Humane Society after receiving a call Thursday afternoon about a dog bite, the television station reported. Liquori, 52, was found dead inside a fenced play area next to the shelter, according to WPTV. Liquori’s death was ruled accidental, Christine Canard, administrative manager of the Treasure Coast Medical Examiner’s Office, told TCPalm. Canard said the cause of death is exsanguination, or severe loss of blood, from dog bites, the website reported. “She was a wonderful, wonderful volunteer, one of the best and just had a heart of gold for these animals,” David Robertson, the Humane Society’s executive director, told TCPalm on Friday. “You don’t find many people like her anymore, just a caring, caring individual who’s done a wonderful service for all the dogs here for a long time for several times a week.” Officers at the scene Friday declined comment, referring questions to police spokeswoman Audria Moore-Wells. “The Fort Pierce Police Department is conducting a death investigation,” Moore-Wells told TCPalm via email. “This is an ongoing investigation and any comments will be provided at the conclusion of the investigation.” Picture of California elementary school teachers posing with noose sparks outrage Five California elementary school educators have been placed on leave after the principal allegedly emailed out a photo of four teachers posing with a noose. The image of the teachers at Summerwind Elementary in Palmdale, 70 miles north of Los Angeles, was originally emailed May 1 by the school’s principal, Linda Brandts, NBC News reported. The picture of the teachers with the noose and a picture of just the noose were sent to staff with no accompanying text, staff who didn’t wish to be named told KTTV-TV. Both pictures were shared to social media, where they’ve been shared hundreds of times. The pictures have sparked outrage. Some parents are calling on the teachers and principal to be fired. ‘You know the meaning behind it, behind our history. And you know you’re going to get backlash for it if it gets out. And obviously it did,’ parent James Florence told CBS News. Palmdale Schools Superintendent Raul Maldonado said all five educators have been placed on administrative leave as the district investigates. ‘The Palmdale School District holds all employees to the highest standards and expectations,’ Maldonado said in a statement to NBC News. ‘We will not stop until we find out exactly what did occur. We will not tolerate this type of behavior in our schools.’ Latinos make up 58.6 percent of the city of Palmdale’s population, NBC News reported, citing recent census data. Whites make up 22.1 percent and blacks 12.5 percent. Summerwind Elementary’s student population is about one-third black, and Hispanics make up another third, teacher Michele Lemaire told KTTV-TV. However, she said the school has few black teachers. “The lack of people of color teaching is a huge issue,” Lemaire said. “The need is great, but apparently It’s not being addressed. But there seems to be a sorting of who should be working here.” Woman dies from dog bites at Humane Society Florida police volunteer died Thursday at the Humane Society of St. Lucie County, TCPalm reported. Humane Society officials identified the volunteer as Christine Liquori, WPTV reported. Police were called to the Humane Society after receiving a call Thursday afternoon about a dog bite, the television station reported. Liquori, 52, was found dead inside a fenced play area next to the shelter, according to WPTV. Liquori’s death was ruled accidental, Christine Canard, administrative manager of the Treasure Coast Medical Examiner’s Office, told TCPalm. Canard said the cause of death is exsanguination, or severe loss of blood, from dog bites, the website reported. “She was a wonderful, wonderful volunteer, one of the best and just had a heart of gold for these animals,” David Robertson, the Humane Society’s executive director, told TCPalm on Friday. “You don’t find many people like her anymore, just a caring, caring individual who’s done a wonderful service for all the dogs here for a long time for several times a week.” Officers at the scene Friday declined comment, referring questions to police spokeswoman Audria Moore-Wells. “The Fort Pierce Police Department is conducting a death investigation,” Moore-Wells told TCPalm via email. “This is an ongoing investigation and any comments will be provided at the conclusion of the investigation.” Gunman shoots two at Tulsa shopping center, then fatally shot by police Tulsa Police say a man opened fire at the Bellaire Shopping Center near 51st and Peoria just after 7:00 p.m. Friday night, shooting two people, before he himself was fatally shot by police as he tried to flee on foot across nearby Interstate 44. Police say one victim was wounded at the Cici’s Pizza restaurant, and the other was shot at the China Wok restaurant. One was shot in the arm and the other was shot in the chin. Neither injury was believed to be life-threatening. One witness in a car on I-44 said it appeared the suspect was trying to flag down a car, but she said they suddenly realized the man was waving a gun. “I was like ‘that’s a gun’, and we both just kind of ducked, and we honked the horn, and then we kept driving and we’re calling 911 and we’re like, ‘did this really just happen.’” There’s no word on the identity of the suspect or the motive. Both parties grumble over slow release of disaster aid by Trump Administration In the midst of the ongoing partisan battle over action in Congress on a new package of relief aid for Americans hit hard by hurricanes, floods, wildfires, tornadoes and other disasters, there is strong bipartisan agreement on one thing – that the Trump Administration has been slow-walking billions