text:
La corriente que durante el siglo XIX se denominó catolicismo liberal tiene raíces que se remontan varios siglos atrás. En este caso, a la época del Renacimiento, ligadas al llamado humanismo cristiano, cuyo principal exponente fue Erasmo de Róterdam, y para el caso español, el grupo de intelectuales reunidos en torno a la Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, fundada por el cardenal Jiménez de Cisneros.

Más adelante, en el siglo XVIII, la Ilustración influyó en varios círculos de católicos franceses, belgas, alemanes y neerlandeses, constituyéndose doctrinas (galicanismo, molinismo y josefismo, entre otras) que exaltaban el individualismo y la racionalización de las concepciones y expresiones religiosas (libre albedrío, moral austera, rechazo a las prácticas barrocas) al igual que una modificación de la organización religiosa, al apoyar los intentos de creación de Iglesias nacionales.

El neocatolicismo

Luego de la Revolución Francesa, y a raíz del avance del liberalismo en Europa, además de la reacción de gran parte del clero católico, guiado por el papa, se dio así mismo una nueva etapa del intento de conciliación entre los principios cristianos y las ideas surgidas de la Ilustración. Este intento fue liderado en su mayoría por laicos y el bajo clero. Sus propuestas, con mayor o menor éxito, influyeron sobre la Iglesia en la manera de ver las nuevas condiciones político-sociales. De acuerdo con algunos especialistas, este intento se inscribe dentro de una tendencia intelectual denominada neocatolicismo y es definida por el primero como una propuesta de «escritores de la fe católica que modificaron la expresión de esta fe para justificarla a los ojos de un público moderno separado de la Iglesia».

El neocatolicismo tuvo mucha influencia del catolicismo ilustrado del siglo XVIII. Por otra parte, las propuestas neocatólicas durante el siglo XIX, época caracterizada por un dominio de las corrientes tradicionalistas en la institución eclesiástica, tuvieron que soportar resistencias externas e internas, teniendo que adoptar entonces posiciones defensivas.

La oportunidad para estas corrientes se dio gracias a que si bien la ciencia moderna había quitado a la religión la posibilidad de explicar el mundo y el destino del ser humano, no había podido aportar por sí misma nada que pudiera reemplazar los valores morales tradicionalmente unidos a la representación religiosa del universo. De esta forma la religión logró mantenerse en escena con credibilidad; por otra parte ella tenía la ventaja de que la verdad que enseñaba incluía el destino del hombre, algo que la filosofía de las luces no podía ofrecer.

Sin embargo, aceptar como parte del "plan de Dios" aquellos valores modernos que gran parte de la institución eclesiástica rechazaba suscitó resistencias internas. Las corrientes neocatólicas -que tuvieron su gran centro de difusión en Francia y Bélgica- al tener la característica de ser un cálculo conservador conjugado con una apertura al futuro, causaron controversia tanto en sectores del catolicismo como en el público profano, quien nunca les aseguró un buen porvenir.

Los primeros pensadores neocatólicos fueron principalmente Ballance, Chateaubriand y luego Félicité Robert de Lamennais. Posteriormente otros escritores continuaron desarrollando sus legados, aunque tomando opciones que giraron, en torno al socialismo, o hacia el liberalismo, distanciándose mutuamente. Encontramos en esta etapa, entre muchos otros, a Charles de Coux, Philippe Bucheoz, Fréderick Le Play y la llamada Escuela de Angers. No sobra recordar que este proceso de adaptación e intercambio entre el catolicismo y el mundo secular continuó desarrollándose hasta nuestros tiempos, teniendo su momento de reconocimiento por parte de la institución eclesiástica con el Concilio Vaticano II (1962-1965).

Ballanche (1776-1847), escritor francés, mostró el camino. El primer paso lo dio en 1801 cuando publicó Du Sentiment (Del Sentimiento). Veinte años después ya había expresado la idea de un cristianismo adaptado al presente, sujeto a la ley del progreso público. El mérito de Ballanche estuvo en hacer del cambio una ley de Dios: en la marcha irresistible del género humano Dios estaba sobreentendido. Para Ballanche, además, la filosofía de las luces se convertía en una emancipación tardía del evangelio. Apoderándose del pensamiento de los filósofos iluministas y tras dejar a un lado los aspectos considerados exagerados encontró los elementos que podían ser recuperados en beneficio del cristianismo: la filantropía filosófica y el deseo de igualdad que la constituye. En síntesis, el gran aporte de Ballanche fue la justificación teológica del cambio, si bien no se atrevió a avanzar al terreno de lo político, labor que sí efectuaron Chateaubriand y Lamennais.

Otro escritor neocatólico de reconocida influencia fue François Renato de Chateaubriand (1768 - 1848). Poseedor de una gran riqueza de estilo y elocuencia en sus obras, dio un segundo paso al suministrar al neocatolicismo uno de sus temas principales: comunicar a la fe los «colores de la sensibilidad moderna». Formado inicialmente en la polémica contra los filósofos de la ilustración, comenzó luego a buscar una conciliación por medio de la rehabilitación de la religión frente al menosprecio de la razón filosófica. Hacia 1825 recibió la idea de colocar al evangelio en el corazón de la política moderna llegando a la idea de un catolicismo liberal. Acogió con gusto el movimiento Lamennasiano cuando este se fundó en 1830. A diferencia de Ballanche, Chateaubriand no vio impedimentos teológicos en la alianza con el liberalismo. Para ello destacó que el cristianismo encerraba dentro de sí la «ley de la moral», es decir, la igualdad, la libertad y la fraternidad, incorporando así el cambio y el progreso humano a los planes de Dios. Llamaba entonces a la institución eclesiástica a no rechazarlo, pues de lo contrario correría el riesgo de hacerse «ahistórica», elemento contradictorio con su naturaleza: crecer y adaptarse a los tiempos y circunstancias. Chateaubriand no obstante, consideraba el dogma como inalterable, condición básica para mantener el otro elemento de la naturaleza del cristianismo: la perpetuidad.

Una vez admitida la unión entre la religión y la filosofía, no comprendía entonces por qué los católicos y protestantes permanecían separados; era necesario lograr la reunificación, con algunas concesiones de una parte y de otra, y de este modo hallar un nuevo esplendor para el cristianismo. Para que este nuevo esplendor fuera completo, Chateaubriand creía que el cristianismo debía separarse del poder temporal:

Así, propuso al papado la abdicación de sus funciones temporales. Separar poder espiritual y poder temporal era indispensable si se quería impedir que la religión «languideciera degenerada». Pero sus propuestas -como las de todo el movimiento neocatólico- no solo fueron desatendidas por la mayor parte de la jerarquía católica, sino que recibieron fuertes recriminaciones, ante las cuales Chateaubriand cedió; y es que en la Europa de la época para mantenerse católico era preciso resignarse, como él y Ballanche lo hicieron, a que sus ideas no fueran escuchadas.

Félicité Robert de Lamennais, fue otro de los grandes pensadores neocatólicos. Su caso es particular, porque comenzó como un entusiasta ultramontano, y terminó fuera de la Iglesia Católica exponiendo una particular versión del socialismo cristiano. En este caminar, aportó también a la formación del catolicismo liberal. Comentemos, a continuación, lo referente a su etapa liberal, hasta su ruptura con el catolicismo romano.

Lamennais, apoyando el ultramontanismo, en su tarea de defender la supremacía del papado, paradójicamente, fue atacando el galicanismo de tal manera, que lo hizo entrar en lucha con el mismo poder civil. Lamennais, buscando el bien de la Iglesia, pidió continuamente la desvinculación de esta con la causa de las monarquías, propuesta que no causó ninguna gracia entre los miembros de la curia romana.

Hacia 1829 este sacerdote llegó a pensar que la misión de los católicos, constituidos en una especie de tercer partido independiente del poder, era la de conquistar a los liberales, aliándose para lograr reivindicaciones comunes. Así, fundó en 1830 el periódico L'Avenir en el cual hizo su propuesta político religiosa, la cual resumía en: libertad de conciencia y de culto, de tal modo que el poder no se inmiscuyera en la enseñanza y el culto; libertad de prensa, libertad de educación, libertad de asociación intelectual, moral e industrial.

Lamennais consideraba como una fatalidad el alejamiento de la Iglesia de la ciencia - la cual estaba siendo considerada por los positivistas como lo único válido- aunque confiaba en que este alejamiento no sería definitivo y que más adelante se daría al fin la anhelada conciliación.

Estas ideas expuestas en su periódico fueron expandiéndose rápidamente, provocando debates no solo en Europa sino también en América. En lo que respecta a Francia, la actitud de Lamennais en contra del poder temporal provocó un conflicto con la autoridad civil. También recibió la condena de los obispos locales.

Así, para buscar apoyo, Lamennais marchó en 1831 hacia Roma, siendo mal recibido; para completar, a su regreso tuvo conocimiento de la encíclica Mirari Vos en la cual el papa Gregorio XVI condenaba ciertas tesis defendidas en L'Avenir, especialmente la libertad de prensa y la separación entre la Iglesia y el Estado.

Lamennais dio la impresión de someterse a esta condena; pero después se desahogó en su libro Palabras de un creyente en el cual, utilizando un estilo profético llamó a los pueblos oprimidos a rebelarse en nombre del evangelio. Predijo la muerte de la Iglesia romana, de cuyas cenizas se restablecería viva la Iglesia militante. En su papel de profeta creyó que Dios había cegado a Roma a propósito -como al Faraón Egipcio- para apresurar el desastre y hacer renacer la verdadera Iglesia. Poco después Gregorio XVI hizo una nueva condena del libro de Lamennais en la encíclica Singulari Nos (1834). Lamennais, atrincherado en su orgullo, abandonó el catolicismo romano.

Pese a los golpes y oposiciones, las ideas propiciadas por estos demás pioneros excedieron sus personas y se tradujo en un movimiento más general que la jerarquía eclesiástica no pudo proscribir por completo y que siguió desarrollando la idea de conciliar el dogma con el mundo moderno. Este movimiento no fue homogéneo, existiendo en su interior una diversidad de posiciones. Una de ellas fue el catolicismo liberal, que existió, como corriente de pensamiento y como movimiento político-religioso tanto en Europa como en América Latina.

