By Jimmy Videle Preserving biodiversity is among the most urgent issues of our time and it needs to be addressed regionally to succeed This article was produced by Earth | Food | Life a project of the Independent Media Institute region-by-region data is the only reliable tool so conservation efforts must begin regionally Biodiversity comes from the term “biological diversity.” Many biologists have followed the most simple and concise definition: “The totality of genes and ecosystems in a region.” Biodiversity in one region can be very different from another and it is necessary to preserve and protect it all Protecting Earth’s biodiversity is essential because it ensures the stability of ecosystems which provide vital resources like clean air Biodiversity also supports resilience against environmental changes and diseases securing a sustainable future for all life sacred places have been identified for their importance to the people living there Looking at that notion from a broader animist perspective—where all things are believed to have a soul or anima—it would seem that all those beings who have chosen to live in any particular region would find them sacred Looking at our world from this non-dominant ultimately equal viewpoint may help our human consciousness perceive what and who protecting biodiversity is actually for Indigenous groups understand the importance of protecting nature and biodiversity more fundamentally than Western societies which have been stewards of nature for millennia understand that all of Earth’s creatures have the unalienable right to live on this planet just as we do “Indigenous Peoples are defenders of Mother Earth. For centuries, our values and practices have sustained and cared for the environment and kept biodiversity [in] balance. Our life, our culture, and our identity are linked intimately to our lands and territories, [and] to the environment. Our environment shaped and shapes our ways of living,” said Beverly Longid the South East Asia sub-regional representative of Indigenous Peoples to the Executive Council of Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact “Colonialism and capitalism have wrought havoc upon Mother Earth eroding our symbiotic relationship with the land All these at the expense of Indigenous Peoples’ lives and livelihoods and other vulnerable communities to satisfy the greed of big businesses tied with governments for profit.” In December 2022, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted by 196 countries at the 15th UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15). Every country on Earth decided that biodiversity was crucial to the planet’s future. Twenty-three targets were adopted to reach them by 2030 The targets included planning and managing all areas to reduce biodiversity loss; restoring 30 percent of all degraded ecosystems; conserving 30 percent of lands and seas; halting species extinction; reducing the introduction of invasive alien species by 50 percent; reducing pollution levels; enhancing green spaces and urban planning Many consider this framework the boldest action proposed for biological diversity in human history. Yet, two years later, at COP16 in November 2024 Will they try to fulfill their goals because it is the right thing to do for the planet or will governments continue to pander to their tax base and corporate lobbyists According to a 2024 article published in Nature by Senior and her colleagues “The need for greater attention to biodiversity conservation is unequivocal and urgent The world is entering its sixth mass extinction event the first that is attributable to one species: Homo Sapiens Where I live in Québec, the provincial government appears to be taking the matter seriously with their 2030 Nature Plan. They have partnered with nongovernmental organizations SNAP Québec and Nature Québec to seek out public lands that need biodiversity protection the municipality of Boileau and the county of Papineau signed their support a prerequisite for the initial collaboration stage The Minister of Environment is scheduled to conduct a regional assessment in autumn 2025 the Boileau Biodiversity Reserve will be completed by autumn 2027 In 2023, I spent 700 hours documenting biodiversity and conservation research, all captured in the new book Preserving Our Sacred Lands. My experiences have made it more apparent that there is no time to lose In the article “2024 State of the Climate Report: Perilous Times on Planet Earth,” the authors put it bluntly: We are on the brink of an irreversible climate disaster This is a global emergency beyond any doubt Much of the very fabric of life on Earth is imperiled We are stepping into a critical and unpredictable new phase of the climate crisis have sounded the alarm about the impending dangers of climate change driven by increasing greenhouse gas emissions and ecosystem change… We find ourselves amid an abrupt climate upheaval a dire situation never before encountered in the annals of human existence We have now brought the planet into climatic conditions never witnessed by us or our prehistoric relatives within our genus It is time to hold politicians accountable it is relatively easy to begin your journey in understanding and preserving sacred land—and the biodiversity it supports—close to where you live: Let this be when historians look back and say The people of the 2020s decided to protect the Earth and all beings forever.” We only have one planet and need to do everything we can to protect it By Rupert Read, Ed Jarvis The recent Climate Change Committee report on the UK government’s lack of preparedness for climate breakdown reveals negligence at a historic scale By Kurt Cobb, Resource Insights Our political discourse is actually far narrower than our total public discourse which makes addressing big problems such as climate change very difficult By Helena Norberg-Hodge, Henry Coleman, Local Futures we need to condemn globalization loud and clear And we need a cohesive strategy that moves us sensibly and sanely in the opposite direction Resilience is a program of Post Carbon Institute a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the world transition away from fossil fuels and build sustainable Reposting Policy | Privacy Policy the largest integrated energy producer in Southeastern Europe is running a new drilling campaign using a state-of-the-art automated drilling rig owned by Foraj Sonde Videle The campaign is initially focusing on several fields in Oltenia with plans to continue across the OMV Petrom portfolio thereafter The objective of the campaign is to deliver new resources from mature fields while improving safety and efficiency of drilling operations two new gas wells have been completed on time and on budget with increased efficiency compared to traditional methods “The new technologies support us to increase production on mature fields and contribute to the minimization of the environmental impact We are very proud alongside our colleagues from OMV and our partner Foraj Sonde Videle to use one of the most energy efficient onshore drilling rig in the world,” Cristian Hubati responsible for the Exploration and Production activities The automated drilling rig is a product of OMV’s DigitUP digitalization program and underscores the synergy between OMV and OMV Petrom This integrates innovative thinking with operational excellence The rig is manufactured in the Netherlands manufactures and services equipment for the renewable energy Automation of extractive activity reduces human errors while improving efficiency and safety of drilling operations as operators can monitor and control drilling operations remotely The electric central power system of the drilling rig improves fuel efficiency and reduces carbon footprint The drilling rig is designed to meet today’s demand for faster and more flexible operations – it is a highly mobile rig able to move quickly between multiple wells on a pad the system collects a large amount of data about the drilling process which is analysed to improve extraction efficiency and prevent geological The applicability of this new technology goes beyond traditional oil and gas operations as it can be used also in geothermal and carbon capture and storage projects OMV Petrom’s vision is to become a digital frontrunner in the industry thus enabling the company to promote innovation faster in deployments and adopt agile methodologies OMV Petrom DigitUP is an integral part of the global OMV DigitUP Program they managed to obtain a readily accessible technology to be used in our day-to-day work This digital transformation will come to life by targeting: (The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story) many of us wait until the last minute to buy gifts Shoppers at Bay Park Square Mall are navigating the final stretch before Christmas Ezekiel Telemaco posed the question on many minds: “Are you more of an online shopper the answer is clear: “I’m here now because I put it off too long Kopfmann joins a wave of last-minute shoppers battling tight shipping deadlines and delivery disruptions Strikes by Amazon workers at delivery hubs nationwide have sparked concerns about gifts arriving on time Director of Marketing at Bay Park Square Mall expects these issues to push more people toward in-person shopping “I feel like people are probably going to be shopping in person this weekend based on the news that shipping might not get to their houses by Christmas Eve,” Videle said Videle highlighted another option: in-store pickup so you don’t have to wait for your order to arrive and you can guarantee it will be ready the same day,” she said Local retailers across Northeast Wisconsin are also seeing a rise in foot traffic we’ve been able to work with local vendors and we just keep bringing more merchandise in,” she said Kopfmann reminds us of what’s truly important but they’re always a fun aspect of it.”For the true procrastinators Bay Park Square and other local malls will be open until 6 p.m We cover stories making an impact in Ashwaubenon. 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