of dollars in disaster relief already approved by the Congress. And members of both parties are getting increasingly aggravated. ‘Congress is tired of the administration’s delays,’ said Rep. David Price (D-NC). ‘There’s no time to waste,’ said Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), as he joined nine Republican Senators in Florida, Georgia, Texas, and the Carolinas in sending a letter Friday night asking for the Administration to release already money approved by Congress in 2017 and 2018. The complaints about bureaucratic delays by the Trump Administration have been building for months, and involve $16 billion in what’s known as disaster mitigation funds. Texas is in line to get $4.3 billion in funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Puerto Rico is set to receive $8.2 billion. North Carolina is waiting for $1.1 billion. Florida would get $550 million in disaster mitigation money. Lawmakers were recently assured by HUD Secretary Ben Carson that the money would be released on May 1. But it didn’t happen – as lawmakers pointed the finger at the White House, and the Office of Management and Budget for the delay. ‘This is nothing more than bureaucracy at its worst,’ said Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) earlier this year, as he’s tried for months to unlock $250 million in flood relief aid for his Louisiana district. “Every deadline they give us, every date they give us turns out to be erroneous,’ Rep. David Rouzer (R-NC) told reporters back in his home district about delays in getting aid approved by Congress after Hurricane Matthew in 2016, and Hurricane Florence in 2018. ‘I’m just tired of it.’ While debate in the House on Friday on $19.1 billion in new disaster aid was somewhat partisan – spurred by the President’s demand that GOP lawmakers oppose the bill – there was one point of bipartisan agreement on an amendment to force the Trump Administration to release disaster money already been approved by Congress. ‘In February of 2018, this body appropriated more than $4 billion to Texas,’ said Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX). ‘But nearly a year and a half after those appropriations were made, those funds have not arrived.” While most of the votes on the disaster bill were mainly along partisan lines, this one from Fletcher was not – as the House voted 393-20 to demand that the White House release the rules governing the aid money, which will then allow those billions to paid out. ‘Four billion dollars are important dollars, and to have that delay really hinders those who are suffering now,’ said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), as this money was approved after Hurricane Harvey hit Texas and Louisiana in 2017. For months, Democrats have accused the Trump Administration of slow-walking aid to Puerto Rico – but it’s clear the complaints are about more than just the island’s recovery from Hurricane Maria in 2017. Congress has approved $41 billion in aid for Puerto Rico; about $12 billion has actually been sent to the island. Another $8.2 billion can be released once the feds publish the rules governing the use of those funds. But deadlines have come and gone for the publication of those details, and the money remains on hold, in Washington, D.C. “We need the help ASAP,” said Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX). With record revenues, Uncle Sam has $160 billion April surplus With many Americans waiting until the last minute to pay their income tax bills, the federal government notched another good April financially, as the Treasury Department reported a $160 billion monthly budget surplus, putting the budget deficit for 2019 at $530.8 billion. Revenues totaled $535.5 billion in April – a record for the U.S. Government – up from $510 billion in April of 2018. Individual income taxes so far this year are up slightly from a year earlier; corporate taxes are down about the same amount. The size of the surplus in April was smaller than a year ago, when the feds ran $214 billion into the black. So far in 2019, the feds have seen revenues increase by $35 billion from the same point a year ago – about half of that increase is because of higher tariffs on imports levied by the Trump Administration. While the news was good in April on the budget, the longer term trend continues to be for more red ink, as this latest report predicted the deficit for 2019 would end up at nearly $1.1 trillion. The Congressional Budget Office still estimates this year’s deficit will not reach $1 trillion – last seen in 2012 during the Obama Administration – but the CBO forecasts multiple years of deficits over the $1 trillion mark after 2020. The good surplus numbers in April were part of a series of positive economic indicators for the U.S. last month, as 263,000 jobs were created by U.S. businesses, with the jobless rate dropping to 3.6 percent, the lowest rate since December of 1969. Also, initial estimates of the growth in Gross Domestic Product for the first quarter of this year came in at 3.2 percent, leading Republicans from the President on down to say was evidence that the economy is moving in the right direction. ‘Our country is doing well,’ President Trump said earlier this month. ‘We’re very proud of that fact.’ But for the small growth in revenues this year, the jump in GDP, and the surplus numbers in April – one of the biggest red flags continues to be the size of the federal deficit. Budget watchdog groups continue to warn that the size of the federal deficit should not be approaching $1 trillion. ‘The President and Congress should work together to address our unsustainable debt, not paper over and add to it,’ said the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Earlier this week, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that federal deficits would total $9.9 trillion over the next ten years – basically, $1 trillion per year. The federal debt currently stands at over $22 trillion. The last time the feds ran a surplus for an entire year was in 2001. Ignoring Trump, House approves new disaster aid bill Brushing aside opposition from the White House, the U.S. House gave bipartisan approval on Friday to $19 billion in relief aid to help Americans hit by hurricanes, floods, wildfires, tornadoes, and other disasters, though the vote brought Congress seemingly no closer to final agreement on a plan, as President Donald Trump continues to publicly object to extra disaster relief for the island of Puerto Rico. ‘Those impacted have their patience stretched thin and cannot wait any longer for disaster assistance,’ said Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA), as a parade of lawmakers from both parties urged approval of aid for floods in the Midwest, wildfires in California, and hurricane damage in the southeast. ‘It should not be taking this long to provide the necessary and vital funding for these locations,’ said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL). ‘Mr. Speaker, Nebraskans need relief,’ said Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE) about major floods this spring. ‘The impact of this storm continues to be felt across our state.’ ‘It is unfortunate that our colleagues in the Senate have not acted,’ said Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA), as Democrats approved a $14 billion disaster aid bill back in January – which has been stuck in the Senate for almost four months, mainly because of the President’s opposition to extra aid for Puerto Rico. Thursday night, and again on Friday morning, President Trump urged GOP lawmakers in the House to vote against the disaster relief bill – even though it would help many in their own districts and states. The President gave no examples of what he opposed in the bill – other than his repeated complaints about the amount of money approved for Puerto Rico, to help recover from hurricane damage in 2017. Congress has approved $41 billion for Puerto Rico; the Trump Administration has sent $13 billion of that money to the island. This latest bill from the House contained $600 million in specific food aid for Puerto Rico. ‘The President has said he’s not going to sign it,’ said House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who saw a number of Republicans break ranks with the White House, and vote for the bill. Despite the President’s opposition, Republicans joined with Democrats to add hundreds of millions of dollars to the bill on Friday to help rebuild Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, and make major repairs at Marine Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. ‘The United States Air Force is in desperate need of our help,’ said Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL), whose district includes Tyndall Air Force Base, which was decimated by Hurricane Michael. ‘In my district, we have three million acres of land that is crushed – crushed,’ Dunn said on the House floor, who said the storm was more like an 80 mile wide tornado. ‘This was one of the most destructive weather events in our lifetimes,’ said Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE), who joined in adding money to help with Offutt Air Force Base in him home state. ‘It’s pretty jarring to stand on a ridge and look at an Air Force Base one third under water,’ Fortenberry said of the flooding which hit Iowa, Nebraska and other states. By voice vote, the House approved an extra $300 million in military construction money for the Air Force, $385 million for the Marines, and added $270 million in operations and maintenance money for the Air Force – all to deal with cleanup and repairs at Tyndall and Offutt. “This is only a down payment,” Dunn said. The House also voted to add $5 million to help improve weather forecasting efforts to deal with future storms – but that vote was almost all along party lines. What’s next remains unclear, as Democratic leaders said the Senate should simply approve this bill, regardless of the President’s opposition. ‘I urge the Senate to take up this bill and send it to the President without any further delay,’ said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. Republicans in the Senate made a new offer Thursday night in ongoing negotiations over a disaster aid bill, which Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said included ‘billions’ more in aid for Puerto Rico. But there were no signs that either the new House bill – or the new GOP offer – had broken the logjam on aid. ‘They’ve waited long enough and, frankly, they can’t afford to wait any longer,’ said Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY). Trump calls for GOP to vote against House disaster aid bill With the U.S. House scheduled to begin debate Friday morning on a $17 billion relief bill for Americans hit by hurricanes, floods, wildfires, tornadoes, and other disasters, President Donald Trump urged Republicans in the House to oppose the measure, as Mr. Trump again publicly complained Thursday about the level of disaster aid given by Congress to the island of Puerto Rico. ‘House Republicans should not vote for the BAD DEMOCRAT Disaster Supplemental Bill,’ the President tweeted on Thursday evening, hours after he had denounced the amount of money spent so far on aid to Puerto Rico in the wake of damage from Hurricane Maria in 2017. The President again claimed – incorrectly – that Congress had already sent Puerto Rico $91 billion in aid, making the argument that Democrats were more concerned about helping people in a Caribbean territory than on the U.S. Mainland. Congress has approved $41 billion for Puerto Rico, but the island has received just $13 billion in disaster relief from the Trump Administration. ‘And now the Democrats are trying to hold up the money – from Georgia, from South Carolina, from Alabama, to Florida,’ Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House. ‘They’re trying to hold it up. They’re hurting Florida.’ ‘They want to give Puerto Rico more money,’ said Mr. Trump of Democrats. The House bill includes $600 million in food aid for the island. The President’s call to oppose funding in the bill would put a number of GOP lawmakers on the spot – since the plan includes several hundred million dollars to rebuild Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, as well as money to help farmers in Georgia, Florida, and the Carolinas who were devastated by Hurricane Michael. The plan also includes money which would help the Army Corps of Engineers deal with levee breaches in the Midwest, and continue to aid people hit by wildfires in California. While the President urged further negotiations, talks in the Senate have gone on for months with no resolution – mainly because of the President’s opposition to any more money for Puerto Rico, and as Senators went home on Thursday, there was no indication that any breakthrough was near in talks on a disaster bill. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has been trying to forge a deal since the House approved a $14 billion disaster measure back in mid-January. But he told reporters every day this week that a final agreement continued to be elusive. ‘I think this has gone a long time – too long,’ Shelby told reporters. His assessment on Thursday afternoon was a familiar one. After waiting for weeks and weeks, House Democrats simply decided to pass a second disaster bill, in hopes it would create some momentum on a disaster deal. ‘Use this bill to break the logjam in the Senate,’ said Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL). But with the President open calling for GOP lawmakers to oppose the House bill, it raised questions as to whether anything could get agreed to before lawmakers leave on a Memorial Day break. House votes to roll back Trump rules on Obama health law In another step in the tug of war between Democrats in Congress and the Trump Administration over efforts to force changes in the Obama health law, the House on Thursday approved a bill which would limit efforts by the Trump Administration to let states permit the sale of health insurance plans which would not follow all the insurance coverage requirements under current law. ‘It will send another message to the White House that this Democratic Congress is going to be a brick wall against any attempt at taking people’s health care away,’ said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), as Democrats accuse the President of trying to ‘sabotage’ the Obama health law. ‘Unfortunately, the Trump Administration is trying to weaken those protections,’ said Rep. Cathy Castor (D-FL). ‘The Trump Administration obviously has tried to repeal,’ said Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) of the Affordable Care Act, ‘and at the same time is trying to use every regulatory trick in the book to undermine and sabotage the ACA.’ The bill would revoke new guidance for what are officially known as Section 1332 waivers for state innovation – Democrats argue the Trump Administration was simply looking for ways to allow states to use those waivers to get around the coverage requirements under the Obama health law. Four Republicans broke ranks to vote for the plan, Sensenbrenner (WI), Katko (NY), Fitzpatrick (PA), and Smith (NJ). But for Republicans – who have been playing defense on health care in the last two years as the GOP failed to repeal and replace the Obama health law – this Democratic effort is nothing more than part of a political public relations campaign. ‘This bill has everything to do with eliminating health care options and choices for states,’ said Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), who has led GOP efforts on health care. The White House has already threatened to veto the bill. ‘The legislation threatens access to healthcare for our Nation’s citizens and runs counter to the President’s healthcare vision of expanding affordable coverage, improving care for people with pre-existing conditions, and enhancing competition,’ the White House stated. Supporters of the Trump Administration changes argue the new options would give states the chance to provide consumers with choices that are outside the one-size-fits-all requirements of the Obama health law. But even with that option provided by the White House last year, no states have signed up as yet to take full advantage of the regulatory changes – instead seven states have used the option to create reinsurance programs, but not to take the step of allowing the sale of insurance options which don’t meet the full coverage requirements under the Obama health law. Democrats and Republicans even tussled over the name of this bill – the ‘Protecting Americans with Preexisting Conditions Act of 2019’ – as GOP lawmakers said the title had nothing to do with the actual subject, and was just an effort to play political games. One GOP amendment rejected in the House would have re-named it the, ‘Politically Punch Title That Doesn’t Reflect the Bill Substance Act’ – another would have altered the title to the, ‘This Bill Actually Has Nothing to do with Protecting Americans with Preexisting Conditions Act.” Those amendments, and other GOP plans were voted down by the full House. The bill from Democrats now goes to the Senate, where it is unlikely to be brought up for a vote.