Los católicos seguidores de esta corriente, sensibles a los valores auténticos del liberalismo, estaban dispuestos a abrirse a una concepción más moderna del hombre, más respetuosa de los derechos de la persona y más individualista; sin embargo eran temerosos de sus excesos. Consideraban al «mundo moderno» como una nueva época, aceptando sus instituciones y sus valores. Por lo tanto, creían necesario ir por delante y mostrarle a una Iglesia dispuesta a encarnarse en él.

La idea era cristianizar las instituciones liberales como lo había hecho en tiempos pasados con la civilización grecorromana, con el movimiento de autonomía de los municipios en el siglo XII, o con las aspiraciones humanistas del Renacimiento. No obstante, tuvieron que enfrentarse al creciente poderío del catolicismo tradicionalista y sobre todo, a una facción de este, el catolicismo intransigente, que atacaba cualquier intento de conciliación con el mundo moderno.

La coyuntura de la Revolución de 1848

Esta revolución, que sacudió por efecto dominó la mayor parte de los países de Europa, afectó suficientemente las distintas corrientes del catolicismo, al punto que decidió el declive de una de ellas: el catolicismo utópico, y provocó el debate candente —y a veces inmisericorde— entre las opciones liberal y tradicionalista.

Esta revolución agudizó la crisis de los católicos del continente europeo, respecto a la actitud a tomar frente al mundo moderno. ¿Podía admitirse, o debía rechazarse como intrínsecamente malo? ¿Era una situación irreversible o un mal que debía combatirse?

El Antiguo Régimen había comenzado con influencia de cristianos y concedía a la Iglesia un lugar en el corazón mismo de la vida nacional. En cambio, los promotores de un régimen político y social nuevo, apenas podían llegar a él, más que combatiendo la influencia de la institución eclesiástica católica y a veces, al mismo cristianismo.

Ese movimiento fue productivo en los países donde los católicos esperaban obtener libertad de acción (como en Alemania y Holanda). En ellos, la redacción de constituciones liberales y la declaración de libertad de cultos y libertad de asociación permitió a las minorías católicas, que hasta entonces permanecían incomunicadas con Roma, iniciar una nueva etapa de organización y crecimiento. En países como Italia, esta revolución favoreció los intereses que buscaban la alianza con el Trono.

En Francia y Bélgica, la Revolución favoreció los intereses de los católicos liberales, quienes, por primera vez, tuvieron una oportunidad para ser escuchados por la jerarquía eclesiástica; y es que la mayor parte de los obispos de estos países, o aceptaron los nuevos regímenes, o al menos, no se opusieron abiertamente.

Bastiones del catolicismo liberal

Los paladines de esta conciliación en Europa fueron siempre los laicos, quienes de acuerdo a las épocas y lugares, fueron recibiendo la «protección» de sus obispos, los cuales ayudaron a defender su causa frente a la institución eclesiástica y el papado. Los principales bastiones del catolicismo Liberal en las décadas de 1840 a 1870, fueron Francia y Bélgica. Las discusiones suscitadas en estos países fueron más recalcitrantes, consecuencia de la personalidad e influencia de sus protagonistas. Sin embargo, el problema subyacente, -relaciones Iglesia y mundo moderno- era demasiado fundamental como para no tener discusiones análogas en toda Europa occidental y los países latinoamericanos, obviamente, con los matices propios de cada lugar.

El más representativo exponente del catolicismo liberal fue Charles Montalembert (1810-1870). Antiguo discípulo de Lamennais, quiso contrarrestar la influencia de los intransigentes en los organismos de opinión, y buscar un mayor público para su propuesta. Por ello se hizo cargo, en 1855, de Le Correspondant, revista mensual que desde hacía más de 25 años predicaba la alianza entre la Iglesia Católica y la libertad. Bajo su dirección llegó a tener más de 3000 abonados, gracias a nuevos y antiguos aliados: Falloux, Foisset (piadoso magistrado de Dijon), Alberto de Broglie, Agustín Cochin, Lacordaire y Federico Le Play, entre otros.

Montalembert y el catolicismo liberal francés defendió con ahínco la libertad de la Iglesia en los regímenes liberales. Afirmaban que el catolicismo era una religión lo suficientemente fuerte y sólida como para necesitar del apoyo de monarcas y jefes de Estado. Montalembert fue el autor de la célebre exigencia que repitieron después obispos y laicos católicos en los distintos estados liberales: «La Iglesia libre en el Estado libre».

Esta corriente encontró un consejero y frecuentemente un jefe en monseñor Dupanloup, gran lector de los signos de los tiempos, que indicaban que el absolutismo y la monarquía eran cosa del pasado. Por ello no dejó de indignarse contra las diatribas intransigentes y promonarquistas que Veuillot y sus amigos lanzaban desde el periódico L'Univers.

El catolicismo liberal francés tuvo asimismo, adherentes en las grandes órdenes religiosas: en los dominicos, gracias a Fr. Enrique Lacordaire; en el Oratorio, alrededor del Padre Gratry; e incluso entre los jesuitas, con el Padre Ravignan. No obstante, siempre fue un grupo minoritario dentro del catolicismo francés. El catolicismo liberal fuera de Francia tuvo focos importantes en Bélgica, Suiza, Italia, Inglaterra y España.

En Bélgica, los núcleos católico-liberales fueron apoyados por los obispos y los canonistas de la Universidad de Lovaina, quienes, si bien no tenían mayores simpatías por la ideología liberal, eran muy conscientes de las ventajas concretas que ofrecían los regímenes democráticos, y la libertad de la Iglesia frente al Estado.

En Italia el catolicismo liberal tuvo que librar batallas menos polémicas hasta 1848, debido a que el país era más cristiano que Francia y la incredulidad apenas había entrado. Allí, el padre Antonio Rosmini fue un abanderado de la causa católica liberal a través del periódico Il Resorgimento. El núcleo de esta corriente se situaba en el norte de Italia, y pregonaban reformas del catolicismo en sus instituciones e incluso en sus dogmas. Después de 1848, cuando el papa decepcionó a los liberales interesados en la unidad italiana bajo su figura, los católicos liberales se convirtieron en propagadores de la independencia de los Estados Pontificios.

En Inglaterra, la meca del liberalismo económico, un grupo de católicos conversos (entre los cuales estaba John Henry Newman) fundó The Rambler con la intención de reaccionar ante la manifiesta inferioridad intelectual del catolicismo inglés frente a las demás confesiones de Inglaterra, abordando problemas de la cuestión moderna.

Se fueron lanza en ristre contra la pésima educación del clero católico, cuestionaban la actitud de los obispos, hasta que chocaron con el clero. Los prelados intervinieron para cerrar el periódico, haciendo ver que allí, como en todo el mundo católico, la institución eclesiástica no estaba preparada para admitir iniciativas por parte del laicado.

Al lado de estos grupos minoritarios, pero muy activos e influyentes, se encontraban los numerosos «católicos moderados», es decir, los liberales-católicos y los «inconscientemente liberales» en palabras de Mourain. Ellos abundaron después de 1860 en Europa, y estaban dispuestos a tomar y dejar la enseñanza oficial de la Iglesia en caso de que esta hiriera demasiado sus concepciones intelectuales o políticas. Este tipo de personas fue el que generalmente expuso el ideario católico liberal en los países latinoamericanos, muchas veces a nombre de un partido político.

Véase también
 Americanismo (herejía) (condena no vigente)
 Cristianismo liberal
 Cristianismo libertario
 Dignitatis humanae
 Centesimus annus

Enlaces externos
 Web oficial en francés

Referencias

Iglesia católica y sociedad
Liberalismo
Crítica a la Iglesia católica


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Q: Axis labels on invisible axes in matplotlib Is it possible to have a visible axis label on an invisble axis? I would like to plot 2 axes that have, apart from their own ylabels, also a common one:
import matplotlib
from matplotlib.pyplot import *

figure()

ax1 = axes([0.3, 0.2, 0.4, 0.2]); ylabel("Label 1")
ax2 = axes([0.3, 0.5, 0.4, 0.2]); ylabel("Label 2")

ax_common = axes([0.2, 0.2, 0.5, 0.5], zorder=-10)
xticks([]); yticks([])
ylabel("Common", fontsize="x-large")

savefig("out.png")

The code above produces this plot:
out.png
Is there a way to remove axis lines? If I add ax_common.set_axis_off(), the axes and the ylabel is removed. Do I have to create a text label instead, without create the additional axes?

