Category Archives: Caribbean

What happened

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL -0.35%) are running 14.6% higher this week compared to where they closed last Friday, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, despite no company-specific news that would account for the jump.

In fact, there's been plenty of cruise industry news to suggest the exact opposite, especially around peer Carnival (CCL -2.19%), which continues to catch analyst downgrades and price target cuts after laying an earnings egg.

Image source: Getty Images.

The cruise ship industry was swamped by the rogue wave of Carnival's earnings report that essentially gave up all hope of returning to profitability this year as inflation and other costs took their toll on performance.

Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Norwegian Cruise Lines all sank on the report, with Royal ending last week down 14.6% from where it began. That means its identical percentage gain this week isn't enough to put it at breakeven from two weeks ago, though it's doing better than either Carnival or Norwegian.

That could be because despite Royal Caribbean and Norwegian not reporting earnings for a few weeks yet, Royal Caribbean is actually better positioned than its rivals. As my colleague Dan Caplinger recently pointed out, the cruise ship operator didn't dilute its shareholders the way Carnival and Norwegian did in a bid to stay afloat. That means its earnings won't need to be quite as spectacular as its peers need to produce to show earnings improvement because it has fewer shares outstanding.

The cruise industry was first battered by the pandemic, and now it's facing rough seas due to the possibility the economy will suffer from stagflation or a declining economy that stills rising inflation. All signs also point to the Federal Reserve raising interest rates by 75 basis points for an unprecedented fourth time when they meet in November, which will raise costs for both consumers and for the cruise line stocks on the debt that they hold, which is significant.

While Carnival had said bookings for the 2023 cruise season were holding up better, running ahead of 2019 and at higher prices, credits it had to issue to passengers for pandemic-era cruise cancellations were hurting its performance in the back half of this year.

We need to see what sort of havoc all these different moving parts play when Royal Caribbean reports results, which may lead to more waves swamping its deck.

Link:

Why Royal Caribbean Is Sailing 15% Higher This Week - The Motley Fool

The 2022 Virtual Island Summit (VIS) came at the right time.

The week-long series of panels, discussions, and networking events saw some 10,000 people from over 500 islands around the world attending for the benefit of their environments.

VIS acknowledged that this is a crucial time between the UN General Assembly (UNGA) and the UN Climate Change Summit (COP27), when policymakers begin to work towards finding wide-scale solutions for climate action.

Recognising that since last years COP26 in Glasgow, there have been several developments affecting island communities, VIS highlighted the fact that Tuvalu, along with Antigua and Barbuda, created the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law, to investigate potential legal pathways for vulnerable communities to access financial assistance from major economies. This was followed by stalled negotiations on loss and damage, which left the Alliance of Small Island States 'disappointed. Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley has called for more accountability on climate action, while Vanuatu has proposed a treaty to phase out fossil fuels at UNGA.

The concerted pressure over the course of the year has led to movement on loss and damage by Denmark, who has announced that it wants to get the ball rolling on finding a resolution, by committing $13 million USD into the fund. Likewise, climate-vulnerable communities around the world have begun to rally together for more concerted action. In many ways, the VIS is a microcosm of global sustainable development, and highlights how knowledge-sharing can impact resilience-building and workable solutions.

Therefore, the online event, the fourth edition of VIS, drew a wide range of high-quality speakers and engaged audiences. The forty-session Summit was opened by Prime Minister Mottley, who lauded event organizers Island Innovation for their hard work in connecting global island communities with one another to find sustainable solutions.

The ability for leaders and experts of island nations to come together on the basis of our shared experiences during this climate crisis, is a moment that is of great importance not just to us who live in island nations, but indeed to the entire world, Prime Minister Mottley said. I truly believe we can, and must use this summit to advance the development of our global island community. As evidenced by the work Barbados has, and continues to do with respects to environmental advocacy and protection, we are ready to both take part, as well as grow via this important venture.

.All sessions of the Virtual Island Summit have been recorded and are available for replay here: https://islandinnovation.co/library/

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Virtual Island Summit 2022 comes to the Caribbean at 'crucial' time | Loop Barbados - Loop News Barbados

From rapper Bad Bunnys protest songs in Puerto Rico to food as resistance in the Dominican Republic, the arts are dynamically linked to cultural commentary in Latin America. Penn in Latin America and the Caribbean (PLAC) centered on this theme of Shared Narratives: Arts, Culture, and Conflict in Latin America and the Caribbean for their sixth annual conference at Perry World House.

Penn President Liz Magill gave opening remarks, saying, This conference exemplifies something wonderful at Penn: the interest and compassion to engage in conversation across disciplines.

Whether expressed through music, poetry, or streaming on video, stories are about connection, conveying something unique about individuals, their homes, their languages, their cultures, said Magill. They can connect us to something universal ... no matter where or when were coming from.

The conference discussed artistic expression in many forms and included presentations on social change and socioeconomic impact, cultural expression and preservation in education spaces, and repression and resilience in art, as well as a panel on Afro-Latin American and Afro-Caribbean agency, resistance, and power.

