Numerous testimonies of climate migrants have come to light in the last few years given that the negative effects of climate change have been steadily getting worse. 

Mr. Serigne Mbaye is a clear example of what a climate migrant is. This Senegalese-Spanish social and political activist has told his story of how climate change has changed his whole life in the online newspaper, ETHIC.

In his own words: “I would like to tell you the reasons why I decided to make this trip (from Senegal to Spain). Because it was the hardest decision of my entire life. […], I had to abandon my family. Over the years, the situation in Senegal had been changing, almost without giving us time to realise what was happening. The seasons had become unpredictable and a great drought had advanced unstoppably”, he states. 

Thousands and thousands of vulnerable people such as Mr. Mbaye, whose livelihood is based on fishing and agriculture, are currently suffering due to climate threats; changing rainfall, heavy flooding, rising sea levels and so on. 

But, just what is a climate migrant?

The media and advocacy groups refer to climate migrants as “climate refugees” given that they are people who leave their homes as a result of climate stressors. 

“Climate migrants are not legally considered refugees.“

As a matter of fact, “climate refugees” are defined by El-Hinnawi (1985) published in United Nation (UN) report, as “those people who have been forced to leave their traditional habitat, temporarily or permanently, because of a marked environmental disruption (natural and/or triggered by people) that jeopardized their existence and/or seriously affected the quality of their life”.

Nevertheless, these people are not legally considered refugees. According to the Refugee Convention, 1951, refugees are those people who “owing to well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion” have crossed an international border (Art. 1, 1951 Refugee Convention). Hence, the Convention does not recognize the impacts of climate change as a persecuting agent.

Is there a real link between climate change and migration?

According to recent scientific research, human migration can occur for several reasons where the environment could be one of the primary factors as discussed in  the research article, Exploring the link between climate change and migration. In this paper, the authors argue that not only does the connection between climate change and migration exist but furthermore depends on numerous factors relating to the vulnerability of the people and the region in question.

In this same line, Kaczan and Orgill-Meyer in their article, The impact of climate change on migration: a synthesis of recent empirical insights, declare that migration is a “multi-casual phenomenon” where any climate-associated factor contributes to a population’s decision-making process with regard to their own mobility since the authors assume that vulnerability and capability are the main variables to take into account in this complicated matter.  In the IOM report, Migration and global environmental change: future challenges and opportunities,  it is argued that there are 5 broad categories which influence the decision to migrate:

In the IOM report, Migration and global environmental change: future challenges and opportunities,  it is argued that there are 5 broad categories which influence the decision to migrate: Environmental disasters, political issues and forms of governments, social and educational factors, economic factors and demographic variables. 

Therefore, there is a chain of events whereby all the paths that stem from greenhouse gas emissions can be seen to merge into a final common pathway, which inevitably leads to population migration – be it due to water scarcity, food insecurity, rising sea levels, extreme weather events, or others. In other words, greenhouse gas emissions are directly and indirectly forcing people to move against their will.

The United Nations estimates that an unprecedented number of people – more than 82 million at the end of 2020 – had to move against their will from their homes. 

About 40 million are internally displaced within their home countries due to disasters provoked by climate change, according to a IDMC report, and they are referred to as “internally displaced persons” or IDPs.   

“Internal climate migrants are rapidly becoming the human face of climate change. By 2050—in just three regions—climate change could force more than 143 million people to move within their countries”, according to Groundswell: preparing for internal climate migration report by the World Bank Group. 

It is undeniable that climate migration is an issue of great concern since climate change is playing a main role in this catastrophic scenario. Apparently, public institutions seem to be more and more aware of the serious outcomes of climate change and in consequence, are implementing measures which seem to be effective, at least at a first glance. But, are these measures really enough to stop the climate change chain reaction on migration? 

REFERENCES

El-Hinnawi E (1985) Environmental refugees. United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi, p 41

IDCM, 2021. Internal displacement in a changing climate. GRID 2021. [online] The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. Available at: <https://www.internal-displacement.org/global-report/grid2021/> [Accessed 12 September 2021].

Kaczan, D. and Orgill-Meyer, J., 2019. The impact of climate change on migration: a synthesis of recent empirical insights. Climatic Change, 158(3-4), pp.281-300.

Kumari Rigaud, K., de Sherbinin, A., Jones, B., Bergmann, J., Clement, V., Ober, K., Schewe, J., Adamo, S., McCusker, B., Heuser, S. and Midgley, A., 2018. Groundswell : Preparing for Internal Climate Migration. [online] World Bank. Available at: <https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/29461> [Accessed 12 September 2021].

L. Perch-Nielsen, S., B. Bättig, M. and Imboden, D., 2008. Exploring the link between climate change and migration. Climatic Change, 91(3-4), pp.375-393.

Mbaye, S., 2018. Yo soy un refugiado climático. ETHIC, [online] Available at: <http://ethic.es> [Accessed 9 September 2021].

The Government Office for Science, London, 2021. Foresight: Migration and Global Environmental Change (2011) .Final Project Report. [online] pp.31-234. Available at: <https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/287717/11-1116-migration-and-global-environmental-change.pdf> [Accessed 13 September 2021].

UN General Assembly, Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 28 July 1951, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 189, p. 137, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3be01b964.html [accessed 12 September 2021]

Rigaud, Kanta Kumari; de Sherbinin, Alex; Jones, Bryan; Bergmann, Jonas; Clement, Viviane; Ober, Kayly; Schewe, Jacob; Adamo, Susana; McCusker, Brent; Heuser, Silke; Midgley, Amelia. 2018. Groundswell : Preparing for Internal Climate Migration. World Bank, Washington, DC. © World Bank.

Humanity must face the waste problem which nowadays has reached drastic importance, requiring acting quickly and incisively. Too much waste thrown into the sea or land improperly is returning to everyday life through food and water, such as microplastics. Not to mention the animals that die from ingesting waste, like whales, with kilos and kilos of garbage in their stomachs. In essence, humanity has generated a real environmental catastrophe. Many actions have been created to cope with this phenomenon, such as the Zero Waste movement which deals with minimizing the production of waste up to complete reuse, recycling, and enhancement. AEGEE welcomed this movement, to the point of investing antennas and working groups to be part of the change. We interviewed the guys from the Climate Emergency Working Group, let us find out what they think!