A: Do this:
ax_common.set_frame_on(False)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Exposure to pollution in Hong Kong is worst in the home, study reveals
by Editor.
It's not just on the city's streets where we are at risk from dangerous PM2.5 particulates – three-quarters of daily personal exposure is indoors
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2097540/exposure-pollution-hong-kong-worst-home-study
Your home may be your refuge in Hong Kong, but not from air pollution. It's probably worse.
Exposure to PM2.5 particulates small enough to lodge deep in the lungs and most harmful to human health have been found to be just as high – or higher – inside people's homes as they are outdoors or during the commute to work on an average weekday.
A two-year study by think tank Civic Exchange and City University, funded by investment bank Morgan Stanley, found that most urban dwellers are exposed to concentrations of PM2.5 during their daily commute that are almost always above average limits set by the World Health Organisation, and generally above readings at the nearest air quality monitoring station.
Breathe easier, Hong Kong is on course to hit global air pollution target
While the Environmental Protection Department's 16 stations can monitor and assess ambient and roadside air quality across districts, the study fills a relatively wide gap in statistics on individual-level exposure to pollution in different "micro-environments".
Co-author Dr Zhi Ning reported finding that people were exposed to air pollution risks not just outdoors but also indoors at home or the office.
"Your 24 hours are spent in different environments," the City University air pollution expert said. "You may think that even if its very polluted outside, you are more safe inside. But it really depends on what that indoor environment is like."
The researchers employed 73 volunteers who carried lunchbox-sized "personal exposure kits" fitted with sensors and GPS, 24 hours a day for a year around the city.
They found that most spent more than 85 per cent of each weekday indoors, which broke down to 42 per cent of the day at home, 34 per cent in the office, 4 per cent commuting and 11 per cent outdoors or in other indoor areas.
Homes were found to contribute 52 per cent of an individual's personal exposure to PM2.5 compared with 13 per cent for offices, 4 per cent while commuting, 18 per cent outdoors and 14 per cent in other indoor areas.
The average PM2.5 concentration measured in homes – 42.5 micrograms per cubic metre – was three to four times lower than outdoors but slightly higher than while commuting and three times higher than in the office.
Factors for the PM2.5 build up in homes, Ning surmised, could range from cooking and the type of gas used to proximity to a construction site or smoking tobacco. And this was exacerbated by poor ventilation and dirty air filters. Offices tended to have better ventilation systems. Flats on lower floors were also exposed to more pollution.
But Ning found little correlation between personal exposure and district pollution. A person who spent more time in better ventilated indoor areas in heavily polluted Sham Shui Po, for example, could have a lower exposure to PM2.5 than the station reading and vice versa.
"Right now we only rely on [the department's] data but they only provide a general, ballpark figure," Civic Exchange research fellow and co-author Simon Ng Ka-wing said.
"It is important to know how much air pollution we are exposed to on a personal level. This would allow us to make better decisions as to when to go or not to go somewhere."
The study recommended the government do more to promote better indoor air quality in homes and implement a comprehensive management programme.
A government spokesman said: "The EPD has been conducting promotional and educational activities, including exhibitions and seminars, to promote practices to achieve good indoor air quality."
Additional reporting by Brian Wong
Causeway Bay has worst air in Hong Kong, statistics show
District exceeded the WHO's limit on the concentration of small particulates in the air on 227 days of 2016
http://www.atimes.com/article/causeway-bay-worst-air-hong-kong-statistics-show/
Causeway Bay, on Hong Kong Island, had the poorest air in the city in 2016, followed by Tuen Mun in the New Territories West and Mong Kok in Kowloon, according to chief of the city's Environment Bureau, citing from analyses by the Environmental Protection Department.
Secretary for the Environment Wong Kam-sing made a written reply to the Legislative Council on Wednesday regarding concern over high-level air pollution in Hong Kong.
The World Health Organization's guidelines state that the concentration of small particulates PM2.5 over a 24-hour period should not exceed 25 micrograms per cubic metre.
In 2016, Causeway Bay exceeded the limit on 227 days of the year, while for Tuen Mun and Mong Kok the numbers were 173 days and 171 days respectively. Other locations in Hong Kong monitored by the government averaged 100 days.
Pollution from the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong Province and tropical cyclones are often blamed for Hong Kong's poor air quality.
Over 80% of high pollution days were said to be caused by the downdraught effect of tropical cyclones, which results in the accumulation of ozone and fine suspended particulates in the Pearl River Delta. Wong explained that the pollutants are then brought to the city by westerly or northwesterly winds.
India reported 1.1 million deaths due to air pollution in 2015, says a global study
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/environment/pollution/india-reported-1-1-million-deaths-due-to-air-pollution-in-2015-says-a-global-study/printarticle/57145119.cms
The government here may be in denial mode on linking premature deaths to air pollution, but a new study on global air pollution by the US-based institutes claims that the India's worsening air pollution caused some 1.1 million premature deaths in 2015 and the country now "rivals China for among the highest air pollution health burdens in the world."
The special report on 'global exposure to air pollution and its disease burden', released on Tuesday, noted that the number of premature deaths in China caused by dangerous fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, has stabilised in recent years but has risen sharply in India.
It also said that both the countries together were responsible for over half of the total global attributable deaths while India had registered an alarming increase of nearly 50% in premature deaths from particulate matter between 1990 and 2015.
Besides data analysis on air pollution, the report also carries an interactive website on the issue highlighting that 92% of the world's population lives in the areas with unhealthy air.
"We are seeing increasing air pollution problems worldwide, and this new report and website details why that air pollution is a major contributor to early death," said Dan Greenbaum, President of the Health Effects Institute (HEI), the global research institute that designed and implemented the study.
He said, "The trends we report show that we have seen progress in some parts of the world – but serious challenges remain."
The State of Global Air 2017 is the first of a new series of annual reports and accompanying interactive website, designed and implemented by the Health Effects Institute in cooperation with the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington and the University of British Columbia.
The IHME is an independent population health research center that publishes the annual Global Burden of Diseases — a systematic scientific effort to quantify the magnitude of health loss from all major diseases, injuries, and risk factors in populations across the world. Its results are published every year in The Lancet medical journal.
"Although there are many parts of the world where air pollution has grown worse, there has also been improvement in the US and Europe. The US Clean Air Act and actions by the European Commission have made substantial progress in reducing people exposed to PM pollution since 1990," said a statement issued by the HEI.
Referring to the study, it said, "The US has experienced a reduction of about 27% in average annual population exposures to fine particulate matter with smaller declines in Europe. Yet some 88,000 Americans and 258,000 Europeans still face increased risks of dying early due to PM levels today".
The report noted that the highest concentrations of combustion-related fine particulate matter were in South and Southeast Asia, China and Central and Western Sub-Saharan Africa in 2015 where household solid fuel use, coal-fired power plants, transportation, and open burning of agricultural and other wastes were among the most important contributors to outdoor air pollution.
"The Global Burden of Disease leads a growing worldwide consensus – among the WHO, World Bank, International Energy Agency and others – that air pollution poses a major global public health challenges," said Bob O'Keefe, Vice President of HEI and Chair of Clean Air Asia.
He said, "Nowhere is that risk more evident than in the rapidly growing economies of Asia."
The study finds that increasing exposure and a growing and aging population have meant that India now rivals China for among the highest air pollution health burdens in the world, with both countries facing some 1.1 million early deaths from air pollution in 2015.
It said the long-term exposure to fine particulate matter — the most significant element of air pollution — contributed to 4.2 million premature deaths and to a loss of 103 million healthy years of life in 2015, making air pollution the 5th highest cause of death among all health risks, including smoking, diet, and high blood pressure.
India has, however, always been sceptical of such reports. Though the government here did never deny the negative impact of air pollution on human healths, it preferred not to speak about numbers.
Even recently during Budget session of the Parliament, the government had on February 6 said that there was no conclusive data to link deaths exclusively with air pollution. It, however, admitted that the air pollution could be one of the triggering factors for respiratory ailments and diseases.
"There is no conclusive data available in the country to establish direct co-relationship of death exclusively with air pollution. Health effects of air pollution are synergistic manifestation of factors which include food habits, occupational habits, socio-economic status, medical history, immunity, heredity etc. of the individuals," said the country's environment minister Anil Madhav Dave.
Dave, in his written response to a Parliament question in Rajya Sabha, had said, "Air pollution could be one of the triggering factors for respiratory associated ailments and diseases."
Hong Kong's official air quality index failing to warn on deadly health hazard
Paul Stapleton warns that the Air Quality Health Index is creating a false sense of security by consistently failing to consider dangerous levels of PM2.5, the fine particulate matter associated with lung disease
Each morning after waking up, I look out of the window at the clarity of the air and then check two websites that give air pollution readings for Hong Kong.
Admittedly, my first action is very subjective. Air clarity is a crude way to measure pollution levels, especially during months that tend to be foggy. This is why I check the indexes on those two sites. Then, I decide whether to go out for a jog or stay indoors on the treadmill.
One of the websites is run by the Environmental Protection Department. It makes air-quality forecasts and generates a real-time Air Quality Health Index [2] scaled from 1 to 10+, or "low" to "serious". The other site is the reputable World Air Quality Index (aqicn.org) [3], which measures only particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5), one-thirtieth the width of a human hair.
These microscopic particles that just hang in the air are known to penetrate deep into our lungs when we breathe. They mostly come from vehicle exhausts, the burning of coal to make electricity and other industrial activities.
They are also known to be hazardous to health, especially of children; PM2.5 is associated with lung diseases, including cancer, as well as cardiovascular disease.
During the past week, the air pollution forecast on the local TV news each day, presumably taken from the government service, was for "low" to "medium" levels. However, at the World Air Quality Index, PM2.5 levels have been in excess of 100 for several days running. The US Environmental Protection Agency puts the 24-hour and annual standard for PM2.5 at 35 and 15 respectively. Thus, on days when Hong Kong's Environmental Protection Department was informing the public that the level of air pollution was forecast to be low to medium, the amount of PM2.5 – arguably the mostly deadly pollutant – exceeded safe levels by a big margin.
In defence of the Air Quality Health Index, many other pollutants, such as ozone, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, are included in its composite measure, and their levels may have been "low". However, even if their levels are low and only the PM2.5 is high, that does not mean it is safe to be outdoors for extended periods, especially for young children whose lungs are particularly prone to damage [6] by pollutants in the air.
Unfortunately, the discrepancy I noticed this past week is not an isolated incident. Regularly, the index forecasts the level of air pollution in Hong Kong to be "low to moderate" on the following day when the PM2.5 reading turns out to be at levels much higher than that acceptable by international standards. Sadly, the government's daily forecast lends a false sense of security about air quality. In the end, it may be best to look out of the window and judge for oneself.
Paul Stapleton is an associate professor at the Education University of Hong Kong
Source URL: http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2061239/hong-kongs-official-air-quality-index-failing-warn-deadly
Hong Kong enjoys a breath of fresh air but it's not enough to meet annual quality goals
Lower concentrations of harmful pollutants were recorded last year but roadside-dominant nitrogen dioxide remains a headache for the city
Lower concentrations of harmful pollutants were recorded last year, including the tiny particulates that can penetrate deep into the lungs – but roadside- dominant nitrogen dioxide remains a headache for the city, with most figures failing annual air quality targets.
And while ambient concentrations of hazardous ozone fell for the second consecutive year, they are proving stubbornly hard to cut having increased 15 per cent since 1999.
The preliminary air quality data for 2016 was released by the Environmental Protection Department yesterday.
At roadsides, concentrations of respirable suspended particulates (PM10) dropped by 15 per cent, fine suspended particulates (PM2.5) by 12 per cent, and sulphur dioxide
(SO2) by 10 per cent.
Similar drops were recorded at general stations. Fewer hours and days of high health risk air were recorded at both ambient and roadside stations last year.
But although roadside concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) – a product of fuel combustion – fell by 17 per cent, the average annual concentration of 82 micrograms per cubic metre of air was still more than double the annual air quality objective target of just 40.
All three roadside monitoring stations also fell short of the air quality objectives for acceptable annual NO2 levels last year.
"Roadside NO2 remains a very big challenge as reduction technologies available now are not that sophisticated," assistant director of air policy Mok Wai-chuen said.
He believed improvements in particulate pollution were a result of policy measures such as an ongoing scheme to phase out old diesel commercial vehicles progressively and new laws requiring ships at berth to switch to low- sulphur fuel.
"This proves our policies to tackle particulate matter have been effective," he said, adding that other measures such as tightening emission controls are being looked at.
Mok claimed the most severely polluted days were a result of ozone, a regional problem, either from pollution blowing in from the Pearl River Delta or meteorological