The conference was originally convened in order to gather experts on Latin America from all disciplines. In addition to professors from across the University, undergraduate and graduate students also shared their scholarship. Maya Pratt-Freedman, a fourth-year student from San Diego studying sociology and cinema and media studies, played a short clip from her documentary Essentially Criminal. Pratt-Freedman took a semester off last year to explore criminalized immigration along the United States/Mexico border.

In a panel on Afro-Latin American and Afro-Caribbean agency, resistance, and power moderated by Odette Casamayor-Cisneros, associate professor of Spanish, three graduate students presented on their research. Bonnie Maldonaldo of Africana Studies spoke on Armas y Comida Pal Pueblo: Food as Resistance in the Dominican Nation. Alexandra Snchez Roln, also of Africana Studies, discussed Bomba Music and Resistance, while Joao Nery Fiocchi Rodrigues in sociology presented on narrations of slavery and state formation in the Americas.

In the keynote address, Playing Boring Games, Building Cross-Border Cooperation, Juan Llamas-Rodriguez of the Annenberg School for Communication imagined the border as a board game. He created a playable game where the object is to repair all the sewers in the border region, a goal that can only be accomplished if all the players work together.

The limited funds available in the game and the restrictions placed on players mobility across the border are two of the main impediments to achieving the game goal before it is too late, said Llamas-Rodriguez. These features are research-based logistical hurdles that are inherited from not cooperating across borders, he said.

Game playing can be an agent for social change, Llamas-Rodriguez said. In his game, players are meant to ask critical questions, like Why are the stories being told in a game? Why do the characters look the way they do? Why are the players rewarded for certain actions and punished for other actions? Reflective play can be a catalyst for transformative possibilities as players examine their own actions within a social context, he said.

The need for a bottom-up approach is critical in border regions, said Llamas-Rodriguez. The problem I think lies in the current dispositions that prevent these policies from moving forward: entrenchment, antagonism, apathy. As long as we see the border region from the perspective of the nation state, we will remain uninterested in protecting the livelihoods of border residents. The answer is to move from a static position protecting the state towards regional cooperation, he said.

The boring adjective in the title was actual feedback that Llamas-Rodriguez received when he submitted his game when he sent the game into a peer-reviewed journal. Boring, he said, is part of the point.

Were ignoring so many of these border issues because these arent the flashy issues; this isnt the exciting part, Llamas-Rodriguez said.

Llamas-Rodriguez suggested that this game could be played by different agents before meetings about border issues as a way to get people talking and collaborating together. Until people are willing to engage in boring policy issues and take the time to fix them, nothing is solved, he said.

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Penn in Latin America and the Caribbean | Penn Today - Penn Today

In the face of the damage caused, the Church responds through its humanitarian services.

Torrential rains, hurricane winds, floods, displaced families, extensive damage to property, interruption of basic services and even human loss of life are the result of the impact of Hurricane Fiona throughout the Caribbean region.

In response, the humanitarian services of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have activated a series of actions to help authorities and community organizations cope with the situation and mitigate the damage caused by this natural phenomenon.

Help has been provided to aid about 65,000 affected families on the French island of Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. The aid seeks to provide food, water, hygiene items and other emergency supplies, as well as human assistance through Helping Hands volunteers, through which cleaning and debris removal will be carried out, as well as the distribution of supplies. The Church will continue to provide additional relief and assistance.

In addition to its direct actions, the Church will provide support throughorganizations to 17 emotional resilience centers operated through the international Mercy Corps organization in Puerto Ricowhere water, food, and other essential emergency supplieswill also be provided.

The Church's manager of welfare and self-reliance for the Caribbean Area, Josue D. Vanderhorst, said, "In the Caribbean, we are people of faith in Jesus Christ and our people have a high degree of resilience. These phenomena occur and the best thing we can do is to be prepared, as we are taught in the Church. This presents us, at times, with the challenge of families who lose their belongings, their homes and sometimes more regrettably, even loved ones. He indicated that in addition to material help, the Church provides assistance and emotional support in view of the traumas that a situation like this can cause.

"Our Heavenly Father remembers his children and answers their prayers, no matter how difficult the situation, so we hope, in a way, to be part of that answer, providing what is necessary to those who need it most and in the shortest possible time. As Christians, we are sensitive and supportive of the pain of others, so the least we can do is be there and humbly respond with what we have within our reach; extending a hand as the Savior Jesus Christ would have, he added.

Dominican Republic

In the Dominican Republic, Hurricane Fiona caused the loss of human life, displaced more than 12,000, and resulted in the flooding of rivers, streams and ravines, landslides, and large material loss in addition to breakdowns in the electrical system and damage to agricultural areas and those that are without communication in the provinces of El Seibo, La Romana and La Altagracia.

In partnership with the Rotary Club of the Dominican Republic, funds will be used to help those affected in the eastern and northeastern regions of the country, including food, clothing and medicine for people who lost their homes due to the hurricane.