How and when was the Zero Waste campaign project born?

The idea came from our friends from AEGEE-Salerno and in particular from Martina Masucci, as a Board Member of this wonderful antenna. Martina was very interested in the issue of Zero Waste, as she was aware of the importance of raising awareness of all young people, intending to increase awareness of waste, especially in Italy where the issue is very much felt, as there is the need to enhance the territory, considering the incredible biodiversity and nature available to it. It is in the center of the Mediterranean Sea, a focal point for the success of the ecosystem. Thus, Martina of AEGEE-Salerno and the Climate Emergency Working Group of AEGEE-Europe have brainstormed on the project and on how to carry it out.

In this initiative, have you had feedback on the usefulness of your project. Can you give us some examples?

From the first month of the Climate Emergency Working Group, we have been puzzling to find a “fanciful” way to spread Zero Waste good practices and see them applied at least within our Network. An example was the call to the “Greenest Antenna” to which the magnificent members of AEGEE-Brescia responded, winning the title of Greenest Antenna of October thanks to the commitment they dedicated in the days in which they freed the city parks from waste left by the uncivilized.

Portal and social networks, how useful are they for spreading Zero Waste good practices?

Extremely useful, Zero Waste good practices are often not taught in school, so the best way to reach people is through social media. Reading a post costs little time, but you can learn simple gestures that may not come spontaneously, guided by old practices that are now a habit to be eradicated.

At what age did you start committing yourself to the environment?

Each of us in the Climate Emergency Working Group has begun to approach the protection of the environment for different reasons at different ages. For example, Cristina, of AEGEE-Madrid, from an early age was informed of small daily actions effective to protect the environment, such as not wasting water, or for Giampiero, of AEGEE-Napoli, who from the dream of designing self-sufficient buildings from the point of from an energetic point of view he has come to want to move in everyday life and make it a lifestyle. We all have one point in common, in fact, once we grew up, thanks to AEGEE, we had the opportunity to continue with this commitment and learn more and more. For us, it is now a lifestyle!

What are the first difficulties you have encountered in your path in practicing this lifestyle?

Plastic, plastic and plastic. It is daunting and impressive to see so many products with plastic, especially single-use ones. Its impact is very negative, and it is everywhere, as it is mainly used for packaging. Plastic is so easy to obtain that unfortunately people do not value it and do not realize that a simple gesture, such as recycling, can make a difference. So, the most difficult part is to convince people about how much they can do with small gestures.

It seems like a battle against windmills, maybe even governments could do more, beyond what we can do individually. What do you think about it?

They are both fundamental but let us remember that the government and any political party are nothing more than a small-scale representation of citizens’ thinking and as such, it moves according to what the majority makes to hear. If each person changed their habits personally, we would be able not only to protect the planet, but also to appeal to politicians and governments, but also to companies. Because, in fact, we are in dire need of government measures and it is thanks to an ever-growing awareness of people that the situation is starting to change, finding ourselves in the current green transition. Just think of the greener products that we find at the supermarket, well these arise from the customer’s need, who begins to demand more respect for the environment, or the elimination of subsidies for fossil fuels in favor of those for renewable energy. We are all part of the system!

Would you say, from your experience, that people are changing their habits and thinking more about sustainability in their daily life?

We answer with an optimistic yes! Especially young people, from the generation of Greta Thunberg to ours of AEGEE, you can see an awareness but also a growing concern, sometimes even overwhelming. There is no Planet B! Many young people are changing their habits such as reducing the use of plastic or becoming vegetarians and vegans.

How much do you think the masks, sanitizers, and other medical devices that we are required to use can negatively affect the environment?

Unfortunately, a lot… For example, we can already see many masks thrown away improperly. What has affected a lot has been the fear that people had and still have about this threat to our health. Just think of the disposable gloves used in public places … a great waste, senseless, which does not exclude the possibility of being infected in any case. As we know, COVID is not transmitted through skin contact, so why wear gloves? Just do not touch your face or eyes, instead of using gloves which will inevitably contribute to the increase of waste. If the first quarantine showed us how our planet breathes without our emissions, the next situation turned into a catastrophe, worsening the initial situation.

Today we hear a lot and above all about what pollution causes to the environment, but in your opinion, how serious can the effects of pollution be on our body?

Unfortunately, the effect is not small, and it will get worse and worse. For now, those who pay the consequences are the most fragile people such as the elderly, children and those who suffer from various diseases such as respiratory diseases. According to an estimate by the World Health Organization (WHO), every year 3.7 million people worldwide die because of prolonged exposure, mainly in outdoor environments. In this case, the phenomenon also affects the countries of Western Europe, the United States and Australia, as well as low-income countries. To make you understand what pollution is capable of, we report a serious event that occurred in 1952 in London. At that time, due to a thermal inversion in the atmosphere, the English capital was shrouded in a dense fog of smog for four days, which led to tragic consequences. According to medical services, there were approximately 4,500 more deaths in the first week after the incident. From December 1952 to March 1953, there were over 13,500 more deaths than normal.

Do you think the production of drugs is safe for the environment?

Keeping in mind that the pharmaceutical industries are required to purify and treat the waste generated, the demand gives light to a new type of pollutant that we must consider. I am referring to the residues of drugs that our body expels, such as dicoflenac, an anti-inflammatory that is often used by humans. The residues found in the urine convey into the sewer and subsequently into the treatment plants, which do not all have sufficient technology to remove them from the wastewater. Also due to the lack of legislation on drug pollution, the consequence is that aquatic fauna has repercussions due to this substance, especially in the context of reproduction. The problem must therefore be mitigated and solved both through the new technologies and regulations that are coming into play in the field of wastewater treatment and through conscious and intelligent use of drugs.

Sources

•  https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/13/18/3964
• https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/environment-and-health/air-quality/publications/2013/review-of-evidence-on-health-aspects-of-air-pollution-revihaap-project-final-technical-report

The Zero Waste Approach points at the conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, packaging, and materials without burning and with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health.