conditions such as tropical cyclones.
Ozone is formed through a reaction of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the air and under sunlight. It is a main component of photochemical smog – which gives a dusk sky a lurid, orange tint – and at elevated levels, can cause or aggravate respiratory diseases.
Asked if the toxic smog plaguing northern China could have drifted south, he said "it could not be ruled out" but "was of low possibility".
The Clean Air Network's Loong Tsz-wai said Mok's meteorological explanations diverted attention from the most pressing issue, which was roadside pollution and the
"uncontrolled growth" of road vehicles.
"Most of our exposure to bad air is at roadside," he said. "NO2 concentrations may be going down but the effectiveness of exhaust pipe policies could be easily offset over the years if the number of private cars is not curbed."
Wang Tao, chair professor of atmospheric environment at Polytechnic University, said the increase in regional ozone had indeed slowed since 2013, but not fallen. More control of precursors, such as VOC and NOX, were needed on both sides of the border, he said.
Source URL: http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/healthenvironment/article/2059691/hong-kong-enjoys-breath-fresh-air-its-not-enough
World's Worst Air Has Mongolians Seeing Red, Planning Action
Dec 23rd, 2016
If you think air pollution in China has been bad, just look at Mongolia.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-22/world-s-worst-air-has-mongolians-seeing-red-planning-protest
Levels of particulate matter in the air have risen to almost 80 times the recommended safety level set by the World Health Organization — and five times worse than Beijing during the past week's bout with the worst smog of the year.
Mongolian power plants working overtime during the frigid winter belch plumes of soot into the atmosphere, while acrid smoke from coal fires shrouds the shantytowns of the capital, Ulaanbaatar, in a brown fog. Angry residents planned a protest, organized on social media, on Dec. 26.
The level of PM2.5, or fine particulate matter, in the air as measured hourly peaked at 1,985 micrograms a cubic meter on Dec. 16 in the capital's Bayankhoshuu district, according to data posted by government website agaar.mn. The daily average settled at 1,071 micrograms that day.
The World Health Organization recommends PM2.5 exposure of no more than 25 micrograms over 24 hours.
In Beijing, the year's worst bout of noxious smog prompted officials to issue the year's first red alert and order 1,200 factories to close or cut output. Earlier this week, PM2.5 levels exceeded 400 in the capital, and Chinese officials on Tuesday canceled 351 flight departures because of limited visibility. The highest daily average in the past week, on Wednesday, registered 378. Worse, the PM2.5 reading in Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei, exceeded 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter earlier this week, according to the China National Environment Monitoring Center.
Mongolia's contracting economic growth and a widening budget gap have left authorities few resources to fight the dangerous smog.
Tariff Eliminated
After first cutting the nighttime electricity tariff by 50 percent to encourage residents to heat their homes with electric heaters instead of raw coal or other flammable material that is often toxic, Prime Minister Erdenebat Jargaltulga announced Friday that the tariff would eliminated entirely as of Jan. 1. Longer term, he proposed building apartments to replace makeshift housing using a loan from China, doing more to encourage electric heating, and reducing poverty to slow migration to the capital, according to a government statement.
The conversion of ger districts, where hundreds of thousands of people live in makeshift homes including tents, into apartment complexes has so far been stymied by an economic crisis that has pushed the government to seek economic lifelines from partners including the International Monetary Fund and China.
On Wednesday, Defense Minister Bat-Erdene Badmaanyambuu announced that a 50-bed wing of Ulaanbaatar's military hospital will open up for children with pneumonia, as city hospitals were filled to capacity, according to a statement on the government's website.
Public Anger
Public anger over the government's handling of pollution has been growing on social media, where residents share pictures of the smog, encourage methods of protection and call on the government to do more to protect citizens. The latest trend Friday had Mongolians changing their profile pictures on Facebook to show themselves wearing air pollution masks.
The air pollution protest next week was being organized for Sukhbaatar Square, the capital's central plaza. A crowdfunding campaign to purchase 100 air purifiers for hospitals and schools raised more than $1,400 in five days.
"The hospital I visited today did not have any air purifiers, even though 40 mothers were scattered along a narrow corridor, each with a sick baby in their arms," Onon Bayasgalan, an environmentalist who organized the crowdfunding campaign, said Thursday. "They sleep on fold out cots in the corridors, as the hospital rooms are full of pneumonia cases.''
Impending Crisis
Earlier this month, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned of an impending crisis if the smoke levels are not reduced, calling children under 5 and those still in the womb the most vulnerable.
"Children are projected to suffer from unprecedented levels of chronic respiratory disease later in life," the UNICEF report said, warning of the rising economic costs of these diseases unless "major new measures" are urgently enacted. "The alarming levels of air pollution in Ulaanbaatar during the long winter cannot be neglected any longer, as their short- and long-term negative health impact has been demonstrated, especially for children.''
A 2013 study by Canada's Simon Fraser University concluded that 10 percent of deaths in Ulaanbaatar were related to complications from air pollution.
"Most of my colleagues' children are hospitalized or at home struggling with respiratory problems,'' Lhagva Erdene, news director at Mongol TV station, said in an e-mail. "We feel helpless and frustrated for the inaction of our government.''
Neither the ministers for foreign affairs nor the environment replied to requests for comment.
Byambasaikhan Bayanjargal, who heads the Business Council of Mongolia in the capital, said he and his family try to stay indoors as much as possible and spend weekends outside the city.
"There have been shifting policies, and that is frustrating," he said. "There needs to be consistent policy and stability so businesses can find solutions to this problem.''
Friday's PM2.5 levels in northern Ulaanbaatar peaked at 932 at noon, while the monthly average for December so far was 518. Meanwhile in Beijing, where the government lifted its pollution warning Thursday, skies were clear and air quality improved.
New watered-down EU air pollution targets
Oct 3rd, 2016
Compared to the Commission's proposal, the relaxed targets finally agreed by member states and parliament will result in thousands of additional cases of premature death.
http://airclim.org/acidnews/new-watered-down-eu-air-pollution-targets
On 30 June, the last day of the Dutch EU Presidency, the Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on a new National Emission Ceilings (NEC) directive.
The new directive establishes national limits for the emissions of five pollutants: sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC), ammonia and fine particulate matter (PM2.5). The limits are set as binding National Emission Reduction Commitments (NERC), expressed as percentage reductions from the base year 2005.
The NERCs for 2020 to 2029 are identical to those to which the member states are already committed in the revised Gothenburg protocol under the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution. Since these limits in many cases allow emissions that are even higher that what is expected to result from countries implementing already adopted legislation, they have widely been criticised for their weakness.
More importantly, new stricter NERCs from 2030 have now been agreed. These are set to reduce the health impacts of air pollution by 49.6 per cent in 2030, compared to 2005. While the Commission and the Parliament aimed for an ambition level that would result in a 52 per cent reduction in premature deaths from air pollution, the Council (i.e. the member states) argued for a significantly less ambitious target of 48 per cent. The compromise now agreed has been estimated to result in some 10,000 additional annual premature deaths in 2030, on top of more than a quarter of a million annual premature deaths that are expected to remain if the Commission's proposal was to be implemented.
Looking at the specific NERCs for each member state, and comparing these with the Commission's proposal, it was agreed to lower 79 of the 140 targets for 2030, while agreeing to keep 40 at the level proposed by the Commission, and setting more ambitious targets in just 21 cases (see Table).
At the bottom of the league among member states we find Bulgaria, Greece and Romania, who have all chosen to weaken their NERCs for all five pollutants, while Austria, Denmark, Italy, Poland and the UK lowered targets for four of the pollutants.
In contrast, Finland accepted all its targets, closely followed by Belgium, France and Sweden, which stick to four out of the five targets. As icing on the cake, Finland has opted for a tougher target for ammonia, and Sweden has opted for tougher targets for both sulphur dioxide and PM2.5.
For the EU as a whole, ammonia and NMVOC are the pollutants for which the ambition level has been downgraded the most, by six percentage points. This outcome for ammonia is particularly remarkable as the emission cuts achieved so far for this pollutant have been very modest compared to those for the other pollutants, especially considering that the proposed reduction target for 2030 was much less ambitious than for the other pollutants.
Member states managed to remove the ozone precursor methane completely from the directive, despite objections from the Parliament and the Commission. Here, the industrial farming lobby was instrumental in pushing through both the drastically lowered ambition for ammonia and the removal of methane.
Moreover, member states succeeded in introducing a variety of additional flexibilities in order to make it easier for them to comply. While the Commission had already included three flexibilities in its proposal, five more have now been added to the final text. Environmental organisations have strongly criticised these flexibilities, claiming that they will result in higher emissions; delayed reductions; more avoidable deaths and environmental damage; more unnecessary administration; and an unenforceable directive.
Because of the lax 2020 targets, and to better ensure that countries really are on track to meet their 2030 NERCs, the Parliament had also pushed for binding targets for the intermediate year 2025. The Commission's proposal included only indicative (i.e. non-binding) targets for that year. Here, member states succeeded in watering down even the already weak Commission proposal, so that now there are only vague guiding figures for 2025.
Commenting on the outcome, Louise Duprez, senior air quality policy officer at the EEB, said: "EU action to cut air pollution is welcome and will help Europeans breathe more easily. But all in all this is a missed opportunity that will still leave tens of thousands of citizens exposed to avoidable air pollution. The Parliament and the Commission were defeated by member states, including the UK, France, Italy, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria, which preferred to allow industry and agriculture to carry on polluting rather than focusing attention on measures to save people's lives."
On 12 July, the Parliament 's environment committee voted to support the provisional NEC deal, with 43 votes in favour and 14 against. Before it comes into force, the NEC proposal will go to the Parliament for a vote in plenary in November, and after that the Council will need to officially endorse the text.
Christer Ågren
Table: Country-by-country national emission reduction commitments (NERC) for 2030 in per cent as compared to the base year 2005. Left column shows the Commission's proposal, as adjusted in early 2015; Right column shows the final outcome, as agreed on 30 June 2016.
OECD warns of rising costs of air pollution
Outdoor air pollution could cause up to nine million premature deaths a year by 2060 and cost US$ 3.3 trillion annually as a result of sick days, healthcare expenditure and reduced agricultural output, unless action is taken.
http://airclim.org/acidnews/oecd-warns-rising-costs-air-pollution
In 2010, outdoor air pollution caused more than three million premature deaths worldwide, with elderly people and children most vulnerable. New projections presented in an OECD report "The Economic Consequences of Outdoor Air Pollution" imply a doubling, or even tripling, of premature deaths from particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3) – or one premature death every four or five seconds – by 2060.
The projected increase in concentrations of PM2.5 and ozone will result in significant economic costs to society. The direct market impact of air pollution in terms of lower worker productivity due to illness, higher spending on health care, and lower crop yields, could exceed US$ 3,000 billion annually by 2060, equal to one per cent of GDP. For example, between now and 2060, the number of annual work days lost to air-pollution-related illness is expected to jump from 1.2 to 3.7 billion.
These estimates of economic market impacts do not however reflect the true costs of air pollution because shortening of people's lives and pain and suffering from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases do not really have a market price. The OECD has therefore also estimated the non-market welfare costs by using economic studies on how people value their health and how much they would be prepared to pay to reduce the health risks, i.e. by introducing policies and measures that would cut air pollutant emissions.
Based on this data, the current (2015) annual global welfare costs of mortality and morbidity from outdoor air pollution are estimated at US$ 3,440 billion, and by 2060 they would amount to between US$ 20,000 and 27,000 billion a year (see table).
Table: Total global welfare costs of air pollution (billions US$)
It should be noted that air pollution damage to ecosystems, biodiversity and our cultural heritage has not been assigned any monetary value and is therefore not included in these economic estimates.
According to the projections, the biggest rises in air pollution mortality rates are expected in India, China, Korea and Central Asian countries, where rising populations and congested cities mean more people are exposed to high levels of pollution. The premature death rates are forecast to be up to three times higher in 2060 than in 2010 in China and up to four times higher in India. Mortality rates are however seen to be stabilising in the United States and falling in much of Western Europe thanks in part to efforts to move to cleaner energy and transport.
Projected GDP losses will be biggest in China, Russia, India, Korea and countries in Eastern Europe and the Caspian region, as health costs and lower labour productivity hit output.
"The number of lives cut short by air pollution is already terrible and the potential rise in the next few decades is terrifying," said OECD Environment Director Simon Upton. "If this is not motivation enough to act, this report shows there will also be a heavy economic cost to not taking action. We must prevent these projections from becoming reality."
"It is time for governments to stop fussing about the costs of efforts to limit air pollution and start worrying about the much larger costs of allowing it to continue unchecked. Their citizens' lives are in their hands," concluded Simon Upton.
Something in the air: Is Hong Kong's pollution problem worsening?
Sep 21st, 2016
https://www.timeout.com/hong-kong/blog/something-in-the-air-is-hong-kongs-pollution-problem-worsening-092116