Church leaders in each region have reported that despite the damage, churchmembers and missionaries are safe. There have been no unrecoverable losses. Most of the Church buildings are in good condition, apart from some minor damage from falling trees and other objects on the meetinghouses of El Seibo and La Romana, in the Dominican Republic.

They emphasize the importance of the emergency plans that "the Church teaches its members to prepare and implement in these situations, both at the family level and in each congregation and at the level of the entire community. This includes good communication for the care of those most affected," said George Marmol, president of the La Romana stake, which covers the most affected provinces.

Puerto Rico

In Puerto Rico, power service was suspended throughout the island, in addition to devastating flooding, both in urban and rural areas and especially in the central and southern areas of the country. More than a million people reportedly remain without electricity, some 800,000 lack clean water and about a thousand families have not been able to be relocated, while about 30 inches of rain have been measured in some places.

Humanitarian aid projects have been approved with the World Food Program, Project HOPE and the Red Cross for Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Other major projects for the Caribbean area are also being considered.

Guadeloupe

Hurricane Fiona also caused damage as it passed through the French territory of Guadeloupe on Friday, September 16, causing damage and flooding across the island.

In the aftermath of the storm, missionaries and Church members joined community efforts by assisting residents, distributing water and cleaning supplies, and cleaning homes and affected sites.

Stories of Hope

Internally, among Church congregations and their members, emergency plans were activated and through local leadership in each community, the self-reliance program is providing support to Church members who have also been affected. So far, these actions have benefited some 350 families in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

Andrs F. Tapia, bishop of the La Manicera neighborhood in El Seibo, recounted: "As soon as the hurricane passed, I visited a sister, and seeing her house totally destroyed, we cried together because she is a person without resources who lives day to day. However, both she and many others do not lose faith. Via the actions currently being carried out by the Church which help with immediate resources, she and others harbor hope and feel gratitude for the support they receive."

At another local church congregation, the elders quorum president (a local leader) housed another brother from his congregation who lost all of his property. These types of actions, for many, are a source of hope.

For his part, Nicols Nez, president of the Hato Mayor branch, said: "In a general way, I could see how the hurricane caused a lot of damage in the community, but I feel grateful for the opportunity to serve in the work of the Lord and to help my sisters and brothers to see that this is nothing more than a test. The important thing is to move forward and persevere, because we are not alone."

Actions will continue

Regarding the situation in Puerto Rico, the President of the United States, Joe Biden, declared a state of emergency, a measure that will free up federal funds for relief work. President Luis Abinader Corona did the same regarding the Dominican Republic and the Minister of the Interior of France, Grald Darmanin, announced a state of natural catastrophe for the French islands, which is expected to take effect in the coming days.

Forecasts from the U.S. National Hurricane Center indicate that the rains will continue with possible additional flooding. The centre of Fiona is expected to pass close to the British Turks and Caicos Isles.

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Hurricane Fiona Affects the Islands of the Caribbean - news-caribbean.churchofjesuschrist.org

The podcast Tracking the Tropics with Bryan Norcross is now available to stream.

(FOX Weather)

Updated at 8:30 a.m. Eastern

Tropical Disturbance #1 is in an unfortunate position. It's far enough south that it's less likely to turn north until it reaches the western Caribbean. If it arcs to the north from below Cuba, it could threaten the Gulf coast, Florida, or the Bahamas. It will likely organize into a tropical depression over the next couple of days, at which time we'll get a forecast cone from the National Hurricane Center.

Tonight and tomorrow, the disturbance will track across the extreme southern Caribbean islands including Trinidad and Tobago bringing gusty winds and tropical downpours.

Until the weekend, hostile upper-level winds emanating from Hurricane Fiona are forecast to impact the system. That factor should slow any development, but it's probably not enough to keep the disturbance from organizing into at least a depression. As the system moves farther west in the Caribbean, however, the atmospheric environment is forecast to markedly improve. That, combined with the exceptionally warm water in the western Caribbean Sea, should allow the system to further organize and strengthen.

The various computer forecast models agree that the system will track across the Caribbean for the next few days. Then there is a decent chance it will evolve into a tropical storm or hurricane as it begins its turn north.

A tropical disturbance east of the southeastern Caribbean islands has a high chance of development.

(FOX Weather)

The graphic below shows the diversity of possible tracks. This is a way to visualize the uncertainty in the forecast. Notice the zone of concern extends from the Gulf to the Bahamas east of Florida.

This range of possibilities is normal for a system in its initial stages of development. The rule that forecast errors are highest for disorganized or just-developing systems applies. This visualization gives us an idea of the areas that need to stay fully aware of changes as the forecast evolves.

The differences in the various tracks are related to the forward speed of the system, how quickly it intensifies, how far north it tracks, plus the exact orientation of the dip in the jet stream that could scoop it north. The various combinations of these variables give us the diversity of possible long-range tracks.

If the storm were to form and move toward the U.S., it would likely not be an issue until at least Tuesday of next week, depending on its track.

At this point, do not focus on any tracks you see on the internet. The system has only begun to develop, and many factors are in play. The best anyone can do in the potentially affected areas is to stay informed.