The amount of waste generated per year is estimated at around 2.2 billion tonnes worldwide. It is mainly composed of packaging from food and beverages, which usually end up in a landfill since many types of them have a non-degradable nature or they degrade too slowly, such as some plastic bottle types, for instance, that can take as long as 450 years. The actual way of thinking rests on the idea that the world has infinite resources, but it is just a myth, so there must be a change in the culture about production, consumption and disposal patterns.

Action in this sector needs to be taken, indeed, according to the International Solid Waste Association, it is estimated that the waste sector could cut 10 to 15% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally if waste management actions, including disposal, recycling, composting and treatment, are considered. Furthermore, if a reduced waste approach is considered, the sector could reduce up to 20% its carbon footprint. To achieve these results, The Zero Waste Approach is the answer.

The Zero Waste Approach is a philosophy that tries to encourage a lifestyle that assures the reuse of products and materials, rather than ending up in landfills. It is inspired by nature, where nothing is wasted but everything is a resource. Recycling is part of this approach, but it is the last chance, instead, the main aspect is reuse. It goes from the design and production processes to rethinking the purchase decisions we make and evaluating if what we are consuming will become a waste or not. The overall goal is to hold materials in circulation for as long as possible, by ensuring various valuable lifecycles. Instead of discarding resources, the point is to create a system whereby all of them can be reused again.

Community education and public debate are requisite for the success of any intention to go toward the Zero Waste Approach. Citizens must be invited to take care of waste-free practices and take active participation in the management system thinking towards waste reduction. Public education campaigns to boost public participation must be engaged, and they need to be well resourced and sustained over time.

That is what happened in Japan where A great example of the implementation of this approach is presented by Kamikatsu, a small village of Tokushima prefecture located in southwestern part of the country. It was the first in the country to make a ‘Zero Waste Declaration’ in 2003 born with the support of the Japanese Zero Waste Academy. The Zero Waste project was expected to achieve 100% recycling of the waste produced by the 1500 inhabitants of the village by 2020. To date, 81% of urban waste is recovered which reaches only 20% at the national level, but the final goal remains to completely abandon the use of its two small incinerators. The village was forced to change the way it managed its waste when a strict new law on dioxin emissions forced it to shut down the incinerators.

The active participation of the citizens of Kamikatsu is essential. Indeed, every day the residents are called to separate their waste, selecting the organic materials to be used for composting, washing, and drying the rest of the waste to be then taken to the Zero Waste Center, a sort of ecological island with 45 different containers divided into 13 types.

Reuse is also encouraged: a small emporium has been set up in the village where citizens can exchange objects and tools that they no longer use for lottery tickets.

By Kamikatsu example, several other cities in Japan and worldwide now have ambitious waste goals. In 2018, 23 cities and regions signed C40 Cities’ Advancing Towards Zero Waste Declaration. They pledged to cut the amount of waste generated by each citizen 15 per cent by 2030, reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills and incineration by 50 percent and increase the diversion rate to 70 per cent by 2030.

This approach is mainly linked to the circular economy concept that will be the future of the economic system. Indeed, it has the potential to generate many more jobs and enterprises to deal with the reuse and recycling of the resources that are a precondition for a sustainable habitat for humans on this planet.

Moreover, this way has an important result on the management of energy flows in the economy. In the life cycle of most products, the most energy-intensive processes are the extraction, production and use phase. Consequently, from an energy point of view zero waste reduces emissions associated with extraction and production thanks to supplying back most by-products and resources back into the natural cycle –soils- or technical cycle -reuse and recycling-. The emissions associated with the use phase are reduced with better product design and eco-innovation.

Source:

https://zwa.jp/en

https://www.smartcitiesworld.net/special-reports/special-reports/small-things-add-up-the-japanese-town-leading-the-zero-waste-charge

https://c40-production-images.s3.amazonaws.com/other_uploads/images/1851_Zero_Waste_declaration_FINAL_5July.original.pdf?1530818554

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/20/no-waste-japanese-village-is-a-peek-into-carbon-neutral-future

https://greenbusinessbureau.com/blog/what-does-zero-waste-really-mean

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it”, those are the words declared by María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the United Nations General Assembly at the COP 24 in Katowice (Poland), summarizing how essential satellites are for coping climate emergencies.

A vast network of satellites links all the continents to each other by providing undiscussable services to society. Everything began when the first-ever artificial satellite, the Sputnik 1 was launched by the Soviet Union into space in 1957. Then, their usage had a remarkable impact on everyday life. Just thinking about the navigator used to move from one place to another one. They have made travelling more comfortable without having to lose orientation (and calm) on the maps. But there is another paramount role covered by satellites. Indeed, by means of this technology, society collects a huge amount of data regarding the climate system, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, without which scientists and decision-makers would not know how to cope with the climate emergency that humankind has been experiencing during the last decades.

Basically, the satellites are divided into two categories: geostationary (GEO) and polar-orbiting (LEO) type. The first one has a geostationary orbit at high altitudes, around 36,000 km, at the same rotation speed as the Earth, in order to remain above the same spot. In this way, satellites can continually monitor a particular zone uninterrupted, except for the polar regions due to the Earth’s curvature. The polar-orbiting satellites are located at low altitudes, between 400 and 1400 meters from the Earth’s surface. circling the globe once every 100 minutes. In this last case, it is possible to obtain images and measurements with a high spatial resolution but the continuous observation of a particular geographical place is not possible. The synergic usage of both types of satellites allows them to complete each other combining the worldwide coverage of the first one with the high resolution of the last one.

1959 saw the first weather satellite, called Vanguard II, thought to monitor the density of the atmosphere and the cloud covering. Since that moment, a lot of “climate satellites” have been populating the earth orbit, up to an updated number of 162 to date. These kinds of satellites are able to detect the global environment, also catching the most hidden and remote places or events not observable by human eyes. Depending on its final purpose, the satellite is equipped with a series of instruments that measure a wide range of parameters that are useful for analysing the current and/or future situation. For instance, temperature, wind speed and direction, water vapour and so on, are detected to provide weather forecasting regarding atmospheric phenomena, while ocean currents, sea level height are used to detect maritime ones. By using high-resolution satellite images, harvested during these decades of monitoring, it is also possible to check the trend about lands and forests taken away because of human or desertification as well.

