Environmental – Primal Group

Climate Report: Extreme Weather Will Continue to Pound US and Global Economy

Throughout the Northern Hemisphere this summer, heat waves have been breaking records and sustaining wildfires of unprecedented fury. These events are providing further proof that a changing climate continues to lead to severe consequences for humanity. At least 85 people were  killed during the recent series of wildfires that struck California; 249 are listed as missing. Nearly 19,000 buildings, most of them homes, have been destroyed. A report released by the White House and created by the US Global Change Research Program states that an increase in climate change could continue to cause wildfires, heat waves and strong hurricanes across the United States. …

Government Legislation in the Age of Impending Climate Change

A report released by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that humanity has just 12 years to reverse the effects of climate change and keep the global temperature rise to a maximum of 1.5° C (2.7° F). The IPCC report finds that it would take an effort greater than the one that we are currently seeing in order to halt global warming. This is a very real reminder of the immediate need for action by governments across the globe. This imminent peril for our planet will become a significant driver for legislation in the coming years in order to force businesses to transit towards sustainable practices.…

The Consequences of Agrochemicals on the Oceans

The oceans feed more than 500 million people and provide jobs for 350 million people.

At least 500 dead zones have now been reported near coasts, up from under 50 in 1950. A recent example is the red tide on the southwestern coast of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, which has killed thousands of animals and significantly disrupted the biodiversity of the area. The red tide is a normal seasonal occurrence in southwestern Florida, however, this year’s tide has astoundingly lasted since November 2017. Areas affected are known as “hypoxic areas” or “dead zones”. The cause of such hypoxic (lacking oxygen) conditions is usually eutrophication, an increase in chemical nutrients in the water, leading to excessive blooms of algae that deplete underwater oxygen levels. …

CLIMATE CHANGE AS IT HAPPENS

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Transitioning to the Sustainable Use of the Ocean

‘The world’s oceans – their temperature, chemistry, currents, and life – drive global systems that make the Earth habitable for humankind. Careful management of this essential global resource is a key feature of a sustainable future.” – United Nations

The world’s oceans are in trouble and one thing is certain: our current course is unsustainable. If we continue to harm the oceans, glaciers and ice sheets are at the risk of melting and sea levels could rise by as much as 80 meters. This is about the height of a 26-story building, making the vast swathes of the world’s coastline and neighboring cities inhabitable.…

Global Water Disasters: Solutions to a Looming Environmental Crisis?

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The World’s Biggest Threats Are Environmental Disasters

The Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEFAM), which will be celebrated in Davos from the 23rd to the 26th of February, remains the most important force for engaging the world’s top leaders to find collaborative ideas that shape the global agenda and improve the state of the world.

Currently, we are living in a highly interconnected world where technology, demographic shifts, and politics have great societal and economic consequences. Now, more than ever, global leaders need to share their insights and innovations to better address future obstacles.

To achieve this goal, the WEFAM has an annual theme for the meeting that defines its structure and organization.

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Does Good CSR Improve Profitability?

“Shareholder value is a result, not a strategy.”

Jack Welch, Former Chairman and CEO of General Electric (2009)

“Don’t be evil. We believe strongly that in the long term, we will be better served – as shareholders and in all other ways – by a company that does good things for the world even if we forget some short term gains.”

Google (2004)

To seek approval from customers, employees and their peers and businesses cannot ignore this topic. Whatever sector they are engaged in (and especially in controversial ones such as oil and gas, fast food, autos, mining or tech) they are expected to lay out and comply with a set of specific guidelines that will satisfy the increasing demands of the market-place.…

The Green Economy Will Start in Our Woodlands

“To build a sustainable, climate-resilient future for all, we must invest in our world’s forests.”

Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations (2015).

Our climate is changing. Over the past century the scientific community has documented dramatic shifts in global temperature, the rise of extreme weather patterns and the on-going deterioration of our ozone. The human race has become such a geophysical force that we are pushing ourselves into a new geological age, one that is now being referred to as the Anthropocene.

Global surface temperatures have risen by almost a degree Fahrenheit over the last century, with the rate increasing by 0.17 to 0.48 degrees per decade since 1970.…

Earth Overshoot Day

We are now living in an age of new challenges that require innovative thinking. This week’s mayhem in global markets, sparked by the Chinese Yuan’s devaluation on August 11th, has seen Shanghai’s Composite Index drop by 7.6%, Germany’s Dax and London’s FTSE drop 4.7% and the S&P 500 drop 3.8% – all in a matter of days. Although global stocks are now rebounding, investors have been reminded of how equity and bond market volatility can flip into dangerous territory with very little or no warning.

One of these new challenges is mankind’s increasing rate of consumption, whether equity related (US stocks saw their highest trading volume in four years on Monday) or our population’s growing need for sustenance.…