Hurricane Fiona has intensified into a Category 4 monster. It now appears it will track west of Bermuda by a decent amount. The closest National Hurricane Center forecast point is almost 150 miles offshore. The Bermuda Meteorological Service has issued a Tropical Storm Watch for the island. Impacts will begin tomorrow and last into Friday.

Fiona continues to drag an enhanced tropical moisture flow over Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Some tropical downpours will still occur for the rest of the week, but there will be plenty of clear times as well.

About Saturday, Fiona will reach the Maritime Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. The hurricane will merge with a northern disturbance to form a large and powerful North Atlantic storm. The Canadian Hurricane Centre is already alerting residents there of a potentially severe storm possessing both tropical and intense winter-storm-type properties but with very heavy rainfall.

Fiona will produce very large ocean waves and dangerous surf from Florida to New England late in the week, as energy in the Atlantic waters from the storm's powerful winds reaches the coast.

Fiona is a powerful Category 4 hurricane.

(FOX Weather)

Tropical Storm Gaston somewhat suddenly formed out of a disturbance in the middle of the Atlantic. It is forecast to intensify to near hurricane strength and then quickly weaken. It might affect the northernmost Azores, islands in the northeastern Atlantic, but as a relatively weak system. Gaston is only expected to last a few days.

Tropical Disturbance #2 has flared up a bit in the eastern tropical Atlantic. The NHC is giving it a slight chance of developing into at least a tropical depression. It's not expected to affect land at the current time.

Disturbance #3 is forecast to move off Africa tomorrow or Thursday. Some computer forecast models develop it quickly as it tracks to the north off the African coast, while others ignore it. In any case, it's not expected to be a threat to land.

Mother Nature is reminding us that it's the heart of hurricane season. What happened in the first part the season is not relevant, except that the ocean waters are warmer than they might have been because they weren't stirred up by previous storms. This is an important time to stay informed.

FOX Weather Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross has a podcast, Tracking the Tropics with Bryan Norcross, available now on FOX News Audio. You can get it on your device by clicking here.

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Tropical Disturbance likely to organize in the Caribbean and could be a threat to the US next week - Fox Weather

Another fantastic day of weather across the region, with low humidity, a decent amount of sunshine and low rain chances. Hopefully youre enjoying this taste of Fall after some of the hotter days weve seen recently.

Well see mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies this weekend with temperatures in the 70s and 80s. Rain-free conditions are expected through Saturday and most of Sunday. Late Sunday evening, we could see a few showers approach as a front comes into the area. Overall, a pretty nice weekend locally.

The tropics have been quite active recently, with 4 named storms in the basin as of Saturday morning. We have Fiona, Gaston, Hermine and Ian all out there.

Fiona is currently impacting Canada as of Saturday morning, with heavy rain, surf, wind and storm surge. The storm has become extra-tropical (aka a Noreaster) as its moved north, meaning its lost some of its tropical characteristics, but that doesnt really matter in terms of impacts. Remember Sandy in 2012? Sandy also become extra-tropical, but sure brought impacts to the Northeast. Fiona is doing the same to Canada. Check out some of these posts below for what it looks like there.

While we wait for the NHC's official call, it looks like #Fiona has recently made landfall between Canso and Guysborough. With an unofficial recorded pressure at Hart Island of 931.6 mb, this makes Fiona the lowest pressured land falling storm on record in Canada. pic.twitter.com/TYo9G05sUz

Hermine and Gaston are in the far eastern Atlantic and no threat to North America. Ian on the other hand, is a different story. Ian is the storm we will be talking about for the next week or so, as it moves through the Caribbean and towards Cuba and Florida.

As of Saturday morning, Ian is a relatively weak tropical storm. However, the NHC expects it to strengthen significantly over the next few days, becoming a strong hurricane before making landfall in Cuba and Florida.

5 days out, the exact path is always a bit uncertain, but there has been decent consensus on impacts being felt in Florida. The exact landfall location is still being determined though and that can have a big impact on storm surge and where the worst winds are felt. The consensus models which are a blend of all of the models essentially have been adjusting west a bit over the last day or so. So has the National Hurricane Center (NHC) track. Hurricane Hunter aircraft are scheduled to investigate the storm numerous times through Saturday and Sunday so that should help improve the forecast too.

The GFS and the European models both show a strong storm on the western side of Florida as we go into next week. There are some differences through in exactly how strong and where itll be located. Depending on the exact track of the storm, we could see some remnant effects late next week. The GFS does show some local impact here late next week. If its just some rain, that could be good news for us -as we are behind on rainfall.

Stay tuned for updates on Ian over the weekend. As we get more hurricane hunter recon data and better model data in over the weekend, I expect some changes to the forecast. We will continue to monitor the storm and keep you updated. Ill be sharing updates on Twitter through the weekend a lot too.

Hope you have a great weekend!Meteorologist Ricky Matthews

Follow Ricky onFacebookandTwitter

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Blog: Nice weekend locally, watching Ian in the Caribbean - WAVY.com

The podcast Tracking the Tropics with Bryan Norcross is now available to stream.