Thanks to this technology, the major impacts of climate change can be tracked, such as the effect on the radiation balance of burning fossil fuels or the hole in the ozone layer. Indeed, satellites are ideal for detecting the level of the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, such as aerosols, water vapour, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and methane. An example is Ibuki, a Japanese satellite launched in 2009, which is the world’s first one specifically designed for observing greenhouse gases. It is a polar-orbiting satellite that can detect 56,000 points worldwide, providing the most overall view of the concentration of these gases so far. The following picture shows the smoke of wildfires in Russia on two occasions captured by Ibuki

The rapidity of the information provided by satellites was shown immediately after the actions of the various governments to cope with the spread of the coronavirus. Indeed, it has been possible to note how the stop of vehicle traffic has decreased the nitrogen dioxide levels overall the world (As shown in the picture below).

Another example happened in 2017 when the world map changed forever thanks to the breakaway of a huge iceberg from the Antarctica landmass. This event is a clear demonstration of the fast decline of the ice sheet volume and consequently the rising of the sea level. Compared to the 1980s, the ice sheet is disappearing six times faster.

In conclusion, nevertheless the high cost of these technologies, it is undiscussable how they allow mankind to better understand what happened, is happening and will happen around the world, in order to cope altogether, in the overall of the countries, the climate emergency that is affecting life. A description of the characteristics of a part of the satellites dedicated to this role is offered by Nasa at the following website:

Source:

●       https://ourworld.unu.edu/en/how-things-work-environmental-satellites

●       https://climate.nasa.gov/nasa_science/missions/?page=0&per_page=40&order=title+asc&search=

●       https://www.carbonbrief.org/interactive-satellites-used-monitor-climate-change

●       https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Space_for_our_climate/Monitoring_climate_change_from_space2

●       https://www.geospatialworld.net/blogs/satellites-for-monitoring-climate-change/#:~:text=Copernicus%20Sentinel%2D5P%2C%20launched%20by,monitoring%20satellite%20in%20the%20world.&text=In%20January%202009%2C%20Japan%20launched,Gases%20Observing%20Satellite%20(GOSAT).

The annual displacement of millions of persons around the globe due to environmental disasters must be addressed. More and more individuals are facing droughts, famines, floods, fires and so on, of increasing intensity. They just must leave the place they call home, for a better future. The journey is often uncertain, characterized by crossings in risky and unstable areas. Even once they arrive in the host country, they are often relegated to the margins of society, discriminated against and without the possibility of being recognized as refugees because they are not covered by the 1951 Refugee Convention.

Climate change is awaited to displace large populations from rural to urban areas, affecting vast already vulnerable sections of humankind. Heat and irregular rainfall will ruin many agricultural lands and contribute to land degradation, the advancement of deserts, food insecurity, and permanent alteration of many regional economic systems. In this context, a new character is coming to light, the one called ‘Climate refugee’, those who move due to natural disasters and climate change. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that there could be as many as 200 million such refugees by 2050. The worst scenario predicts that almost one-third of the global population will live in extremely hot climates, currently located in less than 1% of the earth’s surface mainly in the Sahara. At this point, migration is an evolutionary strategy to afford the changing climate and not just a case of instability. The drivers of migration are complex and there is now rising acknowledgement that climate change is a threat multiplier, that can significantly intensify the conditions that lead to conflict, destitution, and displacement. In recent decades, however, the international replies to migration have become much less welcoming, requiring large swathes of people to undertake uncertain and often fatal journeys by road or by sea to find a route into some country that might host them.

Humanity is already living through a lot of these difficult situations, such as migration and conflict related to climate change and resulting agricultural and ecological problems are increasingly issuing in the Sahel, a semi-arid region stretching across Africa from Ethiopia to Senegal. Smallholder rainfed agriculture and herding are becoming increasingly difficult due to the irregular availability of water and in some location’s expansion of the Sahara Desert. Many people facing unpredictable weather, food insecurity, and in some cases violence, have left their land for urban centers in African nations, where conflict with living populations and discord over space and essentials may occur. Others have followed longer, more dangerous migration routes across the Sahara and the Mediterranean in dreams of reaching Europe. These routes are characterized by conflict with populations and governments along migration routes and substantial hazards during transport across the desert and ocean. Even after arrival in host countries, migrants remain a cause of serious political tension and experience a variety of forms of discrimination and violence.

Most of the research suggests that a continued drought linked to climate change has contributed to civil strife in Syria. In 2011, around one million people migrated to the urban centres, including the seat of the Assad government in Damascus. These urban areas were already stretched for resources by 1.5 million Iraqi refugees from previous years. Protests against the Syrian government in the spring of 2011 led quickly to outright civil war. That war has killed almost 500,000 people, generated 5.5 million refugees and at its peak 11 million internally displaced persons. The ongoing repercussions of this conflict are weakening stability in much of the Middle East as well as Europe.

In Central America, since 2009, the “Dry Corridor” in Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala has undergone a series of devastating multi-year droughts. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, crop losses in the region from 2006 to 2016 range from 50 to 90% and left 3.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. Facing uncertainty about future rainfall, many have chosen to leave, with emigration from the region increasing by 500% between 2010 and 2015. Most people travelled overland along this “dry” corridor to seek better chances northwards. This trek has resulted in increasing conflict between migrants and authorities in transit nations and along the southern border of the USA.

The densely populated Gangetic, in South Asia also drop in the zone that will experience high temperatures because of climate change in the coming decades, expected to exceed 35 °C. Besides, Bangladesh will face the consequences of rising sea levels and coastal flooding that is already exposing millions of coastal dwellers. The population is highly dependent on the summer monsoons and rainfed agriculture, making it particularly vulnerable to temperature and rainfall changes. The region is likely to have the highest number of food-insecure people by mid-century. Coastal cities such as Mumbai, Dhaka, and Chennai are likely to reel under the burden of continued rural to urban migration, until intensifying heat, and worsening flooding and coastal storm surges make life untenable for most of the millions who live at the economic margins of these megalopolises, forcing them to move again.

