North Korea accuses Trump administration of hostile actions while publicly urging dialogue

(July 4)The North Korean mission to the UN issued a statement yesterday critical of the Trump administration, claiming that while the US was publicly suggesting dialogue with the North, the country is engaging in hostile actions against them.

Statement comes after Trump's visit with Kim at the DMZ zone

At the visit Trump and Kim Jong un appeared to get along fine as usual. However, just a day before that historic visit, the US was involved in a joint letter that called for all UN member states to expel all North Korean workers.

US calls for all North Korean workers to be expelled from UN member states

The US State Department ordered the expulsion of North Korean workers in UN member states, as it alleges that North Korea had violated a cap on importation of petroleum products. The North Korean workers are hardly responsible for this situation even if the charge is true. The move just ensures that no funds are received in North Korea from its workers abroad.

Division within the Trump administration

While Trump talks repeatedly of diplomacy with Kim and has predicted very positive results, there are hawks within the Trump administration, such as John Bolton, who want to take a hard line against North Korea. At the recent Hanoi summit, the US insisted on complete denuclearization before removal of tariffs resulting in failure and Trump leaving.

The hawks likely want Trump to stay with the same demands. North Korea has seen the US continually expand hostile actions against it while at the same time saying publicly that it wants a diplomatic solution. US hostile actions worsen the situation, rather than encouraging a diplomatic solution. It will create doubts within North Korea about US sincerity in wanting a diplomatic solution.

Bolton reacted angrily to reports of weaker demands on North Korea: "The Trump administration is considering a nuclear deal with North Korea that would ask it to freeze its nuclear weapons program, dropping prior demands to dismantle it entirely, The New York Times reported Sunday. According to the report, White House officials are weighing a deal that would leave North Korea's existing nuclear arsenal and missile battery in place — a situation US policy has long considered intolerable."

Bolton was furious at the report and denied that any such plan was being considered as reported in a recent Digital Journal article.

Previously published in the Digital Journal

US is a big world producer of garbage and the US military of world pollution

The US makes up only four percent of the global population yet it produces 12 percent of the world's trash. This is a larger percent per person than either India or China.

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The US does not recycle much of its waste

Compared to some other countries the US recycles a relatively low percentage of its waste. The US recycles only 35 percent of its garbage. On the other hand, Germany manages to reuse 68 percent of its waste. Waste from many first world countries such as the US is sent to other countries to be recycled or dumped. Many developing countries are now refusing to take more garbage including China.

The Maplecroft report

The new report on garbage comes from the UK-based strategic and risk consulting firm Maplecroft. The firm measured the waste generation and recycling performance of 194 countries to generate a profile of the worst polluting countries. The report claims about the US: “The US is the only developed nation whose waste generation outstrips its ability to recycle, underscoring a shortage of political will and investment in infrastructure."

It is not clear how this conclusion fits in with the fact that Canada exports its garbage as well as do other countries. The Philippines has recently returned garbage sent to it by Canada. Indonesia has recently sent back toxic trash to Australia an Germany as well as the US.

China

Given its huge population it is not surprising that in terms of volume China is the largest producer of waste . However, China is one of the few countries that actually produced a lesser percentage of world garbage than its share of world population. China has recently made major improvements with large sums of money invested by the government to reduce environmental damage. In contrast the US especially under the Trump administration is moving slowly.

The United States

Trump has been notoriously skeptical about climate change even calling the promotion of the idea as being involved in a Chinese plot aimed at reducing US manufacturing. Often neglected in discussions is the role of the military in producing greenhouse gases.

The US military as producer of greenhouse gases

Another recent report by Professor Neta Crawford.claims that the US military is the world's single largest producer of greenhouse gases

Her report notes: "Since 2001, when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in response to the 9/11 attacks, the military has emitted 1,212 million metric tons of greenhouse gasses. This includes 400 million tons of directly war-related emissions in the war zones of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and Syria. In 2017, the last year for which data is available, the Department of Defense (DOD) emitted 58.4 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent. This is more than the total emitted by the nations of Sweden or Denmark and is a substantial amount that significantly contributes to climate change. "

Previously published in the Digital Journal