(FOX Weather)

Updated at 8:30 a.m. ET

Tropical Depression Nineformed out of the disturbance we've been following in the Caribbean. It appears that the hostile upper-level winds that were limiting development let up just enough for thunderstorms to form near the center of rotation. The fact that we now have a well-defined center helps the forecasting. The computer forecast models have a better starting point to latch onto.

Now that the system is a tropical depression, we get a cone from the National Hurricane Center. Hopefully, that will get more people in Florida to pay close attention to the potential threat, which is harder to accomplish for a disorganized disturbance on the other side of the Caribbean Sea.

The NHC cone shows the threat zone as the Florida peninsula. The cone is a compromise of the key computer forecast models, some of which show landfall close to Tampa Bay and others that take the storm closer to Miami. A consensus of the models in other words, a kind of average is historically the most accurate predictor of where the storm is going to go.

But there are a couple of important points. Bear in mind that, on average, the center of the storm stays inside the cone about 2/3 of the time. And when a system is just forming, forecasts are poorer, so the accuracy is even less.

The projected path and intensity of Tropical Depression Nine.

(FOX Weather)

While the current cone is the best estimate of the system's track based on the available information. As the depression gets better developed and turns into a tropical storm with a well-defined center, the forecasts should improve, and we can have more confidence in the cone. The point is that we should expect adjustments in the coming days.

The timeline with this storm is compressed. It's not like when Irma was approaching when we watched the storm's progress for more than a week. Plans are going to have to be implemented in a hurry.

If the storm were to move toward the Keys and extreme South Florida, the current timeline puts the storm there as early as Tuesday. If it were to move toward Central Florida, it would be more like Wednesday. If it went outside the cone to the northern Gulf coast, it would arrive on Thursday plus or minus.

The timeline is subject to change, of course, but it's unlikely to be radically different.

A strong jet-stream dip is forecast to reach the Gulf of Mexico Sunday and Monday. That feature should scoop up the storm and arc it north and east. Since we don't know exactly where the system will be when the dip grabs it, we don't know exactly where the arcing track will end up.

People in the northern Bahamas should also monitor the progress of the system.

The water is very warm on the storm's track. There is no obvious reason it won't steadily intensify. The only inhibiting factor would seem to be whether the upper-level winds are conducive. The forecast shows the environment as essentially ideal for intensification before the system gets to Cuba. In the Gulf, some dry air might come into play as well as slightly more hostile winds. But if the storm intensifies significantly, that might not be a factor. Strong storms can better throw off outside influences.

Right now, the National Hurricane Center is forecasting the system to be a strong Category 2 hurricane at landfall in Florida. This means that all planning has to assume it could be at least a Category 3. We always assume at least a one-category error this far in advance.

If you live in the threat zone, do your friends and neighbors a favor and be sure they are paying attention.

Hurricane Fionais now just past Bermuda on its way to eastern Canada. The Canadian weather service is warning that Fiona is shaping up to be a severe event for Atlantic Canada and eastern Quebec. A large area will experience hurricane-force winds. Strong storms are not uncommon there, but normally they are in the winter when there are no leaves on the trees. Prolonged and widespread power outages are predicted.

Tracking the tropics

(FOX Weather)

Flooding is also possible from continuous rain, and the coastline will be battered by waves over 30 feet, causing significant erosion in some areas.

This is all forecast to begin later today and continue into Saturday.

Tropical Storm Gastonis doing a loop over the northern Azores - islands in the northeast Atlantic. The storm isn't terribly strong, but it is going to be relentless.

Tropical Disturbance #1is a disorganized mass of showers. It has a slight chance of developing into a tropical depression.

Tropical Disturbance #2is a robust system in the waters just off the African coast. It has a good chance of developing into at least a depression as it moves to the north.

Tropical Disturbances #1 and #3 are in a race to get named first. The next name on the list is Hermine, and the one after that is Ian.

Stay well-informed in the Florida threat zone to be sure you have the latest information. Things will develop quickly over the next few days.

FOX Weather Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross has a podcast,Tracking the Tropics with Bryan Norcross, available now onFOX News Audio. You can get it on your device byclicking here.

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Tropical Depression Nine forms in the Caribbean and aims toward Florida - Fox Weather

Look up what drives deforestation in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the results are many: trade with countries like China and the EU, mining to satisfy growing demand for gold and other metals, speculation and land grabbing tied to U.S. universities and pension funds. While all of these are factors, one of the biggest drivers of greenhouse gas emissions in the region and its best hope for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 remains the food system.

Food production and deforestation are responsible for almost half of greenhouse gas emissions in Latin America and the Caribbean, and meat plays an outsized role. More than 77% of agricultural land globally is used for livestock, either for grazing or feed production. And food demand is only expected to rise by more than 50% by 2050. In Latin America, cattle ranching is especially important: the region is home to 67% of beef cattle and 76% of dairy cattle. Beef production is expected to increase by 125% by 2050 to sustain meat demand.