Rising religious and ethnic intolerance in South Asia does not bode properly for the region when the overwhelming survival need for populations in this century will be more movement not less. Rohingya refugees from Myanmar are confined in what is now the world’s largest refugee camp in coastal Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, where they are denied formal refugee status, and remain stateless, unable to seek formal work, advance educational opportunities, or do much more than barely survive. In India, the government attacked its minorities by arresting dissenters and beginning to build detention camps for Muslims and unregistered populations in the northeast of the country near Bangladesh, a likely source of climate refugees, is now heavily militarized.

At present, available testimony indicates that crisis migration from climate pressures does sometimes lead to intense social conflict and in certain cases contributes directly to armed conflict. Most migration will continue to occur within countries, and will mostly involve rural to urban population flows, mediated by a complex intersection of political, demographic, socioeconomic, and environmental drivers. While transient illnesses like the nationwide lockdown in India amidst the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in return migration to rural areas, the current literature suggests overwhelming net rural to urban migration. It recognized that the cities hosting these migrants were also particularly exposed to environmental change and without enough preparation would also suffer the consequences of extreme heat and depleted water resources. The migration in the Dry Corridor heading toward the US border, or the dangerous journeys over the Mediterranean, are examples of migration patterns when the first stop of refuge is no longer a sustainable option. The wall-building, xenophobic, and insular strategy embraced by the USA, Europe, China, and India to deal with the greatest challenge of our times is regressive, violent, and deeply ignorant, in that it denies the core reality that for millennia, under threat, humans have moved to escape. the 2020 pandemic has reaffirmed that the current global strategy to face obstinate challenges does not embrace cooperation, mutual interest, and scientific rigour but instead retreats to the inflexible rejection of a future that is upon us. Unless the most powerful governments around the world change their way of acting, the evidence shows, the impact of climate change on the hundreds of millions who will nevertheless move, on those in regions that will receive them, and on those who will not find any remedy through migration, will be impossible to bear.

There is a gap in the protection of ‘climate refugees’, who are neither clearly defined as a category nor covered by the 1951 Refugee Convention. The latter hugs only people who have been persecuted on territories related to race, religion, nationality or membership of a particular social group or political opinion, and are unable or unwilling, owing to fear of persecution, to seek protection from their home countries. This definition does not concern people displaced for reasons due to climate change, as it would be difficult to consider environmental degradation as ‘persecution’ in the sense followed by the Refugee Convention. This means that the estimated 200,000 Bangladeshis, who become homeless each year due to river-bank erosion, cannot easily request resettlement in another country. In the future, climate changes could have huge effects on many populations, mainly those in coastal and low-lying areas such as Vietnam, the Netherlands, and certain parts of the US. The focus issue here must face with the effectiveness of rights. Where there are no legal terms for an individual right because the status quo is not embraced by the law, then the individual cannot be guaranteed international protection as law.

Sources

·   https://www.unhcr.org/climate-change-and-disasters.html

·   https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2018/621893/EPRS_BRI(2018)621893_EN.pdf

·   https://www.unhcr.org/protection/environment/5fb28b504/climate-change-future-safe-returns.html

·       Balsari, S.; Dresser, C.; Leaning, J. Climate Change, Migration, and Civil Strife. Curr. Environ. Heal. Reports 2020, 7, 404–414, doi:10.1007/s40572-020-00291-4

“The Focus Area of Climate Emergency aims to educate young people and empower them to practice active citizenship in order to contribute to the green transition, understood as the individual and collective measures that need to be taken to prevent an environmental catastrophe” (aegee.org)

The (almost) middle of their term seemed like the perfect moment to take a look at this Working Group, which takes our planet very seriously, and aims for a greener and more aware AEGEE. Not only are we meeting an incredible group of extremely motivated people, who are not afraid of a “Spanish invasion” (good thing, considering a Spanish person is writing this!), but also one that knows very well what it wants and how to get it! Read this article to know more about them, their time together, their plans and expectations, and as a bonus, some words of wisdom!

First things first! Let’s meet the members of the Working Group!

Our team consists of 6 awesome members, plus the coordinator and our CD appointed member: 

Mandy Wierda (AEGEE-Amsterdam), a very nostalgic person who likes to ask for Christmas baubles that tell a story, as a present, is our video master, and, actually, our actress master, as she appears in every monthly video. 

Sophia Wiegard (AEGEE-Dresden), lovely like the snow in December, she is the biggest fan of Harry Potter we have ever known. She takes care of the training sessions and is the best looking member for the “hottest” news about climate change. 

Giampiero Sorrentino (AEGEE-Napoli), comes from a place very close to the lemons land, but instead of being bitter, he is very sweet! He loves writing, so he is our representative when it comes to writing articles and getting new ideas for our weekly posts. 

Asier Rodriguez (AEGEE Bilbao & AEGEE Barcelona) – oh well, this is the beginning of our Spanish invasion (of course, there’s nothing bad to say about it). He can transform the wind and coldness of his region to a sunny moment during our meetings. He is also helping with training, and is the main leader of making the future Climate-Culture Database and collaborating closely with the Sustainability Committee and its recipes booklet. 

Cristina Arnés (AEGEE-Madrid), she is the only person who should have more than 24 hours in her personal life: she is studying, taking many online courses, applying to internships around the world and still has time to spend at local level and the Working Group. She is our health manager in terms of climate and nutrition, but her knowledge does not stop there, as she also likes to participate in training about everything she is interested in.

Viki Várvölgyi (AEGEE-Budapest) – a group would not be the same without someone like her – cute, car lover and our designer master! She is good at making posts and she is always willing to help, and as a fun fact, she puts soy sauce on every meal. 

Laura García (AEGEE-Vigo & AEGEE A-Coruña) (Coordinator) – my goodness, the third Spaniard… and it is the coordinator. Oh well, she makes the most out of each and every day to take care of the whole group. She can be small in size, yet keeps tons of passion and love for the climate and every animal or plant you can imagine. She is half-Galician and half-Napolitan organizing external projects with StC and WG, and the link for the amazing future Thematic Areas project.

It is gonna be a year soon since you guys started working together. How has the experience been so far?