The government is trumpeting recent figures that show air pollution is significantly decreasing but is the news as good as it sounds? And what other forms of pollution should Hongkongers worry about?
Christie Tse and Joyce Au find out
"See the people walking by right now? Leisurely walking past, enjoying life, breathing the fresh air?" asks Dr Bob Tsui, vicechairman of NGO Clear The Air, as he points out his office window overlooking the streets of Jordan. You are being 'attacked through your eyes, your cornea, your nostrils, your mouth and your skin" all the time, he follows up. As you're reading this, tiny deadly pollution particles called magnetites are slowly moving up your nostrils, penetrating your brain tissue, nervous system and lungs. In a crowded, polluted city like Hong Kong, your body is constantly under attack, every second of every day according to Dr Tsui.
According to government statistics, though, air pollution has been decreasing for several years now. The Environmental Protection Department reckons that between 2011 and 2015, average concentrations of PM10, PM2.5, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide at roadside monitoring stations fell by 26 percent, 21 percent, 19 percent and 33 percent, respectively. The figures sound impressive and the government has been running adverts on TV trumpeting its success at clearing the air.
However, all is not rosy. Recent studies conducted by scientists in Mexico City have discovered a correlation between 100 and 200 nanometer magnetites released through the exhaust pipes of taxis and buses and the development of Alzheimer's disease. This new information has sparked concern in the local scientific community since roadside pollution remains one of the leading causes of air pollution in our jam-packed city. "In the past 20 years, Hong Kong has not once met its own Air Quality Index standard or that of the World Health Organisation's," exclaims Patrick Fung, CEO of NGO Clean Air Network. Paul Zimmerman, Southern District councillor, believes this is unforgiveable, as 'it's almost like violence is around you the whole time', he tells us.
And that's not the half of it. You may think you can avoid pollution by simply turning recluse and staying at home, but you'd be very wrong.
Studies conducted at the University of Hong Kong reveal that our own kitchens discharge carcinogenic particles into the air every time food is made with vegetable oil. Dr Tsui states that vegetable oil is 'the most dangerous oil you can use' since it contributes to air pollution. Clear The Air has published an article that details the process by which vegetable oil, when subjected to high temperatures, oxidises into cancer causing chemicals. "People wonder how they get sick because they eat well all their lives," Dr Tsui remarks, "but they don't realise they're constantly surrounded by these cancerous particles."
The worst part of all of this is that the toxic kitchen discharge is completely preventable. According to Dr Tsui, the government has the ability and resources to go into restaurants and check their deep friers for dangerous particles.
"It's a simple test strip and they can do it very easily," he tells us. "But I have made this announcement for years and the government has not taken any action!" By placing steam jet filters in the kitchen stove, the carcinogenic particles could be released into water. This wouldn't contaminate the water, according to Dr Tsui, because by the time the dangerous particles pass through the filter and hit the water, many things happen chemically to make the particles no longer harmful.
And cooking oil and air pollution are not the only worries we need have in Hong Kong. After the waves of rubbish that washed up on our beaches over the summer, Hongkongers should be acutely aware of the problem of landfill. Around 30 percent of landfill is made of Styrofoam and in 500 years, that same Styrofoam will still not have decomposed. What's worse, Styrofoam is mainly composed of styrene, an extremely dangerous chemical that has been linked to cancer, vision and hearing loss, impaired memory and concentration, damage to the nervous systems and depression. "Styrene is dangerous," Dr Tsui declares. "Styrene is vicious. Styrene should not exist in the food chain and yet, every restaurant [in Hong Kong] today still uses Styrofoam takeout boxes." Worryingly, when we eat hot food or drink hot liquid from Styrofoam plates, boxes or cups, it's possible for us to consume the styrene that leaches out of the hazardous material.
Once we've ingested these dangerous chemicals, they can swim into our bloodstreams, penetrate our organs and cause irrevocable damage to our bodies. Even Styrofoam that's out in the ocean can ultimately affect us since when marine life, such as fish, consume it, styrene enters the food chain and eventually, Dr Tsui believes, 'we'll eat the darn thing'.
Dr Tsui asks: "How can the government be so blind and be so idiotic to allow this to go on?" Just as toxic kitchen discharges are preventable, so too is the use of Styrofoam. Not just in the food industry but all industries. Instead of using Styrofoam boxes for takeaway meals, companies should start using biodegradable containers, Clear The Air advocates. This minor innovation is also very much within the grasp of companies' capabilities. Fibre generated from corn can be made to make the boxes and then coated in honey wax. Best of all, these resources are biodegradable.
Another solution that the government and corporations can consider implementing, according to Clear The Air, is changing the original chemical composition used to make Styrofoam. The government could order corporations to put titanium dioxide polymers in the Styrofoam so that once the material is dumped on landfill or into the ocean and exposed to UV light, the Styrofoam will disintegrate into carbon dioxide and water, which equates to less harmful pollution.
There are many little things we can do to contribute to a more environmentally friendly society, such as switching off the lights when we leave a room, turning off the air conditioner when we leave the house, adding insulated panels to our windows and attaching solar panels to our roofs. The list is endless. But while every little helps, these changes are too-little-too-late because, ultimately, it is up to our local authority to enact the kind of legislative reform required to make a real difference. As Dr Tsui so clearly puts it: "No matter how rich or how poor you are, you are subjected to this kind of invisible attack. The government needs to stop with the [political games] and start working on practical solutions to eradicate pollution-induced cancer."
Unfortunately, when it comes to asking the government for help, every issue seems like an urgent matter. Compared to global threats such as deadly diseases like the zika virus or even more mundane local issues like affordable housing, the largely invisible problem of pollution is all too often pushed to the bottom of the list of priorities.
The public, not just the government, underestimate the drastic consequences of air contamination since the effects are not as apparent as many other similarly pressing matters. But pollution is an urgent problem because it surrounds us all. It's in the air we breathe, the places we walk and the supposedly safe confines of our own homes. We live and breathe pollution whether we like it or not, so it's about time we paid attention.
For more information visit cleartheair.org.hk.
Air pollution causes wrinkles and premature ageing, new research shows
Toxic fumes may be the primary cause of skin ageing in polluted cities such as London, New York and Beijing, scientists say
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/15/air-pollution-causes-wrinkles-and-premature-ageing-new-research-shows
Air pollution is prematurely ageing the faces of city dwellers by accelerating wrinkles and age spots, according to emerging scientific research.
The effects of toxic fumes on skin are being seen in both western cities, such as London and New York, as well as in more visibly polluted Asian cities and in some cases may be the primary cause of ageing. The pollution is also being linked to worsening skin conditions such as eczema and hives.
The scientific discoveries are now driving the world's biggest cosmetics companies to search for solutions, including medicine-like compounds that directly block the biological damage. But doctors warn that some common skin care routines, such as scrubs, make the damage from air pollution even worse.
Poisonous air is already known to cause millions of early deaths from lung and heart diseases and has been linked to diabetes and mental health problems. But perhaps its most visible impact, the damage caused to skin, is just beginning to be understood.
"With traffic pollution emerging as the single most toxic substance for skin, the dream of perfect skin is over for those living and working in traffic-polluted areas unless they take steps to protect their skin right now," said Dr Mervyn Patterson, a cosmetic doctor at Woodford Medical clinics in the UK.
"Unless people do more they will end up wearing the pollution on their faces in 10 years' time. It is definitely something people now need to take seriously."
Prof Jean Krutmann, director at the Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine in Germany, said: "UV [damage from the sun] was really the topic in skin protection for the last 20-30 years. Now I think air pollution has the potential to keep us busy for the next few decades."
Air pollution in urban areas, much of which comes from traffic, includes tiny particles called PMs, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and chemicals such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). "What is very clear is that PMs are a problem for skin," said Krutmann, whose work has shown PMs increase age spots and wrinkles.
But one of the his newest studies showed NO2 also increases ageing. They studied people in both Germany and China and discovered that age spots on their cheeks increased by 25% with a relatively small increase in pollution, 10 microgrammes of NO2 per cubic metre. Many parts of the UK have illegally high levels of NO2, with London breaking its annual limit in the first week of 2016, with levels reaching over 200 microgrammes of NO2 per cubic metre.
Krutmann said other factors, such as UV exposure, nutrition and smoking contribute to ageing: "But what we can say is that, at least for the pigment spots on the cheeks, it seems air pollution is the major driver."
"It is not a problem that is limited to China or India – we have it in Paris, in London, wherever you have larger urban agglomerations you have it," he said. "In Europe everywhere is so densely populated and the particles are being distributed by the wind, so it is very difficult to escape from the problem."
The accelerated skin ageing was seen in relatively young people and Patterson said: "If you are seeing these changes in middle age, these are worrying trends."
Other recent research is summed up in a review paper in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Science, which concluded: "Prolonged or repetitive exposure to high levels of these [air] pollutants may have profound negative effects on the skin."
Understanding exactly how air pollution causes the skin damage is at an early stage, according to Krutmann: "We are just now dipping into the mechanisms." But many of the pollutants are known to pass easily through the skin and cause a variety of impacts.
"These agents have a very irritating effect and once they get into the skin, they activate multiple pathways of inflammation," said Patterson. "Some pathways ignite the melanocytes, which create far too much pigment and end up giving you unwanted sun spots."
"Other pathways ignite messengers that make blood vessels grow, that's what results in increased redness and potentially rosacea," he said. "Also, if you damage skin, it goes into repair mode and excites enzymes which re-adsorb damaged collagen. When you have too much chronic inflammation, these enzymes remove more collagen than your skin can create. This produces skin laxity and that's where fine lines and wrinkles come in."
Dr Debra Jaliman, a skin expert based in New York City, says her patients are now worrying about the impact of air pollution on their skin, which she said can cause darkening of the skin and acne-like eruptions, as well as ageing.
"At the moment, there are not many products for prevention [of air pollution damage], however it may be a trend in the coming years as it becomes a much bigger issue," she said.
Major beauty companies have begun their own research and are launching the first products formulated to battle skin damage from toxic air. Dr Frauke Neuser, senior scientist for Olay, a Procter and Gamble brand, has run studies showing significantly lower skin hydration in people living in polluted areas and lab studies showing that diesel fumes and PMs cause inflammation in skin cells.
Her team then screened for ingredients that could counteract some of the damaging effects. "We found niacinamide – vitamin B3 – to be particularly effective," she said. "We have recently increased its level in several products by as much as 40%."
Frauke's work has also shown direct correlations between spikes in PM air pollution in Beijing and an increase in hospital visits by people with skin conditions including hives. "This indicates that not only skin ageing but also skin health are affected by air pollution," she said.
L'Oreal, another cosmetics giant, published a medical study in 2015 showing that eczema and hives were more common in people in Mexico exposed to higher levels of air pollution, a conclusion supported by separate research in Canada. "The next step is to understand more deeply the environment-induced damages, in order to develop skin ageing prevention routines and products," said Dr Steve Shiel, scientific director at L'Oreal.
Clinique, a big makeup brand, has already launched a sonic face cleansing brush it claims better removes pollution. "This [air pollution] is not going to go away. This is not a problem that is easily fixed," said Janet Pardo at Clinique.
However, researchers are now working on medicine-like compounds that block the damage from air pollution from occurring in the first place. Krutmann's lab helped Symrise, one of the world's biggest suppliers of cosmetics ingredients, identify one, though the lab has no commercial stake in the product, which is called SymUrban.
"We found one molecule that can do the job," he said, and it is now being registered as cosmetic ingredient. "In a few years from now I expect we will see cosmetic products that can specifically protect against skin ageing from air pollution."
Patterson said it is possible for people to give themselves some protection now. "You don't have to sit back passively and put up with it. You can take sensible, easy steps that will make a difference."
"If your skin is really healthy, it is quite a good barrier," he said, explaining that the top layer is like a roof – flattened cells like tiles separated by protective lipids.
"Certain skin care products are very disruptive to the surface of the skin," he warned. "So a darling of the industry is retinoids, but these have a very profound negative effect on barrier function. Another darling of the industry is glycolic acid, but it is also very disruptive to the external skin barrier. People think these are good skin care, making the skin look smoother, but they are not helpful for the overall health of the skin barrier."
Patterson is also dismissive of face scrubs: "The skin is trying its damnedest to make this wonderful defence mechanism and what do women and men do? They scrub the hell out of it. It just doesn't make sense." He said products that help repair the skin barrier, by delivering the pre-cursor lipids the cells need, are beneficial, as are ones that tackle inflammation.
"You can also put on a very nice physical shield in the form of good quality mineral makeup," he said. "That produces an effect like a protective mesh and probably has some trapping effect, protecting against the initial penetration of particles. But you also need always to try to remove that shield in the evening, washing the slate clean every night."
← Earlier Posts