Food production is an enormously important for the economy of Latin America and the Caribbean. Commodities like soy and beef are the main and often most lucrative exports for many countries, and the sector employs roughly 15% of people in the region. But at the same time, the region suffers from both increasing rates of food insecurity alongside rising rates of obesity, especially among children.

Bringing its food system, currently one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gases, to ultimately net-zero emissions in the next few decades remains a big challenge for the region, where almost a dozen countries have pledged to reach net-zero emissions by around 2050. According to a new report from the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), reaching net zero by 2050 will require ambitious and sustained improvements in crop yields as well as dietary changes, especially in beef consumption. It calls for shrinking the proportion of land dedicated to agriculture, and increasing the area available for carbon sequestration and biodiversity preservation.

Its a timely report, said Florence Pendrill, a researcher at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden who studies the drivers of tropical deforestation and land use change.

There is an increasing recognition and focus on the role of agriculture and land use in the joint crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, both coming out of the climate COP26 in Glasgow late last year, and going into the U.N. Biodiversity Conference [COP15] later this year, Pendrill, who was not involved in the report, told Mongabay. The IADB report considers both supply-side and demand-side measures to reduce emissions, which can be useful as countries work toward realizing these goals.

Patrice Dumas, a co-author of the report and senior researcher at the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), said the report is largely directed at stakeholders in the region, providing a comprehensive overview of the best options for reducing emissions, alongside figures that help compare and evaluate them. What surprised him, he said, was not that cattle ranching turned out to be one of the primary ways to decarbonize the food system, but the ample opportunities to sustainably intensify the livestock sector.

I knew that it would be big, but not that big, Dumas said. Latin America has always had very extensive cattle production, thanks in part to an abundance of land, and so a shift to more intensive forms of production in areas less valuable for carbon and more amenable to pasture, like savannas, presents a big opportunity.

The report reviews options to reduce emissions and transform the land-use system into a net carbon sink by 2050 while improving nutritional security for the regions growing population. Providing cattle with more concentrated feed, boosting nitrogen in pasture soils, silvopasture, and improved pasture management are all some of the supply-side options that the authors identified to help intensify livestock production and bring emissions savings. They also pointed to agroforestry practices to help slash emissions from cocoa, beef, and coffee production. Demand-side solutions include switching beef for a more plant-based diet or for pork and poultry, which produce lower emissions in their production, and reducing overall beef consumption, especially in Brazil and Latin Americas South Cone (encompassing Argentina, Chile and Uruguay), where daily beef protein intake per person is three to four times higher than the global average.

But the report goes beyond just considering direct emissions. It also looks at the carbon opportunity cost of land, or at the amount of carbon that could be sequestered if land used for food production was instead used to grow native vegetation.

With the carbon opportunity cost one can go a step further to consider also the land that is already used for agriculture what if that land wasnt used for agriculture? Then it could instead be used for other things, including carbon sequestration, Pendrill said. However, she said a metric focused solely on carbon doesnt consider other potential environmental and social impacts, such as biodiversity loss or displacement of traditional peoples.

The report also tracks separately emissions produced in Latin America and the Caribbean and emissions linked to trade, given that between a fifth and a quarter of the greenhouse gas emissions from the regions food system are associated with agricultural products used elsewhere in the world.

Results show that, overall, reducing the carbon footprint of beef is essential to transforming Latin America and the Caribbean into a net carbon sink. The most ambitious supply-side scenario includes cultivating more cattle on less land, rapidly increasing coverage of silvopasture and other practices to dramatically improve pasture yields, and improving crop yields to meet growing food and feed demand without having to deforest more. This would reduce direct emissions by 10% compared to 2010 levels, and revert previously cleared land, which would sequester 1.33 billion metric tons of emissions a year on average around the same amount emitted by 356 average-sized coal-fired power plants.

On the demand side, the most ambitious scenario sees a reduction of beef consumption of up to 85% in Brazil and the Southern Cone countries, and to a lesser degree in Andean countries. Countries in Central America and the Caribbean, where the average beef consumption is lower than the global average, could even see an increase in consumption. This would stabilize direct emissions, improve nutritional security across all countries, and revert formerly degraded land, which could absorb the equivalent of 1.74 billion metric tons of emissions annually, or the equivalent of taking nearly 375 million cars off the road.

Combined, these solutions could help the region reach net zero by 2050 if emissions from energy, industry and waste also undergo equally ambitious cuts, the report says.

There are options both on the demand side and on the supply side, but really the two need to be done together, Dumas said. Some countries, like Brazil, have already shown deep commitment to improving efficiency in crop production and land use, he added. But ambitious action cant just be on the supply side, it also has to be on the demand side, Dumas said.

Talking about dietary change, especially beef, remains culturally sensitive, according to Dumas, despite overwhelming research that cutting our consumption of meat and dairy products is the single biggest way to reduce our impact on the planet. The biggest demand for beef comes from within the region itself, the report says, where people consume more than twice as much beef per capita 9 grams per person than the global average of 4 g. In the Southern Cone and Brazil, those numbers are even higher: 18 g and 13 g, respectively.