It has been an amazing experience; we cannot believe we are already reaching the middle of the term. It is true that not having a live meeting during all these months has maybe prevented us from having an even closer relationship. Nevertheless, we carry on well despite the physical distance between all of us. We even made an informal Christmas meeting to relieve the tensions, as well as a sustainable Secret Santa, which actually helped us engage even more as a team.

We have had so many interesting meetings and have dealt with various topics while organizing webinars, movie-watching days and even panel discussions! Nevertheless, the best is yet to come, and we have amazing plans for the upcoming months. Stay tuned. 

How has your work been affected by the pandemic and perhaps become more relevant?

It was difficult to assume that we will not be able to do anything “live”, either live meetings or events… But, afterwards, we created a great environment within the team, despite everything being online. 

The most relevant part could be that we are all learning on how to raise awareness via social media: some members are learning how to use Canva or how to make videos, how to use IG properly… It’s nice that we can develop our media and design skills that are also really important for our daily life and for getting a job nowadays, as well. 

Which areas have you found challenging and how did you overcome it?

As mentioned above, the most challenging part was to face a situation in which we need to do everything online, and in a moment in which people are already tired of being in front of a computer for additional hours (after online work, online lessons…). We try to do our activities in the most dynamic way possible, avoiding the “lesson type WS”. Also, using IG helped us a lot to spread our word. 

Additionally, we all joined this WG since we wanted to actively participate on this topic within AEGEE. However, it’s still difficult to become an expert on such broad and deep topics as the ones we want to handle and help spread along the network. That is really challenging, although we keep exchanging knowledge among all of us, for the sake of the team as a whole.

Is the working group meeting the expectations/goals/actions you envisioned for it at the beginning?

Actually, yes. We can probably say that the actions have overpassed the expectations. The team is working well, with a lot of motivation, even with the pandemic situation and all the limits we have, we created a great friendship and confidence between each other that makes the tasks easy. We all complement each other and have similar visions of what we want to do as a WG. 

We promoted a calendar internally which includes all the materials and tasks we committed to achieve and develop in our term, and we are keeping up with the expectations expressed in our Activity Plan. We hope that we can keep going this way all along!

What are your plans for 2021?

We will continue our ongoing projects (many social media promotions, challenges, WS…) and we really hope we will be able to have a live meeting at the end of the term, as a nice goodbye, and prepare the Report and Measurement of our year together, and a good KT for the next team. 

We plan to do a Thematic Week in March because of the World Water Day (March 22), test the Pilot Project “Thematic Areas”, in which we aim to put together different locals with different backgrounds and EBs interested in the climate emergency topic, among many other activities and actions! We are still looking for more of them to get involved, so as to achieve the best results possible.

What are your words of wisdom to your fellow AEGEEans? A little thing for them to get to know the Working Group better.

Through this Focus Area, AEGEE educates young people and empowers them to practice active citizenship to contribute to the green transition, understood as the individual and collective measures that need to be taken to prevent an environmental catastrophe.

In collaboration with the Sustainability Committee of AEGEE-Europe, we are striving for a greener and more aware association in which our fellow AEGEEans can do their best so as to make a difference and stand for a more sustainable future, and actually helping us all achieve it. 

We are not playing with the earth, we are damaging the earth, so just look for alternatives in your life, spread the word, and overall, believe in it. 

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Running for a position as European Body can sometimes look scary: you need to dedicate a lot of time, you have responsibilities…

If you really like a topic, do not be afraid to volunteer for it! You will get a lot of experience, you will meet awesome people to work with, and you will develop many skills while doing something you like. 

We would like to underline that being here is so great, and we could not be happier with this decision.

The technology carried on humankind to a high level, making it able to shape the environment according to your needs. This has spread a veil in front of the eyes that did not allow us to realize the great changes that it is bringing along. For this reason, a new way of urban planning is needed, looking at the concept of Smart city, where everything is linked by the Internet of Things through sensors, cameras and a different kind of human behaviour.

“A smart city is a place where traditional networks and services are made more efficient with the use of digital and telecommunication technologies for the benefit of its inhabitants and business” ~  European Commission

Nowadays, the way of urban planning cities is no longer compatible with the advance of human expansion in technological progress and in the achievement of well-being. It is estimated that the world population is going to increase to around 10 billion people by 2050 and almost 70% of them will be residing in cities, compared to 58% of them nowadays. The consequence is a remarkable expansion of the space already occupied by the urban environment. But cities use less than 2% of the earth’s surface, so what is meant by expansion?  Well, the problem lies in the conspicuous consumption of resources to keep the urban agglomerations alive and functioning, which matches more than 75% of the natural resources available globally.

The answer to these prospects is Smart Cities, which have come up as a possible solution to problems derived from rapid urbanization from the point of view of sustainability in its three pillars: social, economic, and environmental. This way of thinking on urban planning is relatively new, it is the successor of information city, digital city and intelligent city. The concept could be an umbrella that contains several sub themes such as smart urbanism, economy, environment, technology, energy, mobility, health and so on. These aspects define sustainable urban development as a balance among the development of the urban spaces and protection of the environment, looking at the equity in income, employment, basic services, social infrastructure, and transportation.

This transformation is considered essential by policymakers and is the topic established in the 11th UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), aiming at making cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. The European Commission alone has put in a budget of one billion euros on smart city projects, for the period 2014–2020.

The smart city uses the idea of using its own technology and data with define purpose to get better decisions and provide a better quality of life, carrying on solutions that can give results such as 10-15% fewer GHG emissions, 30-130 fewer kilograms of solid waste per person per year, and 25-80 litres of water saved per person per day. To achieve these targets, mostly pointed to environmental direction, some aspects need to be faced, like climate change, lack of natural resources, globalisation, and increased competition.

First cities need to reduce carbon emissions and pollutants, where the main contribution comes from traffic and house heating. Solutions point to smart alternatives in transportation to make citizens not dependent on their own vehicle for mobility. Public transport, such as buses and the underground, is already preferable if it is punctual, and people do not have to be stuck in the after-work traffic jam or look for parking spaces. One possible solution to crowded streets and polluted air is smart bike-riding services, smart-ride sharing and self-driving, autonomous vehicles which use less fuel. The city car of the future will be small, quiet, and electric. Self-driving cars are already being tested in road traffic today and they are expected to drive themselves on roads and highways by 2030. Bicycles will also play a bigger role in the future and could even replace a large part of car traffic. Indeed, the use of bicycles in large cities is expected to increase by at least 18% in the coming decade. During the corona crisis, the use of bicycles also expanded significantly in Paris: Bicycle traffic increased by 66% from 2019 to 2020.

