by Mike Barrett , Natural Society:

Costa Rica is hoping to make a dent in the trillions of plastics polluting the oceans and the environment by becoming the first country to ban all single-use plastic products by 2021.

Some U.S. cities, states and other countries have either banned plastic bags or are working on a plan to do so, but that only touches the surface of what Costa Rica wants to do. Forks, lids, coffee stirrers, water bottles, and a multitude of other products would be prohibited under the ban. [1]

In the last half-century, use of plastic has increased 20-fold. There appears to be no place on Earth that is untouched by plastic waste. Even the Mariana trench – the deepest part of the world’s oceans – is littered with plastic. In a report published last year by the World Economic Forum and the Ellen MacArthur foundation, experts estimate there will be more bits of plastic in the sea than fish by 2050.

Source: The Ocean Project

Some 40,000 tons of solid waste is produced in Costa Rica every year, and 20{5f621241b214ad2ec6cd4f506191303eb2f57539ef282de243c880c2b328a528} of it never makes its way to a recycling center or landfill. Instead, the waste ends up in Costa Rican rivers, beaches, and forests.

The country already has plans in place to be carbon-neutral by 2021, partly by ditching fossil fuels. It is also actively trying to restore its forests and protect wildlife.

The effort is being spearheaded by Costa Rica’s Ministries of Health and Environment and Energy, with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and local governments, as well as civil society and various private sector groups. [2]

In a joint statement, Environment and Energy minister Edgar Gutiérrez, Health minister María Esther Anchía, and resident representative for UNDP Costa Rica Alice Shackelford, said:

Read more: http://naturalsociety.com/costa-rica-ban-single-use-plastics-2021-4621/#ixzz4pBtrOJAs
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from fastcompany:

This feels a little like déjà vu. The country’s top cable and satellite TV providers just wrapped up another quarter of record subscriber declines as customers flee traditional pay-television distributors in favor of streaming and on-demand services, according to a research note from MoffettNathanson. Combined declines for the second quarter of 2017 came close to a million subscribers, the firm estimates, with Dish Network, DirectTV, and AT&T hit especially hard. As bad as it was, the customer exodus was not as bad as some analysts had predicted, prompting analyst Craig Moffett to ask the question, “Is ‘not as worse’ even a thing?”

“[Y]es, things are getting worse,” Moffett wrote. “But at least in Q2 they got worse more slowly. Less worse. Or, not as worse. Or, well, you get the idea.”

If all this sounds familiar, it’s because three months ago, the industry had just logged its worst quarter in history, losing an estimated 762,000 pay-TV subscribers. This time around, that number has jumped to 941,000 subscribers. Even Comcast, which had been bucking the trend over the last few quarters, ended Q2 with a net loss of 34,000 pay-TV customers.

What’s really interesting is to look at the trend over the last two years. Traditional pay-TV providers–that is, if you don’t factor in streaming services–saw combined subscription declines of more than a half-million customers per quarter in five of the last nine consecutive quarters.

by Kit Daniels | Infowars.com :

National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster is an active operative of globalist billionaire George Soros, according to three separate domestic and foreign intelligence sources.

McMaster is a foreign intelligence agent for the multi-national combine controlled by Soros, which explains why he’s constantly running interference to President Trump’s agenda.

“I have confirmed from sources from inside the White House, the Israeli government and Israeli intelligence that the Israelis have intercepted email communications from General McMaster to George Soros, informing him of everything that’s going on inside the White House,” reported Infowars correspondent Roger Stone. “…I have double checked this with two different sources very high up in Israeli intelligence, and I actually expect the Israeli ambassador to the US to confirm this.”

This means, by implication, that McMaster is one of the primary leakers given that Soros has vast ties to the mainstream media.

It is already known that McMaster was a member of International Institute for Strategic Studies which was funded by Soros’ Open Society Foundation and another Soros-financed group.

Also, last month Israel publicly accused Soros of continuously undermining democratically-elected governments.

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs took the opportunity to criticize Soros when it spoke out against the vandalism of anti-Soros posters in Hungary which were defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti.

by Joe Jarvis, thedailybell:

As a business, if you want to promote equality, the first thing you need to do is make sure you treat your customers unequally based on their gender.

I love when people empower themselves by becoming business owners. Running a business is certainly not easy, but it still frees you from certain constraints. For instance, pay is not decided arbitrarily by a boss, it is based on the services you provide.

Ironically, one business owner in Australia is using her success to promote inequality.

The cafe in Australia touts their discriminatory practices. An article about the cafe on The Mirror reads: Cafe charges men more than women – for a very powerful reason.

Yes, for a powerful reason. Their discrimination is powerful because statistically, women earn 18{5f621241b214ad2ec6cd4f506191303eb2f57539ef282de243c880c2b328a528} less than men in Australia. That is why it is okay to discriminate in hiring as well; the cafe called Handsome Her only hires women. And they also give preferential seating to women. Men must get to the back of the bus–or cafe, whatever.

The 18{5f621241b214ad2ec6cd4f506191303eb2f57539ef282de243c880c2b328a528} “man tax” is technically optional during the one week per month the tax applies, with the proceeds going towards women’s causes. I wonder how many women volunteer to pay the tax, seeing as it is for a cause they presumably agree with.

Also ironic: the fact that it is all women working at the cafe. About 81{5f621241b214ad2ec6cd4f506191303eb2f57539ef282de243c880c2b328a528} of workers in the category, “Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop,” are women. This gives us a glimpse into the true issue of the pay gap. Sometimes is not actually a pay gap, it is a work choice gap.

But hey, if this cafe owner wants to discriminate against men, I fully support her right to do so. She will probably face legal challenges, and that is too bad in my opinion. I don’t think the government should interfere with businesses. No one is forced to patronize the coffee shop.

Likewise, I wish all proponents of fixing the wage gap would take up the issue in the private sector. But when you start advocating legal repercussions, you are limiting the freedom of others.