Time and time again we see that it is just not possible to get the deep cuts in environmental impact we need via technological developments or shifts in production alone, said Paul Behrens, associate professor of environmental change at Leiden University in the Netherlands who researches food and energy systems and was not involved in the report. Saving the land and reducing the emissions from beef production is vital.

Behrens said that although the study provides an important detailed analysis of the Latin America and Caribbean region, the big picture adds more evidence to what a growing number of studies have already shown: While supply-side measures targeting beef do help a little, such as manure management, these reductions are not as large as simply changing diets, Behrens said. You need that dietary change to really get the big reductions.

Citations:

Dumas,P., Wirsenius,S., Searchinger,T., Andrieu,A., & Vogt-Schilb,A. (2022).Options to achieve net-zero emissions from agriculture and land use changes in Latin America and the Caribbean(1337). Retrieved from Inter-American Development Bank website: https://publications.iadb.org/en/options-achieve-net-zero-emissions-agriculture-and-land-use-changes-latin-america-and-caribbean

Figueroa,D., Galicia,L., & Surez Lastra,M. (2022). Latin American cattle ranching sustainability debate: An approach to social-ecological systems and spatial-temporal scales.Sustainability,14(14), 8924. doi:10.3390/su14148924

(Banner image: New research looks at supply and demand options to help slash carbon emissions from cattle, one of the biggest polluting sectors in Latin America. Image by: Rhett A. Butler)

See more here:

Reducing beef's carbon footprint is key to achieving net-zero in Latin America and the Caribbean, new paper shows - Mongabay.com

Its no secret that Disneyland has gotten more and more expensive over the last few years. In the companys most recent earnings call, Disney reported having fewer guests, but those guests were spending more per visit enough for the company to report a 50% increase in operating profits for the quarter company-wide.

But even for those guests paying more for Genie Plus and Lightning Lane, a $6500 souvenir is still a little steep.

Thats right: $6500 for one souvenir. But, in fairness, said souvenir is a collectible piece of one of Disneylands most iconic rides.

The Pirates of the Caribbean Heritage Timeline is a piece of art sold in the theme park's Disneyana store. Its actually a piece of a Rusty Leaf Fig tree, cut down in the recent renovation to the ride. The collectible is a cross section from the tree, with seminal moments in Pirates history, and that of the New Orleans Square land (where the ride is located), marked on it.

In 1987, for example, the tree was planted as part of a refurbishment to the ride queue. In 2006, Jack Sparrow and Captain Barbossa were added as characters on the ride.

The Pirates of the Caribbean Heritage Timeline at Disneyland

For approximately 35 years, these memorable trees enhanced the beauty of the queue line, a plaque on the piece reads. Perhaps the reader is fortunate enough to be one of the swashbuckling Disneyland guests that enjoyed some moments of this trees shade sometime in the past.

The trees set on carvings of pirate treasure were preserved by the Disneyland Urban Forestry Program, which manages trees in the park, and turned into art by John and Ron Daniels of David Wood Land, Inc., according to the plaque. The purpose of this work, it reads, is to preserve a special part of Disneyland Resort history while showcasing the beauty nature creates all around us.

Its not the first time Disneyland has upcycled removed trees into collectibles. At this years D23 Convention, the company gifted 1,000 tree cross sections to D23 fan club members, each one marked with the location it had been removed from, like Goofys Playhouse in Mickeys Toontown.

There are only 45 of the Pirates of the Caribbean tree timelines. According to a cast member in the store, the tree, which was once in the ride queue, was diseased and had to be cut down as part of the renovation.

She also said, unsurprisingly, that people have been buying them even with the hefty price tag.

Whether they bought them with pirates gold, though, was unclear.

The tree was cut down in the 2022 ride refurbishment

Read more from the original source:

You can own a piece of Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean for $6500 - SFGATE

If theres one spirit that conjures instant associations of white sand beaches, late night bachata and blistering summer sun, its BACARD rum. For centuries, rum has been the tipple of choice to beat the heat making BACARD the perfect partner to kick off the Life is Beautiful festival last weekend with Rolling Stone, in fabulous and, lets face it, feverish Las Vegas.

Its no wonder the BACARD rum has become known as the drink that keeps its cool, the brands reputation for resilience runs deep. It was El Coco, the coconut palm planted in front of the original Cuban distillery by the son of founder Facundo Bacard Mass, that first became a symbol of the brands longevity surviving hurricanes, earthquakes and even a distillery fire since its planting in the 1860s. With El Coco serving as a good luck charm, BACARD rose to become a Cuban institution, before finding a second home in Puerto Rico in the 1930s, where the rum brand is now crafted today. Now, the brand is not only an American classic but the foundation of many now- household cocktails that have seeped into the mainstream.