Architecture also has an important role in this target. Indeed, now there is the conception to reintegrate nature into cities and buildings with more spaces, inner-city nature, urban gardening concepts and so on. One possibility for this is to design buildings able to interact with the city. In Rome, for example, a sustainable “City of Science” is to be created. One example that already exists today is the supertrees in the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore. These vertical gardens are 9-16 stories high and collect rainwater, harvest solar energy and act as ventilation ducts for the greenhouses in the rest of the park.

Another challenge concerns the urban solid waste management. The environment has an incredible self-cleaning capacity, but the cities place an excessive burden on it. It is estimated that the production of USW is around 3.6 million tonnes each day. Smart waste solutions use sensors to know when containers must begin compacting and transfer information with the local waste management company to warn when they need to be emptied. In this way, the activity of garbage trucks is reduced like their carbon emission and pollutants. This idea is already a reality in the city of New York.

Smart cities are characterized by supporting energy efficiency guaranteeing that resources are only used just when they need. The increased energy demand leads to more pollution and a decrease in natural resources. Smart LED streetlights are one of the ways of reducing the demand because they require less energy to work. Some of them can also be dimmed or brightened according to the location and time of day without compromising safety. Norway has scheduled to build a sustainable smart city near Oslo’s airport, powered only with renewable energy with the excess being sold back into the grid and sensor-based systems will enter automatically illuminating streets and buildings.

Internet of Things (IoT) is the technology on which Smart Cities leverage, through connectivity, big data, machine learning and analytics to process energy and environment data such as air pollution levels, water wasted, renewable energy performance and solid waste monitoring. Through sensors and cameras installed in strategic positions as on solar panels, garbage bins or lamppost, data are collected and elaborated to have information that gets real-time monitoring and management of energy and environment. An outstanding example is Amsterdam, where an open database with 12,000 datasets garnered from every urban district has been created. Through its IoT Living Lab, a 3,700-square-meter area fitted with IoT-enabled beacons, users can access data using Bluetooth devices.

The most important gear of the machine is the human factor through citizen engagement. Human behaviour is at the base of environmental problems because there is no awareness, mostly linked to ignorance, on the existing problem. Smart cities are thought for sharing information to promote behavioural change, encouraging people to make sustainable decisions.

All those ideas and conceptions seem to be part of a future come from books or films, but they are closer than expected.

Sources

●      https://ec.europa.eu/info/eu-regional-and-urban-development/topics/cities-and-urban-development/city-initiatives/smart-cities_en

●      https://www.asme.org/topics-resources/content/top-10-growing-smart-cities

●      https://mapanauta.medium.com/5-epic-ways-smart-cities-can-help-the-environment-7192d77ff702

●      https://www.climateforesight.eu/cities-coasts/environmental-benefits-of-smart-city-solutions/

●      https://jopeninnovation.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40852-017-0063-2

●      https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2020.00077/full

Nowadays, most goods are transported around the globe thanks to maritime trade. The main consequence is being one of the main protagonists of climate change despite being among the most efficient trade routes. Accidents, emissions, and ballast water are among the most talked-about problems affecting this field. The shipping industry is moving towards the concept of sustainable navigation to address the impact of shipping on the climate emergency, aspiring to the complete decarbonisation of the sector by 2035.

In everyday life, humans are used to having everything they need immediately and readily available, without putting any thought into the journey behind it. This is one of the effects of globalisation, in which one of the main players is shipping; responsible for 90% of trade. It is estimated that there are at least 90,000 ships in the maritime world which will continue to increase. The reason for this lies in the low costs and large load capacity, as well as being one of the safest means of transport. In short, it is more competitive.

Moreover, contrary to public opinion, maritime transport is also the most environmentally friendly means of handling large quantities of goods per ton of material over long distances, if we compare it to land and air vehicles. Both energy consumption and the emission of harmful substances are lower than the means just mentioned.

So why does it have the infamous reputation of being such a polluter? The reason lies in the trust that humans put into it, being the most frequently used means of transporting goods. Therefore, it is the type of transport that has the most impact on total emissions and environmental accidents.

Ship transport, like most, relies on the use of fossil fuels, contributing to the emission of carbon dioxide, participating in the causes of climate change and ocean acidification. The weight of the entire naval fleet on greenhouse gas emissions is equal to 3% of the carbon dioxide emitted worldwide, comparable to the emission levels of the most developed country. It is as if there were another nation, which among other things, ranks sixth among the emitting countries. If no action is taken, its contribution is destined to increase to around 17% of global emissions in 2050.

Furthermore, carbon dioxide is not the only altering gas emitted. The combustion fumes of ships are often characterised by the emission of other pollutants. About 15% of global anthropogenic nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions and 5-8% of global sulfur oxide (SOx) emissions are attributable to deep-sea ships. Its emissions are not well quantified and are one of the least regulated anthropogenic sources. Several studies point to the need for international regulations on ship emissions, such as those active in Europe, where land-based sulfur emissions have been successfully reduced and total SO emissions have fallen by 54% in the EU.

Black carbon (BC) is another product of combustion, the reduction of which could slow down global warming. Black carbon, more commonly known as soot, is made up of fine particles created by the incomplete combustion of a fossil fuel source. It is known to be a powerful warmer both in the atmosphere and when it settles on snow and ice, contributing in two ways: by directly absorbing heat in the upper atmosphere and by lowering the earth’s albedo, or reflectivity. Its solid nature allows it to absorb sunlight directly, unlike gases which are only affected by the infrared fraction. Black carbon heats the atmosphere by absorbing heat, drying the surrounding air by evaporating water into the air and onto other nearby particles. This reduction in water content decreases the reflectivity of the other particles, allowing them to absorb more sunlight and create an even wider warming effect in the atmosphere.