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The government is about to introduce huge changes to the UK tax system that will fundamentally affect the way you record and submit your tax information to HMRC. Essentially, the tax system will move from a yearly submission process to a quarterly digitally reported one.
On the face of it, MTD may sound like a disaster waiting to happen. Most sole traders and freelancers struggle every year to get their bags of receipts and hastily typed up (or even written) list of invoices to their accountant – often a couple of weeks before the submission deadline!
To any rational business person this is a crazy state of affairs. It's not good for anyone involved and can lead to higher accounting fees (as the spend extra hours sifting through your piles of paperwork) and a nasty surprise tax bill at the end of the year because you didn't realise you owed that much?!
You almost definitely aren't claiming all your legitimate expenses.
Sole traders and freelancers don't claim anywhere near enough of their legitimate expenses. In fact, three in five admit they can't be bothered to mess around claiming low value receipts. This is a huge mistake – around 60% of expenses are under £20! And all those small claims will add up. Did you realise you can claim up to 20p in every £1 you earn back against your tax bill through claiming properly?!
You'll save yourself a lot of stress each winter!
It's the annual pantomime performed year after year. You start worrying in November, panicking in December and then all out meltdown in January as you scramble around looking for all those faded receipts. If you use a simple app like 1Tap Receipts, you'll save yourself a huge amount of stress and know exactly where you are all year around. Plus, by being up to date and organised, you should get favourable rates from your accountant and avoid that unexpected tax bill!
You can actually make informed decisions at last.
So now imagine that you are snapping all your receipts as you go and get a live view of how much you are saving on your tax bill. Not only that, but over the coming months, 1Tap will be launching an income stream recorder so you'll suddenly see clearly where you are financially – which means that rather than guessing your financial health through rough guestimates, you'll always have a live status you can use to make informed decisions.
You'll increase your creditworthiness immeasurably.
Having that live and up to date view of your finances doesn't just have a positive influence on your business finances, it also empowers you personally. Many sole traders and freelancers not only experience problems getting credit for business purchases, but also for mortgages and other personal loans. This is mainly because their income and personal finances are effectively one in the same. Lenders find it difficult to make favourable decisions based often outdated accounts. Once you move to a simple system like 1Tap Receipts and get on top of your finances you will be in a much stronger position to prove your financial health. Lenders will have much more information on which to make an informed lending decision!