First up is a staple in the arsenal of any bartender (and a favorite among rum fans). Long before the vodka-soda-lime there was the Mismo, a BACARD-based cocktail invented in 1899. Created at the Cosmopolitan Club in Santiago, the countrys second-largest city and the Bacard familys hometown, local lore dictates that a group of Americans eager to fit in among their Cuban colleagues took cues from their drink order. When one Cuban ordered a BACARD rum and seltzer, and his friend asked for lo mismo, the Americans mistook the Spanish translation of the same for the name of the cocktail. Following suit, they called for a full round of los mismos.

When the Americans returned to order more lo mismos from the same bartender the following day, the mismo was officially born. Since, the drink has become a favorite among rum-aficionados hoping for a quick, ultra-refreshing cocktail before heading back on the dance floor. It pairs well with rhythmicity of Afro-Latin music from Princess Nokia to Afro-Puerto Rican production group Luny Tunes contributions and has even been adopted as a band name (see: popular Mexican group, Los Mismos).

If youre a Hemingway fan, Havana frequenter or fiend a fruity tipple, were willing to bet money youve had a dalliance or two with a daiquiri. At the Rolling Stone LIB kick-off, BACARD will be serving up the classic cocktail with a twist in tribute to the great American novelists long-time love affair with Cuba. It all started at La Floridita, the legendary Havana bar that would famously become Ernest Hemingways watering hole throughout his 20-year stint in Cuba. After tasting a daiquiri (which features white rum, lime and granulated sugar, all shaken with crushed ice), Hemingway, affectionately referred to as Papa throughout Cuba, requested the bartender revise the drink without sugar and double the rum. The papa doble, as it became known, was henceforth Hemingways drink of choice.

The Hemingway daiquiri has since evolved now generally served with a single pour of rum in homage to the writers favorite drink, while retaining the same lip-smacking flavor that made it famous. In fact, its likely the drinks versatility that prompted the unending musical tributes to the daiquiri (emo fans will remember Panic! At The Discos peach and lime daiquiri, lead singer Brendon Uries favorite drink at the time of writing A Fever You Cant Sweat Out). While cocktail blogs pair the drink with Camila Cabellos Havana in ode to its Cuban roots, you can have just as an authentic experience sipping papa dobles and dancing the salsa, mambo or cha-cha-cha all styles that originated from Cuba.

Of course, when it comes to the taste of the tropics, even a daiquiri may struggle to best the ultimate frozen delight, the Pia Colada. Perhaps the most disputed of the three cocktails in terms of origin, the Pia Coladas inception has often been attributed to Puerto Rican pirate Roberto Cofres, who allegedly boosted the morale of his crew with the now-fundamental concoction of coconut, pineapple and white rum in the early 1800s.

That hasnt stopped several Puerto Rican joints from taking credit for the drink as we know it. Old San Juan restaurant Barrachina believes it was their bartender, Don Portas Mingot, who created the cocktail in 1963, while the Caribe Hilton Hotel claims bartender Ramn Monchito Marrero spent three months perfecting the recipe that would be served to the likes of Hollywood actress Joan Crawford, who allegedly endorsed the drink among Hollywoods elite circles. Whoever the originator, the Pia Colada well and truly belongs to Puerto Rico, and its been raising morale ever since its inception. Rupert Holmes 1979 hit Escape: The Pia Colada song has been covered by Jimmy Buffet and even Jack Johnson, appearing in many films from Ben Stillers The Secret Life of Walter Mitty to Bewitched with Nicole Kidman. Obviously, the song is a must when indulging in an ice cold, frothy pia colada, but if you want to keep things slightly more contemporary, give Two Pia Coladas by Garth Brooks a go.

Another BACARD-based drink truly worth its salt or lime is a more recent addition to Puerto Ricos superior cocktail portfolio. In 2018, world-renowned mixologist and San Juan-native Nicole Fas won the BACARD Legacy Cocktail Competition the ritmo tropical, a drink inspired by spirit of the Caribbean that features lime and pineapple juice, as well BACARD Aejo Cuatro, vermouth and the slightest hint of absinthe. The cocktail is not only a testament to BACARD rums versatility, but its capacity to inspire and evolve with each new generation not unlike the many Puerto Rican artists bridging Latin and Western cultures. Mix-up a rito tropical and queue up Puerto Rican-natives Bad Bunny, Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, Ozuna, Farruko, Don Omarthe list goes on.

At the recent Life Is Beautiful kick-off party with Rolling Stone, BACARD served several signature rum cocktails alongside hand-picked talent from the brands legacy Music Liberates Music program. Attendees mellowed out to melodic London export Benjiflow, before Ric Wilson turned up the tempo with disco-seasoned rap. Bringing island vibes by the boat-load, BACARD transported Life Is Beautiful attendees from the desert to the tropics. Basically, any time theres BACARD involved, you can expect an unforgettable fiesta of pia coladas, and, with any luck, being caught in the rain.

[RG1]These early daiquiris werent blended, they were shaken, and the early daiquiris Hemingway would have enjoyed would have been without maraschino.

More here:

The Cocktails of the Caribbean: How BACARD Rum Captivated Generations of Artists - Rolling Stone