Greenhouse gases are not the only problem; indeed, water is used as ballast to stabilise ships at sea. Ballast water is pumped into maintaining safe operating conditions throughout a voyage. It may pose serious ecological, economic and health problems due to the multitude of marine species carried in ships’ ballast water. These include bacteria, microbes, small invertebrates, eggs, cysts, and larvae of various species. These species usually survive establishing a reproductive population in the host environment, becoming invasive, out-competing native species, and multiplying into pest proportions. The progress of this problem is due to the expansion of the global naval fleet and the destinations reached. The effects in many areas of the world have been devastating. The spread of invasive species is now recognised as one of the greatest threats to the ecological and economic wellbeing of the planet. These species are causing enormous damage to biodiversity and the valuable natural riches of the earth upon which we depend.

Considering the enormous influence that maritime navigation has on the environment, the direction to take is linked to the concept of “Green Navigation”, a form of sustainable development that considers environmental and social responsibility. The goal is complete decarbonisation by 2035, working on technological measures by improving storage systems and energy efficiency, reducing navigation speed, and developing renewable energies such as wind and biofuels.

Global regulation and a control system is needed to verify that there is regular compliance with the sustainability rules that characterise green navigation.

Sources:

·https://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Environment/Pages/BallastWaterManagement.aspx

·   https://europe.oceana.org/en/shipping-pollution-1

·   https://solarimpulse.com/sustainable-shipping-solutions

·   https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1352231014002313

Global warming is inexorably advancing, the increase in temperature is bringing climate change with negative effects on every species, including humans. By 2030, a 2° C increase in temperature is expected compared to pre-industrial values. Among the most influenced living species are reptiles, the most famous and most studied example of which concerns sea turtles. These have a link with the temperature of the environment that affects every stage of the life cycle, including hatching.

Global warming is bringing serious problems to every living species on this planet. The temperature is rising, an increase of at least 2 ° C is expected by 2030. The consequences are many, the climatic events once considered extraordinary (tornadoes, floods, landslides and so on), are increasing in periodicity while the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere results in the acidification of the oceans and the greenhouse effect; the polar islands melt as the sea level rises. The situation is so critical that it required a global mitigation strategy, involving 196 countries during the 2015 Paris agreements, which undertook to keep the (now inevitable) temperature increase below 2° C.

The first to pay the consequences are those living species most sensitive to these changes. One of the most studied examples over the past 30 years are sea turtles. The peculiarity of these reptiles is that during their life cycle, they use both marine and terrestrial habitats, in particular this last phase concerns nesting. The effects of climate change have a devastating impact on these endangered species.

In all species of sea turtles, the success of reproduction depends mainly on the available terrestrial habitat. Memories of sea turtles are “imprinted” with a magnetic map of the sandy beach where they hatch. This gives them the ability to return to the same site where they were born decades later to repeat their ancient nesting ritual. The direct impacts of sea level rise include the loss of beaches, because of which sea turtle nesting beaches are starting to disappear.

Since sea turtles are reptiles, they are directly conditioned by the temperature of the environment in which they are found. The temperature, that of the sand in which the eggs are incubated, also influences hatches, affecting the relationship between the sexes. They only successfully incubate between 25° and 35° C. Incubation at low temperatures, usually in the lower part of the nest (28° C) typically results in males while at high temperatures, usually in the upper part (30° C) typically results in females. 

Several studies have shown too high a temperature affects the body size of turtles, compromising the force they use in pushing through their fins and moreover when the temperature is too hot, eggs can literally cook.

The hatchling sea turtles are ectotherms, and their body temperature is determined by the temperature of the water in which they swim. The body temperature directly affects the locomotor performance of ectotherms with locomotor performance increasing with it.

So, it is possible to see that the increase in temperature has effects that go in opposite directions. On the one hand, it increases the nautical performance of sea turtles, improving the possibility of moving faster and taking to the open sea in a shorter time, reducing the possibility of being a prey in the first hours of life. On the other hand, it influences the growth capacity during incubation, compromising the development of the muscle fibers of the unborn. Recent studies have shown that the negative effect is predominant.

Furthermore, global warming on sea turtle colonies is leading to a feminization of the young. They found female sea turtles from the largest and most important colony of green sea turtles in the Pacific Ocean now outnumber males by at least 116 to 1. This result was predicted as early as 30 years ago, with the result that all of this has fulfilled by creating a significant threat to genetic diversity. 

Warmer temperatures are likely to have a negative impact on food resources for sea turtles. Coral reefs, which are an important food source for sea turtles, are in grave danger. Due to rising temperatures, coral reefs suffer from a “bleaching” effect that kills parts of the reef.

Will sea turtles be able to survive current climate change? They have survived paleoclimatic regimes including dramatic temperature fluctuations. Turtles migrate and feed on huge spatial scales, which can also impart greater resilience and adaptability to the negative effects of climate change. The problem arises in the rapidity of change, which may leave no possibility for adaptation to sea turtles.

Ultimately, if turtles cannot adapt to the effects of climate change through the combination of physiological and behavioural mechanisms, they could face local or widespread eradication without zealous management. Everyone can contribute through simple steps that people can take to make a difference, while waiting for common strategies for the protection of sea turtles to be implemented.

• Purchase Energy-Star qualified appliances.
• Replace incandescent bulbs with energy efficient fluorescent ones.
• Reduce, reuse and recycle all plastic, glass and paper waste.
• Use energy-saving methods of transport.
• Getting informed, knowledge is power and collective influence can force change.
• Plant vegetation along the beaches to provide a better nesting habitat.
• Look for alternative sources of energy, such as solar or wind.
• Write to lawmakers to encourage more efficient use of energy.

Sources

• https://conserveturtles.org/information-sea-turtles-threats-climate-change/
• https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/04/sea-turtle-sex-ratio-crisis-from-climate-change-has-hope/
• https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Matthew_Godfrey/publication/271827924_Thoughts_on_climate_change_and_sex_ratio_of_sea_turtles/links/54d24fe70cf25017917dbf40/Thoughts-on-climate-change-and-sex-ratio-of-sea-turtles.pdf
• https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v9/n1/p33-40/
• http://aerg.canberra.edu.au/library/sex_reptile/Davenport%201997%20Climate%20change.pdf
• https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v7/n2/p137-154/
• https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0023162