Workshop is a new travelling workshop by Foilco, created to inspire and educate as well as showcase different foiling techniques and processes associated with foil. Aimed at creatives, whether students or graduates, designers or illustrators, Workshop will be a great opportunity to find out more and get involved.
For its brand identity, Foilco called upon the talents of David Sedgwick, founder of Manchester's Studio DBD. "It's based around the perforations found within the D4 shade card, Foilco's industry-leading sample book," explains David. "It gave me a playful device to work with and we plan to do quite a lot with it such as stencils for the attendees to work with, t-shirts and more foiled goodies."
First up on the Workshop trail is the next Multiplicity in Bristol on 26 April where there'll be a free drop-in at the city's Paintworks. It will then travel to Clerkenwell as part of London Design Week and then on to the Birmingham Design Festival.


species Dicranopteris linearis (Burm. f.) Underw.
species Cyathea lepifera (J. Sm.) Copel.
species Helminthostachys zeylanica (L.) Hook.
species Sphaerostephanos taiwanensis(C. Chr.) Holtt.
species Cyclosorus proliferus (Retz.) Tard.-Blot & C. Chr.


text:
Diyarbakır Chamber of Architects calls on UNESCO to urgently begin reparations for world heritage site Sur
AFP photo
The Chamber of Architects in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır on March 1 called on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to urgently start reparations for the district of Sur.
The chamber released an open letter criticizing UNESCO's silence over the destruction of Sur, which was left in ruins after fierce clashes between Turkish security forces and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
"This letter is an outcry against the silence shown by people like you" the letter said.
The chamber noted that Sur was listed as a world cultural heritage site by UNESCO, saying that the construction plans of the Turkish Environment and Urbanization Ministry would actually damage the historic district and its Hevsel gardens.
"We urge the 195 member states, which are signatories to the international document, to be disturbed of breaking the promise that they have given to the people. Silence will be marked on the pages of history. Remaining silent and negligent toward our province conveys deep contradiction by the UNESCO," it said.
The chamber claimed that Sur risked being removed from the UNESCO list.
"If you want to compensate for your silence on our city, Diyarbakır, you should consider building efforts against the destruction that has happened until now and start the reparations immediately," it said.
The Turkish government had announced that they invested 2 billion Turkish Liras ($675 million) to rebuild Sur.
In a written statement on Sept. 9, 2016, the Environment and Urbanization Ministry said the extent of the damage was surveyed in Sur after security forces cleared PKK militants from the district.
"With 2 billion liras budgeted, the district will be almost rebuilt. Thousands of houses will be constructed, potable water pipelines and sewer lines will be repaired," the ministry said.
Over 10 historic buildings, including the Kurşunlu Mosque, would also be restored, the statement added.


text:
- [Version 6.0](Upgrading.md#v60-breaking-changes)
- [Version 5.0](Upgrading.md#v50-breaking-changes)
- [Version 4.0](Upgrading.md#v40-breaking-changes)
- [Version 3.0](Upgrading.md#v30-breaking-changes)
- [Version 2.0](Upgrading.md#v20)
- [Version 1.0](Upgrading.md#v10)

## v6.0 Breaking Changes

### `"small"` and `"large"` are no longer valid `size` values
The `size` prop previously accepted `"small"` and `"large"` as valid values but now only accepts `"sm"` or `"lg"`. This better reflects Bootstrap classnames and related libraries like [React-Bootstrap](https://react-bootstrap.github.io/forms/form-control/#form-control-props).

### `shouldSelectHint` replaced by top-level `selectHint`
The `shouldSelectHint` prop was introduced as in v5 as a more flexible way to control hint selection. However, the implementation was still limited and not very convenient to use. v6 introduces `selectHint` as a top-level prop that can be used to control hint selection more easily. The signature for `selectHint` remains the same as `shouldSelectHint`:

#### v5
```jsx
<Typeahead
  ...
  inputProps={{
    shouldSelectHint: (shouldSelect, event) => (
      event.key === "Enter" || shouldSelect;
    )
  }}
/>
```

#### v6
```jsx
<Typeahead
  ...
  selectHint={(shouldSelect, event) => (
    event.key === "Enter" || shouldSelect;
  )}
/>
```

### Removed `selectHintOnEnter`
This prop was deprecated in v5 and is now gone. Use `selectHint` instead.

### PopperJS upgraded to v2
This should mostly be a transparent change. However, PopperJS now triggers the following warning in development:

```js
Popper: CSS "margin" styles cannot be used to apply padding between the popper and its reference element or boundary. To replicate margin, use the `offset` modifier, as well as the `padding` option in the `preventOverflow` and `flip` modifiers.
```
This is due to an [inherent conflict](https://github.com/react-bootstrap/react-bootstrap/issues/5081) between Bootstrap styles and PopperJS v2. There have been no observed issues in this library, but it's possible you may experience some visual glitches when the menu changes position. The warning should go away in a future major version when support for Bootstrap 4 is dropped.

### Refs can no longer be passed via `inputProps`
If you need to access the input node, use the [public `getInput` method](Methods.md).

### Removed `asyncContainer`, `menuItemContainer`, `tokenContainer` HOCs
These were deprecated in v5 and renamed to `withAsync`, `withItem`, and `withToken`, respectively.

### Drop support for IE11
It's time. Edge is still supported.

## v5.0 Breaking Changes

### Drop support for React < 16.8
This library now relies on [hooks](https://reactjs.org/docs/hooks-intro.html), both in the package itself as well as underlying dependencies. You must upgrade your version of React and ReactDOM to be at least 16.8

### Drop official support for Bootstrap 3
Among other things, this consists of updating the HTML structure and class names of included components like `MenuItem` in a backwards-incompatible way. Note that if you are using BS3, things should still work, but you may need to render your own menu, menu item, and input components.

### Remove `getInstance` method
The `getInstance` method was deprecated in v4.2.0 and has been removed. You can access instance methods on the `ref` itself.

### `AsyncTypeahead` rewritten with hooks
This should generally be a transparent change. There is at least one instance where it could break existing code, however: if your `onSearch` handler is re-instantiated on each render, this will cancel the debounced function and potentially prevent `onSearch` from being called. To avoid this, either [bind the handler in the constructor or use class properties](https://reactjs.org/docs/faq-functions.html#how-do-i-bind-a-function-to-a-component-instance) (if using a class component) or [use `useCallback` with a dependency array](https://reactjs.org/docs/hooks-reference.html#usecallback) (if using a functional component):

```jsx
// This may cause problems:
<AsyncTypeahead
  ...
  onSearch={(query) => {
    // Do stuff...
  }}
/>

// Instead, do one of the following:
class MyComponent extends React.Component {
  render () {
    <AsyncTypeahead
      ...
      onSearch={this.handleSearch}
    />
  }

  handleSearch = (query) => {
    // Do stuff...
  }
}

const MyComponent = () => {
  const handleSearch = useCallback((query) => {
    // Do stuff...
  }, []);

  return (
    <AsyncTypeahead
      ...
      onSearch={handleSearch}
    />
  );
};
```

For more, [see issue #561](https://github.com/ericgio/react-bootstrap-typeahead/issues/561).

### Remove `findDOMNode`
`findDOMNode` was deprecated in React 16.3 and all uses of it (including dependencies) are now gone. In some cases, this now requires explicitly passing refs to underlying DOM nodes.

When using `renderInput`, you will need to pass both the `inputRef` and `referenceElementRef` prop to a DOM node. This will usually be the input itself, but may be a container node:

```jsx
<Typeahead
  ...
  renderInput={({ inputRef, referenceElementRef, ...inputProps }) => (
    <Form.Control
      {...inputProps}
      ref={(inputNode) => {
        inputRef(inputNode);
        referenceElementRef(inputNode);
      }}
    />
  )}
/>
```

When using custom tokens, you will need to pass the ref from `withToken` to the token's DOM node:
```jsx
const MyToken = withToken(forwardRef((props, ref) => (
  <div
    className="my-token"
    ref={ref}>
    {props.children}
  </div>
)));
```

### `hintContainer` HOC is now `Hint` component
Rewriting the HOC as a component makes it a little easier to use and better reflects its relationship with the input.

#### v4.x
```jsx
import { Form } from 'react-bootstrap';
import { Typeahead, hintContainer } from 'react-bootstrap-typeahead';

const FormControlWithHint = hintContainer(Form.Control);

<Typeahead
  ...
  renderInput={(...) => (
    <FormControlWithHint {...} />
  )}
/>
```

#### v5.0
```jsx
import { Form } from 'react-bootstrap';
import { Typeahead, Hint } from 'react-bootstrap-typeahead';

<Typeahead
  ...
  renderInput={(...) => (
    <Hint>
      <Form.Control {...} />
    </Hint>
  )}
/>
```

### Rename `bsSize` prop to `size`
The `bsSize` prop was deprecated in v4.2.0 and has been removed. Use `size` instead.

### Increase specificity of multi-select component style
This change is only relevant if you are overriding the `.rbt-input-multi` CSS class. It increases the CSS specificity for the input's height to make the styling less dependent on stylesheet ordering and thus less likely to break.

## v4.0 Breaking Changes

### Drop support for older versions of React
React and ReactDOM >=16.3 are now required as peer dependencies.

### Props
- `onMenuHide` and `onMenuShow` were removed. Use `onMenuToggle` instead.

### When using custom menu items, you must manually pass a ref to the underlying DOM node.
`tokenContainer` no longer uses `findDOMNode`, and instead passes a `ref` to the wrapped component. If you are using your own menu item component to render the menu, you must forward that ref to the underlying DOM node.

### `option` is now required for a `Token` to be removeable
Pass `option` as a prop to `Token` (or `tokenContainer` if using your own token markup) so the container can correctly handle the `onRemove` callback.

```jsx
<Typeahead
  ...
  renderToken={(option, props, idx) => (
    <Token
      ...
      onRemove={props.onRemove}
      option={option}>
      {option.label}
    </Token>
  )}
/>
```

### Falsy `emptyLabel` no longer hides the menu when there are no results
This behavior was a legacy workaround introduced before `renderMenu` could return `null`. That is no longer the case and `renderMenu` should now be used to achieve the behavior:

```jsx
<Typeahead
  ...
  renderMenu={(results, menuProps) => {
    if (!results.length) {
      return null;
    }

    return <TypeaheadMenu {...menuProps} />;
  }}
/>
```

### `id` required for assistive technologies
The `menuId` prop has been replaced by `id` and no longer provides a default value. You must provide an id for assistive technologies like screen readers.

### Input `autoComplete` attribute defaults to "off"
Behavior is now correct according to a11y standards, but may result in unexpected behaviors since different browsers handle this attribute differently.

- To keep the previous behavior, pass "nope" value in `inputProps`.

### Updates to the `Overlay` component
Overlay was updated to take advantage of Popper.js' fixed positioning rather than using a portal to attach the menu to the document body. This greatly simplifies the component and gives greater control over styling.

- `bodyContainer` props was removed. Use `positionFixed` instead.
- Use of `.rbt-body-container` for CSS scoping will no longer work. Pass your own scoping classnames to the component instead.

### A11y announcer removed
This piece of functionality is not part of the WAI-ARIA authoring guidelines and was difficult to test and support.

- `a11yNumResults` & `a11yNumSelected` are now no-ops
- If you need this functionality, you can add it yourself as a child (or child function) of the component.

## v3.0 Breaking Changes

### Props
- The `name` prop was deprecated in v2.0 and is now gone.
- Non-string values for the `maxHeight` prop were deprecated in v2.5 and are now no longer allowed.

### Changes to `filterBy` and `renderToken` callback signatures

#### `filterBy`
If you [pass a callback to `filterBy`]((Filtering.md#functionoption-objectstring-text-string)), it will now receive the set of internal props as the second parameter instead of the user-input `text` value:

```jsx
// v2.0
<Typeahead
  ...
  filterBy={(option, text) => {
    // Your own filtering code goes here.
  }}
/>

// v3.0
<Typeahead
  ...
  filterBy={(option, props) => {
    // Your own filtering code goes here.
    // `text` is now `props.text`
  }}
/>
```
#### `renderToken`
Similarly, [`renderToken`](Rendering.md#rendertokenoption-objectstring-onremove-function-index-number) now receives internal props as the second param rather than just the `onRemove` function:

```jsx
// v2.0
<Typeahead
  ...
  multiple
  renderToken={(option, onRemove, index) => {
    // Your own token rendering code.
  }}
/>

// v3.0
<Typeahead
  ...
  multiple
  renderToken={(option, props, index) => {
    // Your own token rendering code.
    // `onRemove` is now `props.onRemove`
  }}
/>
```

### Internal changes & CSS
This version includes some significant internal refactoring in an effort to provide better support for Bootstrap 4. If you have custom CSS that depends on internal (eg: `rbt-*`) classnames, you should check to make sure things still work as you expect.

### Query normalization in `AsyncTypeahead`
`AsyncTypeahead` no longer trims whitespace on or lowercases queries. The original intent was to provide some basic normalization of queries, but this resulted in strange behaviors. You should now do any checking you want, like ignoring queries with only whitespace, in your `onSearch` function.

### Change events no longer triggered by prop changes
The `onChange` and `onInputChange` callbacks were previously called in `componentWillReceiveProps`, which triggered multiple calls and didn't emulate how a normal form element works. These change callbacks are now only triggered by user actions, eg: typing in the input, clicking on a menu item, etc. You may need to update your code if it relied on a change event being triggered due to prop changes.

### Custom menu rendering
Finally, if you use the `renderMenu` prop, a couple changes were made that may affect you:

#### Popper.js for positioning
The typeahead now uses [Popper.js](https://popper.js.org/) (via [`react-popper`](https://github.com/souporserious/react-popper)) for menu positioning. If you're using the provided `Menu` component inside `renderMenu`, simply pass down all the menu props and everything should work fine. If you're using your own component to render the menu, be sure it properly consumes the `innerRef` prop that gets passed down or the component will not work correctly:

```jsx
class MyCustomMenu extends React.Component {
  render() {
    // `innerRef` is passed down by the Popper...
    const {innerRef, ...props} = this.props;

    // ...and must be passed to the `ref` of your custom component.
    return <div {...props} ref={innerRef} />;
  }
}
```

#### Manual handling of pagination option
To make the pagination menu item keyboard-accessible, it is no longer automatically included in the `Menu` component. Instead, it is added to the result set, similar to the custom (`allowNew`) item. That means you must now handle rendering of the pagination item yourself if you want pagination. See [`TypeaheadMenu`](../src/TypeaheadMenu.react.js) for an example of how to do this.

## v2.0
Version 2.0 consists mainly of internal refactoring aimed at reducing parallel code paths and making certain complex feature requests possible. These changes should mostly be transparent, though you may notice that the component behaves a bit differently.

### Breaking Changes
#### `AsyncTypeahead`
The `AsyncTypeahead` component now requires the request state to be managed externally. Use the `isLoading` prop to tell the component if a request is pending or not. See [the example](https://github.com/ericgio/react-bootstrap-typeahead/blob/master/example/examples/AsyncExample.react.js) for an illustration of proper usage.

#### CSS Changes
In an effort to simplify the CSS and as a result of the refactor, class names for the various internal components were changed. This may cause styling to break if you relied on a certain naming scheme. The separate CSS files were also combined into a single file (`Typeahead.css`) to make it easier to include.

### Deprecations
- The `name` prop is now deprecated and will be removed in v3.0. Use `inputProps` to apply props directly to the input instead.

## v1.0
Version 1.0 has a few breaking changes, but upgrading should be relatively painless.

### Importing
The main change affecting all users is that the typeahead is now a property of the module:

```jsx
// v0.10.x
import Typeahead from 'react-bootstrap-typeahead'; // ES2015
var Typeahead = require('react-bootstrap-typeahead').default; // CommonJS

// v1.x
import {Typeahead} from 'react-bootstrap-typeahead'; // ES2015
var Typeahead = require('react-bootstrap-typeahead').Typeahead; // CommonJS
```

### `paginateResults`
This prop was deprecated in v0.9.0 and is now gone.

### `renderMenuItemChildren`
The signature for the `renderMenuItemChildren` callback was changed such that the data item is now the first argument and props are second. This felt more logical and [all such `render` functions](Rendering.md#rendermenu) follow a similar pattern.

```jsx
// v0.10.x
renderMenuItemChildren(props, result, index) {
  // Rendering code here...
}

// v1.x
renderMenuItemChildren(result, props, index) {
  // Rendering code here...
}
```

That should be everything. If you come across something I missed, please open an issue. Thanks!

[Next: Basic Usage](Usage.md)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Home > Official MPA map > Official MPA map ver. 3
Official MPA map ver. 3 Official MPA map ver. 2 Official MPA map ver. 1
Official MPA map ver. 3
In order to evaluate progress towards achieving the global targets in the marine environment the WDPA is used to track the rate of change via the Protected Planet Reports, the SDG process as well as several academic publications see for example "Evaluating official marine protected area coverage for Aichi Target 11: appraising the data and methods that define our progress" Thomas et al. 2014). The progress in growth in the MPA network, resulting from a combination of new sites being created,existing sites being expanded and a number of large sites being announced, will contribute even more to an increase in the total protected area coverage. An important tool in tracking the continued evolution of the global MPA network is the "Official MPA map" series developed in conjunction with IUCN which utilises versions of the WDPA to highlight progress in reaching the global targets.
Statistics and Map
The third "Official MPA map", available here, was made available for the CBD COP in December 2016 in conjunction with the Protected Planet 2016 Report. The latest figures highlight that:
12.7% of coastal & marine areas under national jurisdiction are covered by marine protected areas (Exclusively No Take = 3.09%)
0.25% of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction are covered by marine protected areas
5.1% of the Global Oceans are covered by marine protected areas (Exclusively No Take = 1.23%)
#Note: All statistics are based upon the December 2016 version of the WDPA.
#Note: Only sites that are classified as Designated are included in this analysis and map. See here for more details on how we calculate figures.
The progress in growth in the MPA network, resulting from a combination of new sites being created, existing sites being expanded and a number of large sites being announced, will contribute even more to an increase in the total protected area coverage.
Following on from designating the Pitcairn Islands Marine Reserve, with an area of over 800,000 km², as well as the St Helena Marine Protected Areas, with an areas of 444,916 km², the UK has announcement of two further marine protected areas around Ascension Island (at 445,390 km²) and Tristan da Cunha (at 750,510 km²) to be designated by 2019 and 2020
In New Zealand, the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would establish a 620,000 km² fully protected marine sanctuary that would cover an area of approximately 15% of New Zealand's the Economic Exclusion Zone (EEZ – from the shoreline to 200 nautical miles). Once passed, this bill would significantly enhance the existing protection of this area
In October 2016 the Commission for the Conservation of Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) reached consensus on a New Zealand/United States proposal to establish a large-scale marine protected area in the Ross Sea region of Antarctica. The Ross Sea region Marine Protected Area, will come into force on the 1st of December 2017, covers 1.55 million km², of which 1.12 million km² or 72%, is fully protected (No-Take Area). It will be the world's largest Marine Protected Area. The duration of the MPA has been set at 35 years for the General Protection Zone, with a consensus decision by the CCAMLR membership required to continue the MPA beyond this period.This site would increase the percentage coverage of the global ocean from 5.1% to 5.55%.
In November 2016 Canada designated the Anguniaqvia niqiqyuam Marine Protected Area in the Beaufort Sea in the western Canadian Arctic, this site covers 2,361 km²
On the 6th of December at the CBD COP, Mexico announced the designation of three large Marine Protected Areas: Pacífico Mexicano Profund, Reserva de la Biosfera Caribe Mexicano and Reserva de la Biosfera Islas del Pacífico which will bring the percentage of their national waters covered by protected areas to over 20%. Also at the CBD COP the United Arab Emirates has announced the creation of 4 new Marine Protected Areas off of Abu Dhabi.
On the 12th of December 2016 France announced that it would be expanding the existing Réserve naturelle nationale des Terres australes françaises in the French Overseas territory (Territoire d'outre-mer) of French Southern and Antarctic Lands (Terres australes et antarctiques françaises) to 672,696km² (including 7,700km² of land), this includes several zones where all fishing is prohibited.
For further discussion on the global update of all protected areas in 2016 please go here.